Royal Flush a Historical Fiction about the British throne, courts of King Louis XIV of France, loveless marriage, affairs, royal alliances and other interesting and intriguing situations Minette struggles within. The story is slow to start, characters seem to be high and mighty, some are dull and boring with no emotional connection, others are snobby and others with no spine or backbone. It seems to be an interesting and emotional storyline is something that I certainly do like to read but somehow I just couldn’t get into it at all; unable to put my finger upon my correct thoughts. My interest just wasn’t there the several times I’ve tried to read the book. I will try again at a later point in time to see if I can obtain an interest and will let you know if any changes. Ideal for those interested in reading about this timeline. I am sorry but I’m stating my exact thoughts and feelings on what I’ve read which was only a few chapters. I would rather tell you exact thoughts than stating on what a great book; which is not writing a decent review. Someone else might actually like to read the book and fingers crossed. All the best.

#RoyalFlush #NetGalley

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Agora Book via NetGalley for my honest review of the book Royal Flush by Margaret Irwin. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own thoughts, feelings and viewpoints of the book.

Review run date was set for 28 April 2020 for Netgalley, unfortunately life stood at a standstill as I finished the final semester and three subjects of my studies. On 28 March 2021 I was set to write the review and my health became an emotional roller coaster so here I am today 20 October 2021 review will be post on my WordPress blog, Facebook blog, Instagram, LinkedIn, Amazon.com.au, goodreads, along with the non-linked retail online stores that sell the book is at:

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I love reading about the royals, and I was excited to read this! However, there were so many characters, and it was hard to connect with them. Still, I recommend this if you love learning about real-life princesses.

I was not able to get interested in this book and I did not finish it. The characters and the plot were not able to catch or keep my attention.

Really enjoyed this book. I thought it was an original storyline, and really kept my interest throughout the book. I think historical fiction/royal family fans would enjoy this one.

Having enjoyed some of Margaret Irwin’s other books, particularly the first two of her Elizabeth I trilogy (I must read the third one soon), I had high hopes for this one, about Charles II’s younger sister Henrietta – known as Minette. Royal Flush (1932) is a straightforward fictional retelling of Minette’s life, beginning with her exile in France as a child during the period of her father, Charles II’s, beheading and the rule of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector. Growing up at the French court, it is at first hoped that Minette will marry the young king of France, Louis XIV, but when another bride is chosen for Louis, Minette finds herself married off to his younger brother Philippe instead.

I won’t say any more about the plot as you will either already be familiar with Minette’s history or, if not, you won’t want me to spoil it for you. However, if you’re completely new to her story, be aware that the book is quite slow and detailed and possibly not the best starting point (although this is the first novel I’ve read specifically about Minette, I’ve come across her many times as a secondary character in books like Dumas’ Louise de la Vallière and Margaret Campbell Barnes’ Lady on the Coin and I found it very useful to have that little bit of prior knowledge about her). I do like Margaret Irwin’s writing and the old-fashioned charm of her novels, which have quite a different feel from most of the historical fiction being published today, but I think this is the weakest of her books that I’ve read so far.

I don't know much about this period in British history but really enjoyed reading this book. While there were a lot of characters to keep track of the plot was enjoyable.

A story from the pages of history that I couldn’t really get into because I found it a bit dry and slow but I can see why it may be very interesting to some.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The life of Henrietta Anne (Minette), daughter of Charles I of England, is exiled with her mother during England's Civil War. This book was written in 1932, and some of the prose reflects this. I would suggest reading small portions of this book to keep your interest. Enjoyable, but a bit wordy, but well worth the read.

I am a great lover of historical fiction and enjoy reading different types of styles of writing this wonderful genre. This book was no exception. I enjoyed the story of Minette and love that it is fact and fiction all rolled into one.

Royality always makes a good subject and a good read and without books like these history would be somewhat lost to us as most of us don't want to read a history book but put the story into a novel and we devour it.

It was a little hard to read but once you get into it and get the story you can't stop as you really do want to find out what happens. It is sad, intriguing and real. What people (royalty or other) went through and those times is something we could never imagine in this day and age!

Royal Flush by Margaret Irwin
Genre: Fiction and Historical Fiction
Publisher: Agora Books
Publish Date: 2 April 2020

Star Rating: 2/5

I was excited to read this book when I first got it but I was sadly disappointed.

The story follows Princess Henrietta (Minette) Stewart, daughter of the beheaded King Charles of Britain, from her being in exile with her mother, into adulthood. Minette, in real life, is a fascinating character with a life filled with drama and a loveless marriage. However, in my opinion, not as much attention has been paid to her by authors and historians, as it is exactly these types of women I love reading about! Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book at all. Irwin seems to be a historian trying to be a fiction writer and if she had written the book simply as a history she would have received more stars. Irwin knows her history but her writing is dry and the book reads like a documentary with some dramatic elements included. This is history with a conversation thrown in every now and then. It was an odd experience reading her book. Until I started writing this review I had not realized that the book was first published in 1932, and it seems that from a modern perspective it has not aged well.

If you want to read about Minette I would suggest looking out for a different author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The book deals with Princess Henrietta and the role she played - the many roles she was forced to play from a marriage without any feeling, to royal alliances and secret affairs.

The story is quite rich, occupied by many who are all important in their various positions and in court but at the same time the story is lengthy, quite wordy and though historically so very rich, it took me quite a while in getting to grips with the book.

This is a part of history that is interesting to those who like historical fiction but it was not an easy read.



The language is old fashioned but that may be due to the times of publication which was in the 1930s.

Royal Flush:I had a difficult time following the story and reading the narrative. Not a book I'll be re-reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a bit of a difficult book to read. I do frequently read books written in the 1930s, but I had to work hard here. I think part of the issue might be that I'm very familiar with the history? It is well written, just in quite a specific style.

Goodness, this book was hard work. It felt physically draining to read and I tried so hard to enjoy it. Persevering to the end, I thought I would grow to like the novel but, alas, this was not the case.

First published in 1932, I was really excited with the opportunity to read this book. As readers of my blog are aware, I firmly believe that books are timeless and I was really enthusiastic about having the chance to read my oldest book of the year so far. Whilst this is not a classic as such, you can certainly tell that it was written a while ago because of the writing style. It was wordy, lengthy and there felt like a lot of detail. I guess that this was one of the features that deterred me from the book.

Having studied this period in History many years ago, I was also keen to see a fictitious account with some familiar characters. However, I found myself confused by the vast array of people, particularly as they were often referred to as ‘Monsieur’ or ‘Madame’. I felt disconnected with the protagonist, Minette, and was unsure of what she was doing and with whom. Indeed, when pregnancies came and went, I am certain that I had not fully read the narrative – it felt like a miracle pregnancy!

There was so much promise with this book and I kept going in an attempt to enjoy Irwin’s writing. I guess I have found an author who I cannot immerse myself with and found the lack of energy in the narrative too hard-going. I did eventually sympathise with Minette but it was too little, too late. She clearly had a difficult life – a bit like my reading of her story!

I despise giving one-star ratings but this was unavoidable. I stuck it out to the very end because I wanted to see what would happen to Minette and whether this novel would gradually grow on me. Whilst I was wrong on this occasion, I can safely say, hand on heart, that I did try my best.

With thanks to NetGalley and Agora Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was first written in the 1930s and it shows, however that isn’t to say it isn’t an enjoyable retelling of a well known story. I very much enjoyed this.

This was a slow read, but I didn't feel like I was forcing myself to finish it. So, it was interesting in its own way. I had never heard of Minette prior to reading this historical fictionalized account of her life. Upon finishing this, I did go online and research her a little and am curious as to why she isn't more well-known.

The story of Minnette is such a rich seam of historical romance; the last child born to Henrietta Marie and Charles I, smuggled out of the country as a baby, years spent in near penury in the French court, the restoration of her brother and her eventual marriage to Philippe de Orleans. Then her later role brokering a peace treaty between England and France. It is surprising there has been more written about this fascinating character. I remember reading this book about twenty years ago along with the 'Stranger Prince'. Irwin was fascinated by the English Civil War and her work was praised for it's historical accuaracy. It is a little dated then but having said that I enjoyed it as much as I did then. I found the characters well drawn, in fact they had more to them than the TV series Versailles.

I wasn't a fan.
I did not like the writing style though can appreciate it was written in the 1930s.
I felt no empathy with the character of Minette as represented here.
I found the storyline hard to follow at times as other characters took centre stage.
There is no clear timeline - for someone not au fait with this period, this would be very confusing.
It is a highly romanticised account of this tragic Stuart Princess., which fell flat.

At the very start of the book the author claims although this is a novel, it's not "but something new". A great contradiction I could not find - and what was the actual point of this statement - I am still left wondering.

So glad there are much more current and up-to-date books covering Henrietta Stuart.

An enjoyable story. But, has l was reading this book I felt like I had already heard this story in a documentary form. It felt predictable. Nothing new.

Very information and well researched book, though for me it had more of a textbook feel than that of a historical fiction novel. I did not find the characters compelling though I feel they were well researched, the dramas through which they lived felt very structured and did not draw me in. I prefer more lyrical prose and this was more factual. Well researched and written, just not the right fit for me. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review.