Author: Katherine Longshore
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Page Count: 406 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: May 15th 2012
Find it on Goodreads: Gilt
Source: Purchased
In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free—
and love comes at the highest price of all.
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.
My Thoughts: I found this book fascinating. It was thrilling, addictive, and sinister... It hooked me up and shipped me away to a time filled with drama and betrayal, romance and friendship.
Although I am a huge historical fiction fan, I always seem to shy away from it and read the books with paranormal twists and cute romances. But Gilt has changed my ways! I've always been fascinated with both English and French history, but have studied more about France and its history than that of England. But the Tudors have been a subject that I've been longing to know more about. I was familiar with the story of Catherine Howard, but this book opened my eyes to so much more. Longshore is quite obviously an open history fanatic and it shows with this novel. She did her research and the story was believable and sinister. The blurb above makes this book sound a lot sweeter than it is. Gilt really gives an insight to court life during the reign of Henry VIII; I think Longshore did an incredible job with that.
AGH I love this story! Kitty was an amazing character, with her steadfast loyalty even when people didn't deserve it, namely Cat. Her voice was an absolute delight to read from. Longshore did an amazing job in keeping the language from that era, making the book that much more believable. I was completely immersed in the book, reading it in only a day because I found it almost addictive. I couldn't tear myself away. Even now, I want to read it again and again. I could relate well to Kitty, with her having a friend that she just couldn't say no to, although this was to a whole other extent. Cat is a very difficult character to like... Actually I didn't like her too much at all. But she wasn't a character that many people would like. She was selfish and arrogant and quite cruel to Kitty. But there were moments where I pitied her and moments where I hated her. I teared up for her (but mostly for Kitty) and I wanted to scream at Cat as well. Then there were the boys. The blurb suggests a love triangle for the ages, but this book involved something quite a bit more dark. She has William, whom she met before she moved to court and Edmund, the man who knows what she saw that one day in the woods... I personally loved William. I thought he was the absolute perfect gentleman, and a character we don't find often in books about this time period. I adored their relationship, and thought it was so sweet. But then there was Edmund, who was someone that I liked at first, but then eventually I grew to absolutely despise. I could understand why Kitty liked him, but then even she came to her senses and I cheered. But he didn't exactly leave in peace...
I loved how Longshore divided the book into time frames, so that the reader knew which year an event happened in. The story was very interesting and filled with everything from dark, frightening moments, to the happiest and sweetest. The book put a lot of the romance on the back burner though, and that was actually nice. I learned a lot about Tudor life at court and it reminded me so much of everything I know about the royals in France, (I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I am obsessed with Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI). But it was different, too, and that made it so enjoyable. I love history, especially stuff like this, so this was the perfect book to get me out of my reading rut. I wouldn't read this if you're looking for a light, happy read, because the ending is very bittersweet. But if you are a fan of realistic historical fiction, then this would be a fantastic book to read. I will be recommending it for a very long time. I could go on and on about how great this book was, but I think everyone should just go out and read it!
I am so anxious to see what Katherine Longshore comes up with next. I would love to know more about what happens with Kitty, but I'm not sure what the next book's story would have, because of how this one ended. But nevertheless, I will be waiting not-so-patiently for her next book. Don't forget to look for my interview with Katherine on August 30th as part of the Authors are Rockstars tour! I'm really excited!!! Let me know what you thought of this book, I'd love to know!
Happy reading!
~Kristy
Blurb from Goodreads: 
In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free—
and love comes at the highest price of all.
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.
My Thoughts: I found this book fascinating. It was thrilling, addictive, and sinister... It hooked me up and shipped me away to a time filled with drama and betrayal, romance and friendship.
Although I am a huge historical fiction fan, I always seem to shy away from it and read the books with paranormal twists and cute romances. But Gilt has changed my ways! I've always been fascinated with both English and French history, but have studied more about France and its history than that of England. But the Tudors have been a subject that I've been longing to know more about. I was familiar with the story of Catherine Howard, but this book opened my eyes to so much more. Longshore is quite obviously an open history fanatic and it shows with this novel. She did her research and the story was believable and sinister. The blurb above makes this book sound a lot sweeter than it is. Gilt really gives an insight to court life during the reign of Henry VIII; I think Longshore did an incredible job with that.
AGH I love this story! Kitty was an amazing character, with her steadfast loyalty even when people didn't deserve it, namely Cat. Her voice was an absolute delight to read from. Longshore did an amazing job in keeping the language from that era, making the book that much more believable. I was completely immersed in the book, reading it in only a day because I found it almost addictive. I couldn't tear myself away. Even now, I want to read it again and again. I could relate well to Kitty, with her having a friend that she just couldn't say no to, although this was to a whole other extent. Cat is a very difficult character to like... Actually I didn't like her too much at all. But she wasn't a character that many people would like. She was selfish and arrogant and quite cruel to Kitty. But there were moments where I pitied her and moments where I hated her. I teared up for her (but mostly for Kitty) and I wanted to scream at Cat as well. Then there were the boys. The blurb suggests a love triangle for the ages, but this book involved something quite a bit more dark. She has William, whom she met before she moved to court and Edmund, the man who knows what she saw that one day in the woods... I personally loved William. I thought he was the absolute perfect gentleman, and a character we don't find often in books about this time period. I adored their relationship, and thought it was so sweet. But then there was Edmund, who was someone that I liked at first, but then eventually I grew to absolutely despise. I could understand why Kitty liked him, but then even she came to her senses and I cheered. But he didn't exactly leave in peace...
I loved how Longshore divided the book into time frames, so that the reader knew which year an event happened in. The story was very interesting and filled with everything from dark, frightening moments, to the happiest and sweetest. The book put a lot of the romance on the back burner though, and that was actually nice. I learned a lot about Tudor life at court and it reminded me so much of everything I know about the royals in France, (I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I am obsessed with Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI). But it was different, too, and that made it so enjoyable. I love history, especially stuff like this, so this was the perfect book to get me out of my reading rut. I wouldn't read this if you're looking for a light, happy read, because the ending is very bittersweet. But if you are a fan of realistic historical fiction, then this would be a fantastic book to read. I will be recommending it for a very long time. I could go on and on about how great this book was, but I think everyone should just go out and read it!
I am so anxious to see what Katherine Longshore comes up with next. I would love to know more about what happens with Kitty, but I'm not sure what the next book's story would have, because of how this one ended. But nevertheless, I will be waiting not-so-patiently for her next book. Don't forget to look for my interview with Katherine on August 30th as part of the Authors are Rockstars tour! I'm really excited!!! Let me know what you thought of this book, I'd love to know!
Happy reading!
~Kristy
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