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Title: A quick but disappointing read...
Review: I was intrigued at first and enjoyed the parts about Antonia's girlhood and her preparing to marry, while still very young, a man she'd never met. But, it kind of went downhill from there. I found her character to be very shallow - she claimed to feel compassion for the poor, but didn't see anything wrong with only wearing a pair of calfskin gloves once and then throwing them away. I do not know if this is the way she actually was or just the way Erickson made her out to be - her "compassion" did not seem genuine, if that was Erickson's intension. And I just didn't buy any of the love stories which may or may not have actually happened. The whole love at first sight thing between the queen and Axel seemed extremely contrived and convenient. If you're going to invent a romance between two characters, at least put some effort into it. And... you knew what was going to happen at the end, so it was kind of a chore getting through the final half of it...
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