YA Historical Fiction Moth: The Queen's Daughter Review

The Queen's Daughter by Susan Coventry

Publisher: Henry, Holt, and Co

Release date: June 8, 2010

Source: 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 and a renowned military leader. She loves them both—so what is she to 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 stuck with a man ten years her senior. She doesn’t love her husband, 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 importantly, whom to love?

Review:

The Queen's Daughter was a fantastic and eye opening debut novel that reminded me once again about how much I love historical fiction.

To begin with, The Queen’s Daughter included a ton of historical details. Names, dates, and places were presented in an intriguing way and it made me want to keep reading, to find out more about what was happening. All of the characters were well developed and believable, especially Joan. Readers got to experience things with Princess Joan from the time she was six years old all the way into her thirties. Joan was a great character, and she was truly strong and brave during hard times. It’s hard to imagine that girls were married off so young in the Middle Ages and my heart went out to young Joan when she was sent off to marry King William, a man almost twice her age.

It was especially interesting to connect the young characters to famous historical figures. Like Joan’s brothers: John (in Robin Hood) and Richard (The Lionhearted). Susan Coventry really put a face to history and made me connect a lot of details I knew about the time period and people. This was a fabulous debut and proved that Susan really did her research.

The Queen’s Daughter didn’t hold back on details and really stayed true to how people acting during the time. I can’t wait to read more about Joan. She is a figure in history I didn’t know much about and reading her story was a great experience.

Overall, this was a well written and extremely developed debut. I’m sure fans of historical fiction will devour it and even if you haven’t liked the genre before this will definitely appeal to you. I highly recommend picking it up!

Overall: 4.75 out of 5 stars