I enjoyed this book more than Herman's Kings because I felt it was organized better (by century) and, as a result, ended up avoiding the repetitive quality I complained about with my last update. The prose certainly gets downright cheesy and embarrassing at times (With regard to Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark, embarking on an affair with Johann Struensee, she Herman writes, "Finally, this was love. Finally, this was sex. Finally, this was happiness."), but the stories aren't told so abruptly. Instead they are presented as tales of individual women with completely separate fates though, of course, there is the odd reference to a royal woman who suffered a similar end in some of the stories. Overall, I found this a more satisfying read than Kings, and again, I'd recommend it to anyone who revels in all things gossipy and scandalous!