Kate and Petrucchio by any other name.
596225
Smart woman meets  sexy soldier.  Sparks fly. Classic Hepburn and Tracy plot except they are battling evil fey and rescuing lost pucks.  Really fun read.
501304
Baby George has wonderful parents. Kate is a welcome addition to the royal family. She is loved by many around the world.
1632794
Strong, beautiful performance by Kate and the rest of the cast!
2901935
"Whenever I see 'Peer's Daughter' in a headline I know it's going to be about one of you," sighed Lady Redesdale, the mother of the six irrepressible Mitford Girls.  Beginning in the 1920s Lord and Lady Redesdale's daughters provided an unlimited feast for the appetites of newspaper reporters, not only for their justly famous beauty, charm, and wit but also because of their talent for causing scandal.  The oldest Mitford was Nancy, who turned out a series of amusing light novels and some  solid historical works.  Next there was Pam, who preferred a quiet life; followed by Diana, a Society Queen at 18 who went through a sensational divorce to marry the leader of the British Fascists with Adolf Hitler as witness. Unity became obsessed with Hitler and Fascism to the point of a suicide attempt in 1939 that left her crippled; while Jessica devoted herself to Communism, emigrated to the US where she eventually abandoned Marxism for progressivism and turned out a series of dynamic muckraking ezposes on everything from funerals to prisons. The youngest daughter and the only one still living is Deborah, now the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and chatelaine of the magnificent Chatsworth House.

Lyndsy Spence, the founder of the online community The Mitford Society, has created a pleasant little handbook which is partly a biography of the Mitfords and partly a sort of "self-help" guide to daily life gleaned from Mitford letters, books, and random quotations out of newspapers. It might occur to some to wonder just how useful advice from a group of Society sisters known for their extreme behavior can be to more ordinary folks.  The plain answer is that it isn't, but it's still great fun to read "Pamela's Guide To Throwing A Jubilee Party," "Diana's Guide To Prison" (she was incarcerated as a security risk during World War II), "The Mitford Guide To Falling In Love," and many other such tongue-in-cheek lists.  Spence also includes some hitherto unpublished memories of the Mitfords and an excellent interview with Jessica, done a year or so before her death in 1996.

The only qualm I have about recommending this amusing little book is that Spence does some whitewashing here and there, especially when it comes to Diana and Unity's Hitler fixation. It's all very well to reproduce their admittedly sparkling conversation, but statements like Unity's "I want everyone to know that I am a Jew-hater," and Diana's casual remark that the Holocaust was terrible but that the Jews did help bring it on themselves ought not to be overlooked.  There was darkness behind the Mitford laughter, and it should be remembered.
1387096
Ah, the Borgias.  Who's not fascinated by that Italian Renaissance family?  So much lurid, scandalous, salacious behavior, all in just one family, or so  'history' tells us.  A couple years ago G.L.Meyer wrote his THE BORGIAS:  THE HIDDEN HISTORY in which he posits that the Borgias weren't really all that bad.  It was just that Rodrigo Borgia's arch rival and successor as Pope, Giuliano della Rovere (Pope Julius II) slandered the family to sabotage their reputation.

Gortner is not interested in making any revisionist statements like that about the Borgia family, but he does seem to want to make a case for Lucrezia, illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia and sister to Cesare and Juan.  He tries to show Lucrezia as being a 'good' Borgia, much maligned in history as being a woman of loose morals, of incestuous behavior and even a conscienceless poisoner to boot but really only a pawn in her father's and her brothers' power plays.

Gortner's 1st person POV story of Lucrezia takes place from 1492 to 1501.  She's 13 at the beginning and her father has just been chosen new Pope Alexander VI.  And Lucrezia is being offered to Giovanni Sforza as bride in a Borgia power consolidation.  Does she want to marry him?  Probably not but that's irrelevant.

And so it goes, with Lucrezia's life continually suffering collateral damage in the power plays of the men of the family.  After her marriage to Sforza is annulled, she marries Alfonso d'Aragon, Duke of Biseglie, a marriage which Gortner portrays as a love match and a happy one, although very short.  And, you can guess the why of the shortness of the marriage once her second husband is believed to be more of a hindrance than an ally.

When this book ends we leave Lucrezia with plans being made for her third marriage, that to Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara.  Of course we learn nothing of that alliance (except in the Author's Notes at the end) because this is where Gortner drops her and us.  History, of course, tells us that this marriage was a successful political alliance, although not necessarily a happy one, in spite of the ten children they produced together.  But then that's not the point of Gortner's book.

So what is the point?  Well, I guess to let us know that he feels Lucrezia has been maligned by history.  But Gortner's not the first person to claim this, so that's not exactly anything new.  He lifts the burden of incest, political intrigue and murder from her shoulder, but keeps those accusations firmly on father Rodrigo (perhaps not the incest so much) and on her brothers Juan and Cesare (yes, including incest).

As a matter of fact, there's even more lurid, salacious, scandalous activity involving Cesare and Juan than I really wanted Gortner to fictionalize for me.  For example, if you're aware of the child Giovanni Borgia (the Infans Romanus) born of mysterious parentage, first declared by papal bull to be Cesare's illegitimate son and years later by another papal bull declared to be the illegitimate son of Rodrigo Borgia, you'll find Gortner's theory of Giovanni's parentage to be surprisingly unpleasant, even considering the reputation the Borgias have always had.

So Gortner is definitely not an apologist or revisionist with regard to the father and brothers.  IMO, he's a bit "sensation-ist" in that respect.  There is much emphasis here on the scandalous and the salacious and the violent and not enough on the political side and the power struggles.  The author went beyond where my imagination preferred to go with Giovanni Sforza and Juan Borgia and even sometimes with Cesare.

Of course, this makes for an interesting and somewhat titillating read, but it's more of a melodramatic historical fiction/romance than it is historical fiction. Kind of like that Showtime series a few years ago.  You'll love the clothes, the beautiful people, the sex and the scandal but won't find much that's new here as far as real history is concerned.
4608422
The story starts with Rebecca Ross's Wedding day. With what should be a happy day turning out to be a disaster, Rebecca is left feeling that this marriage was a total mistake. A wardrobe malfunction to cake deformation would have been still be manageable, if it hadn't been the heavy feeling at the pit of her stomach and the hushed up conversations heard in washroom that made Rebecca even more convinced. All these are followed by a honeymoon in hell! What can a girl do in such a situation and more importantly what will Rebecca do?

We are introduced to the leading cast in the very first chapter. A small glimpse into each person's personality and then the very next chapter goes back to narrate Rebecca's past to the readers so as to let the readers know what all led to this particular moment. The story then moves on with an amazing twist at the end that you want to happen, but when it happens it brings a surprise along with it.

Rebecca Ross is a character who has had her fair share of ups and downs and her own set of mistakes. I admire the fact that when she realizes that the set of cards she has been dealt with is not right, she makes it right instead of just complaining. And my God, Craig is a sample piece for sure who I wanted to be put up on show at a zoo. The man knows how to put his feet in his mouth and drag himself down. Michael and his uncle Zio are such cuties. I loved them both. There are other supporting characters throughout the book that may not seem as important, but if you took them out, the story just wouldn't be the same.

Good characterization is supported by the author's simple style of storytelling that makes the story what it is. Also, the humour presented is just great advantage to the novel. Based over a number of places and countries, I wish the plot had some scope of description of the Italian landscape. It is one country I would love to visit. From Rome to Venice to Tuscany to Florence to Milan, I want to see them all. When the story took turn to Italy I sincerely hoped that there would be some great description. To my great disappointment, the storyline didn't allow for much of that.
2737969
This is a good spin off book from Harry. The two characters are totally different. Lt. Kate is more by the book, but still has her moments. I would like to see more books about Kate. I received ARC of this book.
2188380
Nice, but the Italian libretto is first, followed by the English.  Would be more useful if they were side by side.
4022132
Still another offering in the seemingly endless stream of Jane Austen sequels. However, this one is a little different because I found it better than many of them. Why? The author faithfully sticks close to the authenticity of Miss Austen's characters and her original artistic intent.

Obviously, due to the title, this is Georgiana Darcy's story and the events of her first season in London, as well as her budding romance with Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Being somewhat shy and retiring, she does not look forward to the social crush of London's elite, for more than one reason. However Miss Catherine Bennet ('Kitty') accompanies her and due to her lively and engaging personality, helps to smooth out some of the bumps along the way.

Neither Georgiana nor Richard are aware of their feelings for each other. Georgiana still thinks the colonel treats her like a school girl or little sister. Colonel Fitzwilliam's prime concern is to continue to be her watchful guardian during Georgiana's season. Perhaps the colonel is doing too good of a job at keeping the rogues and undesirables away from her. He enlists the help of 3 former military comrades and charges them to discretely monitor her activities. Being former operatives in France, they are up to the task.

The other reason Georgiana is distressed is that the ton will discover her disastrous elopement with George Wickham, thus her reluctance and fear of being exposed and her reputation ruined. During the course of her first season, she and Richard sense someone is watching them secretly. But, who would wish to do harm to Miss Darcy? Also making appearances in this mystery/romance are Simon, Richard's older brother, Richard's parents, and of course Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, among others.

The mystery of who is out to expose Georgiana's debacle with Wickham deepens throughout the story along with her confused feelings towards Colonel Fitzwilliam. The colonel feels likewise and cannot understand why Miss Darcy continually rebuffs him. The plot moves rapidly towards a surprise ending.

If you are a lover of Jane Austen "fan-fic," you will probably enjoy this second offering in the author's Brides of Pemberley trilogy.
806824
I LOVE Kate Beaton.  She's definitely a fox, not a hedgehog, so this is a really quirky collection.  I'd already heard of the Victorian panic about the threat to public morals and safety posed by women on bicycles, as well as Dr. Sara Josephine Baker, a public health pioneer who physically sat on Typhoid Mary after she was recaptured (she'd continued to work as a cook, despite infecting her employers).  And I share Kate Beaton's impatience with Wuthering Heights (and in her earlier book, Jane Eyre) for their over-the-top melodrama and plot holes.  Be prepared to google if you don't get the joke.
1316505
Focusing on the fate of a single aristocratic English family from about 1850 to the 1970s, this story is rife with intrigue, double-dealing, love, romance and scandal, including an exploration of the relationship of the American Kennedy family with the English aristocrats, the Fitzwilliams.  For those of us who marveled at Rose Kennedy's ability to absorb tragedy after tragedy in the deaths of so many of her children, here is a far less flattering portrait of her in her heartless treatment of her daughter, Kick.
Altogether readable and interesting.
4002658
1553: King Edward VI has died and the battle for the throne of England begins. Katharine Grey and her sisters are thrust into the center of plotting as their royal blood makes them valuable pawns. When Katharine's cousin Queen Elizabeth comes to the throne the pressure continues to mount as Elizabeth sees her as a threat to her insecure claims. When Katharine marries for love without first seeking the Queen's permission-something that poses a further threat to Elizabeth if the marriage produces a son - she quickly learns just how vicious a frightened Elizabeth can be.

1483: Kate Plantagenet enjoys a comfortable, privileged life in the country as the bastard daughter of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. This secluded life comes to an abrupt halt, however, when her father's brother, King Edward IV, dies and the King's underage son, Edward V, is to become King. Kate's father rushes to serve as the young King's Lord Protector but tongues start wagging when Richard continues to make dubious, sometimes violent choices to keep himself in power, including locking the young King and his brother and heir in the Tower of London. Kate cannot make sense of this loving father she has always known being the monster that so many believe he is and she determines to seek the truth to make sense of this life she has been born into. But how will she ever find the truth when the very base of court life is built on a fragile web of lies?

Weaving back and forth between the two story lines, the two women's circumstances are eerily similar. Both find true love in men they cannot have and both will do anything to try and hold on to that love for as long as possible. Both find that having royal blood in your veins means a life on the knife's edge of privilege and destruction. And both will ultimately find that, while they might not have control over the outcome of their lives, their actions and decisions are their own if they are willing to accept the consequences of those actions.

A hefty tome of over 500 pages, A Dangerous Inheritance is a must read for any lover of English historical fiction. It is hard not to become entirely engrossed in the lives of these two women and the great injustices done to them simply because they are women of noble blood. While it could be difficult to keep track of the vast number of people and the various ways they mixed together, the handy family trees at the beginning of the book did much to assist with this. The authors notes at the end were also very helpful as they explained where Ms. Weir stuck to history and were she ventured into fiction to advance the story line and to fill in the holes now lost to history (such as much of the Kate story line).

A Dangerous Inheritance is my favorite kind of historical fiction: knowledgeable writer, great plot lines and a little mystery thrown in to keep me turning the pages. I have long been a fan of Alison Weir and this book does much to solidify not only that admiration but my continued passion for history.
4857892
I love this series and this one was no exception. I like that we learn more about Kate and Curran's friends and that by the end of this story they have their own little family compound.  Of course we have the required ass kicking. It wouldn't be a Kate book without it. But what struck me about this book was the personal connections. I am never going to look at having dinner at Applebee's the same way again. That was information and infuriating. I am so looking forward to reading more and finding out the resolution of Kate and daddy dearest.

I bought this book with my own money and as long as Gordon and Ilona keeps writing I'll keep reading. I give this book 5 stars.
1275907
This book follows Catherine from her life as a young girl in Italy, until the very end of her life in France.  She is the daughter of the wealthy Medici family, but when she comes to France she is that Italian girl that no one really pays attention to.  This is something she has to fight against her entire life.

I really enjoyed how Gortner presented Catherine.  She is humanized, with passions, fears, and a soul.  She cares about her children, desperately loves the husband who doesn't love her back, and believes in the predictions of a man named Nostradamus.  I think Gortner shows Catherine's vulnerability and human side through the title of his book - a confession.  About halfway through the book you begin to understand why this book is titled this way.  To mimic a popular song that would describe Catherine perfectly, "these are my confessions".

One of the things that was very new to me was the Huguenots vs. Catholics battle.  I knew that there have always been conflicts between the two, but had never read anything about them.  This part of the story, the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, was very exciting and I didn't really know where it would go.  Catherine was constantly in such difficult situations.

I loved getting to know all of the children of Catherine and Henri.  I really think my favorite was their son Henri - he was the most constant to Catherine.  On the other hand, her daughter Margot, was so bad, and constantly a thorn in Catherine's side, very sly that one was.  And my hatred for Diane de Poitiers continued in this book.  I just can't stand how much she got in the way of Catherine and Henri's marriage - she was so controlling.

If you have read the Jean Plaidy trilogy about Catherine, I'm not sure if you will enjoy this book as much as you would if you haven't.  I have read the first in her series, Madame Serpent, and I didn't feel like I had read anything new in the first third of Confessions.  I can't attest to anything beyond the first book.

A great new book from C. W. Gortner.  I haven't had the chance to get to The Last Queen yet, but if this book is any indication of how Gortner handles maligned women, I can't wait to read it.

This book was received from the publisher in exchange for a review and this was also posted on my blog.
1814851
This was a fascinating read. It isn't the kind of book I would normally go for but I love Kate as an author so I am willing to give most any book of hers a try. I wasn't very surprised that I loved the plot and while I don't think I would reread this one as much as I have the other novels by her, I would definitely recommend sitting down and giving this one a read.
2188008
A little like Romeo and Juliet, if Romeo were an Italian mob boss and Juliet was a Russian mob boss's niece.  So many things to love about these characters and this story.  An undeniable love, hot and sexy romantic scenes, and two families who overcome years of prejudices.  Loved every word of it!
874582
This is a story about two people that cannot live without eachother, but really cannot be said to love eachother, save in the very loosest sense of the word.  Each love in a passionate, wilful, and selfish way, perfectly willing to let the other suffer any measure of pain as it fits into their plans of advancement (on Cathy's part) or revenge (on Heathcliffe's part, and eventually Cathy's part as well.).

 Each of these parts is played well, Ralph Fiennes of course does an exceptional job of Heathcliffe, while Cathy is very annoying, but all in a true-to-the-book way.

  Into the story comes Edgar Linton, the docile, lamb-like rival lover of Cathy Earnshaw, who is really such an honourable sort you can't dislike him, but so timid and retiring you can't respect him either.  He is the perfect counter to Heathcliffe, who is passionate where Linton is incapable of very strong feelings at all, savage where Linton is refined, poor where Linton is brought up in luxury, and immoral where Linton is principled.  Linton is played as he should be, with an embarrassingly weak personality, which shrinks from violence even in protecting himself or his loved ones.

  The story for the most part consists of the various ways in which these three principle characters make each other completely miserable, especially Heathcliffe, whose goal in life after Cathy dies is to bring as much misery on Linton, who was the chosen rival, as is possible, which he does by convincing Linton and Cathy's daughter that she is in love with his son (her cousin), a carbon copy of Linton without the refinements and gentleness, a selfish, sickly sort of vermin.  In the end, the younger Cathy is forced to marry him, soon after he dies, leaving her to the care of Heathcliffe, whose chief aim is to use her as a means of fulfilling his revenge. The movie here is very good at portraying the squalid, hopeless misery in which Cathy (te younger)lives, turning her into a shrewish, bitter young woman, whose only friends in the world are Ellen Dean, the narrarator of the story, and her other cousin, who is in love with her, but is uneducated and coarse, and repulsive to her.  All ends well, however, with Heathcliffe dead, and Cathy falling in love after all with her cousin, who isn't really stupid at all, only brought up to be brutish.

 The movie is a for the most part true interpretation of the book, capturing the spirit as well as the facts of the story.