DNF at 25%. It's been over five years since I received this ARC. I gave it a go and have decided it is not for me. It interested me then and no longer does now.

A review of this title is avaliable through Goodreads - and later through my blog. The Goodreads link is available below!

I definitely enjoyed this, it was an interesting look at The Kensington System and what it might have been like for the young Princess. The characters were reasonably well developed, and those meant to be likeable were likeable. Those meant to be disliked were easy to dislike and feel no pity for.

The drama did not quite live up to the large personalities imbued in Victoria and her mother. The story was interesting, but there was more in the build up and not much in the execution of events... plus the ultimate conclusion was obvious quite early on. The foreshadowing was a bit heavy handed.

It was well written, though, and believable as a reimagining of a true history. And my romantic heart does love the idea of Queen Victoria and her Albert being truly in love.

I am currently watching Victoria, so I was definitely ready to hate on Sir John Conroy for a while. He is definitely the villain of the piece from the moment he makes his daughter (named Victoria) give her beloved puppy as a gift to the future Queen Victoria. Not long after, he drags his daughter — who must now be called Miss V. so no one confuses her with the princess —to be Victoria’s companion. Sir John wants Miss V. to report back on Victoria’s emotional state, but Miss V. finds herself growing fond of the princess, who is really just a lonely girl kept in isolation by the people who want to control her. Miss V. and Victoria are both stuck in situations created by their controlling guardians, but they forge a cautious friendship — after all, they could always be spying on each other — that blooms into a lovely, supportive relationship.

I loved the historical details, and it wasn’t at all surprising to discover that the author is a curator at Kensington Palace, which is where Victoria grew up — this reads like a book written by someone immersed in Victoria’s early life. And while the twist ending may be a little surprising, it’s also kind of delightful to be thrown by something unexpected in a world that we think we know so well.

If you’re in the mood for a historical YA, you could do much worse.

This book had an interesting premise, but it never completely pulled me in. With the way the Kensington System was organized and the little that is truly known about Victoria‘s childhood, it presents some serious fictional what ifs. I had a pretty good idea fairly early on about what might be coming, but I wanted more from it in character development and how all the pieces came together.

Did Not finish. I was not able to get into this storyline or characters. Characters really carry a story for me and I just didn't have a connection with these characters.

This was an interesting tale of two girls named Victoria. This book is based on true historical events but the author did her own spin on it. This book is full of friendship and the girls discovering who they are, especially Miss V. I really liked the authors spin on what happened to Princess Victoria.  I thought it was interesting and a creative twist. I don't want to say too much because I feel like I'll spoil it. It was a delightful read!

I really tried to get into this book but it was so hard. I usually love Lucy Worsley books but this book was too much fabrication of the facts.

Trigger Warnings: Sexism, abuse

Everyone knows about Queen Victoria, but of the child, she was before the crown? And better yet, what of the other Victoria? The one forced to befriend the captive princess?


My Name is Victoria is a great glimpse into history, sharing the story of Queen Victoria when she was just a princess and the potential friend she found in her captive’s daughter, Victoria Conroy.

Now, like all historical fiction based on a person who really did exist, Worsley took much creative licence while sharing her version of Princess Victoria’s story. And I really enjoyed it.

I read Lady Mary by the same author last month and all though that was, for me, much slower, My Name is Victoria indeed had much of the same problems.

I find Worsley’s books a bit of the boring side, they’re just not hugely engaging but that might just be the genre as a whole for me as there aren’t a whole lot of historical fiction books that I have enjoyed.

I also find that Worsley’s characters tend to not mature as they age. The voice of her characters tends to stay the same throughout the whole novel and there just isn’t a whole lot of personal growth going on.

I will say that this was a little more engaging than Lady Mary and I really enjoyed the final twist! I was worried for a moment that this would go down the path of two friends fighting over a guy and I’m very glad it didn’t.

All in all, I did enjoy My Name is Victoria and I think it’s a great entry book for young readers wanting to learn about history without having to slug through non-fiction.

This book dragged on a bit for me. I like some historical fiction books, but this one was really hard to power through because of the pace of the storyline

I really, actually tried to enjoy this book. But it was very difficult to enjoy. One, it was confusing. Perhaps it was simply because it was an ARC, but the type setting and page setting was too crowded and made it difficult to read.
And having two characters - one a famous main character, named Victoria in the same story made it difficult.

And then, the premise of the story is off-putting. Victoria Conroy's father was truly horrible, and having his daughter take over for Princess Victoria is nauseating because it's everything Conroy would have wanted. Sigh, I wanted this to be delightful and a fresh take, much like the PBS Victoria series. Instead, it was fictions history that was at turns boring and mostly annoying.

An interesting read. This story was quick to capture my attention, and I loved finding out more about the characters.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

This is a fictional account of Queen Victoria's childhood and the other girl named Victoria who was her companion. This book portrays the way Victoria was treated under Sir John Conroy's Kensington System. Victoria was kept in Kensington Palace under an extremely restrictive kind of security and deplorable conditions. The story is written from the perspective of Sir John's daughter Victoria and follows their experiences from age ten through age eighteen when Victoria becomes the Queen of England. Can the girls outwit the cruel and power hungry Sir John?
I enjoyed this book overall. It was a unique take on Victoria's childhood. It's so sad to think that she may have been treated so cruelly by Sir John Conroy. Most of the story was believable to me until the very end of the book, from the time they met Prince Albert until the end of the book. That plot twist was unexpected and improbable. Other than that, I really enjoyed reading about the girls' relationship and the way they fought Sir John's policies. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. I believe this book would be great for middle grade and high school students.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

DNF’ed at 46%
Overall, the things I can remember from reading this, it was enjoyable to read. But it didn’t stick with me. After I had put down this book for a while I had forgotten what happened and when I tried reading it again, I didn’t feel like continuing it, I have tried multiple times to get back into it.

My Name is Victoria tells the story of Princess Victoria’s childhood. The story is told from her servant, the daughter of John Conroy. The two of them end up making an unlikely friendship. Overall, it is a sweet and simple story. There were times the plot tended to drag. Still, I highly recommend this for fans ofThe Royal Diaries series.

An intriguing fictional take on the young life of Queen Victoria. I always appreciate the research and thought that Lucy Worsley puts into her books. She takes the factual research and puts her own creative fictional spin on it. Loved the twist at the end!

Miss V. Conroy was one of the Princess Victoria's few childhood companions. As the daughter of John Conroy, the architect of The System and Victoria's nemesis, Miss V. was caught between two loyalties.

In My Name is Victoria, the renowned British historian Lucy Worsley imagines what the relationship between the Princess Victoria and Miss V. might have been like.

I'm an ideal audience for this book. I've been to Kensington Palace, and I am a huge fan of Masterpiece's Victoria. I liked this book, but I did find it a little dull in parts, but, I can't complain too much because the Princess Victoria's life at Kensington was rather dull (she complained about this often), isolated as she was from the world!

My name is Victoria. That’s not me just stating the title, that’s actually a fact. My name is Victoria, and so that was what originally drew me to this book… narcissism.

No, in actuality, I have always been drawn to English royalty and, in particular, Queen Victoria. However, I have to admit that I was quite worried when I opened this novel that I might get a book chock full of politics, as it so often has gone with similar titles. What I actually got was so, so much more. Yes it had politics, but just the right amount. It had dramatics, it had romance, it had twists, turns, betrayals. Needless to say, it was perfect.

A couple of quick notes [spoilers]:
- I just about had a heart attack with the whole Victoria, V, and Albert situation and I did not know how it was going to work out and I am so so so happy that it worked out wow
- I seriously did NOT see the Victoria switch coming!! I mean of course I thought it would be a brilliant idea, but I just didn’t think that Victoria would want V to be her because… I don’t know I feel like she would want to live in extravagance or something?? Plus, she wouldn’t want to live with John Conroy, right?? I mean I guess she’ll probably get married and it’ll be fine but…
- I’m kinda confused with the whole John Conroy + The Duchess thing like… idk that was explained kinda weird
- I would’ve liked more Albert + V, especially more of the actual beginning/development of their relationship. I loved it, because I’m a sucker for romance, but it did seem kind of… rushed/without explanation… I don’t know.
- Does Victoria even know that V’s name is Victoria???
- I need more. Like… tell me how V is doing ruling all of England now. Tell me about her and Albert. Tell me how the new Miss Victoria Conroy is dealing with regular life and if she falls in love and ahhhhhhhh
- Please

I loved it. Yes. Thank you.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from Candlewick Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This story kept me entertained the whole time! Our main character is strong-willed and struggles with what she wants to be and what others want her to be. However, I felt as if some parts had a slower pace that made me want to fall asleep. It also seemed as if the story kept dragging, just a tad. Besides those things, this ended up being an enjoyable read!