It was a decent read, however, I am a bit baffled by the fact that it was written as if you are reading Barbara Castlemaine's diary or journal of some sort. With that I don't believe she truly revealed her feelings/emotions enough at least in truth and as hard as I tried I couldn't connect to her nor truly believe in her feelings towards Charles II. The book also seemed very rushed at the end. I have read other books on her and this is a complete 180 on her character, much toned down and having her more refined. I thought I might be disappointed by that but in fact it was a bit refreshing to see a different take on this interesting woman. ( )

I loved this book!

This was the first time reading a book by Susan Scott, and it won't be my last. I am a huge fan of history, especially British history, but I admit I don't know a lot about this particular time period, so I don't know how historically accurate any of this book actually was. I've heard of Barbara Palmer, the infamous whore of Babylon, of course, but had no idea anything about her.

The book was very well written, very well paced, and I think touched upon the "adult" nature of Barbara & the king's relationship very well, without being over-the-top graphic, a balance that I personally prefer. There were times when I would have liked to have heard more about the historical events going on, but since the book was about *Barbara* and not the time period, I do understand why the author chose to write the book the way she did. All in all, a very good, engrossing book, that I managed to finish in just a few days. ( )

This books was a lot more racy than I expect historical fiction to be, by it was very enjoyable, and pretty compulsively readable. The only sad thing about it was that halfway through I remembered my British history and spoiled the ending for myself. ( )

This books was a lot more racy than I expect historical fiction to be, by it was very enjoyable, and pretty compulsively readable. The only sad thing about it was that halfway through I remembered my British history and spoiled the ending for myself. ( )