The King's Rose, by Alisa M. Libby

This novel is based on the true story of Catherine Howard, King
Henry VIII's fifth wife and second to be beheaded. It follows
Catherine from when she first catches the king's eye until the
day of her death.

When she first arrives at court Catherine is unprepared for the
amount of pomp and excitement. She does exactly as her
grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk tells her to, even when it
goes against her judgement. She works as a lady in waiting for
Henry's current queen, Anne. However before long Henry's eyes
wander to the young girl instead of his queen. He divorces Anne
and marries Catherine. Catherine must abandon her past lovers
and friends, instead becoming the woman the king wants.

I enjoyed this book very much, but was occasionally confused by
the names, ties, friendships and relations. I had some trouble
keeping track of who was who's friend and the relationships
between different characters. Although I though the writing was
very beautiful and the characters well written, I often had to re-
read a few pages in order to fully "get" what was happening.
This rather annoyed me and certainly slowed me down while
reading.
Emme
4 stars