Surprisingly pleasant to read! I enjoyed the story as well as the writing.

Whoops, reviewed the wrong book!

I enjoyed this book - and I enjoyed the reader (audible). good long story - nice wrap around in the end. Little bit sorry that I did not read Ann Boyelin's diary first as it was referenced multiple times -but the writing was good enough that even though I hadn't read that one - I dont feel like I lost anything from this story for having missed it. (I might find out different later - if I go back for it and then follow up with this one a second time - but as for this experience - the book stands alone just fine).
Its very difficult to write about a person who is a person (and who has feelings) - but who is a Queen (and therefore - entitled - powerful and apparently emotionless)... this dichotomy was handled well in this book.

Very, very VERY silly. The afterword was the most interesting bit.

3.5 stars. This was an interesting history fiction book about Queen Elizabeth I with a twist. What if she had an child that was switched for a still born at birth and lived close by? It was somewhat enjoyable but I had hard time believing in the story completely even though anything can happen in fiction even if it's not the truth.

I wasn't expecting much from a speculative historical fiction novel with randomly unnecessary erotic scenes. But it was surprisingly well researched, and author really paid a great deal of attention to the daily aspects of life in Elizabethan England. The entire chapters in italics were annoying, the plot was maybe a bit silly, and the eroticism seemed misplaced, but I still really enjoyed this book. Maxwell's real strength was in her characterization and worldbuilding. I was left feeling like the characters were all actual people with plausible actions and emotions, and they seemed distinctively Elizabethan, instead of being modern personalities forced into a historical setting (my biggest pet peeve in historical fiction.) I'll definitely be reading more by this author.

I consider myself a Tudor-era enthusiast and this book hit a lot of marks well for me. I have only ever heard brief mentions of alleged bastards between Elizabeth and Dudley, so it was nice to have a different perspective on that story that made it feel wholly possible. The author's attention to detail was great. I was a bit annoyed at the italics used to differentiate characters as there are other methods that would have been more effective and less distracting. The last 50 pages of the book were the hardest to get through for me as the pacing felt weird and the imagery didn't seem as vivid as the rest of the book. Overall, I liked it a lot.

The historical perspective is interessting and very plausbile that Arthur (Southern) Dudley was the son of Elizabeth I and Robert (Robin) Dudley, Earl of Leicester.