Monday, July 16, 2012

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





The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner
Reviewed as a part of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Author's website: www.cwgortner.com
Twitter event hashtag: #QueensVowVirtualTour
Pub Date: June 12, 2012
Book trailer

Isabella of Castile is one of history's most memorable queens: she was married to the powerful Ferdinand of Aragon (and together they united Spain into a powerhouse), masterminded the Inquisition, and launched Christopher Columbus on his voyages. The Queen's Vow is the newest book from the wonderful C.W. Gortner. It follows Isabella from life as a poor, forgotten princess to the powerful and influential monarch that she later became.


The book mainly focuses on her early years and hardships, all telling us how she became a legendary queen. Her teenage years were full of betrayals, lies, and back-stabbings that all put her and her future in jeopardy. At the age of 17 she became queen of Castile, yet was still met with opposition and struggles. Later, when the Inquisition erupts, she must once again prove to her people that she is a strong and capable ruler.


Overall, I loved the story and devoured the book in a day and a half. The only real knowledge I have of Spanish royalty (of any time period) is that of Isabella's two daughters: Katherine (who married Henry VIII of England) and Juana (the "Mad Queen," I reviewed a book about her HERE). It was fun to read an in-depth story of their infamous mother. The only part of this book that I had reservations on was the relationship between Isabella and Ferdinand. Sure, they were very devoted to each other yet still had their problems, which is all very realistic, but I wasn't sold on their desires to so ardently marry each other. They met exactly one time almost ten years before they wed. Besides their power/wealth, and a bit of gallantry on on Ferdinand's part, I wasn't so sure on what attracted them together initially. However, with all of the other characters and actions, it is easy to overlook this and understand their busy lives.



1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for this lovely review. I'm honored to be here as part of the virtual tour and hope your readers enjoy THE QUEEN'S VOW.

    ReplyDelete

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