Intrigue

The book is based around a modern equivalent of the first Queen Elizabeth, mimicking her life in many ways. Indeed, the novel opens with news of her older sister Mary’s passing on, so that Elizabeth, aged 25, is now head of the family company...

I like the idea; unfortunately, this book is a basically a series of events rather than having any plot as such. There are minor stresses here and there - plots to take over the company, or disagreements between Elizabeth and her lover - but all are resolved easily. There is a huge cast of characters, none of them particularly well-drawn; most of them are two-dimensional and it didn't matter at all if I forgot who was whom.

My biggest gripe with this novel is the writing style. Clichés abound, dialogue is stilted, thoughts are repeated, and far too many adverbs are used. We’re told what people look like or how they are feeling - skipping around viewpoints within the same page - but rarely shown anything.

This book is the third of a trilogy, but it stands alone.

Really not recommended. ( )

I decided to try a bit of British romance in honor of being involved in the Downton Abbey experience and was a bit disappointed in the repetitiveness of much of the action and commentary - often without really changing the words. Did enjoy the references to English culture which seem to have continued into this century.
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Étrange et plutôt intéressant ( )

Elizabeth I was anything but boring, but this retelling of her story in a modern setting most definitely was. The idea is interesting, although not original, but the story itself was not well done. I was very disappointed. ( )