Wednesday, December 15, 2010

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


16 comments:

  1. You've totally sold me on this one! I love historical fiction that is both really fun to read and also very educational. I can't wait to read this one now. Thanks for your great review!

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  2. Oh, I'm not much for historical fiction but I do love that period.

    *nods nods*
    And you totally sold m on it, :) Gorgeous cover too!

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  3. wow, awesome review! this sounds so good, i love ya historicals!

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  4. Historical fiction is one of my favorite reads, great review!

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  5. I'm a fan of historical fiction if the details match the time period and the story sounds realistic. It's even better when I learn something. Thanks for the review! I'm going to add this one to my wishlist.

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  6. I haven't read a lot of Historical Fic.(u should give me some recs)I'll add this one to my list!

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  7. I've actually learned a lot about history by reading historicals. This one sounds like a good one and I'll definitely be looking for it.

    seriousreader at live dot com

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  8. I love historical fiction. Thanks for a great recommendation.

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  9. I've been thinking about picking this one up, so I'm glad to hear you found it so enjoyable! :)

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  10. This book is now on my wish list. Thanks for your brilliant review!

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  11. I've already added it to my TBR list, but your review makes me want to read it sooner!

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  12. It's already on my TBR list, but after reading your review I think I'm going to read it even sooner :)

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  13. Historical fiction can be iffy but this sounds like it's really well done. Great review!

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  14. I'm always looking for new historical fiction and your glowing review has made me anxious to pick this one up. Hopefully my library has a copy :)

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  15. Great review!!!!--I loved your interview, too!!!--This one is definitely going on my tbr list!!!

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  16. I haven't heard much about this yet. It sounds really enjoyable. Thanks for the review.

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I love getting comments, so feel free to leave your thoughts :)