Patience, Princess Catherine by Carolyn Meyer

Despite the way the order of the series is, I would actually suggest starting with Catherine as she was Queen first before the other Royals in the series. Overall, it’s a great book for young adults who want to get started on their Tudor mania.

It could actually be rather dry for Tudor fans. So if you like all the drama and action of the court, you won’t really find it here. Then again this book is meant for teens and is really just a ‘starter’ book for those wanting to get into Tudor fiction. I might also add.the book doesn’t have the intrigue, and drama of court life that fans of historical fiction would expect. However, what I saw more of was Catherine and her relationships with her Duenna, and her ambassador, which I thought was an interesting read as in other books I have read, none of that was really the main feature. You do see a little bit of Arthur and Catherine, however not as much as I would have liked. The other main Royal characters aren’t really that big of a central role in this story. You immediately sympathize with Catherine and admire her strength to survive despite going into near total poverty and unable to provide for herself and her household - what I liked the most was although there were attempts of others trying to run her life, Catherine finally stands up for herself and says enough is enough and makes decisions on her own.

(Which is nice to see, there are some novels I have read where Isabelle and Ferdinand don’t even play a role in her upbringing, or are being portrayed as cold blooded parents). Trained not to weep in public, the young.

You do see glimpses of the young naive girl who was used to being loved, and coddled by her mother and father. This riveting slice of fictional royal history paints a sympathetic portrait of Henry VIIIs oldest daughter, before she earns the title Bloody Mary. The way Catherine is written in this book is well done and shows her gracefully turning into the strong woman she would become later in her life. If you’re a Tudor fanatic the story isn’t anything new, but different style of writing and the way Catherine is portrayed is always something interesting to read. The story does centralize more on Catherine’s life before she became Queen.

Patience, Princess Catherine by Carolyn Meyer