Thanking NetGalley as usual for the digital ARC. I cannot thank them enough for allowing me to read these books first! Alison Weir does not disappoint! Once you start one of her books it is impossible to put down! I know the story, i know what happens yet these books are written so well i forget that I already know how it ends! Another bestseller!

Katheryn Howard, The Scandalous Queen by Alison Weir is the 5th book in the Six Tudor Queens series. It obviously features the short, tragic life of Henry VIII’s 5th wife that came to a quick halt, Katheryn Howard.

Most of us know the history of Katheryn’s childhood, family, and controversial marriage and end, but Ms. Weir places us as readers into the brain and thought process of Katheryn throughout her journey so as to get a better glimpse of the young queen. It was very hard to read her mistakes, naivety, poor choices, and misunderstandings that lead to her demise. I have always had more sympathy and understanding for her, and this added to my previous beliefs.

Katheryn was such a young woman that had been tossed from family member to obscure family member to raise, that I felt that added to her deficits. She sought love, attention, and acceptance and unfortunately found it in the wrong ways. It seems her strengths did not fall under academic avenues, and that added to the ability of “friends and family members” (if you can call them that” to manipulate and use her for their own advancements. She was a child in an adult world never really knowing that there were true consequences for her actions and that this was most certainly not a game. She was tossed into the volatile and unstable world of Henry VIII as basically a child, where even the most intelligent and shrewd adult could lose his head, and obviously made mistakes and lapses in judgement (ok sometimes larger lapses), and lost.
It was hard to read her story seeing how each move pushed her closer and closer to her undeserved end. Only Ms. Weir could give me those emotions as I weaved my way through Katheryn’s thoughts and story.

A great historical fiction of the 5th wife of Henry VIII, and a quick and engrossing read. I have been a fan of Ms. Weir for many years and this book just solidifies my respect and admiration of her talents. I look forward to her next book.

5/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Weir has the magical ability of bringing events from hundreds of years ago into sharp focus in today's world, with larger than life characters, real life events, and sharp, witty dialogue. I felt myself cringing at Katheryn's behavior, knowing it would be her ultimate downfall and really enjoyed reading this story. Great read.

Katheryn Howard, daughter of Sir Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpepper, is 7 years old when we meet her, her mother having just died in childbirth. At that point she was shifted around several times from one home to another until she finally wound up at her step-grandmother's home, the Dowager Duchess. At the age of 15, with the lack of discipline and abhorrent moral conduct, Katheryn established a reputation, one that was her doom.

Unfortunately, there were so many relatives and with no family tree in this ARC, it was difficult to follow. Hopefully this will be rectified when the book is published. At times I felt as if the dialogue was overly simple/stilted, as well as the fact that I couldn't connect with the main character (or any of them). The fact that Katheryn was easily seduced, was naive and manipulated did not bring any empathy as I read along. Henry was 49 years old when he married her, his fifth wife.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.