I was doing so well this month but it always happens at the end here where I start to fall behind on keeping up with my reviews – and updating Goodreads. No judging! I’m probably 10 books behind on my Goodreads profile. Oops!
Thanks to Berkley Pub for the free early copy in exchange for my honest review
WIFE AFTER WIFE – Olivia Hayfield (Released January 21st, 2020)
Squeezing in a few more before the end of the month!
Book Description:
If Philippa Gregory and Jackie Collins went out for cocktails and wrote a book, they’d come back with Wife After Wife.
A wickedly entertaining and utterly absorbing modern take on the life and marriages of Henry VIII…if he were a twenty-first-century womanizing media mogul rather than the king of England.
Master of the universe Harry Rose is head of the Rose Corporation, number eighteen on the Forbes rich list, and recently married to wife number six. But in 2018, his perfect world is about to come crashing to the ground. His business is in the spotlight–and not in a good way–and his love life is under scrutiny. Because behind a glittering curtain of lavish parties, gorgeous homes, and a media empire is a tale worthy of any tabloid.
And Harry has a lot to account for.
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars
So I’m a big fan of retellings, and I’ve only ever read the fairytale variety. WIFE AFTER WIFE by Olivia Hayfield is a different kind of retelling – this is a historical fiction retelling. Hayfield brings us a modern day story of Henry VIII and I have to say, I enjoyed this a whole lot more than I anticipated! I don’t want to give away too much past what the synopsis gives because I’m happy I went into this with just that information.
This has a slower pacing to it but there’s enough intrigue to keep pulling you along as the story progresses. I think the modern spins on this were really well done. Instead of the King of England, Harry is an incredibly successful media mogul that is now on his sixth wife. Let the drama and chaos begin! I did think that there were a couple parts where it felt a little long but that didn’t take away from the overall reading experience.
I would love to see another historical retelling like this from Hayfield because she wove such a great story and gave these historical figures a new and updated look. This is a very clever retelling and I would definitely recommend it to those that like historical fiction with a twist. It’s hard to exactly place where this would fall because it’s not a thriller, it’s not just a romance, it’s not just a historical fiction book – I would say this is exactly as the synopsis describes it, a historical fiction retelling.
Jessicamap Reviews 