Plain Jane — Laurien Gardner

Jane Seymour, shrewd, bright, plain Jane, won the love of King Henry VIII -- and alone among all his women, would give him his heart's desire...

With a face better suited to a nun's habit than a wedding dress, Jane Seymour has no suitors and few hopes. Then, her prospects brighten when she is granted a position at court as maid of honor to Queen Catherine. There, Jane watches as King Henry VIII ignores his aging wife, showering favor on the darkly beautiful Anne Boleyn, the woman he would make his new queen.

But soon after he gets his way, he tires of Anne, who is stubborn, willful, and, fatally, does not give him the son he desperately craves. His wandering eye -- to her own surprise and the shock of the entire court -- then falls on Jane. Plain and unassuming Jane, who now has England's monarch at her feet. Yet, though she has feelings of affection for Henry, she knows that she must not let herself be swept away by his attentions if she is to win not only his heart but also the greatest prize of all -- the Crown.