The King's Sisters (The Cross and the Crown, #3) by Sarah Kennedy

The King's Sisters (The Cross and the Crown, #3) Reviews

• 
  Sifra

  
  Read this review at
  Brilliant Bookshelf
  
  My expectations differed from the actual reality of the book, but I did enjoy it nonetheless.
  
  One thing I’d like to state in advance is that I really recommend reading the previous books in the series first. It is possible to read The King’s Sisters as a standalone, as I did, but it does make it harder to get into the story because you jump right into it, while a lot has already happened.
  
  At first I had a hard time getting into the story and the characters. This is partly because I did not read the previous two books, but also because a lot of characters share the same name. I’m sure names like Catherine or Anne were common in that time period,but it does make things rather confusing at first. It took me quite a while to figure out who was who.
  
  Once I got over these initial problems though, I got to fully appreciate the setting that Kennedy created through detailed descriptions. It allowed me to vividly picture the house, the surroundings, the way characters dressed and more. Clearly the author did a lot of research and it showed because the setting truly felt like Tudor England.
  
  Unfortunately, I was less enthusiastic about the plot and the pace. Very little happened in the first half of the book and the focus seemed to be entirely on the day-to-day running of the house and the kitchen duties. That got rather dull after a while and the story dragged considerably because of it. The second half of the book made up for it with a lot of action and a better pace. However, the plot and pace as a whole could have been more balanced in my opinion.
  
  All in all, The King’s Sisters is an enjoyable read, especially if you are a fan of historical fiction. However, it does leave room for some improvement.
• 
  C.P. Lesley

  Many historical novels explore the highways and byways of Tudor England, especially the marital troubles of Henry VIII, which makes it all the more pleasant when an author approaches that much-visited time and place with a fresh eye. In her The Cross and the Crown series–which currently consists of
  The Altarpiece,
  City of Ladies, and The King's Sisters–Sarah Kennedy looks at Henry's roller-coaster search for marital happiness and male progeny from the viewpoint of a young nun cast out of her convent and flung into a strange interim state where she can neither practice her religion nor marry without the express permission of the king.
  
  We meet Catherine Havens in 1535. King Henry has recently declared the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the local gentry sees a chance to increase its landholdings at the expense of Catherine's convent–a development that her abbess in no way supports but cannot prevent. When the convent chapel's large and valuable altarpiece goes missing, the questions raised by the theft and the attempts to retrieve it sweep Catherine into a secular world that her sheltered background has not prepared her to handle. The situation only deepens in future books, as the king's constantly shifting moods, loves, alliances, and attitudes toward religion keep his realm in equally constant turmoil–the only certainty that a misstep will lead to torture and execution.
  
  In this atmosphere, no one is safe. Yet Catherine and the other "king's sisters," a group that includes his divorced wife Anne of Cleves, strive to care for his children while remaining true to their consciences. That Catherine is also a gifted physician (although a woman cannot bear that title, and the line between medicine and witchcraft at times wears disturbingly thin) offers her both a means of support and a certain protection amid the many dangers that beset even secondary affiliates of the royal court. The King's Sisters opens a window on a world in which the fate of Anne Boleyn is but one reminder of King Henry's caprice.
  
  I received a free copy of this book to prepare for my
  interview with the author. As usual, I do not give star ratings to books sent to me for interviews.
• 
  Stephanie Kline

  Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this book. I skipped the second novel in this series, so that might be why. Overall, I found it pretty dry and slow-moving, with not enough action to keep me interested.
• 
  Helen Hollick

  "It was refreshing to read a Tudor novel that was a little different to the usual run of books about Henry VIII's various (usually tragic) wives."
  
  #DDRevs - Historical Fiction Reviews
  (Founder, Helen Hollick )
• 
  Rosie Lee

  An enjoyable read
• 
  Debra Martin

  In The King's Sisters author Sarah Kennedy once again brings us back to Tudor England and the fate that has befallen Catherine Havens Overton. Catherine is a wealthy widow serving at Richmond Palace in the house of Beloved Sister Anne of Cleves. It's 1542 and Henry's young queen Catherine Howard has been beheaded for treason. Suspicion and danger hang on every word and in every corner, but Catherine is in more peril than most as she hides a secret. She has attracted the attention of the power hungry Martin David Martins and she must use her wit to stay one step ahead of the foul man.
  
  I have read The Altarpiece, the book that introduced us to Catherine Havens and thoroughly enjoyed it. This third book, however, dragged considerably at the beginning. I understand that the mood of the house and that of England had to be conveyed, but nothing really happened until 40% into the book. Snippets of what had happened to Catherine since the first book were revealed and I think if I had read City of Ladies, I would have been more invested in Catherine's character. When the action finally started, my interest in Catherine's fate was piqued. Without going into any spoilers about the fate of the characters, I was not pleased that this book ended on another cliff hanger.
  
  Ms. Kennedy clearly has researched Tudor England well and while I appreciated that, I was not very interested in the day-to-day drudgery of the kitchen maids which took up too much of the beginning of the story. I would recommend reading both of the previous books before reading this one as it will allow the reader to fully immerse oneself into Tudor England.
  
  I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
• 
  Sheryle

  ARC provided by NetGalley and Knox Robinson Publishing
  
  THE KING’S SISTERS by Sarah Kennedy can be summed up in one word—disappointing. From the glowing reviews of Ms. Kennedy’s previous books in this series that were included in the description of this novel and her degrees in Renaissance Literature and Creative Writing, I was expecting a fresh, exciting, well-written look into Tudor England. Unfortunately, I found most of the book to be dull and plodding—both in writing and plot. For at least the first half of the book it seemed like all the very few characters did was wash clouts, peel vegetables, play cards or prepare healing potions. Even the two visits from Henry’s daughters were boring. In all fairness, though, there was a bit more action in the second half of the book.
  
  The Kings’ Sisters is the third book in a series and I was hesitant to read it since I had not read the first two books. However, from descriptions of the book and in reviews of the previous books in the series, I felt secure that each title could be read as a stand-alone book. I disagree completely with this, especially since the author does not give any background information in the book. As I read I was very frustrated by the fact that I had so many unanswered questions. Some were very basic that an extra sentence or two could have cleared up. Many of these questions are still unanswered even after I have finished the book. But, I no longer care.
  
• 
  Patty

  This is the third installment in the Cross and the Crown series and I believe it to be the last. I’ve read two of them. In this book Catherine Havens Overton finds herself serving Anne of Cleves at the time that Catherine Howard is put to death by Henry VIII. As all of us who find the Tudors fascinating know, Henry set Anne aside and considered her his “beloved sister.” That was good for her as she managed to keep her head. This book shows a side of her I’ve never seen presented in other novels – one that wanted him back after Catherine’s untimely demise. But forces are afoot to thwart any thoughts of that and Catherine Havens (there are too many Catherines in this time period!) is caught up in all of the intrigue.
  
  Catherine (Havens) is a fascinating character. I enjoyed City of Ladies and want to read the first book, The Altarpiece. In this installment she finds herself in quite a series of predicaments – I don’t want to spoil any plot points – and needs to use her considerable wits and talents to work her way out of them. It was a dicey time in history and Ms. Kennedy keeps true to the vagaries of Henry’s troubled and troublesome reign. I will note that I preferred City of Ladies to this book . In this one Catherine seems to have lost some of her independence and I just didn’t like her as much. I don’t know if the times got her down or what but it was a dark and unhappy read at times. It ended with much to be desired in my opinion.
• 
  Joanne Lewis

  I received an advanced copy of this book via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
  
  This is described as a standalone book although there are two previous novels in the series and reading these in advance may help the reader get to grips more quickly with the characters as it can be difficult to gauge who is who at the start.
  
  Many of the characters share the same name and this too adds to the confusion at the start of the book. Conversations between characters were not always clear and it became something of a chore to read the first third of the story as a result.
  
  As a fan of Tudor history, this book piqued my interest and the author has clearly done her research to ensure an historically accurate portrayal of those times. The threat posed by Henry VIII to anyone who fell foul of his ideas to reform Tudor Britain and the treachery among those charged with serving him are perfectly captured, although it is not until the second half of the book that anything really happens in terms of the plot.
  
  Luckily, this part of the book picks up in both pace and action and it actually took me only a couple of days to read in contrast to the several weeks spent painstakingly trawling through the earlier section.
  
  This had the potential to be an enthralling historical novel but sadly falls short.
• 
  Sandra

  This is a review of an ARC provided by the publisher but the review is my own.
  
  This was an interesting read but I have to say right off the bat that since this is the third book in a series I felt as though not having read the previous ones did interfere with my understanding of the characters better. Things that in a single title I would have seen as flaws may be due to this fact so I'm just gonna say that what I really liked about this book was the look at the way the women in the story are experiencing the restricted freedom of being a woman in King Henry VIII's late reign. There is definitely an overwhelming sense of oppression for these characters though they themselves are strong. We catch glimpses of the political intrigue of the times and get behind the scenes closeup looks at Lady Anne of Cleaves as she waits to see if Henry will once again claim her as his wife after Catherine Howard's execution and we come to understand how each little decision carried so much heft and weight on the lives of those who served the royal households and how allegiances could be made or broken in such short time.
  
  There is much more to this story but I feel that all in all I have to go and start from the beginning to get a better grasp on this story.
• 
  Annie McDonnell

  I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
  This is the third book in Sarah Kennedy’s “The Cross and The Crown Series”. It is now 1542, and Henry VIII’s young queen Catherine Howard has been beheaded for adultery. Catherine Haven Overton is now a widow with her two children living with Sister Ann of Cleve.
  This book was not as exciting as book two in the series. This was really a book that described their lives in this time in English history in such detail…I got a bit involved, as Sarah Kennedy writes with the depictions of someone that was truly there, as in all three of the books in this series. The only thing is that there was not a lot going in the beginning of the book….but, it picked up in the second half.
  I was really invested in her character, Catherine, and I kept reading to find out her fate.
  This was disappointing compared to “City of Ladies”, but if I did not have that to compare this book to, I think I would have given it more stars.