Monday, June 4, 2012

Book Review: Gilt by Katherine Longshore


Pages: 398
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Pub. Date: May 15, 2012
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free—and love comes at the highest price of all. When Kitty Tylney’s best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII’s heart and brings Kitty to court, she’s thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat’s shadow, Kitty’s now caught between two men—the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat’s meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head."

Kitty's best friend, Cat, or Catherine Howard, is the type of girl that attracts attention, whereas Kitty is quite the opposite and remains Cat's loyal shadow.  Kitty doesn't usually mind though as Cat is one of her only friends and pretty much her only family.  While growing up, Cat doesn't follow the rules of the household. She throws wild midnight parties, disobeys her elders, spends time with boys, and is all around the "Queen of Misrule."  As they get older, Cat is sent to the court of Henry VIII and starts to live a life very different than the one that Kitty and Cat are accustomed to.  Finally, Cat sends for Kitty to come to court and as time goes by, it becomes very apparent that Cat, or Catherine Howard, will be the next Queen of England as she has stolen Henry's heart.  Kitty and Catherine try to survive amongst a crazy court and deal with Henry's ups and downs, but Catherine never plays by the rules.  There are major consequences for her choices, both good and bad.  Put simply, Gilt by Katherine Longshore is one of the best young adult historical novels I've read in a long time.


Kitty is the type of character that is easily lead by others and that drove me nuts.  One on hand, I felt badly for her as sometimes she had no choice in her decisions, because she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.  The problem with this is the fact that Catherine is a royal brat and I wanted to slap her across the face. One minute I liked her, the next minute she would do something so annoying and backstabbing that I loved to hate her.  The dynamics between Kitty and Cat were interesting nonetheless as Gilt also examines friendship and popularity.


Just when I thought I was over novels about the Tudor Era, I get sucked into Gilt.  I can confidently say now that I am NOT over this era and that Longshore has brought me back in.  What is not to love? There's major drama, backstabbing, lies, intrigue, affairs, romance, gossips, etc. Half of what occurs is unbelievable, but what is even more captivating is the fact that most of these events actually occurred.  Henry VIII is downright crazy and I loved being thrown back into his unpredictable court.  Gilt reminded me not only of how much I love this time period, but how much I miss the show The Tudors and Gilt was a nice fix.


Even though we know how things end for Catherine Howard, I was still hopelessly addicted to Gilt. I devoured it book quickly and was totally invested in Kitty's story.  I highly recommend Gilt to fans of historical fiction; you won't be disappointed.  So, if you plan on reading any historical fiction this summer, it quite simply has to be Gilt.  Katherine Longshore is one debut author that I definitely have my eye on.




*Buy Gilt
*Read a Q&A about Gilt

10 comments:

  1. Catherine Howard is my least favorite of the six wives. I always felt really bad for Anne Boleyn but Catherine kind of brought about her own demise with her apparent stupidity. I can't imagine what it would have been like to be her friend. Gilt intrigues me and I'm glad you loved it.

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  2. i have been feeling like i might be 'over' books about this time period too. i think this is the kind of book i need to get me back into the swing of things :)

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  3. I have fallen in love with the Tudor period since starting to read Philippa Gregory books, I was really excited to see a YA book based in this period. I'm really happy to hear you loved this one, I've heard a lot of differing opinions on it, this is definitely one I need to read specifically to make my own opinions. Thanks for the in depth review.

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  4. I love all things from the Tudor period and I'm planning on reading this one soon. After your review I'm even more excited for it!

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  5. Historical fiction about the court of Henry VIII is one of my favorite subjects to read! I cannot wait to read this book.

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  6. Historical fiction about the court of Henry VIII is one of my favorite subjects to read! I cannot wait to read this book.

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  7. Five out of five?! OK, I need to add this to my list! I've read a ton of Tudor court stuff already, but I can always fit in one more! ;) Great review, Christina!

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  8. Glad to hear you enjoyed Gilt. It has been on my wishlist since I first heard about it. Now that school is almost over I was hoping to read it but I logged on yesterday and found out it had expired on Netgalley. Hopefully my library will get a copy in soon.

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  9. Thanks for stopping by, everyone! I hope you get your hands on a copy of Gilt this summer.

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  10. Very excited that this is a Tudor novel that doesn't focus on Anne Boleyn! Can't wait to read it.

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