The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby

Libby, Alisa M. (2009). The King’s Rose. New York: Dutton Books (Penguin Group Inc.)

Catherine Howard is 15 years old, and is to marry King Henry VIII of England. Can she burn her past and her love and live the life her family expects her to live?

“I smile and nod at the girl, and she steps aside. This is the smile I imagine Katherine of Aragon pasted upon her face when met with the king’s lingering gaze over Mistress Anne Boleyn; or Anne of Cleves’s smile when her new husband first took a fancy to me. I take a sip of my wine, my throat suddenly dry” (Libby, pg. 129).

All I wanted growing up was to fall in love, but my family had other plans for me. Now I don’t know if I will ever see my true love again, and how can I, a young girl, become Queen of England? I cannot disappoint my family as Anne did, or who knows what my fate will be. I must learn to live with the life that has been designed for me and learn to be The King’s Rose.

This was an interesting book about Henry VIII's fifth wife. She is seldom heard of because she did not have any children, yet she was very important to the Howard family who had attempted to put a young girl on the throne before and failed (with Anne Boleyn). Now Henry VIII is an old man with poor health. This book tells of Catherine's struggles to do what her family asks of her and give up the life she wanted to live.