Customer Reviews

Being Elizabeth

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I have been a fan of Barbara Taylor Bradford from her very first book. While a few of her books have been short and sweet, I have never been disappointed in her plot lines, her heroines or writing. This book is truly a disappointment.

Elizabeth is a one dimensional character with a single flaw, she is marriage phobic. In the previous two books of this series, there is action, excitement and unexpected plot twists. This book has none of those things. It is boring, dull and predictable. The last twenty pages is an attempt to finally have something unexpected happen but it falls flat because it comes out of left field and ends predictably.

This is the last book of hers that I will read. What a waste of time.

Barbara Taylor Bradford's "Woman of Substance" is one of my top 10 favorite books of all times. What a disappointment to read this poorly written, slow and laborious endeavor from someone who is capable of so much more!

When I got 3/4 of the way through the book, I mentioned to a friend that I was still waiting for something to happen. Well, I finished it, and nothing ever did happen. The book keeps acting as though something is ABOUT to happen, with referrences to a rival woman and other sub-plots, but nothing ever actually happened.

What a disapointing book - and a complete waste of time!

What a disappointment. While I have enjoyed previous offerings by Mrs. Taylor Bradford, I do maintain a mostly moderate expectation of her works. They are generally acceptable summer or light reading. But this book, and it's earlier series companion books, has little to reccommend it.

"Being Elizabeth" is supposedly about a young, exceptional businesswoman making a name for herself, while rescuing her family enterprise from sure disaster. What this story is in actuality, is the story of Elizabeth I of England. Take the monarch out of the late 1500 and early 1600's and plop her, her cronies and antagonists into modern day and you've got yourself "Being Elizabeth". Not even the names were changed (much) to protect the fact that this story was long written before Mrs. Taylor Bradford was even born.

A waste of time, money and the good will of readers. Quite insulting to those truly expecting a "novel". Please avoid.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was in this book. Rarely do I get done with a book and think what a waste of time, and I read probably close to 100 books a year. This was one of those few books. No plot line, no action, poorly fleshed out characters -- I expected so much more from such a fine author. In fact, I got done and wondered if perhaps she had written this before becoming a published author and decided to dust it off, update it slightly and pass it off as something new. It is truly that bad.

but this retelling of her story in a modern setting most definitely was. The idea is interesting, although not original, but the story itself was not well done. I was very disappointed.

A plot was non-existent. The characters were dull. I'm truly wondering what one reviewer found so exciting that the book couldn't be put down. There was absolutely no action, no excitement, no plot. I've read almost all of Barbara Taylor Bradford's books, and this by far is the dullest--a definite waste of time.

...and alas, I was a stupid reader for buying this book. I was looking for some beach reading, andI picked three books, and this was the worst, although the book jacket made it seem promising.

The book jacket was misleading, by the way. The problem that is cited as central lasts about one minute, and then all is well again.

If you've been within half a mile of any Masterpiece Theater Tudor drama or have had some English history, somewhere in the first few pages, it hits you...this is a direct imitation of Elizabeth Tudor's life. Now, actually, that could have been fun, transporting Elizabeth I into the head of a corporation. Now all that's needed is a competent writer to have some fun with it. Instead, the writer here, obviously knowing that her regular fans will love her no matter what, doesn't even bother to say that's what she's doing upfront, leaving any half witted reader to groan through the direct parallels with Elizabeth I's life, rendered without any imagination or wit.

And everything that Elizabeth (the novel's main character) does is considered brilliant. That was NOT the case with Elizabeth I. But with this character, an obstacle is foreseen, and a few pages later neatly hopped over and all is well. There is none of the real plotting, scheming, and political machinations that make for good Tudor stories. I can only conclude that the writer doesn't have the ability to write a good Tudor story, so she copied one, word for word, as much as possible, taking all the fun out of it. Her closing note, telling us what she did (duh!) was pretty much an insult. It would have been far more fun to have had her explain what she was doing up front and then go at it and have fun.

Obviously, she had to finish this series, and obviously, none of her regular readers cares much what she does, they'll lap up anything. At least, that's what this book makes me think, so fans, take notice! This book is a direct insult to you and your intelligence. But hey, you're making the author rich, and you can salivate on her cushy little notes to you. But as a romance, as a novel worth salivating over or savoring, "Being Elizabeth" was pure junk, and it's exactly what I did with it. I dumped it into the waste basket before checking out, taking the precaution to rip off the front cover and rip that up so that no one would have to pay for it ever ever again. This woman should refund everyone who bought this hurriedly written, quickly dashed off bunch of pages.

I really didn`t like anything about this book. But the worst part was the six wives of Harry(Henry VIII ring a bell, they even had the same name in the same order, from the same countries and even they shared the same kind of relationship).

This book was so boring and repetitive that I don`t thik I can read any book from her in the furute.

Listened to this on cd from my local library. Sounded good on the back. but dull dull dull. there was nothing that was super duper exciting that happened. Yah I got it that Elizabeth doesn't want kids or to get married, no need repeating it ten times. was soo glad when it ended. pass on this one and read something more exciting.

What fun! Shakespeare's queen, Elizabeth, reimagined as the dashing, headstrong CEO of a respected English corporation. All of her advisors and her loves in modern business attire, jetting here and there and doing the young lady's bidding while she broods over her vast powers and responsibilities, totally in control yet deeply drawn to experience love and passion on her own terms.

The thing that makes this book sparkle is not so much the plot (very closely based on actual history, of course) but the deliciously modern touches sprinkled on nearly every page. It's such fun to see Elizabeth riding to meet the Spanish in a stretch limousine, or volleying on the tennis court and showing off her fabulous legs to the admiring Spaniards. There's always some clever modern touch, Elizabeth either tying things up by cell phone (when she's having her daily massage) or rolling out of her lover's bed and checking her e-mail while closely watching South American stock prices on satellite TV. She multi-tasks in an atmosphere of constant bustle and glamor, flying to one meeting and e-mailing to another, always dressed perfectly and looking fabulous, and always with a couple of really handsome men scampering to obey her slightest whim.

Not only is Elizabeth more dynamic and glamorous than ever, but it's also fun to see her rival, Mary Queen of Scots, reimagined as a French diva with flaming red hair and a taste for much younger men. Mary's work habits are not quite equal to Elizabeth's, however. "The deal went through at eleven AM, thus bypassing Mary, who invariably slept till noon. Elizabeth was an early riser." Mary is always getting distracted, hitting the club scene and snorting coke, falling for every good looking guy with a line, and then either zoning out in the board room or cancelling her meetings with notes like, "feel ghastly. Talk tomorrow. Must sleep -- M." So modern, but so true to Mary's real nature!