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clementine_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
smallwifery's review
3.0
I mean it's YA tudor fiction but it pulls it off! not my favourite george boleyn but then again my standards are extraordinarily high because he is, as the kids say, mine own boy
agkrob's review
4.0
This was a decent book. It was a really interesting take on a story I have read and watched many times before, and it was refreshing to see a younger version of Anne finding here way in the world. It was a much more optimistic version of Anne's story than I was expecting.
bookshy's review
4.0
Not exactly what I was expecting. More of a prequel to Anne Boleyns life, but still interesting.
vrainh20's review
4.0
My faaaavorite girl in all of history =)
A third book =D
"I’m working on a third book set in Henry’s court. Time-wise, the action occurs between that of Tarnish and Gilt (my first book), but unlike those, it doesn’t focus on one of his queens. The history (and Anne’s eventual downfall) is a backdrop, but I wanted to tell the story of a girl who observed and was affected by events, but truly had her own story to tell outside of them. It’s been a long, difficult book to write, but my editor tells me it’s one of the most romantic books she’s ever read."
Katherine Longshore
A third book =D
"I’m working on a third book set in Henry’s court. Time-wise, the action occurs between that of Tarnish and Gilt (my first book), but unlike those, it doesn’t focus on one of his queens. The history (and Anne’s eventual downfall) is a backdrop, but I wanted to tell the story of a girl who observed and was affected by events, but truly had her own story to tell outside of them. It’s been a long, difficult book to write, but my editor tells me it’s one of the most romantic books she’s ever read."
Katherine Longshore
themostbookish's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
difficultwomanreads's review
2.0
Hoo, boy. And I left Gilt excited for this one.
Once again, I feel that I need to preface my review with a bit of background. I am not patting myself on the back when I say I know a lot about Anne Boleyn. Though no scholar, I've been hooked on this woman's life since I was eleven. She was what got me interested in history, and arguably the trigger for my subsequent passion for feminist study of historical women. I would say that she's tied with Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia for my favorite historical figure, and certainly she's my favorite king or queen.
Anne Boleyn is a much-covered--though very rarely effectively--figure, and she's also extremely difficult to master. To be honest, I'm kind of surprised that Longshore wanted to attempt tackling Anne at all, considering how many passionate opinions exist concerning this one woman.
In my opinion, the best fictional portrayal of Anne was Natalie Dormer's in The Tudors. Though the series was greatly flawed and the first season's version of Anne was flatly written and saved largely by Natalie's acting, the second season saw an amazing creation (again, largely thanks to Natalie interfering and speaking to the writers). Here we saw a woman who wasn't a Protestant martyr or the Great Whore. She was human. She loved deeply and hated deeply; she acted rashly and plotted; she saved some and condemned others. She wasn't always a nice person, but she had a heart and a great capacity for love, and was ultimately tragic.
Katherine Longshore's Anne isn't terribly inaccurate in what she does. Anne did spend a lot of time in France; she did have some kind of thing with Thomas Wyatt, though in reality that "thing" seemed to be much more one-sided than what Longshore portrays; she had another thing with Henry Percy, though I doubt it was as casual or went as far as Longshore's version does. There were a few glaring issues that raised my eyebrows, such as Anne's age and her being exiled for some weird faux pas before the novel's beginning. But as usual, Longshore puts a disclaimer at the novel's end. She was especially honest about Anne's age, which she set back by about six or seven years in order to make the book more accessible for teens.
In terms of personality and characterization, however, I could not believe that I was supposed to buy this "odd girl out" as Anne Boleyn. Anne was different from most court ladies, to be sure. But she was such a consummate courtier that nobody really cared. She said controversial things, but it wasn't the kind of flaw that made her shrink in shame. In fact, the issue was that she wasn't awkward, wasn't gawky, wasn't ashamed. She certainly didn't need to be coached by Thomas Wyatt. She'd been coached by Marguerite of Navarre, by the French court in general. Anne Boleyn was, in many ways, a Frenchwoman, and by nature was anything but the clumsy teenager portrayed here.
Longshore seems to think that in order for the reader to like Anne, she must be declawed, at times anachronistically so. Anne goes on and on about how women are just as good as men, and how come Princess Mary can't inherit? I almost laughed at that bit. The historical Anne's trump card was that she could give Henry a male heir. She had a voice and used it, to be sure, but she was hardly a feminist. She treated Mary Tudor horribly (I say this as someone who loves her) not to mention Catherine of Aragon, both of whom she likely would have wished to see dead. Although Anne loved her daughter, I'm sure that she was disappointed--because, even if she was advanced in some ways, Anne remained a woman of her time. I really doubt she would have thought women capable of anything men could do.
There were lots of weird moments along those lines. Thomas Wyatt's wife is demonized to make him look better. (The entire drama of the Wyatt thing was ridiculous. As if Anne Boleyn fell in love with a poet nipping at her heels. She was far too pragmatic for that.) The phrase "men and women can't be friends" is uttered so many times that I thought I was watching When Harry Met Sally....
Another problem is the Boleyn family's general dynamic. There are all these Breakfast Club-esque scenes wherein Anne and George talk about their daddy issues. Anne expresses disgust at Mary being "prostituted" which is hardly what happened. Thomas Boleyn is this big bad (and yes, he was an asshole, but I doubt Anne acted so much in pursuit of his love). George is a complete dick, which disturbed me as he and Anne were said to be quite close throughout her life.
I could deal with this if I thought that this was perhaps a plausible version of the Boleyns' "younger years" but it just doesn't work. Yes, the novel takes place before Anne's affair with Henry VIII really starts--but not by much. The author also has this odd affection for Jane Boleyn, who, though complex, evidently cared little enough for her husband and sister-in-law that she was fine with sending them to the chopping block. A fascinating woman, indeed, but hardly one that I care to see portrayed as this great friend of Anne's (even in the early years).
Some of the only scenes that I thought recaptured some of Gilt's charm were those of Henry VIII and Anne together, and they were few and far between. I felt that their first moments of attraction were pinned down perfectly--save for Anne's alternating hero-worship and open criticism of Henry. I can't see Anne critiquing Henry so openly in the beginning stages of their relationship. I also couldn't see her going after him for a crush's sake. I think she did grow to love him genuinely, but at first pursued him for advancement's sake. And isn't that sort of woman more interesting than a constant victim who whines about "wanting to be heard"?
Basically, it was a total disappointment--why bother writing about Anne Boleyn if you aren't going to write about Anne Boleyn.
The Cover: Equally boring. I mean, the glossiness is nice and all, but there is literally nothing going on here. Also, the title reminds me of how much Longshore overused the word "tarnish". (I also hate the other cover with Anne's face on the cover; what is with all he faces) 1/5.
Once again, I feel that I need to preface my review with a bit of background. I am not patting myself on the back when I say I know a lot about Anne Boleyn. Though no scholar, I've been hooked on this woman's life since I was eleven. She was what got me interested in history, and arguably the trigger for my subsequent passion for feminist study of historical women. I would say that she's tied with Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia for my favorite historical figure, and certainly she's my favorite king or queen.
Anne Boleyn is a much-covered--though very rarely effectively--figure, and she's also extremely difficult to master. To be honest, I'm kind of surprised that Longshore wanted to attempt tackling Anne at all, considering how many passionate opinions exist concerning this one woman.
In my opinion, the best fictional portrayal of Anne was Natalie Dormer's in The Tudors. Though the series was greatly flawed and the first season's version of Anne was flatly written and saved largely by Natalie's acting, the second season saw an amazing creation (again, largely thanks to Natalie interfering and speaking to the writers). Here we saw a woman who wasn't a Protestant martyr or the Great Whore. She was human. She loved deeply and hated deeply; she acted rashly and plotted; she saved some and condemned others. She wasn't always a nice person, but she had a heart and a great capacity for love, and was ultimately tragic.
Katherine Longshore's Anne isn't terribly inaccurate in what she does. Anne did spend a lot of time in France; she did have some kind of thing with Thomas Wyatt, though in reality that "thing" seemed to be much more one-sided than what Longshore portrays; she had another thing with Henry Percy, though I doubt it was as casual or went as far as Longshore's version does. There were a few glaring issues that raised my eyebrows, such as Anne's age and her being exiled for some weird faux pas before the novel's beginning. But as usual, Longshore puts a disclaimer at the novel's end. She was especially honest about Anne's age, which she set back by about six or seven years in order to make the book more accessible for teens.
In terms of personality and characterization, however, I could not believe that I was supposed to buy this "odd girl out" as Anne Boleyn. Anne was different from most court ladies, to be sure. But she was such a consummate courtier that nobody really cared. She said controversial things, but it wasn't the kind of flaw that made her shrink in shame. In fact, the issue was that she wasn't awkward, wasn't gawky, wasn't ashamed. She certainly didn't need to be coached by Thomas Wyatt. She'd been coached by Marguerite of Navarre, by the French court in general. Anne Boleyn was, in many ways, a Frenchwoman, and by nature was anything but the clumsy teenager portrayed here.
Longshore seems to think that in order for the reader to like Anne, she must be declawed, at times anachronistically so. Anne goes on and on about how women are just as good as men, and how come Princess Mary can't inherit? I almost laughed at that bit. The historical Anne's trump card was that she could give Henry a male heir. She had a voice and used it, to be sure, but she was hardly a feminist. She treated Mary Tudor horribly (I say this as someone who loves her) not to mention Catherine of Aragon, both of whom she likely would have wished to see dead. Although Anne loved her daughter, I'm sure that she was disappointed--because, even if she was advanced in some ways, Anne remained a woman of her time. I really doubt she would have thought women capable of anything men could do.
There were lots of weird moments along those lines. Thomas Wyatt's wife is demonized to make him look better. (The entire drama of the Wyatt thing was ridiculous. As if Anne Boleyn fell in love with a poet nipping at her heels. She was far too pragmatic for that.) The phrase "men and women can't be friends" is uttered so many times that I thought I was watching When Harry Met Sally....
Another problem is the Boleyn family's general dynamic. There are all these Breakfast Club-esque scenes wherein Anne and George talk about their daddy issues. Anne expresses disgust at Mary being "prostituted" which is hardly what happened. Thomas Boleyn is this big bad (and yes, he was an asshole, but I doubt Anne acted so much in pursuit of his love). George is a complete dick, which disturbed me as he and Anne were said to be quite close throughout her life.
I could deal with this if I thought that this was perhaps a plausible version of the Boleyns' "younger years" but it just doesn't work. Yes, the novel takes place before Anne's affair with Henry VIII really starts--but not by much. The author also has this odd affection for Jane Boleyn, who, though complex, evidently cared little enough for her husband and sister-in-law that she was fine with sending them to the chopping block. A fascinating woman, indeed, but hardly one that I care to see portrayed as this great friend of Anne's (even in the early years).
Some of the only scenes that I thought recaptured some of Gilt's charm were those of Henry VIII and Anne together, and they were few and far between. I felt that their first moments of attraction were pinned down perfectly--save for Anne's alternating hero-worship and open criticism of Henry. I can't see Anne critiquing Henry so openly in the beginning stages of their relationship. I also couldn't see her going after him for a crush's sake. I think she did grow to love him genuinely, but at first pursued him for advancement's sake. And isn't that sort of woman more interesting than a constant victim who whines about "wanting to be heard"?
Basically, it was a total disappointment--why bother writing about Anne Boleyn if you aren't going to write about Anne Boleyn.
The Cover: Equally boring. I mean, the glossiness is nice and all, but there is literally nothing going on here. Also, the title reminds me of how much Longshore overused the word "tarnish". (I also hate the other cover with Anne's face on the cover; what is with all he faces) 1/5.
ollieolive's review
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5