Cover Image: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife

Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife

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As a huge Tudorian history lover, and a fan of Alison Weir's many works, I was very excited for this final installment in the Queens of England series.

Katharine Parr, a lower noblewomen, goes through the trial of arranged marriages to different men. While she finds love and/or understanding with her first two husbands, she is faced with the daunting task of survival, duty, and being true to her faith when the King of England, Henry VIII, asks for her hand.

I've read a couple of books about Katharine as of now. Jean Plaidy's historical account while interesting does miss out on the thoroughness of research and knowledge that this book brings to the genre. Knowing that Weir has written non-fiction works that include Katharine in the past, I was expecting no less than a thorough telling of Katharine's life and I received that.

Weir is a great storyteller and I think the only gripe I've ever had is at times she feels the need to go into too much depth. I felt that with some of the other books in this series, but not so much with this one.

I'm sad to see the series go, but am so grateful I've had a chance to read it. Thank you for the ARC!

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I really don't understand people who do not find the Tudor dynasty fascinating. With each day, Henry VIII made history bend to his will along with every person within his kingdom. With each wife, Henry's legacy spread to increase a wider circle of those who would love him and those who would hate him, all who would use him for their own gain. Prior to this book, I knew little of Katerine Parr other than her name and place on the Tudor wife list. Alison Weir has made her a living, breathing woman who gave her very best in exchange for the much more sedate life of the Tudor court. But Weir has managed this in each of her Tudor Queens books. I have read them all and loved each one for the life it breathed into these compelling women who definitely earned their place in history the hard way.

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Obviously we’ll researched but I found it lacked character depth. There was no why behind anything. It felt entirely like a non-fiction telling with invented dialogue.

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I grew up loving anything to do with the Tudors, especially with how diabolical Henry the VIII was. Unfortunately Katherine Parr was one of the least eventful marriages with Henry (compared to being beheaded or dying in childbirth) so I didn’t learn a lot about her, but I enjoyed doing so in this book. She really embodied involuntary sacrifice, being that she didn’t have much of a choice once the king had his eyes on her. I appreciate the author doing the research and presenting Katharine’s story in an intriguing novel.

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I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. The book was good. Tudor fans would love. Not many books written about Katherine Parr

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Katharine Parr was the sixth wife of Henry VIII and England’s most married queen. The death of Katharine Parr’s second husband draws near. Katharine Parr is pursued by two suitors. The first is her love, Thomas Seymour. The second is the most powerful man in England, King Henry VIII. As Katharine is approaching widowhood, she wonders if she can sacrifice love for the good of her religion and country. Could Katharine be the queen who could help reform England under a turbulent reign?

Katharine Parr is a very likable and relatable heroine. She has a love of learning and often spends her free time on books. She is also passionate in the Protestant faith. It is through her Protestant religion that she is willing to give up love and be a passionate spokesperson on the faith. She is often very intelligent. She uses her intelligence to save herself. Katharine is also a very devoted stepmother, and often seeks to have her stepchildren educated. It is because she wants the best for her stepchildren from both marriages that they come to respect her. Every step Katharine makes, she is very careful. The only time I thought she was reckless was when it came to love. A month after Henry VIII died, she immediately married Thomas Seymour. In her fourth marriage, she made many mistakes. Still, Katharine Parr was devoted to her four husbands, stepchildren, siblings, and her religion.

Overall, this novel is about security, duty, and religion. The novel emphasizes how widowed women had very few prospects in the Tudor era. The characters all seemed very realistic. Henry VIII is shown sympathetic as well as a grieving widower. He is mostly shown as a pawn to ambitious men's schemes and political machinations. Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife is a vast improvement on Katheryn Howard: The Scandalous Queen because it is not as rushed and takes time to develop all the characters and their motivations. Unlike Anna of Kleve: The Princess in Portrait, it mainly sticks to verified facts. Therefore, Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife was rife with meticulous details of the Tudor era. It also highlighted the religious conflicts that plagued the country. The only thing I did not really like about the book was the cheesy romance between Katharine Parr and Thomas Seymour. It seemed to be instant love. Katharine only seemed to love simply because of his looks and his charms. Nevertheless, Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife is a feast for historical fiction lovers! I did not want this novel to end! Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife is a gripping and heart-wrenching read!

The Six Tudor Queens as a whole have really been a delightful treat. For years, I have looked forward to reading about each of Henry VIII’s queens. Now that I am finished with the last queen, I am truly saddened because with each book, it felt like I was a visitor in Henry VIII’s court and each of these queens have been my friends. I have wept throughout their difficulties and tragedies. Therefore, finishing Katherine Parr: The Sixth Wife has been very bittersweet. Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife is an excellent standalone. Yet, to truly love this book, you have to read the Six Tudor Queen series in order. Only then, can you truly appreciate this masterpiece series. The Six Tudor Queens is a must read for any Tudor fan! I recommend this novel for fans of Margaret Campbell Barnes, Carolly Erickson, and Laurien Gardiner!

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Author # Alison Weir is also a acclaimed historian. Her novel # Katharine Parr, # The Sixth Wife brings her Tudor Queens series to a close. A remarkable end to a series worth taking a look at.
This story is about the last wife of King Henry VIII. When she married him she was already twice widowed. Also at the time in love with.......
Thank you for the advance copy,
#Netgalley, # Alison Weir, and # Random House-Ballantine 💜🐾🐾

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Hugeeee Tudor fan! And SUCH a fan of these retellings and also as someone who thinks Katherine got such a bad rep, I love so much what this story did for her.

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I really enjoyed this book! I've always been fascinated by King Henry VIII's wives, and have researched this topic extensively. However, much of the focus is often placed on his first two wives and the drama that ensued as he sought a divorce. Alison Weir's extensively researched book focuses instead on the aftermath of the Catholic Church's upheaval in England. She provides in-depth insight into the turmoil that many English subjects felt due to the religious changes Henry instated. Weir is a gifted author, who sticks impressively to the historical record while also humanizing her characters. This was the first time I've ever felt that Katharine Parr truly had a voice in the Henry VII saga. Rather than just being the wife who "survived," Weir gives us valuable insight into her plausible thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. She was truly an extraordinary woman who deserves to have light shone on her individual story. My only complaint about this book is that it may have had a bit too much detail, but this only showed Weir's commitment to accuracy and extensive research. Overall, I felt that this book was enjoyable, informative, and insightful. Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!

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I am a massive fan of anything Tudor. I have read all books written by Alison Weir. This book and the entire series is great insight into the court of Henry VIII. It was also fascinating to learn more about Katherine Parr. She was the last if his wives and survived. I recommend this book and the entire series. Alison puts so much research into all her books and they do not disappoint.

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This was a great ending to a wonderful series, I've been enjoying Ms. Weir's Tudor series. I enjoyed going through this book and was sad that it was over.

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The Sixth Wife is the sixth installment from the Six Tudor Queens series. It is what I would expect from Alison Weir. Five stars.

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Wow this one took me a long time to read. Much longer than any of the others. I don't think it was Weir's writing (seeing as I love everything that woman writes), but it was more that I found Katharine Parr's life a bit lackluster for a 500+ page book.

I did like reading about her first two husbands as I haven't heard much about them. I like the liberties Weir took with husband #1's sexuality and I like that husband #2 seemed to awaken Katharine's sexuality. That was just a nice little parallel.

I think the thing I liked most in this book was seeing Katharine & Henry having a successful marriage based on respect and friendship. I was most pulled in by those few sentences that noted when Katharine realized she really did love him. Sure, maybe it wasn't a passionate love, but they're was an ease to their relationship that was based in mutual respect that I really did like.

Man. I'm sad Henry didn't have more wives so that I had more books in this series to look forward to. Until next time, Weir. Until next time.

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I enjoyed this book. A few things that I didn't know about Katherine Parr that I looked up afterwards to learn even more about. Well written.

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Wow what a book! As a lover of historical reads this is a go to author for me as she writes based on facts and true events more than anyone that I have read in this time period. Though I read this out of order it made no difference to me and I loved it. The last of King Henry's six wives you can totally feel her struggle and pain. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical reads and anything about the Tudors.

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The last in the serious of Henry's wives and it did not disappoint! Loved learning more about Katherine Parr! Wonderful end to the series.

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I really enjoyed this book - Katherine Parr is such an interesting wife due to the fact the is the only one to survive. Alison Weir is a fantastic author and really transports you to this time period.

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No one writes historical fiction like Alison Weir. No one captures the essence of the time period and complexities of the world and the characters as well. As a fan of Weir's nonfiction history books, I was taken by KATHERINE PARR and immensely enjoyed it.

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Alison Weir is such a talented historian, and her books, historical fiction or non-fiction, never disappoints.

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My feelings on this book are a bit complicated. The beginning was very interesting. I liked seeing Katharine in her childhood and it was interesting seeing how as she was growing up societies expectations took ahold of her. However, then she gets married to her first husband and this book starts to drag immensly. It just felt like Katharine was reacting to a bunch of interesting happening but she herself never actually did anything. I had to push myself so hard to continue reading and my hopes weren't high for the rest of the book. Then we get to the point where she marries Henry and all of the sudden I liked the book more. Katharine had a more active part in her own story in the second half. This caused me to be much more engaged in the story and I just had a better time reading the book. It still was pretty slow in moments and I would have loved if this book focused a bit more on Katharine's accomplishments, instead of just casually mentioning them. So yeah, this book was a bit of a mixed bag for me but I still want to check out the other books in this series.

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