Book Review: Tarnish by Katherine Longshore

Title: Tarnish
Author: Katherine Longshore
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Release Date: June 18th, 2013
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback ARC
Source: Gifted
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction

       

Anne Boleyn is the odd girl out. Newly arrived to the court of King Henry VIII, everything about her seems wrong, from her clothes to her manners to her witty but sharp tongue. So when the dashing poet Thomas Wyatt offers to coach her on how to shine at court—and to convince the whole court they’re lovers—she accepts. Before long, Anne’s popularity has soared, and even the charismatic and irresistible king takes notice. More than popularity, Anne wants a voice—but she also wants love. What began as a game becomes high stakes as Anne finds herself forced to make an impossible choice between her heart’s desire and the chance to make history.

Im not much of a history buff, I know the basics but that's about it. When I picked up Tarnish I thought it would be boring and so detailed that I had to put it in my DNF pile. Glad to report that wasn't the case. Tarnish was a read that makes me want to read more historical fiction.

We all know what happens to Anne Boleyn after her marriage to Henry. What we don't know is what happened before her marriage to Henry? Who was Anne? What was she like? How did she first notice Henry? Did she have amours before him?

All that is answered in Katherine Longshore story, she didn't rewrite history, she just gave peaks into what could've, maybe happened when Anne was a teenager.

I liked Anne, she was outspoken and wanted people to listen to what she had to say. She didn't want to just marry and bear children, she wanted to be heard and seen and appreciated for her mind rather than body.

Court life was crazy, you had to act a certain way for people to notice you and Anne didn't like that she had to be someone else to get noticed but when she did get noticed she loved it, Anne wanted people to remember her name and as we all know it happened.

I don't know much about Thomas Wyatt at all but in this story, I was like King Henry who. Thomas accepted Anne as she was and I almost cried because I knew they wouldn't end up together but I'm going to pretend they did and lived happily ever after.

Tarnish was the first book I read by Katherine Longshore and now I'm even more excited to read the other books like Gilt and Brazen.