"A rich alchemy of fact and fiction, the Ladies in Waiting series chronicles the glittering court lives of three Tudor Queens and the women chosen to be their closest friends and companions. Each book envelopes the reader in sweeping romance, heartwarming and heartbreaking circumstances, and heroines who choose lives worth risking all for."
That is from the author Sandra Byrd's website and it describes this wonderful series perfectly.
I really loved reading these books. The stories were well told, as well as the writing superb.
Each shares the life of a Tudor Queen, that of Anne Boleyn, Kateryn Parr and Elizabeth I, while also telling the story of their ladies in waiting.
They are written from the point of view of the particular lady in waiting who interacts with her Queen. I loved how the author intertwined the two lives in each book.
If I had to pick a favorite, I think it would be Roses have Thorns. I found Queen Elizabeth's lady in waiting, Helena, the Marchioness of Northampton, so interesting. I'd never heard of her before, so her story was new to me.
In Sandra's afterword she says of Helena:
"How had I missed her in a lifetime of reading the Tudors? I stumbled across Helena's tale while writing the second book in this series, focusing on Kateryn Parr. (Helena's first husband William Parr, Marquis of Northampton, was Kateryn Parr's brother) I have had to infer some into the friendship between Helena and Elizabeth, but I did try to keep all known facts."
Each book also has a faith element which I appreciated and enjoyed. All three books are very clean reads, without losing the reality of the Tudor court.
I highly recommend them all!
If you like you can read my thoughts on the first book in this series, To Die For, in more detail: HERE
Buy - To Die For HERE
Buy - The Secret Keeper HERE
Buy - Roses Have Thorns HERE
"very clean reads, without losing the reality of the Tudor court"
ReplyDeleteI completely agree!! I loved reading all of these, but I'm with you...Roses Have Thorns was my favorite, too! :)
I love this time period and really appreciated Sandra's style of writing. Glad you enjoyed them too! : )
DeleteI will have to check out this series. The covers of beautiful. New follower http://georgielee.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
I agree the covers are beautiful! Thanks for stopping by and following Georgie. : )
DeleteOnly ever read 'Roses Have Thorns.' I liked it well enough but felt the extreme chucks of missing time - it skipped around a lot. Like you though, I really liked Helena and both of her romances. Both men loved her in different ways and I believe she loved them both also - one was a respectful love, the other a passionate one.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the series, Cathy!
Hi Rissi, I noticed that too. Sometimes the book skipped years at a time and I didn't even realize it! But I really did enjoyed the overall stories within the book.. : )
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