Jane the Quene by Janet Ambrosi Wertman

Jane the Quene (The Seymour Saga #1) by Janet Ambrosi Wertman

Release: April 14th 2016
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Janet Wertman
Source: HFV book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N

All Jane Seymour wants is a husband; but when she catches the eye of a volatile king, Tudor court’s realm of plot and intrigue. pulls her deep…

England. 1535. Jane Seymour is 27 years old and trying desperately for marriage, to secure a real place in the world. She gets the perfect opportunity to shine when the court visits Wolf Hall, the Seymour ancestral manor. With her new confidence after the event, she expects to attract a suitor through her efficiency and diligence

Meanwhile, King Henry VIII is 45 and increasingly desperate for a son to secure his legacy. He left his first wife, a princess of Spain, changing his country’s religion in the process, to marry Anne Boleyn . But she too has failed to deliver the promised heir. As Henry begins to fear he is cursed, Jane Seymour’s honesty and innocence conjure redemption. Thomas Cromwell, an ambitious clerk has built a career on strategically satisfying the King’s desires. As such, he sees in Jane the perfect vehicle to calm the political unrest that threatens the country. He engineers the plot that ends with Jane becoming the King’s third wife.

However, Jane believes herself virtuous and her actions justified. But her early miscarriages shake her confidence and hopes. How can a woman who has done nothing wrong herself deal with the guilt of how she unseated her predecessor?

About the Author:

Janet Ambrosi Wertman grew up in the midst of bookstores and a library on Manhattan’s Upper West Side . She visited all of them regularly. Given that her grandfather was an antiquarian bookdealer, he persuaded Janet’s parents to send her to the French school .There, she was taught to aspire to long (grammatically correct) sentences as the hallmark of a skillful writer. She lived that lesson until she got to Barnard College.

Janet spent fifteen years as a corporate lawyer in New York. She even got to do a little writing on the side co-authoring The Executive Compensation Answer Book, In 1997. She moved with her family to Los Angeles where she became a grantwriter and took up writing fiction.

Janet had a passion for the Tudor Kings and Queens since watching the televised Masterpiece Theatre series as an eight year old. One of the highlights of Janet’s youth was being allowed to visit the Pierpont Morgan Library and examine books from Queen Elizabeth’s personal library and actual letters that the young Princess Elizabeth had written.

The Boy King is third book in the Seymour Saga, the story of the unlikely dynasty that shaped the Tudor era. The first book, Jane the Quene, tells the story of Jane Seymour’s marriage to Henry VIII; and The Path to Somerset, chronicles Edward Seymour’s rise after Jane’s death to become Lord Protector of England and Duke of Somerset (taking us right through Henry’s crazy years).

Janet is currently working on a new trilogy about Elizabeth, and preparing to publish her translation of a nineteenth century biography of Henry.

Jane the Quene Review:

This is my kind of historical novel and I loved every minute of it!

Firstly, I loved Jane from the get go. She grows up a lot in the story. I loved her journey as she goes from the timid shy girl to a strong woman who faces challenges from the people around her. I loved how she sets her goal to move ahead. Moreover, she has an amazing relationship with the King. This was the highlight of the tale for me. Both of them felt like star crossed lovers who want to be together, but circumstances do not allow them.

Similarly, the supporting characters also add beautifully to the plot. Although I loved Elizabeth, I was conflicted in the scene where she takes Anne’s side when shade is thrown on Jane. Moreover, I thought Cromwell was a very interesting character as he is so calculative. He manipulates the situation to his own benefits and you don’t know how far he will go. One of the memorable scenes is when he blackmails Smeaton. Anne is also interesting in how she reacts to Jane and the situation. Carew added a light touch as well.

Moreover, I adored the author’s style of writing. The story starts off a bit slow but it gets so good as it progresses. There are so many unexpected twists and situations that Jane goes through. Some of my favorite moments is the conversations that Jane has with the King. The author writes the story in such a delightful manner that you feel like you are actually in the Rose Garden or Wolf Hall with the characters.

I loved this book and its bitter sweet ending. I cannot wait to see how the series continues.