Postcard For Reader

The Queen's Daughter

The Queen's Daughter
Author: Susan Coventry
Series: ---
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
How Received: author

Joan’s mother is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most beautiful woman in the world. Her father is Henry II, the king of England. She loves them both—so what can she do when she’s forced to choose between them? As her parents’ arguments grow ever more vicious, Joan begins to feel like a political pawn.

When her parents marry her off to the king of Sicily, Joan finds herself with a man ten years her senior. She doesn’t love him, and she can’t quite forget her childhood crush, the handsome Lord Raymond.

As Joan grows up, she begins to understand that her parents’ worldview is warped by their political ambitions, and hers, in turn, has been warped by theirs. Is it too late to figure out whom to trust? And, more important, whom to love?
Buy | Borrow | Brush Off
I was hoping for something ZOMG amazing, and it wasn't ZOMG amazing. But it WAS a pretty darn awesome historical novel.

I like watching characters develop and grow up, and Susan definitely delivered on that part. Joan grew smarter and wiser and, though not as manipulative as my favorite historical characters, was able to make her own way among the men.

One of my favorite parts of historical novels is watching the court dynamics play out. We didn't get as intimately into that as we would had if the book was about, say, Queen Elizabeth, but watching Joan being circled by sharks was a lot of fun to read about.

As for Joan as a character - I never really connected to her with the exception of a few moments, not like I have in other novels. (I constantly compare with historical fiction.) But an entire life happened in the span of the book, so the slightly fast pace was understandable. It managed to take too long and not enough time all at the same time...

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 7/10. I love historical fiction, and this is a pretty good representation of the genre.
Cover Notes: How pretty!

Oh, and refresh the page in a few hours. I'm hosting a giveaway of The Queen's Daughter - signed by the lovely Susan Coventry!