Luther and Katharina

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Luther and Katharina
Jody Hedlund
Waterbrook

   When I first learned that this book was coming out, I was extremely excited. Y'see, I've always found the story of Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina Von Bora, fascinating, and while I'm not entirely positive what I think about writing novels about real people (simply because I don't think I'd like a novel written about me years after I'm dead) that didn't lessen my interest in this book. Then, of course, I saw the gorgeous cover and was even more determined to read it.

   The historical background in the novel was interesting. I especially liked the first few chapters when Luther and Katharina first met; their conversations (arguments?) were most entertaining! The author didn't skimp on the religious nature of the reformation, either, which I appreciated.

   The one thing that knocks the rating down on this one, though, is that it was too romance-y for me, and I wouldn't recommend it to younger readers because many of the characters could be quite crude with their accusations and innuendos. This is not uncommon for the time period of the book, I've noticed, as the sixteenth century was...ahem...rather bawdy and savage at times.

   Anyway, some of the content of this book was not to my taste, but I still enjoyed most of the book, and I'm sure anyone who has wondered how Martin Luther went from calling Katharina the "hissing katzen" to "Kate, my rib" will want to pick this one up.

Rating: 6

I received an ARC copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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