This is a review of the book 'The Other Bolyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory. I was completely blown away by this book. Not my usual reading genre, I was drawn to it as I'd enjoyed the BBC TV series 'the Tudors'.

***Build up**
I'd had the book a while and had been putting off reading it as the 519 pages are a really small font and it looks cramped, I thought it might be a bit hard going but even from page one I couldn't put it down! I took it on a weekend away so that I didn't have to take more than one book (I am a voracious reader once I get going).

**Makes you feel like you're there***

You can really tell that Philippa Gregory knows her historical background, she really has done her research, and whilst of course a lot of the storytelling is fictionalised, that's what makes it great, and it is all based on the theories, books and literature that exists on this fascinating era. The description of the costumes and jewels are really visual and you can picture the heaving bodices at times.

**Brief plot outline**

This is the story of Anne Boleyn's younger sister, Mary which tells how she seduced the king before he married Anne. She bore children to him but they were never really recognised as the king's due to the fact that he was married to Queen Katherine of Spain at the time!

The book follows the rise and fall of the Boleyn girls, how they compete at times for the love of King Henry VIII and what it takes to survive the challenges of the times from illness to childbirth.

**Don't lose your head over it***
What both girls are aiming for is to provide the king with a legitimate son to be his heir. Anne will go to many lengths to achieve this and pays the ultimate price for it in the end (don't need to put a spoiler on this one do I?!)

Overall, the book weaves a beautiful story of true love and how hard it is to find and keep whilst remaining part of a family unit (the Howards / Boleyn) who are determined to succeed.

***A genre to suit many readers**
I think many people would enjoy this book. It is brutal at times, descriptive with a strong story line that is loosely linked to the history of our country. Some parts of it are a little graphic so it may not be suitable for younger readers but I think it needs this to show how desperate the Boleyn girls are at times.

**Verdict**
The book made me realise what a difficult time it was to live during 1521 - 1536 and how everyone is playing games, flirting and cheating in the court. The author strikes a balance between the language of the day and makes it more than readable in today's market.

I have just bought the film to watch now I've finished the book (I didn't want to spoil it by watching the film first) but looking at the reviews on here, as usual the book is by far better than the film!