#FridayBookShare The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory #Tudor #HistoricalFiction

I created the Friday Book Share Game to help search for that ideal novel/author.

Anyone can have a go – all you need to do is answer the following questions based on a book you enjoyed reading and use the hashtag #FridayBookShare

First line of the book.

Recruit fans by adding the book blurb.

Introduce the main character using only three words.

Delightful design (add the cover image of the book).

Audience appeal (who would enjoy reading this book?)

Your favourite line/scene.

Here’s mine:

Becoming of member of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team has opened my eyes to genres I never would have considered previously. Historical fiction, for example, was never on my must-read radar, until I met Terry Tyler (another member of Rosie’s team) and she recommended Philippa Gregory’s novels to me. I’ve only ever read her YA books so I thought it was time to try her adult novels – I started with The Taming of the Queen.

First line – He stands before me, as broad as an ancient oak, his face like a full moon caught high in the topmost branches, the rolls of creased flesh upturned with goodwill.

Recruit fans by adding the book blurb –

 Why would a woman marry a serial killer?

Because she cannot refuse…

Kateryn Parr, a thirty-year-old widow in a secret affair with a new lover, has no choice when a man old enough to be her father who has buried four wives – King Henry VIII – commands her to marry him.

Kateryn has no doubt about the danger she faces: the previous queen lasted sixteen months, the one before barely half a year. But Henry adores his new bride and Kateryn’s trust in him grows as she unites the royal family, creates a radical study circle at the heart of the court, and rules the kingdom as Regent.

But is this enough to keep her safe? A leader of religious reform and the first woman to publish in English, Kateryn stands out as an independent woman with a mind of her own. But she cannot save the Protestants, under threat for their faith, and Henry’s dangerous gaze turns on her.The traditional churchmen and rivals for power accuse her of heresy – the punishment is death by fire and the king’s name is on the warrant…

Introduce the main character – Kateryn Parr is talented, strong, and loyal

Delightful Design –

 

Audience appeal – Perfect for fans of Tudor history, historical fiction, stories with strong female roles.

Your favourite line/scene –

There are so many fabulous scenes in this book, but I thought this one captured the constant unease that must have surrounded Henry VIII’s wives every moment of every day.

We have to wait. We wait all the day, and we try to pray for Anne Askew. I dine with the king and my ladies dance for him, and we smile until our cheeks ache. I glance at him sideways as he is listening to the music and beating time with his hand, and I think: do you know that a woman who thinks as I do, who has preached before me, who loved me when she was a little girl and whose gifts I admire, is being questioned for the offence of heresy, which might take her to the stake? Do you know this and are you waiting to see what I will do? Is it a test, to see if I will act for her? Or do you know nothing?

BUY a copy of The Taming of the Queen from Amazon UK or Amazon US.