The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale

What a fun read...actually a fun listen, since I listened to this audiobook on my Zune. Lately I have been downloading audiobooks from Overdrive.com, a free service from most libraries that has free audiobooks to download. Anywhoo....

"The Goose Girl" is Young Adult fiction based on a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm (but even as a 30-something mother of three I immensely enjoyed it). Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee is to be the next queen of Kildenree, but when the king dies, the queen announces that her brother will be the next king. She sends Ani off to the next kingdom to wed the crown prince of Bayern. As she starts out on her month long journey to Bayern, betrayal, mistaken identity and danger ensue.

This book has just the right mix of suspense, action and romance. Turns out it is the first in a trilogy so now I have to read the other two!

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

I read this book a couple months ago and really enjoyed it. It gives 3 different accounts of three women just trying to survive during the most ruthless time of Henry VIII's reign.

The first account is from his 4th wife, Anne of Cleves, which was an arranged marriage to keep peace between Germany and England. Her story ends the best of the three.

The second account is from his 5th wife, Katherine Howard, a 15 year old girl, who was forced to marry him and is known by Tudor scholars as a shallow, simple-minded girl way in over her head.

The third account is given by Jane Rochford, sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn. She was the one who gave evidence against Anne Boleyn and her husband George Boleyn that caused their death. In this book, she continues to work for the enemy thinking she will get monetary gain out of it, but because she is a woman it's impossible for her to obtain anything of her own and no man in Europe would trust her after the way she betrayed her own husband.

It is a fascinating book that looks deep into the end of Henry VIII's reign, tyranny, and death. But the way these poor women are abused makes it a little depressing to read. But if you love Tudor history, Philippa Gregory is your woman.