The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
audio: 13 hours/ 11 discs
published 2010 by Simon & Schuster Audio
ISBN-13: 9781847379405

Type: {Beach Read: fluffy, mindless, or easy to read.}
Rating: {Me Likey: Enjoyable! Particularly for fans of this genre.}

Why You’re Reading It:

• You enjoy Philippa Gregory
• You’ve read The White Queen and want to see what happens next in the series
• You enjoy slightly accurate, soap-opera types of historical fiction

What I Thought: 

Haven’t read The White Queen, the first book of this trilogy by Philippa Gregory (the third has not yet been released)? No fear, you can still get through this one easily. It does not rely on you having the knowledge of what happens in the first book, though your enjoyment of the series will be enhanced by reading them all. The Red Queen was more enjoyable for me than the first book. Perhaps because it felt a little more historical and less fantastical (magic plays a big part in the first book). I know that magic will be a point of plot in the third book as well, but I will be expecting that so it might be a different experience for me (I have nothing against magic, I just like to know what I’m getting before I commit to a book).

Again, the historical fiction may be more fiction than history, but it’s still based on facts (even if liberties were taken). Yet, the person whom Gregory has imagined Margaret to be was conniving and competitive, yet the reader can feel sympathy towards her knowing what happened to her as a child – and the kind of life she was given. We know the outcome of what will happen because it is mentioned at the end of the first book of the series (and also in the history books of the world), but Gregory is able to create real seeming characters and entertain her readers with her thoughts about what they might have been like. If you are interested in something light and diverting without having to put too much thought into your reading, this would be a god choice for you. The ending slows down a bit when we hear about a few of the battles, but the conclusion is satisfying and you’ll still be interested in picking up the third one when it comes along to complete the series.