I was first introduced to Emerson by reading the first book in her series, the Pleasure Palace, but haven't read the rest of the books in the series. It does very well as a stand-alone book (coming from me, that's high praise).

The story is told in two parts, the past and the present - the premise is Audrey, who is sick, is telling her 8 year old daughter, Hester, her life story - a dangerous life story which could get them all killed. There's some holes left open in the plot (perhaps on purpose as this is a series), but basically you are led to believe that Audrey is the king's daughter because he pays a lot of attention to her, attention not given the rest of her family.

I don't particularly like books or shows where you bounce back and forth from past to present, but I didn't mind it in this book - Emerson does this very well. I did have a problem with Audrey telling her daughter all this stuff at such a young age. I understand it would have been too difficult to write her daughter a letter that someone else might discover, but honestly, why would her daughter even need to know that she might be related to the king? No one was acknowledging them, so what did it matter?

I also found it really sad that Audrey obsessed most of her early adult years over a man who really didn't love her, and then she ended up marrying him and wondered why her life didn't turn out better than it did. ( )

I was so excited to pick this up since I rather enjoyed Kate Emerson's historical fictions. However, I was quite let down with this novel.

The blurb on the back was intriguing enough. Like who will Audrey marry? Her love or someone she despises? And then in the first chapter we already know! Like there goes that suspense.

I did not like Audrey and how the story was told at all. We keep going between the present (where Audrey is telling her story to her daughter Hester) and the past (when Audrey was a child and later as a young woman). Audrey just isn't that interesting, she is very naive, selfish and somewhat simple minded (totally dull). She doesn't pursue the rumor as to who her "father" is until someone brings it up, even then she is so willing to cling to the one "truth" that she blindly turns away from everything else.

We see snippets of history in the making that is intertwined with Audrey's story, but it's always so vague and seemed quite forced. Like historical events were superimposed onto Audrey's story to make it fit (triangle into a circle shape basically). Nothing flowed smoothly and was quite jumbled.

All Audrey cared about was her music, Jack and her family, nothing else. Very much single minded and doesn't seem to have much growth or development throughout the years, especially during some very dangerous times.

The ending was too open ended and didn't leave a good enough closure for me to be satisfied. Like what is Hester going to do with this information? Who was this other red headed man that Joanna may have been with, who may also be Audrey's father? Didn't more people question Audrey's parentage giving the similarities between her and Elizabeth? ( )

http://www.girllostinabook.com/2014/12/review-royal-inheritance-by-kate-emerson.... ( )

Her Royal Inheritance is the first book that I have read by Emerson, and it proved to be an amazing read. I have always enjoyed reading about Tudor England both fiction and nonfiction which is why this book appealed to me. Emerson delivers an intriguing tale full of drama, mystery, and a hint of romance. Audrey Malte grew up thinking that she was the daughter of King Henry VIII's tailor, but rumors start to make her think that she may actually be the daughter of the king. The search for the truth sends Audrey on a journey of growth as she goes from a small child to a young woman who wants to follow her heart instead of being a pawn for those who want her inheritance. The one thing that I really enjoyed about this book was how Emerson used the format of Audrey telling her story to her young daughter Hester so that Hester would never have to go searching for the truth like Audrey had to. Audrey imparts the wisdom her own journey taught her so that her young daughter can use what she learned to avoid the mistakes of the past. The attention to detail in the book is well done showing how much research Emerson did to create this amazing story. Overall Her Royal Inheritance proved to be an amazing read that I would most definitely recommend to anyone who has enjoyed books by Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir.

Received Her Royal Inheritance through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I do love the Tudors and it's interesting to come across a book that takes them on in a new and different way. When someone reads as much as I do there can most certainly be Tudor Fatigue. While Royal Inheritance doesn't present anything new historically it does present the possibility of Henry VIII fathering yet another bastard. What? Henry VIII?! He would never!

Uh-huh.

The conceit in the novel is what bothers me; a mother telling her history to her 8 year old daughter. A very precocious daughter at that. It's a dangerous history. A history that must stay hidden and could prove deadly. And she shares it with a talkative 8 year old? Could she not have written her a letter instead? It didn't ring true. While I was reading the parts where I was immersed in Audrey's story I was thoroughly entertained and engrossed, then the book would return to its present where Audrey was interacting with her daughter Hester and it all fell flat for me again.

The main characters were very well developed; Audrey, her father, Henry VIII, Audrey's husband, John Harington. The villains were a little less so - they were all bad, all the time. Especially Audrey's stepsister Bridget. There was nothing redeemable about her. The main plot was engrossing and as I mentioned above just enough of a different point of view to make this Tudor novel fun to read. The sub-plot about Hester annoyed me to no end. Overall it was a quick, easy read with an interesting look a possible new Tudor. ( )