" I did not review this last night, because I read and read until I could get to the end of this book. I have to say that, while I did not love it, the story in The Last Wife of Henry VIII is still an entertaining read. The store follows Catherine Parr and her life as she watches the wives of Henry rise and fall around her. Catherine Parr is a confusing character, and perhaps, she was in life and the fiction follows. However, I found her wishy-washy. At times, she seems to be a complete puppet, and other times, she seems to be on the verge of breaking out of the mold, but never quite gets there. There was portions of religion, which Catherine seemed to have an interest take on, but much of it was glossed over for the historical part of the story. Most of the male characters are not likable in this book, and, I think that it would have been nice to have at least one. Those that are seem to be on the side or have terrible things happening to them. The ending, while I won't give it away, left me wondering what this story wanted me to get out of it.
That all said, it is still an entertaining book. There are still character interactions which are lively and interesting. There is some plotting that really catches the reader and makes it worthwhile to read. If you are looking for a historical novel with a strong female character, though, this simply is not it. Catherine is far too meek to be a strong heroine and the book suffers because of this. "
— Leah, 1/1/2014