It’s official, Laura Andersen is on my auto-buy list and I want everyone to read her books. I almost hesitated in requesting The Virgin’s Daughter only because I had assumed The Boleyn Trilogy had been completed. And it had…this story continues years after Dom and Minuette’s story wrapped up in The Boleyn Reckoning. If you haven’t read that series and you plan to, you may want to hold off on reading the rest of my review as I don’t want to give anything of that story away. Don’t get me wrong – this is truly a companion but if you do plan to read the other series you may want to start there since this is so far in the future.

The Virgin’s Daughter centers around Elizabeth’s daughter Princess Anabel and her friend, Lucette Courtenay. Yes, Courtenay – of the Dom and Minuette Courtenay’s. We also get to meet the other children of Dom and Minuette and I loved seeing the characters of the past make an appearance alongside their children.

Anabel is the daughter of Elizabeth and Phillip of Spain. She is opinionated and definitely Royal. She is also comfortable with the politics of court and figuring out the balance between what will make her happy and what will make her mother happy. As Elizabeth finds out about the Nightingale Plot – the plot to free Mary and make her Queen – she enlists the help of Lucette to infiltrate the house of the LeClercs as she is provided evidence that one of the sons is helping the cause.

When Lucette finds herself in France, she is faced with Julien and Nicolas and begins to try to find out who is guilty of plotting against her Queen. What she didn’t plan for was falling in love and as she figures out who is guilty and who she loves, Lucette ends up playing a very large role in how things move forward for both Queen Elizabeth and Mary. You will notice, I haven’t told you who is who between the brothers. You only really have to know that there are definitely some swoony parts and the back and forth mystery of who was really the guilty party was something that had me unable to put this book down.

That’s about all I can say without ruining any bits of the story. Just know that the minute I finished this I was scouring goodreads to find out when the next book comes out because it was that good! The end of this one definitely leaves you wondering what will happen next for everyone involved. Now…go out there and get reading. I want everyone to love these characters that Andersen writes as much as I do. If you have an interest in alternative history or historical books at all, definitely check this out when you can.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy!

The Boleyn King explores the idea of what might have happened with the English monarchy had Anne Boleyn given birth to a healthy baby boy. If you don’t know this about me, I love history. I was a history major in college and I find the royal families, historical events, and class based society interesting and the idea that Laura Anderson explores made me curious to see where she would go with this story. The focus in addition to the what if is the relationship between the four main characters, William (King Henry IX), Elizabeth (Princess and Will’s sister), Minuette (Genevieve Wyatt) and Dominic Courtenay (best friend and advisor to the King).

This book does a wonderful job tying in the historical pieces with a character driven story. Will is turning 18 and with that, taking over rule of the throne from his uncle Rochford who is Lord Protector. As is typical, there is a lot of political intrigue. Between trying to protect England from the French, Will is faced with having to make a number of decisions that impact his half-sister, Mary. She is staunchly Catholic and never supported her father’s decision to marry Anne Boleyn. Although she acknowledges Will and Elizabeth, Mary and her Catholic supporters will do whatever is necessary to put her on the throne and once again make England a Catholic country.

Without going into all of the history and detail, the one thing that could potentially remove William as King of England is a supposed confession made by one of Anne Boleyn’s people called the Penitent’s Confession. As the book progresses through politics, intrigue, and romance, this is one of the mysteries at the heart of the novel. The only people Will trusts are involved in tracking this piece of paper down and in turn, protecting him.

It is the relationship between the four characters that makes this book so good…in my opinion. All are close and have ended up looking at each other as a family. Although Minuette serves Elizabeth and Dominic serves Will, they are able to speak pretty freely with each other and have built relationships that allow them to trust in one another, despite their differences in class. Will constantly states how much he values Dom and the relationship they have – he knows that when he needs the truth, he can count on Dom to tell him things straight.

As the book progresses, it is clear that Dominic has feelings for Minuette and eventually she realizes she loves him back. It took a while for them to get there and I was glad when they finally did. Unfortunately for them, they live in a world where they don’t necessarily command their own destiny. Along with that, the one person they both care a great deal for, Will, has also come to the conclusion that he loves Minuette. Because of this, there is some tension as to how to handle their feelings. They can’t come forward and declare anything for fear of hurting Will - who has it in his head that he will marry Minuette someday….despite his role as King and currently being betrothed to a French princess. It will be interesting to see what happens with this dynamic in book two as it is bound to create some tension between all three.

Don’t get me wrong – I love Will and think he is a strong and fair king. I just don’t think he is the right match for Minuette and despite how much he cares for her; he is being fairly naïve about what he thinks he may be able to get away with considering the political climate. I will say I was sooo happy when he had Eleanor vacate the rooms he had set aside for her at court….she was definitely not one of my favorite characters. She went out of her way to make herself seem way more important than she really was and I found it annoying.

Elizabeth is an interesting character as well. She is strong and smart but as a daughter, knows she doesn’t have any real power outside what she can do to support her brother and England. Robert Dudley is her love interest and as we find at the end of book one, has an agenda. I will be curious to see what happens in book two with her.

If you can’t tell, I loved this book. It was the perfect blend of history, intrigue, and romance. These characters are ones that definitely make the history interesting if you don’t necessarily love that type of thing. Don’t be afraid of it here…the story is more than just the history of the English monarchy and I recommend you check this out.

Excuse me while I get started on book two….

The Boleyn Deceit opens up shortly after The Boleyn King ends and continues with the story of what could have happened if Anne Boleyn had a son that became King.

Will (Henry IX) has come into his power and is trying to navigate the political pieces of his rule. The three people he trusts the most are those he relies on to be the most honest with him. This includes his sister Elizabeth, his friend Dominic, and his other childhood friend (and now focus of his romantic energies) Minuette. The Protestants and the Catholics are still creating issues for Will and because of the continued animosity; Will is faced with making a marriage alliance to help create a balance. He knows that either he or Elizabeth will have to marry a Catholic and that is the story that continues throughout the entire book. After negotiating a treaty that includes being betrothed to a French, Catholic Princess, Will determines that he will do whatever he can to get out of the agreement and marry Minuette…without really taking into account what anyone else may want.

Elizabeth is also trying to figure out her role in the kingdom after having her meeting with Dr. Dee and finding out there is more power in store for her. She still has feelings for Robert Dudley but comes face to face with some truths about what can and will be in her future. At the same time, she is trying to balance what she wants with what she is required to do for England. She truly struggles with the idea that Will doesn’t have to marry for political reasons (despite the treaty he has arranged) and she has to.

At the end of book one, Dominic and Minuette finally realized how much they loved each other. Their relationship definitely progresses in this book and I was happy to see it. This isn’t to say they don’t hit some speed bumps because they definitely do but due to a number of things that happen, they finally realize that they want to be together and take steps to make it happen.

Both Dom and Minuette struggle with how to tell Will about their feelings. Not only because he is King but also because of their friendships with him. They know he has very few people he fully trusts and both are fearful that when they tell Will about their feelings, he will take it very hard. When Will does something that really makes Dom realize something about their relationship, he takes the steps to separate himself from Will but also then become closer to Minuette. It was hard to see Dom come to the realization about his and Will’s friendship but I was glad to see him take that realization and have it push him to go to Minuette.

I am very curious to see how things progress for all of these characters and cannot wait to get my hands on book three. If you enjoy history and reading about Royals along with a really good story, you will definitely find this series to be hard to put down. Check this out when you can – you won’t regret it!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

All the stars & tears and now I need to collect myself and come up with a coherent review.

The Boleyn Reckoning is the third (and sadly, final) book of The Boleyn Trilogy series and to say I was excited when I heard this was up on Netgalley would be a HUGE understatement. The second I got my approval, it was moved up on my list because I NEEDED (yes, needed) to know what happened to Minuette, Dom, William and Elizabeth.

BE WARNED: There will be spoilers below. If you haven’t read books one, two, or three - stop here, go read them all and then come back.

Spoiler

If you recall, book two left off with Will using Dom which then provided a catalyst for Dom to act on his love for Minuette. Following that was the secret marriage of Minuette and Dom while William has still made it clear that he expects to marry Minuette despite the fact that she is not considered an acceptable match (nevermind that she doesn’t love him like she does Dom). Now, Minuette and Dom are back at court with the royals and trying to keep their marriage a secret while still showing their support of Will and his rule.

Will continues to fight the Catholic supporters, including his sister Mary, he also continues to focus on what he wants versus what is best for the country. This is frustrating to his sister, Elizabeth, who is willing to do whatever is necessary to keep her country strong.

Eventually it comes out that Minuette and Dom have married and in Will’s mind, both have betrayed him hugely. He is unwilling to forgive them and ultimately, Dom and Minuette escape his initial wrath by taking advantage of the Catholic rebels attack. The day this happens, Elizabeth helps Minuette flee the guards who are watching her and meet Dom so they can run to Minuette’s property, Wynfield Mote. They stay there while waiting for Will to make his move and at the same time, Dom is contacted constantly by the Duke of Norfolk who is looking to lead a rebellion against the King. While Dom refuses to actively participate in the rebellion, he also worries about his decision to stay at Wynfield as all of his military strength sits at his property, Tiverton. He knows that if he moves himself and Minuette to Tiverton that could be considered a move against the King.

At the same time Will has made the decision to arrest Mary for treason and the assassination of Lord Rochford. When convicted, she is sentenced to death and eventually beheaded. This news is shocking to both Dom and Minuette and they know that this is only the beginning to Will’s decision to act upon those he feels have betrayed him. To say that Will is unforgiving is probably a huge understatement. He heads directly toward Wynfield and as Dom realizes he has to honor his oath to Will and in his refusal to raise arms against him, he decides he has to surrender to him.

At this point in the book, I have to admit – I had no faith that things would end well for any of these characters. Will is completely closed off to everyone and only focused on vengeance, Elizabeth continues to try to bring him back with no luck, and Dom and Minuette know that there is no way they will escape Will’s anger.

The same day that Dom surrenders to Will, Minuette decides to follow and surrender herself in the hopes that she can spare Dom. Things don’t necessarily turn out as she planned – at least I hope that isn’t what she had planned. Immediately upon surrendering to Will, he has sex with her and Dom knows it. Despite surrendering her body, Minuette basically tells Will he will never have her heart. Yes she was willing to do whatever necessary to save Dom and her people but she definitely was not eager and this is something that Will eventually realizes. And just because he can, Will takes them all to Wynfield and burns it completely down.

Dom is then taken to the Tower and Minuette is taken to Beaulieu and kept away from everyone. With the weeks passing, she comes to realize that she is pregnant and because of her actions when she surrendered, she has no real idea whose child she carries.

Eventually both Dom and Minuette are faced with interrogation and trial. Both are unsurprisingly convicted and sentenced to death. Elizabeth asks Will to reconsider Minuette’s sentence but she is no longer trusted by him due to her role in helping them leave court but because Minuette is pregnant, Will has decided to wait to execute her until the child is born. If it is a girl he will give it to some family but if it is a boy, he will claim it and raise it as his own. Regardless, his intent is to execute Minuette once the child is born. With these decisions in place, Elizabeth knows she has to come up with a plan and she leans on Robert Dudley to assist.

Andersen did a wonderful job wrapping up this story. I continue to love the relationship between Dom and Minuette and root for them all along the way. There were so many parts in this story where I knew it wasn’t going to work out because of who/what they were up against. Regardless, I couldn’t help it and because I love Dom so much, I wanted him to get everything he wanted. He has a sense of honor and tries to always do the right thing. His last meeting and letter to Minuette had me in tears it was so perfectly him.

Elizabeth definitely comes into her own in this book. She starts to embrace the politics of wearing her crown as she sees Will change and begin to deteriorate. Although Will did some pretty crappy things to her and her friends, she continued to support and love him in the hopes it would bring him back. Her loyalty was never in question for me, she was always loyal to Will and the crown but still loved her friends.

Will gets no words…I am pretty sure I tagged about 20 sections “Will is a dick” because he made me so darn angry. First, the fact that he was King and therefore could do what he wanted didn’t sit well with me. The fact that he goes back to using Eleanor as his mistress was absolutely annoying and only made me angrier with him. On top of that, he basically just decides he is going to execute everyone who he felt did anything wrong to him and we find out just how dark and vindictive Will really is.

I have to admit; there were some things that Minuette did that I didn't agree with – mostly regarding her relationship with Will (no surprise there). Although I don’t know that she and Dom would have had another option of how things went when Will found out about them, I keep thinking that perhaps things might have been different if they had told him sooner rather than him finding out the way he did.

This series is absolutely one of my favorite Historical Fiction series and I am sad that it is complete but in the same vein, I am happy with the way that Andersen wrapped this up. If you enjoy books with great characters, romance, and the historical pieces mixed in, you might just want to check this one out. It will be on my Favorites shelf for a long time and I will be encouraging everyone I know to check this one out.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the review copy!

GAH - I love these books sooooo much.

The Virgin’s Spy is book 2 of The Tudor Legacy series and if you know me, you know that I love Laura Andersen’s books. I’m not ashamed to admit that I did a bit of begging to get a copy of this book and immediately had to restrain myself from reading it too soon. With that said, as soon as I was able to dive into this book (based on my reading schedule) I did and I was not disappointed!

There are a lot of moving parts with this series and this book is no different. This book picks up with Lucette’s wedding which is really a continuation of her story from book one. Some of the other key events in this book revolve around the fact that Mary Stuart is pregnant, Elizabeth is looking for a husband for Anabel, and Stephen is headed to Ireland. On top of all of that, there is the continued friendship between the Courtenay family and the royal family which only complicates a lot of these storylines.

The Courtenay family are all together at the start of the book and one of the things I love about this series is how close they are with each other. They are all there for each other when needed and it definitely shows throughout this book. Whether it is Lucie counseling and helping Stephen or it is Pippa supporting Kit or it is Kit getting Stephen out of a spot of trouble (for once), they are always looking out for each other and when you add in Minuette and Dominic, I only adore them more.

This book focuses a lot on Stephen and the things he goes through in Ireland. I don’t want to say a lot about it but he absolutely goes through a big shift when things occur in Ireland. Is that vague enough for you?? There were points of his storyline that made me want to crawl into my book and just hug him. I love that Andersen gave us a better view of who he is and more of his personality in this book.

Spoiler

I am hopeful that he will get a happily ever after…I need him to have that after everything he has gone through.

We also get to see Kit go through a bit of a change. He is growing up and one of my favorite parts was when he was with Dominic visiting King Philip. I won’t say a lot about it but the scene paints a picture of someone who is not only growing up but learning and showing his father he has been paying attention. It will be interesting to see where Andersen steers his story considering the feelings he and Anabel have for each other.

One of the things Andersen does well in all of her books is how she mixes in the real historical events with a fictional story. We get to read about real people from history and real events and alongside of those things is a story that keeps me captivated and turning the pages. If you are interested in historical fiction but don’t really enjoy the straight historical books, consider checking out Andersen’s books. I love them all and always recommend them to everyone. Laura Andersen is definitely on my autobuy list and if you haven’t yet read anything by her (WHAT??) you should probably fix that right now.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

Ahhhh so, so, so good! Full review to come.