Gilt by Katherine LongshoreExpected Publication Date: May 15th, 2012
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Page Count: 398 pages
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher via LibraryThing
Purchase: Amazon
* I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. *
This review may contain spoilers if you are unfamiliar with the Tudor history.
In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free-- and love comes at the highest price of all.If you know me at all, you know I'm a HUGE fan of the Tudor Era and anything that has to do with it (except the Showtime show because it's completely inaccurate >_<.) When I found out that the amazing Katherine Longshore was coming out with her debut, Gilt, I knew I had to get my hands on it. Gilt mostly focuses on Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's 5th queen and one of my favorites. The story is written from Kitty's perspective, Cat's best friend, so we get an outsider's look into the dangerous world of the Tudor court. I know a few friends of mine struggled with the story, mainly due to Cat, but I absolutely loved it, and when an author can please someone as picky as me about historical accuracies and anything Tudor than I have to provide high praise.
When Kitty Tylney's best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII's heart and brings Kitty to court, she's thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat's shadow, Kitty's now caught between two men--the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat's meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head.
Kitty is a rare breed in the Tudor court. She wants to marry for love, and she refuses to backstab, lie, or deceive in order to climb the rungs of the social ladder. Her loyalty to Cat is perhaps her biggest flaw, which is sad, but true! Cat, while a complete brat, I loved reading about her. Little is known about Catherine Howard, and I've read books where she's portrayed as merely a pawn in her Uncle's chess game who wishes to follow her heart, as well as books like this where Catherine is a manipulative and greedy girl scheming her way to the throne. Either way, I think I enjoy the scheming and manipulative Cat a little bit better.
Katherine Longshore has an amazing ability to bring history to life, staying true to many facts while using her creative license to expand on things that are not fully known. Her writing is elegant and accurate, while giving a character like Cat a completely sympathetic personality in the end. Despite the fact that I knew how Catherine Howard's life would end, I was pleasantly surprised with Longshore's ability to make me cry my eyes out at Kitty's desolation at the loss of her friend. Any author who can make me reach my heart out to a long dead queen deserves a standing ovation. Being able to keep predictability out of historical fiction is always hard, because we know how it ends. Longshore's ability to twist that ending and make it something memorable is something I absolutely love.
Overall, I loved the crap out of this book and I can't wait to get myself a pretty finished copy to place on my shelf. Katherine Longshore's ability to bring my favorite historical figures to life in a new and exciting way has me highly anticipating whatever she comes up with next. I would love to see Longshore write something about Catherine of Aragon, or even Anne Boleyn (who is my favorite of the Tudor queens!) Katherine Longshore is not only an amazing writer, but an amazing story-teller and she will grab you from the very beginning. If you're looking for some genuinely well-written, accurate, romantic, and pulse-pounding historical fiction, Gilt is something you should definitely pick up!
