European Royalty discussion

Please discuss Born to Rule, Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria here.
Anyone reading this thread should have already finished the book, so spoil away :)
Also, let us all know how you rated the book (4/5, etc)

From the dearth of comments, I get the feeling that this book was not received as enthusiastically as some of the others we've read. For me, it was a compelling framework (five cousins, privy to some of Europe's most tumultuous times) that ultimately fell flat due to amateurish writing. Much too much emphasis on the love stories (the Nicholas-Alexandria retelling was especially hackneyed), and the breathless, cliff hanger-style endings to various chapters was not appreciated (by me).

It's been awhile since I read this and while it was not one of my favorite reads, I liked that it focused on five women who not much is written about, with the exception of Alexandra. I wish that the book would have focused on the others and skipped Alix.

For me the book was ok but I felt it could have been better. I liked that they showed the connection between the ladies but the constant name changes (using nicknames without introducing them) bothered me.

I gave this book four stars because I found it an informative, well written non-fiction book about Queen Victoria's granddaughters. Being a big fan of the Queen and her family and having read many books about her, a few by this author, I was not disappointed.

I'm still reading and while I find the information and the relationships between the women and pretty much everyone interesting I just find it's taking forever for me to get through it.... maybe not so thrilled with the writing . and I agree about all the name changes and use of nicknames a bit confusing, I found myself at times having to stop and think about who exactly it was I was reading about