Book Review: The Boleyn Deceit

Author: Laura Andersen
Publication Date: November 5, 2013
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Series: The Boleyn Deceit # 5

Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Allison Weir! After presenting readers with an irresistible premise in The Boleyn King (what if Anne gave birth to a healthy royal boy who would grow up to rule England?) Laura Andersen returns in this deepening saga, into the dangerous world of the Tudor court, where secrets can bring down an empire, and even the strongest of monarchs may not be able to prevent history from repeating...

Henry IX, known as William, is the son of Anne Boleyn and now the leader of England, his regency period finally at an end. His newfound power, however, comes with the looming specter of war with the other major powers of Europe, with strategic alliances that must be forged on both the battlefield and in the bedroom, and with a court, severed by religion, rife with plots to take over the throne. Will trusts only three people: his older sister, Elizabeth; his best friend and loyal counselor, Dominic; and Minuette, a young orphan raised as a royal ward by Anne Boleyn. But as the pressure rises alongside the threat to his life, even they William must begin to question-and to fear....

It is a king I am creating now, whatever the cost.

If there was one thing to which George Boleyn was accustomed, it was his sister’s temper. Anne had never been known for her retiring personality, which was just as well or she would never have caught Henry’s eye.

She watched the blackness bite away at the moon until it was half covered and still moving relentlessly onward.

She swept away, leaving Minuette feeling as though she’d been in the clutches of a cat that had determined at the last moment not to eat the mouse. Yet.

I read all types of fiction, and I enjoy all of it very much. However, I have to say that historical fiction takes me somewhere that most other types of fiction do not. Usually after reading a historical fiction novel, I have to wake and realize that I am not actually in a past life, but am in the present day. I get so lost and caught up in most historical fiction stories that I read, and this one was no different. I loved the first book in this series as well and this one picks up right where The Boleyn King left off. I am very anxious to read the next book in this series, which doesn’t come out until next summer!

Laura Andersen is very talented at writing all the splendor that came along with the Tudor Era. I love the vastly glamorous court of the Boleyn King, and all of the vastly changing action that goes on there. I have always said that if you are going to write historical fiction, you will have to know your stuff and be a skilled storyteller. Andersen fits the bill 100%. Not only does she write with incredible detail, but she also throws major twists and turns into this series that you will not see coming and that only leave you holding onto the edge of your seat.

The romance in this book needs a paragraph all by itself. Tudor Era romance always breaks me down, and I am unsure why. I lost it like a baby without a bottle after watching The Other Boleyn Girl. This book was much the same. The characters are so expertly developed that I began to feel such a strong connection to several of them. If you love Tudor Era, then you will not regret picking up this series!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Ballantine Books in exchange for my honest review***