Book Review: The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen

Review by Tara

I like "what if" books. This is a "what if Anne Boleyn's head had never been cut off and the son she miscarried still lived" what if book.


Having sworn off anything Tudor, I surprised myself by being drawn to this...and I liked it!

But I have one complaint right off the bat. It ends on a cliffhanger!!!! One conspiracy reveals another, one love affair begins...and the story ends, leaving us waiting for...a year? If the next book was already available, this wouldn't bother me so much, but I fear by the time book two comes out (I'm certainly hoping there's a book two) I may have forgotten the intricacies of this one.

Or maybe not. I probably won't remember all the treaty and war details and the Howards were sure hard to remember. I kept getting confused with what Howard had done what. But the love between Minuette and Dominic...the love William feels for her...and the hints at passion between Elizabeth and Robert...I won't forget those. They just really come off the page.

The novel is a young king William trying to ensure his throne against his very Catholic "Bloody Mary" sister. Elizabeth Tudor is in the background, and I love how likable this author portrayed her. Almost all books about Elizabeth Tudor paint her a snotty, jealous, evil b*tch. This was a nice change.

Most of the novel focused on her friend, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of Elizabeth and I look forward to it. I felt that in this novel she was restraining her power and desires.

Some areas were dull. I'm simply not interested in war and battles of that time, but the rest of the book had me very intrigued. I do hate the cliffhanger feeling, however.

Four stars. Def a read you can get lost in.

I got this from Netgalley.