I liked this book and this trilogy. It was light and a quick easy read. Fairly enjoyable alternate history ( )

A good ending to this trilogy. Very satisfactory. ( )

In the thrilling conclusion of this trilogy about the Boleyn King who never was, Minuette finds herself caught between the king’s increasingly obsessive love and her loyalty to her secret husband Dominic. As the backdrop to this love triangle, Catholic and Protestant factions vie for power, causing families, friendships, and political loyalties to fracture. Most impressive of all is Andersen’s believable, yet imagined, historical setting. Though Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn never had a son, Andersen paints William and his court so realistically, you will find yourself almost thinking that there really was a Henry IX!

Anna C. / Marathon County Public Library
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This was an unsatisfying ending to an intriguing trilogy, unfortunately. ( )

I became interested in this series for the idea behind it, a son by Anne Boleyn would have changed so much in history. Alternate history is a particularly favorite subgenre of mine. That combined with the premise promised much. It’s that historical story that I liked the most despite the overabundance of melodrama that emerged as the story progressed. Love for certain characters waned, but interest in the story itself never grew stale.

I love what the author did with the history behind the story. We get some intriguing “what-ifs” on a Boleyn king and how that would have played out. Protestantism was given a clear avenue to progress, the Seymours never rose to such prominence, and new plots/intrigues developed. Real figures were also utilized well. Seeing how everyone’s fate changed with the different circumstances was a key feature to this trilogy. Some fates, however, stayed the same, just arriving at their demise or rise under different circumstances.

It was the real historical figures rather than the fake leads that I felt more connection to. Elizabeth, especially, shined. Seeing how her development was changed or not when she still had a living mother and a Protestant brother to succeed rather than a Catholic sister made for interesting reading. She kept her politically savvy ways yet retained a vulnerability and thirst for love that real life Elizabeth didn’t seem to have.

The two leads, Dom and Minuette, as well as William I was lukewarm on. Dom and Minuette were too perfect, a common failing I’ve come across this year. Utterly loyal, beautiful, and desirable are just some of the descriptors used for these two. The extent that some will go to secure the love and desire of these two almost comes across as disgusting at times. Their only saving grace was how trusting, stupidly at times, these two were. They trusted that everyone was as honorable as they were to their detriment towards the end.

William wasn’t as bad as I could see why he changed and developed given the circumstances. Yet, as one other reviewer put it, it seemed like William just got all of Henry VIII’s bad qualities while Elizabeth got all the good. He got to the point of being a mustache-twirling super villain that read as unbelievable at the end. He got some redemption at the very end, but his journey to that end was filled with too much melodrama.

And that is where this trilogy had its biggest failing. The soap opera quality of the melodrama between characters and in relationships is off the charts. At times, this series read more “Days of our Lives” than a serious alternate history series. That might have been the author’s intention, but it backfired for this reader. I couldn’t empathize enough with the main players in the drama enough to make me appreciate it more. The final book is the worst offender in that everything culminates in a huge melodramatic finale with assume death, blackmail, offended parties, and feely soup.

For what this is, an alternate history exploring the Tudor era, it’s an interesting read. For Elizabeth herself, I’d have kept reading. Seeing her develop was fantastic; there’s a follow-up trilogy detailing her reign and how events of this trilogy impact that. So I’m looking forward to those books. However, this trilogy is a toss-up. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t incredible either. The series ends on a whimper with melodrama drowning out everything else. Don’t know that I’d recommend it particularly, but it’s a great way to kill some time. At least it sets up a fascinating future trilogy. ( )