It is 1351 in Wales, a country subjugated by England, beaten down by superstition, war, and illness. Elise, prone to strange visions and the sole survivor of a plague-ravaged family, has fled her village for distant Conwy with her servant Annora, running from a murder she was forced to commit in self-defense.

The National Bestseller

In the autumn of 1558, church bells across England ring out the joyous news that Elizabeth I is the new queen. One woman hears the tidings with utter dread. She is Amy Dudley, wife of Sir Robert, and she knows that Elizabeth’s ambitious leap to the throne will draw her husband back to the center of the glamorous Tudor court, where he was born to be.

Philippa Gregory’s The Virgin’s Lover answers the question about an unsolved crime that has fascinated detectives and historians for centuries. Intelligent, romantic, and compelling, The Virgin’s Lover presents a young woman on the brink of greatness, a young man whose ambition exceeds his means, and the wife who cannot forgive them.

As my yearly renaissance festival rolls closer I decided to embroil myself for a little bit into the time period by reading The Virgins Lover by Phillipa Gregory. I have been a big fan of her stories, and am always happy to read a tale as told by her. I was however a little disappointed in this book. The same enamoring story just was not there for me with The Virgins Lover.

The story of Robert Dudley and Elizabeth is not a new one, but I had hoped for some excitement from one of my favorite historical authors. But I was a bit disappointed. The Virgins Lover was to me the same rehashing of one of the best known assumed romances. It was a dragging read for me. So as much as I love Phillipa to me this is one to skip. But it won’t stop me from continuing to read her works. They can’t all be winners after all.

At the first of every month, when the office has reached its pinnacle of hysteria, Maggie, Roxanne, and Candice meet at London’s swankiest bar for an evening of cocktails and gossip. Here, they chat about what’s new in their lives and what’s new at The Londoner, the glossy fashion magazine where they all work. But beneath the girl talk and the laughter, each of the three has something to hide: High-achiever Maggie is pregnant, and terrified at the prospect of becoming a mother; glamorous Roxanne is losing hope that her secret lover will leave his wife; and kindhearted Candice cannot escape the guilty secret that as pursued her since childhood.

When a chance encounter at the cocktail bar sets in motion an extraordinary chain of events, their lives quickly spin out of control and their friendship is stretched to the limit. Suddenly Maggie, Roxanne, and Candice must face their fears and troubles alone, and it is only a matter of time before one of them snaps.

Three ladies who make sure to have a meeting of the minds every month. The general theme of the book smells of Sex in the City, but for me that was an okay thing to go into as I loved the show (and plan to read the book). So I had some good hopes going into the book. I also was excited because so far I have enjoyed the Shopaholic series, and this is the same Author, different name.

Sadly the book did not live up to my hopes. While I love Sophie Kinsella but under the name Madeline Wickham she just falls flat. The book is not nearly as funny as the shopaholic series, and there just seems to be something else missing as well. The women in this book come off as just plain shallow to me. Where while our lovely Shopaholic has issues, she also shows she can be a good human. I just don’t see that in Three Cocktails, so in my humble opinion this is a big pass.