THE QUEEN'S MISTAKE by Diane Haeger, 2009.

The story of Catherine Howard and Henry VIII, related in a moderately entertaining and romantic way. While I don't necessarily agree with some of Haeger's character portrayals--including Catherine herself and Jane Rochford, to mention two--she does a credible job with Henry and Anne of Cleves, and her descriptive details of the Tudor period in general seem fine. This depiction is the Howard episode is more heavy on the romance and very sympathetic to Catherine. Catherine, raised in a rather permissive household, is chosen by her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, to recover the family's prestige by becoming the fifth of Henry's wives. For her part, Catherine is both disgusted and intrigued, and at the same time finds herself unwilling to give up her relationship with Thomas Culpeper. She must also be on constant guard to keep all references to her unsavory past at bay. While the author has done research, I don't agree with her strong assertion that Catherine was removed and executed because she was Catholic--that may have played into it, but most accounts state it was more because of her adultery and that she was not a virgin when Henry married her. I also had trouble believing that Cranmer was such a villain as portrayed here. The book is very readable and pleasant and would recommend it to anyone who didn't get enough of this episode from The Boleyn Inheritance (which I personally found a bit more true to life than this novel, although I have issues with Gregory's work, too), but I did have issues with it concerning its accuracy.