To Die For by Sandra Byrd
August 9, 2011 by Howard Books
Paperback, 352 Pages
Review Copy/HFVTours

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.

Review

Sandra Byrd gives new meaning to the term fly-on-the-wall, bringing Anne Boleyn's life front and center through the eyes of a best friend Meg Wyatt. As the girls began their friendship in early childhood, the two have been through thick and thin, romance, loss and the reality of life for a noble woman. While Meg encourages and always stands by Anne's side, Anne in return is always there for Meg, even to the point of taking her along during her rise to power. True to the events that surround the Tudors story, this tale stands out  in unique fashion to its historical setting, heartbreaking end and bittersweet outcomes.

I adored every second of this novel, not only for its rich detail to Tudor history and the glamorous yet brutal life of the esteemed, but mostly for its exquisite honest look at Anne Boleyn and the life that many women must have lived back then. To say a woman of nobility had power beyond her sexual prowess or how rich her father was, would be a lie when thinking about the Kings court. None of them had any say in marriage or even their own bodies, they were paid for, sold off and respected little and while there were a few good men out there (most of them common folk) most were power and control hungry and treated their women and daughters with treacherous behavior. I think that's why Anne's story is so fascinating, in time were women held no real power, Anne was able to capture a egotistical, tyrant of a King, change history, the church and the even had a hand in the printing of the New Testament Bible.

For Meg however, things went in that order, her father was abusive and beat her repeatedly, the favored son of the family also hated Meg and spent many of his days plotting out the destruction of her life. She had little say in social settings and certainly had no say in her future, while many things worked in her advantage, like circumstances and her close friendship with Anne that brought her to court and the saving grace in having her first forced marriage a debacle, her life was at the whim of what men decided. Despite the obstacles of abuse and control, I found Meg to be an amazingly strong woman, bound by duty but also never truly losing the passion in her heart. Meg struggles with her position in life and her faith in God and for her own protection she begins to build a wall around her heart and as I, the reader saw all the areas in which God was protecting her and I saw her grow, not until the end did Meg finally see too. I believe that was the most rewarding development of her character was seeing her faith and her hope restored.

Two days later Anne and I watched as our laden trunks were loaded into fine carts. She was banished to Kent to get her out of Percy's field of vision till his marriage to Mary Talbot, which had been ponderously negotiated for years, could be quickly consummated. I tried to make good conversation.....Anne remained silent as we rode our steeds. "Was it the man or the title?" I finally asked what only the closest friend could. 'The title was important, of course. But I loved the man too." Id never seen her defeated in heart. A tear slid down her check and she abruptly brushed it away. I picked at the sliver that lay just below the skin covering my own heart. "Through Wolsey, God has taken away both our loves", I said. She looked up. "No, that's where we disagree. You blame God for the deeds of men, I blame the men themselves.
Pg...64

Even walking this story out with Meg, I think the most profound aspect Ill take away from this book was the new side of Anne I saw through Meg's eyes. Her beheading which is so well known was actually so shocking and Megs reaction and care of her after made me cry and take in for the first time Anne Boleyn's horrible ending and the true legacy she left behind, not as a conniving, scheming woman, but one who had more intelligence and determination then the men of her day.

Rating

To Die For is recommended to adult readers and contains: Violence, domestic abuse, sexual encounters alluded to, political and Court politics, friendship, infidelities, death and murder.

5/5- Historical Fiction
Thanks to Publisher and HFVTours for review copy.