Hardcover, 289 pages
Release Date: September 1, 2015Published by: Simon PulseStand-aloneSource: Netgalley/ LibraryFor fans of: Historical Re-tellings, Romance, Contemporary, YA
In this wonderfully creative retelling of the infamous—and torrid—love affair between Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII, history collides with the present when a sizzling romance ignites in a modern-day high school.
Henry Tudor’s life has been mapped out since the day he was born: student body president, valedictorian, Harvard Law School, and a stunning political career just like his father’s. But ever since the death of his brother, the pressure for Henry to be perfect has doubled. And now he’s trapped: forbidden from pursuing a life as an artist or dating any girl who isn’t Tudor-approved.
Then Anne Boleyn crashes into his life.
Wild, brash, and outspoken, Anne is everything Henry isn’t allowed to be—or want. But soon Anne is all he can think about. His mother, his friends, and even his girlfriend warn him away, but his desire for Anne consumes him.Henry is willing to do anything to be with her, but once they’re together, will their romance destroy them both?
Inspired by the true story of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII, Anne & Henry beautifully reimagines the intensity, love, and betrayal between one of the most infamous couples of all time.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This book definitely left me ragey. I’m not sure if it was because this is how people were back then, or if it was because the modern day version made people act this way…. Whatever the case may be, I wasn’t impressed very much with the retelling itself, but I did like Ius’ writing style. I’m super interested to see what else she writes.
“This isn’t Hogwarts. The good don’t always triumph.“
pg. 53
Henry has his life all figured out. He’s the star QB of the football team. He is on the fast track to Harvard. And he of course has the most amazing girlfriend, captain of the cheer squad, Catherine. He literally has it all. Or rather everything is given to him. Then Anne comes out of nowhere and changes everything. Including Henry. He’s now become the thing he and his family have dreaded. A rebel. But as soon as things between them start looking up, things also spin out of control and things are so much more crazy than Henry thought.
“A storm’s brewing in the distance, a warning of what’s to come..“
pg. 109
I’ll go ahead and start with the thing that upset me the most about this book. All the freaking cliches! In my updates on Goodreads I literally asked if “All rich people did things like this” because there was nothing that seemed like it could be real life. It all seemed so fake because REALLY. There was the super mean cheerleader and her friends. He was the super hot QB of the football team and President of Student Council. I get it, they were like “royalty,” but it could’ve stopped there. It didn’t. Most of the situations were cliches and it irked me almost the entire way.
“There’s no such thing as forever.“
pg. 165
As for the retelling part, I was excited about it. I thought it would end in a pretty odd, but cool way considering the real story. Yeah, no such luck. It was definitely bland compared to that one. I thought there would be SOMETHING cool that would happen, but it was definitely not what I was looking for. It might have done me some good to remember that this was a YA book, but at the same time, there are some of the more crazy things out there lol
“She’s an emotional train-wreck, but fuck she’s a beautiful disaster.“
pg. 253
This entire book just made me ragey. The slut shaming, the cliches, just everything. What bothers me most about it though, was the fact that in a setting like this I’m not sure any of the teens would’ve acted differently. The way she wrote them kept me glued to the pages even though I can truthfully say I didn’t like any of the characters. Nevertheless, I’m sure this doesn’t make a lick of sense, but this one was a tough one to review. My feels were all over the place and I was sure I wouldn’t know how to put them into words.
Overall, I give this
Real rating 2.5 but I rounded up.
Wow. This sounds like a book I should stay far away from. Which disappoints me, because I had really been expecting this to be a good one. 🙂 I really enjoy the story of Henry the eight, and was interested to see how someone would make this into a contemporary story. However, with the things you mention this sounds like just the book I would hate. So I think I will pass!
Cucie @ Cucie Reads