The Secret - Sức Mạnh tải xuống LIT miễn phí

Frederique Vayssieres frederiquevayssieres — Lady of the English might be more aptly named Ladies of the English as this story is just as much about the widowed queen Adeliza as it is about the rightful queen Matilda. We are privy to their respective worlds as Matilda struggles to fight for that which should be hers by right. We see Adeliza struggle between how she wants to help Matilda and how she must do as her husband wants. Matilda must might against her cousin Stephen and his supporters to take back England for her and her heirs. A shocker for me about this book by Elizabeth Chadwick is that it didn’t immediately suck me right into the lives of the characters. I felt that the beginning of the novel was more slow and wading – you didn’t just jump right in. As the novel progressed I began to connect with Adeliza and very much enjoyed her story. Toward the end I even cried as her story came to a close – Chadwick was at her best in pulling the heartstrings and manipulating the reader’s emotions. But, while I liked Adeliza, I just could not get into Matilda. I felt like she was cold and distant to the reader – and even though that was sort of how she presented herself to the world, I just couldn’t connect with her enough to care if she won back her crown or not. I kept looking forward to the next Adeliza passage. This was my first book by this author that wasn’t in some way related to the Bigod or Marshall families – and I didn’t love it quite as much as those. I have to say that Chadwick excels in the details. Every moment in the world felt real, as if you were breathing in the same air as the characters. You get it all – sights, sounds, tastes, smells. The minor or sideline characters were very well developed and I came to care for many of them as well. You really get to see the young Henry II and can believe how he grew up to become the great king who would eventually marry Eleanor of Aquitaine. So overall this book was sort of hit and miss for me. Not my favorite Chadwick read by a long shot, but still a very good book overall. This book was received for review from the publisher - I was not compensated for my opinions and the above is my honest review.

Jonathan Royer jonathanroyer — Once again I hated the ending b/c it left me hangin!

Shaena Stinvil shae_ — I picked up this book for a book club. To be honest, I was dreading to read it because from my not-so-vast experience with biographies and autobiographies I expected it to be either boring or depressing, or both. The book surprised me, however. It was neither boring nor depressing - even though with the things this family experienced it could have been the most depressing story, had the author chosen to portray it that way. The real experiences described in the book were at times so incredible to me that I kept reading it as though it was fiction. I actually had to stop and remind myself several times that it was indeed an autobiography. While reading the book I couldn't help but put myself in the author's shoes and try to feel what she felt and understand as much as I could without actually being her. She had many tough experiences and had to grow up way before any kids normally would (what with cooking her own food at 3 years old and shooting guns soon after). At some point the kids in her family started acting more adult than their parents. I don't know how the author, after experiencing what she has experienced, accomplished to keep the book from becoming the one of blame and hurt feelings. She kept the story quite light and even funny at times. Beyond that, without justifying her parents' actions, she described more than enough of their positive attributes to help the reader understand their choices to some degree. I'll definitely recommend this book to my friends.

Christopher Saint _a_inci_hotos — Okay well, that was really depressing, I have to say. It was a good book and all, but God, it took me a long time to read it because it was just so sad! Not sad in an obvious way but sad in a really thoughtful, underlying way.