Review: Gilt

Gilt ( The Royal Circle #1) by Katherine Longshore
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 398
Format: ARC
Source: DAC Arc Tour
Challenges: 2012 Goodreads Reading Challenge, 2012 Debut Author Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon

In the Tudor age, ambition, power and charismatic allure are essential and Catherine Howard has plenty of all three. Not to mention her loyal best friend, Kitty Tylney, to help cover her tracks. Kitty, the abandoned youngest daughter of minor aristocracy, owes everything to Cat – where she is, what she is, even who she is. Friend, flirt, and self-proclaimed Queen of Misrule, Cat reigns supreme in a loyal court of girls under the none-too-watchful eye of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.

When Cat worms her way into the heart of Henry VIII and becomes Queen of England, Kitty is thrown into the intoxicating Tudor Court. It’s a world of glittering jewels and elegant costumes, of gossip and deception. As the Queen’s right-hand-woman, Kitty goes from the girl nobody noticed to being caught between two men – the object of her affection and the object of her desire.

But the atmosphere of the court turns from dazzling to deadly, and Kitty is forced to learn the difference between trust and loyalty, love and lust, secrets and treason. And to accept the consequences when some lessons are learned too late.

I absolutely ADORE historical fiction. In fact, I own a collection of historical romance fiction. Didn't know that, did you? So I literally squee'd for a week over Gilt. A story set in the tudor ages full of passion, lies, betrayal, torrid love affairs, gowns, and glittering jewels! Be still my beating heart!

For some reason ( I blame it on a two day brain fart) I didn't realize until I read the author's note that this book was based on the live's of Henry VIII and Catherine Howard. Duh! I was very impressed by how many actual people the author was able to fit into the story. And I thought she did a brilliant job with it!

I really enjoyed reading about the political aspect of things, and how everything worked. Since there are no royal families or King and Queen's here that has always intrigued me. I loved reading about the royal life, the ceremonies, their day to lives and everything in between.

I really enjoyed the main character Kitty, who was the very definition of loyalty! Although at times I wanted her to wake up and smell the royal rose garden! Her best friend, Catherine, was the polar opposite. She was selfish and only cared about her own interests. I didn't identify with her, but I could see why she made the choices she did and what motivated her to do so. I really felt for these young women, who had to marry because their parents couldn't support them. I'm not quite sure what I'd do if I were in their position, but hopefully not behave as badly as some of these ladies!

Overall I enjoyed reading about the gowns, the elaborate lengths the royals went to to entertain themselves as well as their day to day lives. You'd think there'd be plenty to be entertained by, but for me it was lacking in the drama department. I guess maybe because I've read so much historical fiction, I was really looking for some jaw dropping drama that would set this apart from other historical fiction. Even though I didn't quite find that with Gilt it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to reading the next book in this series!