
The Devil's Queen
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Narrated by:
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Kate Reading
About this listen
Catherine de Medici is one of the most maligned monarchs in history: blamed for the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in which hundreds of innocents died. What motivated this Renaissance woman who was born of Florence's most powerful family, and one day came to rule France?
In her latest historical fiction best seller, Jeanne Kalogridis tells the story of Catherine, a tender young girl, destined to be a pawn in Machiavellian games. Left a fabulously rich heiress, imprisoned and threatened by her family's enemies, she was finally married off to a handsome prince of France. Overshadowed by her husband's mistress, the conniving Diane de Poitiers, and now consort to a King, Catherine resorted to sorcery to win his love, enhance her fertility and foil her enemies. Against the lavish and decadent backdrop of the French court, and Catherine's visions induced by the black arts, Kalogoris reveals the great love and desire Catherine bore for her husband Henry, and her stark determination to keep her sons on the throne.
©2009 Jeanne Kalogridis (P)2009 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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In this brilliantly imagined novel, acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power. From the fairy-tale chateaux of the Loire Valley to the battlefields of the wars of religion to the mob-filled streets of Paris, this is the extraordinary untold journey of one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen.
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By: C. W. Gortner
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Overall
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Virgins
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Don't expect an in depth story
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Slow start, great book. Love Jeanne!
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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, I did not sleep for days. could not stop listening.What did you like best about this story?
A better understanding of Catherines place in historyWhich scene was your favorite?
When she was being lifted up on the wall.Excellant!
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Catherine Medici
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The story was extremely engaging and was one of those "hard to put down" books. I love that all of the French names were pronounced correctly as well. This grand overarching story of Catherine di Medici was an great read.
Engaging and Entertaining
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The Devils Queen
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Very interesting twist on this infamous queen
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I can't continue with this wretched book.
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It picked up a bit in the middle section, and then lost me again in the end. Too much intrigue, too much astrology ( and I can't believe I would say that, but I was tired of it), and too much of poor decision making that led to disasterous consequences. It took me quite a bit longer to get through this story because I found my mind wandering and I kept having to repeat sections to get caught up. I'd rather read something that keeps my attention.
Again, it's personal preference but this story just did not hit the mark for me.
Yawn
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What disappointed you about The Devil's Queen?
Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive; then it begins to repeat itself. There was such a queen. She may have been a believer in Astrology.For this reader's taste, far too many visions/dreams, too many times the same thing happens -
Has The Devil's Queen turned you off from other books in this genre?
There's some great historic fiction out there. This isn't one of them.Have you listened to any of Kate Reading’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Ms. Reading is a superior reader and made a truly awful book almost bearable.If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Devil's Queen?
Far too often the Queen (dare I call her Catherine?) has visions. Yuck. She's written as a wily and brilliant negotiator - doing incredibly short-sighted things.One foreshadowing of her husband's death was plenty. Ditto the rest.
Great Reader but...
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I gave this novel an honest try and listened to the whole thing despite misgivings that kept popping up, and found myself enjoying some individual scenes, but as the book wound down I was looking forward to a big reward for all the craziness that happened much earlier in the book that never materialized. My final feelings for the plot was just “that’s it?”
Unbalanced, ultimately unsatisfying historical fiction
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