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It has come my attention that I might have named Margaret, Queen of Scots wrong. Every book that I have read of her named her as Mary, Queen of Scots. I am sorry for any confusion that might have arisen while reading this review! Note: Last time I edit this, I promise. I did a little research and I realized that the Mary in this book is actually different from Mary, Queen of Scots. I apologize again, if anybody was confused. I know now to make sure to write down the proper names when I read. Ugh. I am so disappointed by this book. I really had such high hopes for it being about Mary, Queen of Scots. I do not know a lot about her. I know that she had to flee at one point due to the Scot lords not trusting her and that they took her sons away. I know that she was a bit of a flighty thing, tending to do things based on what she wanted and not caring about any one but herself. I found that Mary, Queen of Scots was on the verge of being unbearable! She was so damn snotty and bratty. As a child, I should say as a girl, growing up in the royal household she should have learned that she will be given away to marriage where it would benefit the king. She should know that her needs will not be met unlike her brothers. I certainly don't condone it. I think it's awful how they treated women back then. But she has to understand that. I do not know if Mary was always a bratty child or what but I almost couldn't finish the book. It was all in first person so I got to experience all of her bratty glory. I sigh thinking about it. I was so close to just giving up on this book. Mary just irritated me to no end. She gloated in her sisters' Mary and Katharine's downfalls. She thought of nobody but herself and nearly got her son killed. The only thing that got me through this book was that it was Philippa Gregory. I adore everything of hers that I have read. I figured that it had to get better. It did....slightly. Mary finally grew up and realized the world doesn't revolve around her. On a plus to this book, you can read this entire series pretty much out of order since this starts in the beginning of Henry VIII's reign. I don't recommend this book but if you want, you can start with this one and you won't be confused. But in all reality, don't read this book unless you like reading about bratty monarchs.

Standard Philippa Gregory fare, so if you're a fan then you'll enjoy this, though the main characters are not particularly likeable!

This book makes me happy I don't have sisters. I have studied Tudor England from both literary and historical perspectives and it never occurred to me until reading this book that I have not learned very much about Henry VIII's older sister, Margaret Tudor. She's not remembered fondly for what information there is about her. Of course, this is a fictional portrayal, but it was new and fresh while being slightly familiar at the same time. Margaret is competitive, annoying, petty, selfish, proud, ambitious and stupid. She knows herself very well and she knows what she must do and how she must act as a Tudor princess and a Scottish queen. Actually doing what she is required is a totally different story. The brilliant thing that Philippa Gregory does is show us how Margaret is really just like any other woman out there - she wants to make her own decisions, but there are always consequences to what she does, especially since she is a queen. She just wants to be with the people she loves, but she also wants to see her son succeed and her rivals fail. In essence, she wants it all but doesn't realize she can't get everything she wants. Even though she has some horrible character traits, it is easy to sympathize for Margaret because of all the horrible things that happen to her and how she overcomes her trials. I loved the letters between Margaret and her two sisters, Katherine and Mary. It was hilarious to see Margaret interpret everything her sisters sent - whether they were bragging, crying or complaining. Through the letters, both Mary and Katherine had really distinct personalities that were filtered through the eyes of a jealous sister. I'm looking forward to checking out more of Philippa Gregory's work after reading and really enjoying Three Sisters, Three Queens. I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

I liked it a lot. Though I don't know if it is more because of the subject than her writing. I like following the Tudor line in general and hadn't delved into Margaret's story. It really only lost stars because I hit a point where I was rolling my eyes. Obviously, there is a lot of fiction involved in conversations, and I do like Margaret's spunk, but at some point I feel like she would have moved on from some of her childhood obsessions. I wish it covered Margaret more in the downfall of Katherine., and maybe jumped around a bit more to speed up some time between events.

DNF. Wow. Margaret is annoying af.

I usually love Philippa Gregory's books but unfortunately I struggled to read this one. I didn't find it that engaging and I actually got bored with this book.