Book Review: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All by Candace Fleming, M.T. Anderson, Stephanie Hemphill, Lisa Ann Sandell, Jennifer Donnelly, Linda Sue Park, and Deborah Hopkinson

Authors: Candace Fleming, M.T. Anderson, Stephanie Hemphill, Lisa Ann Sandell, Jennifer Donnelly, Linda Sue Park, and Deborah Hopkinson

Series: Stand-alone

Cover: Love how this cover uses the art style that was found in the time period where this book takes place. I think this is Anne Boleyn. Not quite sure, but let me know what you think.

Rating: 5/5 I finished this book so fast. I absolutely love shows like The Crown, so when I saw a book about Henry VIII, I decided to give it a shot. I fell in love with this book and highly recommend it if you're interested in the lives of Henry's six wives. 

Review: Boy, is that a long list of authors. I finished this book within a week. That is incredibly fast for someone like me. I really love how we get a different author for every character in this book. This book deserves a 5/5 and I highly recommend you to give this book a chance if you have a slight interest in history.

This book brings us the moments of each and every queen that has been by Henry's side. We get to see them rise from lowly standings, fall from royalty, and die from adultery. Each wife is different. Each wife has their own story. Their own fight for survival.

This book doesn't show us much of the world outside the castle. These women were mostly indoors popping kids for Henry. I'd love to be able to see what the castle was like in this time. We only get to see little glimpses of other countries through the eyes of the wives. Majority of any setting is their chambers.

The characters are Henry Tudor, Katharine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Kateryn Parr. I know to some historians, all the Catherines are spelled as "Catherine", but I believe the authors did this to make it easier for readers to remember who was who. My favorite characters are Katharine of Aragon and Anna of Cleves. I know they're the most boring sections to some readers, but I really enjoyed their POVs.

My favorite part of this book are the different authors. Each wife was so distinct in their speech and manners. It was easy for me to become invested in each of their lives. Even though I knew every wife will have an end, I was still saddened by every death. This book really makes you feel for these poor wives.

The only part that I can do without is Henry's section lol... "Boo hoo... my wife isn't X, Y, or Z". I dislike Henry for all his beheading, adultery and hypocrisy. I didn't like reading his sections. I know the author wanted us to feel sympathy for him, but he was just vile. 

Overall, please give this book a chance! I absolutely love it. Even if you don't like the book, read it and then tell me that you hate it haha. I'd like to read some more books like this. Any suggestions?

!!!!!!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!!!

I guess it would be very hard to spoil anything really in this book since it's based in history, so I'll keep this section pretty short. Read a bit on the wiki and the book follows it pretty well with some creative liberties. Yeah, I know, Wikipedia isn't the best, but I'm not going to be diving into 15+ page reports.

I loved how each character had their own lingo and manner. I absolutely hated Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard. Jane was so boring to listen to. She literally had nothing going for her. It also sounds bad, but part of me is glad her son didn't last long on the throne. Serves Henry right. Petty I know. Also, Catherine was sooooooooo young.... reading the sex scenes between a teenager with a 40+ year old is ughhhh....

Audiobook Rating:

Okay.... there were like 7 narrators. I tried looking up who voiced who, but I wasn't able to find out the answer. Overall, I give the entire cast a 5/5. I love how they portrayed the character's personality along with those amazing accents. I could listen to the voice actor of Katharine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn again. 100%

Top 3 Favorite Characters

Katharine of Aragon - I felt so bad for her. She literally was tossed aside because she couldn't produce a male heir. She was pregnant SEVEN times and loss 6 of them. That's so depressing it makes my heart hurt.

Anna of Cleves - I was reading that the whole "she was so ugly thing" was made up by Henry because he couldn't handle the fact that she didn't like him lol. No clue if it's true but the theory is interesting. She is by far the most lucky queen in my opinion. She lives till old age and is a royal until she died.

Anne Boleyn - I love the fire in this character. She is definitely the mean girl of the wives, but she does it so well you have to admire it. 

Overall, I would recommend this book to all the historical YA lovers out there. I might explore this genre a bit more. This book took me by surprise and I loved it. Next book review is going to be Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves. Have you read either of these books? Let me know down below!