The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory was one of those books that you cannot put down! I thoroughly enjoyed the story of two sisters – Anne and Mary Boleyn – competing with each other and the world for the love of King Henry VIII. The story focused on Mary Boleyn who was taken as the King’s mistress when she was only fourteen, and put aside when her sister Anne caught the King’s fancy. Mary had two kids by King Henry out of wedlock, and watched as her sister had the King denounce Queen Katherine of Aragon and Anne’s rise to power.

Philippa Gregory is an amazing author and I can’t wait to read her other titles, as well as her other “Tudor Court” novels. She writes Mary and Anne with such passion and dedication. You can really see Anne as a dark, ruthless, self-managing and seductive young woman; and Mary as a innocent, naive yet loving sister, mistress, and wife. The dialogue is so well crafted, the romantic and courting speech while it is believable it is not mushy-perfect, it is perfectly written with its imperfections. You can hear them as they speak, Gregory carefully places tone and response within a dialogue that is historically based but fictionally created.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while – definitely before I see the movie. Then CW finally bought me the book as he wanted to take me to the movies for my birthday (this Friday!!). I finished it within a week and a half, I honestly didn’t want to put it down! It was the kind of books that when you’re not reading you feel like you’ve left something hanging, something is incomplete and you need to finish it.

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