Skip to main content

Review: "The Queen's Vow" by C.W. Gortner


From Goodreads:  Young Isabella is barely a teenager when she and her brother are taken from their mother’s home to live under the watchful eye of their half-brother, King Enrique, and his sultry, conniving queen. There, Isabella is thrust into danger when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she suddenly finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into a deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragon.

As they unite their two realms under “one crown, one country, one faith,” Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies. With the future of her throne at stake, Isabella resists the zealous demands of the inquisitor Torquemada even as she is seduced by the dreams of an enigmatic navigator named Columbus. But when the Moors of the southern domain of Granada declare war, a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, one that will test all of Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny.

From the glorious palaces of Segovia to the battlefields of Granada and the intrigue-laden gardens of Seville, The Queen’s Vow sweeps us into the tumultuous forging of a nation and the complex, fascinating heart of the woman who overcame all odds to become Isabella of Castile.

My Thoughts:  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for honest review.  I have always had this love/hate relationship with Isabella of Castile.  I think she was an amazing woman but the whole Inquisition situation really bothered me.  This book made me think about her in a completely different way.  Gortner portrays as an extremely intelligent person who made very well-thought out decisisions.  Gortner's Isabella was not sure as to whether or not she was in favor of the Inquistion as she did not want to foment rebellion in her kingdom.  Now I don't know if Gortner's portrayal of her is accurate but it definitely made me think twice about looking at Isabella with a black and white mindset. 

For the most part, I really enjoyed this story.  It was neat to follow Isabella as she fought for control of Castile and worked to cement her power.  Gortner did a great job of showing the reader Isabella as the warrior queen as well as the loving wife and mother.  I felt bad for her character in that she had to deal with an extremely self-centered husband.  He didn't seem to be able to deal well with the fact that she was queen in her own right and the constant stroking of his ego kind of got annoying.  This story also had some great side characters.  Isabella's confidante, Beatriz, was a really feisty female character who added a lot to the story and to Isabella's character. I also felt like the story kind of faltered toward the end.  It seemed really rushed like the author wanted to hurry up and finish the story.  I understand that it would have been extremely difficult to write a book about Isabella from childhood to her death but the story just stopped around the time Isabella was patronizing Christopher Columbus.  Otherwise, I thought this was a very unique look at Isabella.  I definitely want to read more of Gortner's work.  4 stars.

Comments

  1. I liked this book but I am with you, I was disappointed at the end. I would have liked the book to continue until Isabella's death. I wanted to read the whole story.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review and Giveaway: "Distant Signs" by Anne Richter

Synopsis: Distant Signs is an intimate portrait of two families spanning three generations amidst turbulent political change, behind and beyond the Berlin Wall. In 1960s East Germany, Margret, a professor’s daughter from the city, meets and marries Hans, from a small village in Thuringia. The couple struggle to contend with their different backgrounds, and the emotional scars they bear from childhood in the aftermath of war. As East German history gradually unravels, with collision of the personal and political, their two families’ hidden truths are quietly revealed. An exquisitely written novel with strongly etched characters that stay with you long after the book is finished and an authentic portrayal of family life behind the iron curtain based on personal experience of the author who is East German and was 16 years old at the fall of the Berlin Wall. Why do families repeat destructive patterns of behaviour across generations? Should the personal take precedence over

Top Ten Books I Recommend The Most

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish . This week's topic:  Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most 1.) The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons   2.) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon           If you read my blog at all, you know I love these two books so much!  I am not afraid to suggest them to anyone who I think might enjoy them. 3.) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I was definitely recommending this book left and right when the first movie came out. 4.) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 5.) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin           These are two books that I just recently started recommending but they are books that can appeal to anyone so they are easy picks when someone asks for a recommendation. 6.) Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead  - I get a little embarrassed when I recommend this book to people but seriously, just because it has vampires does not mean it is like Twilight. 7.) The Giver by Lois

Book Blog Hop (11)

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jen at Crazy for Books .  It's a way to meet other bloggers and check out some cool new blogs. This week's question is:  "Highlight one book you have received this week that you can't wait to dig into!" Okay, I have a confession to make.  I have been so busy this week that I have not had time to get any new books.  I have several waiting for me at the library but I won't be able to pick them up until this weekend.  : ( Did you all get any exciting new books this week?