Two women competing for a man's heart
Two queens fighting to the death for dominance
The untold story of Mary, Queen of Scots

This dazzling novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory presents a new and unique view of one of history's most intriguing, romantic, and maddening heroines. Biographers often neglect the captive years of Mary, Queen of Scots, who trusted Queen Elizabeth's promise of sanctuary when she fled from rebels in Scotland and then found herself imprisoned as the "guest" of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his indomitable wife, Bess of Hardwick.

The newly married couple welcome the doomed queen into their home, certain that serving as her hosts and jailers will bring them an advantage in the cutthroat world of the Elizabethan court. To their horror, they find that the task will bankrupt them, and as their home becomes the epicenter of intrigue and rebellion against Elizabeth, their loyalty to each other and to their sovereign comes into question. If Mary succeeds in seducing the earl into her own web of treachery and treason, or if the great spymaster William Cecil links them to the growing conspiracy to free Mary from her illegal imprisonment, they will all face the headsman.

Philippa Gregory uses new research and her passion for historical accuracy to place a well-known heroine in a completely new tale full of suspense, passion, and political intrigue. For years, readers have clamored for Gregory to tell Mary's story, and The Other Queen is the result of her determination to present a novel worthy of this extraordinary heroine.

I bought this book the day it came out and usually read a book within a day or two, especially Gregory's books as she is one of my favorite authors. Sadly, months later I haven't even made it through the book and would rather torture myself trying to put on my "skinny jeans" than pick this book up again. I found myself reading a few pages and my mind drifting and not even remembering what I read and having to go back only to find I didn't actually miss anything since it was so incredibly repetitive. The plot (if there is one) was so incredibly lack-luster and the book changes POV among three characters every 5 or so pages so I didn't become invested in any of the characters. Overall a serious disappointment.

I got through 3/4 of this book before cutting my losses and deciding that my time was better spent having a hot bath or taking a nice walk or doing something that's actually relaxing. Because getting through this novel is hard work. The characters aren't appealing, nor is the writing so outstanding that you want to read on to see new turns of phrases. I can't think of a single thing to recommend this book, actually, although I'm a huge fan of her other work. Such a disappointment.

I loved the book "The Other Boleyn Girl" by the same author. Our book club picked this book based on the popularity of that book with our members. Every night I would pick up this book and think, "if I can just read 10 more pages." It was a struggle. At page 70, ready to give up, I read the author's notes in the back which were far more compelling than the book. I convinced myself the book would get better. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Written in diary form by the three main characters, I never felt like I knew the characters. The constant re-hashing of the events by Bess, Mary, and George was not only repetitious and boring, but left out most of the action and intrigue which I knew the author could write. I kept waiting for something to happen in detail. The best that happened was that I finished the book.

If you've never read anything by Ms. Gregory, pick a different book. If you love everything she writes, you might want to read this book. I will wait until the next book is reviewed by a few hundred people before I consider it.

Philippa Gregory is always very hit or miss with me. "Other Boleyn Girl" and "Boleyn Inheritance" were so good it was scary, but I found myself disappointed in "The Constant Princess" and "The Virgin's Lover." I never finished "The Queen's Fool", because I hated it so much. After finishing "The Other Queen," I am not sure if I enjoyed it or not.

The novel itself was rather lackluster. Little happens during the entirety of the book, and so if even a simple argument occured between the characters, I became excited at the very idea that SOMETHING may happen.

While I did identify with each character at some point (and I enjoyed that they each seemed very human, with their own strengths and weaknesses and faults), I overall disliked the three protagonists of the novel. There was A LOT of repitition in both their character traits and overall plot. At many points, the characters seemed like broken records: the 'Other Queen' Mary was always praising herself and belittling others, the middle-aged Bess was always bickering about money, and Bess' husband George was always being foolishly naive (and not in an entertaining way). Indeed, every chapter focused on one of these three character traits... and it got very old very quickly. For example, George's story was about nothing but his love for Queen Mary competiting with his intense loyalty to his wife and country. Yawn.

Gregory's writing style seemed consistent to her other books, but was noticably 'dumbed down.' It lacked the usual creative and intelligent flair of her other books. I wouldn't recommend this book to those who have never read Gregory's work before, just because I would be worried they'd find her writing style dull. I do, however, appreciate Gregory's knowledge for the overall subject, and her way to weave politics (and make politics interesting!) effortlessly into the story.

I rate this book at 2 1/2 stars out of 5. Overall, I'd recommend this to those who love Gregory, or even just enjoy her occasionally. However, if she is very hit or miss with you, you may wish to stay clear of this unfortunatly plotless story.

This is my first Philippa Gregory novel. For a first timer, this novel is pretty interesting and keeps pretty close to the facts and events of the Elizabethan period. Gregory has a knack of inter-weaving fact with fiction and she takes advantage of little known facts to put her own spin on them. The characters themselves are well developed and give an insight into the minds of some key players in Queen Elizabeth's time. What I did not like about this book is how it came to an end all of a sudden - it was too rushed towards the end and lost its steam. It seemed like she got tired of writing the book and decided to end it abruptly.

Going by other reviews, this may not be the best Philippa Gregory novel, but if this is your first book, it is not a bad choice. Since Amazon does not allow half stars, I gave this book a 4, but in reality it is 3.5 stars.