enjoyed

Great story full of interesting characters drama to keep you on your toes I throughly enjoyed this historical fiction story of the tutor times

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History brought to life.

I really liked this series. I obviously love history and this writing and the narrator brought it to life. I was engrossed all the way through. I was rooting for the characters very quickly and I just have to find the next books to see how they are getting along!

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Tudor Intrigue

2 brothers and 2 Queens and a secret that unites them all. This alternate history could very well be a Tudor truth, who knows, it's very plausible that Katherine of Aragon's marriage to Arthur was consummated which would then make the whole lineage very different indeed. This period usually focuses on Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth's legitimacy so it was nice to see another take on history.

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Tudors at their best.

Excellent box set, well it. Tudors at their best. Could do with more of this type of novels

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Fabulous find

I have a love of history, much better than any soap opera, with death, love and twists and turns. So to find this set of books is perfect, the author has a good level of history mixed in with a plot with many twists and turns. Alongside this the Narrator has a voice that changes for each character, which has you completely absorbed in the characters and the plot twists, his voice is absolutely fabulous. Can wait for next one

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3 people found this helpful

Not bad 😊

I loved it! Great narration, interesting maybe not keeping you on the edge all the time but I enjoyed it. Simply a normal book to read or hear :-)

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1 person found this helpful

Not much mystery

The story is passable, no mystery, not much excitement, but it passes the time!
Sadly, the narration leaves a lot to be desired. I like the tone of the voice, but the mispronounced words were very irritating. Most of the male characters sounded the same and the women sounded like a pantomime dame!

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Disappointing. Don't get sucked in.

This should have been so much better. The characters are interesting and the Tudor background is intriguing. However, I gave up half way through the second book because I genuinely couldn't bear the lack of cohesion and the two dimensional characters. The plot meanders, if you can figure out what the plot is, and any conflict between the characters just relies on the brothers having yet another argument about nothing or the same thing. I am not sure if there was a huge chunk missing from the end of the first book as it ended so abruptly and I only found out what happened when I was well into the second. There are far too many characters, I lost track, and the author seemed so intent on letting the reader know he had done historical research that the plot and the momentum was lost in exposition. A good editor was sorely lacking, too much, 'he said, he replied'.
If you are a fan of the tudor period and can forgive plot holes and lack of depth, then you may enjoy this. But be warned that the characters are decidedly predictable, right down to the tart with a heart, yawn. I am now suspicious, having checked the reviews and noticed the dates on the good ones are all very close together, that the author just got his mates to write reviews for him. Having said that, the book is not served well by the narration, so that may have been part of the problem. The reader makes every other man sound like he is auditioning for the voiceover job for action movie cinema trailers, sooo gravelly, and the women sound like pantomime dames. I don't give up on books easily but I just had enough.

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1 person found this helpful

Misleading title, disappointing trilogy

If you were expecting historical murders or insight into mediaeval justice, you will be disappointed. There is precious little mystery in this trilogy, unless you count the anti-hero's infuriating reluctance to explain what is going on, and no courtroom dramas. This was a little surprising, given Sam Burnell's legal background. Nearly all the action takes place during the accession and reign of Nary Tudor and a rather implausible plot to carry off her half-sister Elizabeth to safety in Holland. There is potential here but, unfortunately, Ms Burne has not yet acquired all the tricks of a novelist's trade, with regard to characterisation, conversation and scene-setting. As a result, the plot is difficult to follow and does not capture the listener's imagination, Having said this, the quality of writing improves significantly in the third volume, Narration is fine but I would not recommend paying full price for this trilogy.

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1 person found this helpful

Disappointed, too much trivia.

Reviews good but do not agree, not as good as Sansom, Clements or Parris. Gave up during Chapter 7 Queens Spy. Felt story was slow, mundane detail, like reading a series soap show script, little substance that does not absorb you. A measure of a good book is the difficulty in stopping, the book stopped me listening despite persevering to carry on.

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1 person found this helpful