Young Eleanor has everything to look forward to as the heiress to the wealthy Aquitaine. But when her beloved father dies suddenly, childhood is over. Forced to marry Prince Louis of France, she barely adjusts before another death catapults them to King and Queen. Leaving everything behind, Eleanor must face the complex and vivacious French court. She is only 13. Barely out of childhood and forced to deal with great scandals, fraught relationships, and forbidden love at every turn, Eleanor finally sees what her future could hold if she could just seize the moment.My Review:
“The Summer Queen” by Elizabeth Chadwick was absolutely
fantastic. I might be a little biased, since I love anything to do with Eleanor
of Aquitaine, but I really can’t say enough good things about this book! The
great use of descriptions grabbed me from the beginning, and I was really able
to picture what was going on through the use of great imagery. Also, the
writing style flowed smoothly, so my interest was kept from beginning until
end. I like how the focus was mainly on her first marriage, because had the
author tried to fit the adventures of both marriages into one book, I think a
lot would have been lost in the telling. I was surprised that the author
described Louis and Eleanor’s marriage as somewhat passionate at the beginning.
Other books I have read have shown that the marriage was pretty much doomed
from the beginning, this novel showed that there possibly was the chance at
love between them at first, but through different events in their lives, that
chance was ruined. It’s sad that their marriage fell apart due to Louis’ poor advisors
and overzealous religious beliefs. However, it is definitely easy to hate Louis
in this novel due to the way he treats Eleanor! The adventures that Eleanor had
during her lifetime are astounding, and it’s hard not to like someone with as
much strength of character as Eleanor of Aquitaine! To think, this novel is
only covering the FIRST half of her crazy life! I really like that the author
ended the novel (the first in a trilogy!) at a positive point in Eleanor’s life. There are so many ups and
downs throughout her life, with one of the major ‘downs’ happening during her
marriage to Henry II, so it’s nice to end this first book with a little hope towards her
future.
I would 100% recommend this novel to any lover of historical
fiction. It has it all, romance, adventure, and intrigue! I give this novel a
solid FIVE out of FIVE stars!
Praise for Elizabeth Chadwick:
“Like a fine wine Chadwick is to be savored all the way down to the last drop...”—Historically Obsessed
“I swear, each Elizabeth Chadwick book I read is even better than the last.”—Devourer of Books
“An author who makes historical fiction come gloriously alive.” —Times of London
“A star back in Britain, Elizabeth Chadwick is finally getting the attention she deserves here.” ―Deirdre Donahue, USA Today
Biography
Cool. Seems like a fun book to read!
ReplyDeleteLove this author but I am a book or two behind. Eager to read this one now. Thanks for the review.
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