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#plantagenet
review
Graywacke
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Pickpick

I liked this book enough that it‘s tough to review here. There is just too much I want to talk about. Shakespeare, Richard II, king at 10, riding out amongst the mob of the Peasants Revolt in 1381, his disinterest in his country, and quest for absolute power. Henry IV, who usurped the throne, was his cousin, the same age, and loyal until he felt threatened. Also - Richard was never insane. An awesome book on the Women‘s Prize longlist.

Lcsmcat This is on my TBR. Maybe I‘ll get to it after I finish 2d
Graywacke @Lcsmcat that sounds fun! I could use some insight on who those various weirdos… er, kings… were. 2d
Lcsmcat @Graywacke It‘s hilarious. I keep making my husband listen to quotes but I can‘t exactly post them because the set-ups are so long. Highly recommended! 2d
Graywacke @Lcsmcat great to know. It‘s gets good ratings on audible 2d
55 likes3 stack adds4 comments
review
merelybookish
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Pickpick

Blame it on an upcoming trip to London, but this royal history about Richard II & Henry IV from the Women's Prize Nonfiction Longlist piqued my interest. Also helped that I've read the Shakespeare plays about these kings. At 20+ hours, it was a commitment. My interest waned near the end. But I was immersed for the first 3/4. War, intrigue, rebellion. Nothing was stable for long. Castor is THOROUGH & has a soft spot for Henry IV & his father 👇

merelybookish John of Ghent. I saw one review that described it as a well researched history with soap opera style. That feels generous. It is dishy at times but you never forget this is serious history full of dates, names, and events. Glad I read it but happy to be done. Time to re-read some Shakespeare! 3w
squirrelbrain Great review and I agree with you. I‘d never have picked it up if it wasn‘t for the WPNF and I liked it, but was glad when I finished it! 3w
merelybookish @squirrelbrain Thanks! Yes, feels like 50 pages could have been cut and it would have still told the central story in detail! 3w
See All 6 Comments
Graywacke @merelybookish held me till the end. I was so entertained that Henry‘s claim to bring good government hand strapped him to actual try to honor that. 2d
merelybookish @Graywacke Yes Henry was quite put-upon to justify his legitimacy! And I was quite fascinated by his son, future Henry V! Glad you enjoyed! I did too but just found it long. 2d
Graywacke @merelybookish i kept thinking - that‘s not my Henry V! Where‘s the booze? What‘s with all this responsibility stuff? 🙂 That arrow in the eye though - wow. 2d
49 likes6 comments
blurb
Coffeymuse

I don't have words for how much I love this book.

So here's some stats:

82 days to read
758 pages read

I bought the book cause I couldn't read fast enough.

Love this book enough I bought the other two in the trilogy.

I am so glad I started, stuck with, and finished this book!

Coffeymuse This book is also the reason I have been so quiet on my reading social apps-I was too busy running a marathon! I should start posting more now that I am moving on to smaller, less dense books. 3w
Deblovestoread I love all her books! 3w
16 likes2 comments
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bibliothecarivs
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Recent acquisition:

📖 Bosworth 1485: Psychology of a Battle by Michael Jones

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Hooked_on_books
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While listening to this one, I put together this kit and just had to show it to you all. I think it came out great!

PaperbackPirate So cool! 😍 4w
TheBookHippie Love!!!! 4w
Ruthiella Really neat! 🤩 4w
See All 8 Comments
squirrelbrain Lovely! ❤️ 4w
Soubhiville So cute 💚 4w
AmyG Love it! 4w
Deblovestoread ❤️❤️❤️ 4w
Bookzombie That‘s so cute!! 3w
53 likes8 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
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Mehso-so

I have mixed feelings about this one. I do think it‘s well written, but I also know I am not the audience for it. I knew nothing about these men and felt some sort of prior knowledge was imperative to fully enjoying this book. I never would have made it through the print; the audio was well done.

squirrelbrain I agree completely- it was rather slow and the actual ‘battle for the crown‘ was only a few pages. Not my favourite from the list. 1mo
RamsFan1963 If you're interested in this era of English history, I'd recommend trying Henry V by Dan Jones. He starts the book with background of the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV, before moving on to Henry V. 1mo
Hooked_on_books @RamsFan1963 Thanks! I‘ll have to look for that. 1mo
53 likes3 comments
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Graywacke
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My new audiobook - and my second from the 2025 Women‘s Prize for Nonfiction. Lots of Shakespeare in the introduction 🥰

merelybookish I just started this! 1mo
Graywacke @merelybookish I‘m 2.5 hours in (12%), and fascinated (edited) 1mo
merelybookish How's it going? I'm about halfway through. I am enjoying it and amazed I'm mostly keeping everyone straight. 3w
See All 6 Comments
Graywacke @merelybookish i‘m 6 hours in and constantly fascinated. The nature of power, the way everyone plays this game, it‘s crazy and so much looser than I realized. 3w
merelybookish @Graywacke Yeah, I was skeptical in her intro when she said there are parallels to today. But you can see how there can be very different visions of power and different avenues can be taken to secure it. I feel like that is playing out before our eyes. 3w
Graywacke @merelybookish I‘m still thinking about that. It‘s different. But the undermining of norms for power and with destructive intent are striking parallels. The indifference to human life is so strange. 3w
38 likes6 comments
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bibliothecarivs
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Recent acquisition:

📖 The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones

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squirrelbrain
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Rather relevant, timely and apposite introduction to this book about Richard II and Henry IV (who were both born in 1367)!

ChaoticMissAdventures I am excited for this one, I don't know a ton about this time period. 2mo
Leftcoastzen Wow 2mo
Lcsmcat Wow indeed. 2mo
See All 10 Comments
LeahBergen Yikes! 2mo
Librarybelle Yup. Very, very relevant. 2mo
TrishB Power never changes. 2mo
bookandbedandtea How apropos 😫 2mo
CarolynM 😢 2mo
youneverarrived Wow. Very relevant 😩 2mo
sarahbarnes Oh wow. 2mo
54 likes1 stack add10 comments
review
jenniferw88
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Panpan

#wpnf25

I should have waited for the shortlist and hibernated this book. I'd be very surprised if it makes it, as I really struggled with it and could have bailed on it if it hadn't made it.

#atozultimatechallenge #c #authorsurname #e #booktitle #f #birdonthecover #h #itemoncover (hart) @AudiobookingWithLeah

#aty25 #animalvegetableormineralinthetitle @BarbaraBB

Librarybelle Oh dear! I had recently splurged and picked up a copy on the strength of a virtual author talk I saw her do. 2mo
jenniferw88 @Librarybelle, you may like it! I just know very little about this period, and it was very heavy going. Shorter chapters may have helped. 2mo
RamsFan1963 I wanted to read this, but I've seen a lot of negative reviews. If you want to know more about Henry IV, I'd recommend reading Dan Jones's Henry V. It covers the end of Richard II reign, Henry IV seizing the throne, and leads on into Henry V reign as king. 2mo
youneverarrived Hmm, good to know. It does look heavy going and it‘s more of a chunkster than I realised. Think I‘ll concentrate on the others before this. 2mo
44 likes4 comments