Kelly reviews "The Queen's Rivals" + giveaway!

The Queen's Rivals by Brandy Purdy

Tour and giveaway hosted by:
 Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Kensington Publishing | 384p | June 25, 2013

Jane Grey is known in history as the Nine Days Queen - she briefly held the throne of England between the time of her cousins Edward VI and Mary. There are countless books telling her story, but what about two other equally fascinating characters, her two sisters Katherine and Mary? They are often overlooked during this turbulent period of history. Interestingly, in The Queen's Rivals, Brandy Purdy chose to have Mary as the narrator. Mary was the youngest sister and was historically described as either a dwarf or a hunchback. In this story, she stopped growing at the age of five and is thus often overlooked or pushed to the back. Because of this, Mary offers the best view of all the events surrounding her tragic family.

The Grey sisters, daughters of the Duchess of Suffolk, who is the daughter of Henry VIII's sister, are all very sympathetic characters. Yes, as is typical, Jane is painted as a prude and generally unlikable, and Katherine is seen as ditzy and naive, but they are so real. You really feel sorry for them as they are treated as pawns in games they really wanted no part of. Even though the sisters are completely different, they stuck together through everything. Each character, especially the sisters, had such a depth and the story was vividly brought to life. The book follows through to Jane's attempt for the throne and her consequent downfall, to Katherine's marriage and later demise, and as well as Mary's heartbreaking time as the only Grey left. None of the sisters had an easy life nor a happy ending.

Mary holds nothing back, whether it be the tantrums thrown by Jane, the abuse given by her mother, or the unusual interests of her father. There was an entirely creepy undertone to the book that I'm finding hard to explain. It may be the difficult family the sisters had, the lack of anything positive really ever happening to them, or a jaded narrator, but I constantly felt queasy and like I was the one personally subjected to all this bad luck. It was discomforting to tell the truth, but really hit home as great writing and characterization. Overall, The Queen's Rivals struck me as a truly unique look at Jane Grey and the ascent of Queen Mary, making it a standout reading experience.

GIVEAWAY: You have a chance to get a copy of The Queen's Rivals for yourself! Simply leave a comment below to enter, you have until August 3rd (U.S. only).

U.S. cover

U.K. cover

A side note: The Queen's Rivals will be published in the UK this September as The Fallen Queen under the name Emily Purdy (confusing!) and of course, there's another cover comparison! I do like the UK one better. The stained glass background is quite pretty.