This was so mediocre. I honestly don't mind some circular thinking in first person narration because that's human, but here it did not feel earned and it became so repetitive to the point where several entire chapters could have been cut without missing anything essential. It just felt really aimless, which makes sense given the nature of the plot, but it didn't feel like a result of the prolonged captivity the characters were experiencing but a lack of nuance within their inner experience. Each character had a strong voice but basically only one defining trait, making them feel more like caricatures than real people. Also this is not so much a writing issue as a personal one but oh my god, the way she presented the whole Mary-Bothwell thing was an ENORMOUS yikes. I have no idea if Mary's sentiments about him have any basis in evidence so I'm reserving judgement but nevertheless I physically cringed over certain lines.

With all that said, I'm still giving this 3 stars simply because I did enjoy the writing itself. The novel wasn't painfully bad, it just could have been so much better. I also thought Mary was slightly more nuanced and interesting than the other characters. I have a feeling that if we had only had her perspective it would have been a much more interesting book. I'm not willing to write off Philippa Gregory yet. I doubt she has written my favourite book ever, but I'm willing to bet she has something stronger than this. I won't be rushing out to grab more of her books but I'll be open to giving another one a shot if I see it at an op shop or something and I need something undemanding to read.