Gilt by Katherine Longshore

Title: Gilt

Author: Katherine Longshore

Reviewed by: Cassie

Rating: 1.5 glass slippers

Summary (from BN.com)

In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free--
and love comes at the highest price of all.

When Kitty Tylney's best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII's heart and brings Kitty to court, she's thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat's shadow, Kitty's now caught between two men--the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat's meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head.

Usually, I really enjoy historical YA fiction. I like the mystery, the gowns, and parties thrown. Somehow, Gilt has incorporated all of these things and made me want to throw it in the fire and laugh. I don't know if that's skill or pure stubbornness but I have to say, that's something.

Pros-

William-

Oh another Will! He's got sandy brown hair, freckles all over his face and arms, and gray-blue eyes. He finds Kitty beautiful. He really cares for her. Even though she uses another man to make him jealous, he still has thoughts for only her. HOW SWEET IS THAT? He also basically says he wants to marry her but she doesn't pick up and she doesn't... she doesn't deserve him!

Shallow stuff-

I must admit I still enjoyed the gowns and parties. They were all very nice.

Little nature scenes-

Those were nice.

Cons-

Kitty (the main character)-

SHE HAS NO BACKBONE! NONE!!!! I HATE THAT. Why can't you be like this hippo?

And I'm not just talking about men. I'm talking about standing up for herself! Even though Cat was a cold bitch to her, she took it and curtsied and basically I wanted to stab her.
Men with Kitty- I don't know if she's actually not beautiful, but no man would look at her twice except for William and Edmund. William because he actually cared about her. Edmund because he wanted to get in her pants. She didn't believe in herself and thus I think slouched and looked dismal and sad. She's extremely tall, got great green eyes, and is very willowy. She could have held herself and been very elegant but NOOOO she's got to be Cat's shadow. That's how she likes it. AND she can't see true affection for what it really is! She's so drawn into her own life and Cat's life she can't see that William wanted to love her.
She infuriated me. She was weak, stupidly loyal, and boring. BORING. Maybe you find women who have no voice or backbone or spark interesting and maybe you think, oh pshhhh women were supposed to be like that. Well I'm telling you right now, I DON'T CARE. Seriously.

Cat- (the "BFF")
Cat was so annoying. She was controlling, spoiled, bitchy, crazy, and manipulative. She made all the attention go to her, even if she didn't earn it. She planned and plotted so much that I wanted to do something very violent to her. She weasled her way into getting boys into the maidens' room. She weasled her way into Henry VIII's court. She weasled her way into his heart. And then she weasled her way into a shit-will-go-down situation that would affect all of her "BFF"s and lovers and accomplices. Words cannot describe how much I would have hated a girl like her. Shallow, vain, and very self-absorbed. She was crazy! Seriously. Once she got something and it turned out to not benefit her or turned out the way she wanted, she goes "Oh I never wanted it! Why must it be me!"

Edmund-

I didn't like him. Oh, so he had a flowing mane of golden hair "to die-for"? Hmm... I care. Actually, no I don't. I don't like guys with blonde hair, unless the author makes him especially yummy. And Edmund was anything but yummy. He was lustful, annoying, controlling, and everything else not-nice. Okay, so he made Kitty feel wanted. Ever think it wasn't because he actually liked her? Oh, wait, I forgot! Silly me, Kitty doesn't think. At least not like that. Needless to say, I wouldn't mind stabbing him. A lot.

The plot-

I'm sorry, but I found court life extremely sloooooooooooow. Boring. Nothing big happening until the end. Maybe you like scandal and gossipy crap but honestly? I was forcing myself to not throw down the book and stomp away. I know life was like this, and it was a very accurate portrayal, but I didn't sign up for basically all history. I expected the parties (there's only one Kitty gets to go to) to be extravagant and fun and flirty. I expected flirtatious men coming up to Kitty and all that stuff! NOPE! Nuh-uh. Cat gets all the limelight and everybody just loves her. No one except Edmund actually pays attention to Kitty. And all he wants to do is distract her and get in her pants. Big letdown.

The ending-

I hated it. No special appearance of the true lover and no... nothing. Kitty is just there. No, "Oh let's do this!" or "Let's kill some people... teehee" No, just "Oh. Life. Wonderful."

I didn't get mindblown. I didn't really like this book. I didn't even like it. I didn't like it. No, I almost really didn't like this. It was a waste of my time and I really wish I had never read it.

Side note? If Kitty had had a cat, (no seriously, I have a thing for cats) I think it would have been wayyyyy cooler. I mean, at least at the end she could have been like "Oh, the world... and my cat!"

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Cassie