Tuesday, June 19, 2012

REVIEW + GIVEAWAY: The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr by Sandra Byrd

Synopsis: Juliana St. John is the daughter of a prosperous knight. Though her family wants her to marry the son of her father's business partner, circumstances set her on a course toward the court of Henry VIII and his last wife, Kateryn Parr. Sir Thomas Seymour, uncle of the current heir, Prince Edward, returns to Wiltshire to tie up his concerns with Juliana's father's estate and sees instantly that Juliana would fit into the household of the woman he loves, Kateryn Parr. Her mother agrees to have her placed in Parr's household for "finishing" and Juliana goes, though perhaps reluctantly.
    
For she knows a secret. She has been given the gift of prophecy, and in one of her visions she has seen Sir Thomas shredding the dress of the king's daughter, the lady Elizabeth, to perilous consequence.  As Juliana learns the secrets of King Henry VIII's court, she faces threats and opposition, learning truths about her own life that will undo everything she holds dear.

My Thoughts: As  I have said before I love the Tudors but I have mostly read about Elizabeth and Henry VIII with a few books about Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard tossed in here and there.  The Secret Keeper takes on the story of Kateryn Parr (6th and final wife of the corpulent King) as seen through the eyes of Juliana St. John who becomes Maid of Honour to the Queen.  Juliana arrives at the household of Kate (then Lady Latimer) where she makes friends, tries to adjust, and soon becomes a close companion.  When Kate catches the eye of the aging Henry, she has little choice but to agree to his proposal and when she leaves the household of her recently deceased husband to become Henry's bride, she takes Juliana with her. Through Juliana's close relationship with Kateryn, we get to see the real woman behind the obedient wife and nursemaid vision that we are used to seeing.  Kate is highly intelligent, devoted to the new religion, and has an extremely generous spirit.  Throughout the novel we see her constantly helping those in need, especially those who share her religious beliefs and are treated to the King's cruel brand of  "justice" because of it.

There are many Tudor related books out there but Byrd puts an interesting spin on this one by giving Juliana the gift of prophecy.  She is the recipient of dreams that give her glimpses into the future and one such dream shows a man cutting to shreds the dress of a young girl while she is held helplessly by another (Tudor aficionados will know what this is all about before it is revealed in the book).

I loved reading along as all the drama unfolded and this book covers a lot of ground-the decline of the aging King, Kate's struggle to mask her feelings for Tom Seymour and be a good wife while quietly advancing her religion, the aftermath of the King's death and the uncertain future of his heirs, the actions of the greedy grasping Seymours as they assert their control over the boy-king Edward, the unveiling of what Juliana's dream meant and the disastrous consequences, and the fate of Kate who was a genuinely good woman and friend to so many.  I also liked the author's version of what happened to Kate's daughter Mary Seymour.

I do wish the romance between Juliana and the dashing Irish Knight Jamie Hart had been developed a little bit more.  They seem to build quite a strong attachment for occasional short bits of time together when he returns to court from abroad-strong enough for him to drop everything when Juliana needs him.  I did really enjoy this story and getting an in depth view of Kate Parr.  What a fascinating woman!  This is the second book in Sandra's Ladies in Waiting series (the first is To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn-see my review here). I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series!


 This book was provided to me by the publisher for participation in the author's tour with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.  These are my honest thoughts on the book.

And now for the giveaway!  I have a copy of The Secret Keeper to give away to one lucky winner!

Giveaway is open to: US

To Enter: Leave your name and email address in the comments.  One extra entry each will be given to for spreading the word by posting about the giveaway on  Facebook, Twitter, or your blog.

Giveaway Ends: Midnight June 30th.  Winner will be announced here on July 1st.

35 comments:

  1. I have long been interested in Catherine Parr's experiences. (Curious as to why the author chose to spell her name differently.) I would love to read this book. Thanks for the giveaway.
    lcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)com

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  2. I don't know much about Kateryn Parr so this looks like an interesting book.
    mce1011 AT aol DOT com

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  3. I enjoyed the first book in this series and can't wait to read this one!

    amandatheaker(at)gmail(dot)com

    Tweeted: https://twitter.com/bookaddictdiary/status/215088170495262720

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  4. Thank you for the giveaway!

    thejessiebelle (at) gmail (dot) com

    Tweet: https://twitter.com/thejessiebelle/status/215103033074388993

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  5. It sounds like quite a good book, I especially like the slightly paranormal aspect of one character being able to glimpse the future. Thanks.

    carlscott(at)prodigy(dot)net(dot)mx

    I tweeted a link to this blog post for an extra entry: https://twitter.com/carlrscott/status/215109363570978817

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  6. I'd so love to read this so please enter me.

    Thanks,
    niteofblu at gmail dot com

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  7. I can't wait to read it!
    mamabunny13
    mamabunny13 at gmail dot com

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  8. tweet https://twitter.com/mamabunny13/status/215124256990838784
    mamabunny13 at gmail dot com

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  9. I am very interested in this book. I love seeing the royal character through a fictional character and the secret does add mystery to this book.

    I tweeted this giveaway:
    http://t.co/ZsH6YVw8

    I posted it on Facebook too:
    http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn


    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have never read a book about Kateryn Parr! I think I looks amazing and I would love to win.

    -Kelly

    pretentiousvintage.blogspot.com
    kellymcostello(at)aol(dot)com

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  11. I have never read a book about Kateryn Parr! I think I looks amazing and I would love to win.

    -Kelly

    pretentiousvintage.blogspot.com
    kellymcostello(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the giveaway! i just tweeted it, and it's connected to my FB account as well. here is my tweet: https://twitter.com/wordsandpeace/status/215198739520962560
    Emma @ Words And Peace
    ehc16e at yahoo dot com

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr by Sandra Byrd sounds really interesting....I would love to win a copy!

    nancym_s at yahoo dot com

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  15. Hey Holly! Thank you for your terrific review and for the giveaway on your site. I appreciate it, and you. Linda - I spelled it Kateryn because that's how she signed her own name to documents and letters. I know it'll cost me a bit in the search engines but I wanted to be true to her presentation of herself. :)

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  16. This sounds interesting. Unfortunately I know little of Henry VIII's last wife, save the short ditty we learned in history class that she survived.

    I've read the Philippa Gregory novel about Mary and was really impressed with the "other" side of history.

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  17. I haven't read much about "the last wife" either. Sounds very interesting.

    jasmyn9[at]hotmail[dot]com

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  18. I have read other books about Henry VIII but not one about Kateryn. I love Historical Romance and look forward to reading The Secret Keeper. Thanks for the opportunity to enter giveaway.

    misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

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  19. Posted on FB(Brenda B. Hill)

    https://www.facebook.com/#!/brenda.b.hill.3/posts/378400192223086

    misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

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  20. Tweeted giveaway (@misskallie2000)
    https://twitter.com/misskallie2000/status/215575925851566080

    misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

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  21. I have always been fascinated by Katherine Parr. I have a lot of trouble trying to publish comments for book giveaways...sigh.

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  22. Sounds like such a good book!

    5678dancer(at)gmail(dot)com

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  23. I love the cover for this book!

    volta2173 at sbcglobal dot net

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  24. Count me in, please!
    Lissette_125 at hotmail dot com
    Thanks!

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  25. I loved the Tudors and P Gregory's books on them so this sounds like an awesome treat.

    https://twitter.com/alterlisa/status/216027422607409155
    (\___/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

    alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
    http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/

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  26. I love the angle of a book being highlighted through the eyes of a secondary, little known character. It always makes me feel like the proverbial fly on the wall :). I loved To Die For and am really excited to read this book. Thanks for the giveaway!
    candc320@gmail.com

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  27. I would love to win a copy of this book! Thank you for the chance :)

    muse_in_the_fog@hotmail.com

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  28. I want to try this again because I am listed as unknown. And I love Katherine Parr! I would like to win this book, Jessica Flinders

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  29. I'd love to read this. It looks like a great book! momlovesdeals at gmail dot com

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  30. looks like a great book!

    ykatrina at hotmail dot com

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  31. This is a great review. I would love to win and learn more of Katherine Parr. Thank you for the givwaway.
    Leona
    mnleona at aol dot com

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  32. Thanks for the giveaway!

    Rachelhwallen@gmail.com

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  33. Would absolutely love to read this. It sounds like a great story.
    rsgrandinetti@yahoo(dot)com

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  34. I just came back from England & would love to read about Katherine Parr.
    gardnerad@juno.com

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