Review: Gilt by Katherine Longshore

Title: Gilt 

Author: Katherine Longshore

Publisher: Speak
Publishing Date:  May 15th 2012

Pages: 406
Genre:  YA Historical Fiction 

Series: Untitled
Source:  Audio

  

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.

This book has set on my TBR for a while now. I keep picking it up off the shelf at the library but put it back before I leave. I had the desire to read it but not an overwhelming one. Well it came out on audio and I see raving reviews about the newest book in the series so I grabbed it. I am so glad I did. I totally loved this book and I hear they just get better. I am very excited for more. This book had so much good in how bad all the going downs were. It was drama, betrayal, loyalty, lies, secrets, and so much more. The characters were just superb, even though I hated most of them, I hated them because they were written so well. I was very surprised with the amount of love I felt for this book. 


This story is about Catherine Howard, the 5th wife of Henry VIII, and her best friend Kitty. The story is told from Kitty's POV. The story is the rise, the life, the fall, and  the death of Catherine Howard in a very corrupt and competitive court. 

This was a very intense read for me. I knew what the book was about but I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Like I said, I really don't know anything about this era or about Henry VIII, well I do know a song, but that's it. So I this book was an eye opener for me. It was fiction and I know that much of this story was very fictional. I did however feel the urge to research Catherine Howard and her story and found the book followed what it could and kept the main part of the story. This is what I like in my historical fiction.. be accurate with some creativity or be completely made up. I am very picky over my historical fiction and I was a bit worried about this one after reading some reviews. I was pleasantly surprised with my level of entertainment with this story. I was completely into the story, hanging on every page. I did have this book on audio and the narrator may have helped bring this book to life for me because it was very intense, a real page turner. 

What really made the story for me was the characters and the drama. That is basically all this book was, crazy intense characters to love and hate and lots and lots of old fashioned drama. The main character Kitty, was a interesting character for me. I liked her but I hated how she let everyone walk over her and determine her life for her. She was a very intelligent girl but not so smart. She could have made her life happy but instead she let others, especially Catherine, route her way through life, and it was into a mess of a journey. She was a loyal friend though. That loyalty caused her much pain, but she never wavered.

Catherine was a character made to hate. I tried to feel bad for her at times but just couldn't. She was a very selfish, greedy, mean person. I really believe she loved Kitty in the only way she could. She cared for her more than anyone else but she still used her to get what she wanted or needed. In a way though, she was loyal to Kitty. At first anyways. In the end I think she saw the error of her ways and realized the life she thought she wanted was not the life she really wanted. She had power, jewels, and the respect of those that didn't really know her but she had not real love, friendship or loyalty except from the one she pushed away. 

I enjoyed the setting very much. It was wonderful to imagine the life as it was during this time. I haven't read many books from this era or time period so this was a first where I was able to immerse myself in the lifestyle of the early 1500s in England. The author did a great job making the setting real and the story authentic. The styles, the personalities, the parties, the clothes, the speech it was all good and felt very real to me. 

The only one thing I would have liked to see was romance. There was very little and it didn't really last long. I think it would have been just the more better if there was just a tiny bit more romance. There you go, my only real complaint. 

I really did enjoy everything about this book and I can't wait to read more from this author. I hear or should say read that the book just get better. So if this book was at the bottom of great, I am going to absolutely adore the other books. 


Loved it! It is at the top of my historical fiction pile and I will read more and more from this author in the future. I recommend this author to anyone that is looking to explore historical fiction. 

Katherine Longshore 
https://www.goodreads.com/KatyLongshore
website http://www.katherinelongshore.com
twitter username KALongshore