Book Review: Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All

I loved this book.  When I read the description of Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VII Tell All, I was a bit apprehensive.  The book is written by several different authors in short story form, and I'm not usually a fan of short stories.  Although there are exceptions--and this book is definitely one of those.

When you look at the list of authors (M. T. Anderson, Candace Fleming, Stephanie Hemphill, Lisa Ann Sandell, Jennifer Donnelly, Linda Sue Park, Deborah Hopkinson), it's no surprise that this book is a success. Anderson takes Henry VIII and each of the other authors takes a queen.  They are introduced in chronological order, and between each of the queens, we get the perspective of Henry.

At first, I didn't like Henry's interruptions.  I felt like the story was being told twice, but I then realized that Henry's thoughts are important and tie everything together.

Fatal Throne is a fiction book.  The stories have been embellished and some holes filled in.  But the authors did their research and these tales seem authentic.  And they read like fiction -- which is a good thing.  Even though we are learning a lot of history here, the stories are fascinating and really kept my interest.  Which is why historical fiction is my favorite genre!

Fatal Thrones will go on the top of my list so far for books I've read in 2108. Give it a chance--it is really quite interesting and a fairly quick read.

Published by Schwartz & Wade, May 1, 2018
eARC obtained from NetGalley
416 pages

Rating: 5/5

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