"Lady in Waiting" Review

“Lady in Waiting” by Susan Meissner was sent to me by WaterBrook Press through their “Blogging for Books” program.

This book is ‘two-stories-in-one’ and is told from the perspective of two main characters, one living in modern day and one living in the 16^th century. 

The modern-day character, Jane Lindsay, is an antique dealer who has just had her world rocked by her husband of over 20 years saying that he needs a break. While reeling from this news, she discovers a very old ring in a box of antiques from England. She is drawn to the ring because the inscription on it contains the name “Jane.”

In 16^th Century England, Lucy Day tells of her experiences as a seamstress to young Lady Jane Gray. Lady Jane is in the line of succession to the throne, and is also waiting to see who her parents will decide she should wed. She has given her heart to one young man, and he in turn gave her a ring with a Latin inscription and her name, “Jane.”

Thus the two stories are connected by the ring. Throughout the book, you find other ways that these two “Janes” are connected, particularly in regard to choices they have made or that have seemingly been made for them.

While the story of the ring and the modern-day Jane is fictional, the story of Lady Jane Gray is based on actual events in history. This alone made the book an interesting read for me. I was glad to have the “English order of characters” given in the front of this book, which made it easier for me to keep all of the royalty straight! The book was slow at parts, but, on the other hand, I would have liked to continue the story of modern-day Jane a little more to find out what happened with her.

Overall, this book was a nice read. Not enthralling, but still interesting.

I will give “Lady in Waiting”….   3 ½ BookWorms.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the WaterBrook Press “Blogging for Books” program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”