Patrick Allitt: The Life and Times of Prince Albert

This book came up in my free monthly Audible Original. I've been on a British Royal kick (don't judge, but yes, I watch The Crown on Netflix... I may have seen it several times). I don't know a lot about British or European history, and so this sounded like an interesting read.

The Life and Times of Prince Albert by Patrick Allitt is not a comprehensive biography of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. Instead, it focuses on several places where he had influence. Albert made something of his role as the queen's consort, a position that had little importance before he pushed for change and reform.

This book was less of a book and more of a lecture series. Allitt himself does call it that, and since it's from the Great Courses, that's what readers should expect from the start. I personally enjoy history, so I did enjoy the content. It was engaging and interesting. I liked that Allitt was not afraid to show Albert's struggles as well as his successes and influences.

Overall, I would rate this book four stars. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was still pretty good.

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Prince Harry: Spare

My coworkers were all reading this, and I have to say that I'm fascinated by the royal family, so I gave into temptation and listened to this on Audible. Listening to the audio book was totally the way to go, since Prince Harry reads it himself. Spare by Prince Harry is a heartbreaking memoir outlining Harry's treatment by the British tabloids. He outlines his experiences with the tabloids from the time his mother died until his departure from the royal family. This fascinating memoir gives an inside look into the workings of the royal family, and their relationships with the press. The memoir certainly makes it look as if all is not well in the house of Windsor, and attempts to set the record straight (from Harry's perspective) of what happened among the family members. Overall, I did enjoy this book. I loved the way Harry writes (and because I listened to it, the way he reads). I found his descriptions of events and places beautiful, and wish I could use it in AP! His p...

Brandon Sanderson: The Lost Metal - Wax & Wayne (Mistborn Era 2) Book 4

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2022 Reading in Review

I thought it might be fun to look at my reading challenge from last year and look at what I enjoyed the most. I picked my top 5 favorite books from 2022 to highlight one more time. Choosing only five was actually more difficult than I imagined, since I had a lot of favorites. It was also hard to rank them if I'm completely honest, but here is my list! #5 - The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill I loved this book. I loved the whimsical storytelling style and the plot. I loved the characters and how they were developed. I loved how the author carefully crafted the foreshadowing and how she carefully guided you through the mystery of Xan's memories. Overall, this book was so well written. Even though it was a middle grade book, I found myself unable to put it down. #4 - I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys If you've followed my blog, then you probably know that I don't usually care much for Ruta Septys's writing. It's not that I dislike the stories she tells,...

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