To Die For

To Die For
By Sandra Byrd

About the book:
To Die For, is the story of Meg Wyatt, pledged forever as the best friend to Anne Boleyn since their childhoods on neighboring manors in Kent. When Anne’s star begins to ascend, of course she takes her best friend Meg along for the ride. Life in the court of Henry VIII is thrilling at first, but as Anne’s favor rises and falls, so does Meg’s. And though she’s pledged her loyalty to Anne no matter what the test, Meg just might lose her greatest love—and her own life—because of it.


Meg's childhood flirtation with a boy on a neighboring estate turns to true love early on. When he is called to follow the Lord and be a priest she turns her back on both the man and his God. Slowly, though, both woo her back through the heady times of the English reformation. In the midst of it, Meg finds her place in history, her own calling to the Lord that she must follow, too, with consequences of her own. Each character in the book is tested to figure out what love really means, and what, in this life, is worth dying for.



Though much of Meg’s story is fictionalized, it is drawn from known facts. The Wyatt family and the Boleyn family were neighbors and friends, and perhaps even distant cousins. Meg’s brother, Thomas Wyatt, wooed Anne Boleyn and ultimately came very close to the axe blade for it. Two Wyatt sisters attended Anne at her death, and at her death, she gave one of them her jeweled prayer book—Meg.

My Thoughts:

 

“To Die For” is a fictional look at the Anne Boylen-era but through the eyes of her best friend Meg Wyatt, which makes “To Die For” unique from other Tudor-era novels. The story follows them from the time they are teenagers to after both are married.



This book is filled with rich descriptions which was my favorite thing. Sandra Byrd has obviously done quite a bit of research and it shows. I haven’t been one to read historical fiction in the past so this took a little concentration for me, yet simply reading about the regal clothes and jewelry was worth the read!



The personal friendship between Anne Boleyn and Meg Wyatt is pretty incredible. They stood by one another and, as you will see, Meg sacrificed a lot of be by Anne’s side



Anyone who loves historical fiction or the Tudor-era will absolutely love this book.



Favorite Quote:

“A sweet voice, a deep voice, a voice that made me wish for all things that could be and mayhap a willingness to throw away all things that must be in order to gain them - to die for.”

 
Rating: 4 carats

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