Phoenix Rising: A novel of Anne Boleyn by Hunter S. Jones

I've read my fair share of stories about King Henry VIII and thought I had a fairly well developed opinion of the man. As a king I considered him to be a bully that people had to step carefully around. As a man, well, I suppose it's safe to say Henry VIII was a (royal) man of his time.

Hunter Jones presents a different facet to the story of King Henry and Anne Boleyn - one of two people deeply in love that were caught in the machinations of others. The story of the last hour of Anne's life is one that bounces around a bit in time as the characters revisit treasured memories. We are shown precious memories of love when it's new, hope for a different outcome than what history tells us happened, the respect of the populace for a condemned queen, and the grace of a queen as she asks for the crowd to "pray for a good and gracious king."

As the story developed, I found my opinion of King Henry starting to change. Before reading this book, I saw him as just another man in history who used and abused his power to get what he wanted regardless the cost to others. By the end of the book, I felt sorry for both Henry and Anne.

I find it a curious fact of history that mysticism was considered something apart from witchcraft and used fairly frequently by royalty and others. This is included in the book as Henry seeks guidance on an important decision pivotal to Anne's fate. The seer whom Henry consults shows up a few times letting us eavesdrop on certain people and events, a brilliant touch from the author.

Jones provides a bibliography at the end of the book which I appreciated. Her research shows in her writing. She was able to take what she learned and put a fresh and emotionally wrenching spin on an historical event - one that I think most people don't think twice about questioning what we were taught in school. We are shown Henry's thoughts about the decision he felt compelled to make regarding Anne's judgement and sentence. We are there with him as he suffers losing the love of his life. And we are there when the conspirators discuss how well their plans are playing out.

I love history and have a particular fascination with the histories of England, Scotland and Ireland. Time travel not being an option at this point in time, I have to make do with books. Jones did a superb job of presenting an alternate look at the events leading up to the execution of Anne Boleyn. She has made me feel compassion for a person I'd previously looked on with something bordering on disgust. She has reminded me that there are two sides to every story and it is the victor that writes the history.

I'm very glad I had an opportunity to read this book. Jones has a clean style of writing that was a joy to read. The editing was very well done. I found no errors to distract me from her work. History can be a touchy thing to not only write, but write well enough to keep the reader engaged. Hunter has done that.

For the quality of her writing, editing, research, and causing me to reconsider my opinion of King Henry VIII, I am giving this book 5 stars. I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is available at Amazon (US, CA, UK, AU), Barnes & Noble.