Member Profile
| Name : | Billie M. |
My Reviews
Several years ago I read Philippa Gregory's name on a review and set about collecting all her books. They sat quietly in my book case a couple of years and in early 2008 when The Other Boleyn Girl came out, I pulled the Tudor series down and began reading. My first mistake was to read this book first, followed by the Boleyn Inheritance. I should have read the Constant Princess (Catherine of Aragon's story) first. In any case, I was just mesmerized with this series. Actually to the point I decided it was so rich with history that I purchased a half dozen various books on Henry VIII. Inasmuch as this is historical fiction, its rich in details of life in court and the trials and tribulations related to the royal life. I just could not imagine living in that time but it was fascinating in any case. I highly recommend reading the series.
Our book club read this for July 2009 - it was wonderful, our discussion was thought provoking and a few tears were shed...at the end of each of our meetings we rate our books and this received a unanimous 10...
I bought this book and it sat on my reading shelf for over a year, then after hearing a couple of friends talking about it, I picked it up....and wonder what was I thinking and WHY did I wait so long. Its beautifully written and despite a few sad moments, had perhaps THE BEST ENDING of any book I have read this far.....dont wait if you have it, pick it up now and read it!
This was another one of those books friends kept talking about and I finally took their advice, and as usual, could kick myself for waiting...its wonderful...its LONG but never boring, contrite and I read it in what? A week??? Put this at the top of your list.
Great premise - and I know the author has done remarkable work - not much for creating a setting, little on main characters - the math was a little overwhelming and I just glossed over that after the first few chapters - very generic - took a while to realize what country this was set in which did help explain the discipline practiced....
Actually quite thought provoking - a total waste of a man is given the chance to redeem himself by "temporarily" being reincarnated as a dog and validate not only his selfish life but do something good for the vulnerable wife he was going to divorce the night he was killed.
If death can be humorous, Sandy was pretty funny as Einstein. Our book club conversation was all over the page - we decided he never had a chance at salvation because he was victim of his upbringing and never realized what a daft prick he really was.
Emily was completely redeemed from her self imposed doomed life by the unintentional misdeeds of her lost younger sister.....pretty interesting....families are truly a mystery - its about choices - and some people never realize all they have to do is turn around and go in another direction.
Inasmuch as I thoroughly enjoyed this book - the final chapter left me feeling as though cold water had been thrown on me. So much these lovely people went through, and though I did not expect a "polly anna" ending - it just left you standing.
Ending are what they are - but this one left me cold.
Just by accident I found this treasure and hated for it to end. Fueled by my interested in "the men who built America" series - nice to know Rockefeller and Flagler were partners at Standard Oil....it was just something we could not imagine happening in this day and age.
I prefer history - and the journey deep into Florida could not parallel exploring the Amazon or the first explorers in any country for that matter. Gripping, dramatic (storms), political in nature - this just could not happy in the 21st Century....Mr. Flagler was a man way ahead of his time - and put his money where his dreams were.....the stuff hero's are made of.
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