Title: Ladies In Waiting
Author: Laura L. Sullivan
Release date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 328
Source: Publisher
Eliza dreams of being a playwright for the king’s theater, where she will be admired for her witty turns of phrase rather than her father’s wealth. Beth is beautiful as the day but poor as a church mouse, so she must marry well, despite her love for her childhood sweetheart. Zabby comes to England to further her scientific studies—and ends up saving the life of King Charles II. Soon her friendship with him becomes a dangerous, impossible obsession. Though she knows she should stay away from the young, handsome king, Charles has a new bride, Queen Catherine, and a queen needs ladies in waiting. And so Zabby, Beth, and Eliza, three Elizabeths from very different walks of life, find themselves at the center of the most scandal-filled court that England has ever seen.
Historical fiction is a genre I either love or hate. There is no middle ground with this genre. It’s either super fascinating and unputdownable or something that bores me to tears. Ladies In Waiting was sadly the latter of the two.
Eliza, Zabby, and Beth are three friends in the court of King Charles II. They are all very different girls. Eliza is strong-willed, gutsy, and a little bull-headed. Zabby is smart, stubborn, and a bit naive. Beth is caring, kind, and blinded by love. The girls all had very different personalities but there were still times when I was confused as to which girl I was reading about. It probably didn’t help that the point-of-view switched mid-chapter every now and then with no warning.
As for the love interests, I just couldn’t see it working with any of them. Charles was married and on top of that he was a jerk. Flaunting his mistress in front of his wife, flirting with every girl, and basically playing Zabby? Not a nice guy at all. And really, what self-respecting lady would fall for him and think it would work out in her favor? As for Harry, early on you see just what kind of guy he is. Beth was such a sweetheart and Harry was the wrong guy for her. That was very easy to see.
The rest of the characters were a big mystery. None of them were well-developed. I didn’t understand the motives people had for doing what they did. And certain questions were never answered and I really wanted those answers.
The historical setting was the most interesting part. All the court intrigue, gossip, and adultery was fascinating. The rituals of the court were also quite fun to read about. Some things were given in too much detail though and I found myself getting lost in the middle of a sentence. The details got a bit weighty and boring at times.
The ending was rather abrupt and it felt unfinished. Only one character really had a concrete ending and even that one was shaky. There were no conclusions to the other girls’ stories and I was left wondering. Not a good way to end a book, especially when there are no plans for a sequel.
Overall, Ladies In Waiting is one book I can’t say I recommend. If you are looking for a good historical novel, look elsewhere. This one is not worth your time.
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When I read Ladies in Waiting, I thought it was exactly as you said it was. However, I thought that Harry was somewhat sweet, in his own way. Sure, he was messed up and going to die, but he was so devoted to Beth. The outcome of Harry and Beth’s relationship was depressing, but totally appropriate.
Eliza creeped me out. Her ending was so disturbing and kind of deranged, which was disappointing, considering the fact that she was my favorite Elizabeth.
Zabby is a complete moron. I totally agree that she is so naive when she lets Charles play her. I’m glad that there is no sequel to Ladies in Waiting.
I love books set in this time period and the description actually had me somewhat interested, but after reading your review I can defiantly tell its not a book for me!!! I don’t mind love triangles, but when the person is married that always bothers me!!!!
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The plot synopsis intrigued me but I don’t think I would like this one…it sounds odd. I’m the same with historical fiction- I either find it completely boring or I devour it. Shame this one was on the dull side x
This is one that I wasn’t sure if I would like. After your review, I think I was right. Thank you for the review, it definitely helped…
Jenea @ Book Live Forever
POV switches like that can be totally jarring and don’t work well.
Can’t believe the love interest was married! Though I guess in historicals with the arranged marriages it was something that happened with people then cheating with someone they actually like.
Lovely review 🙂