Kerry B. (Kerryjb) reviewed on 12/28/2008 + 4 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 7

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I was very excited to read it, as I am about all books surrounding the earlier English monarchy & nobility. But while I know that this book was a work of fiction, it was based on a real person, and I felt that the author played around with some of the facts of Joan's early marital history in order to make a more compassionate character. Also, the author kept referring to Joan being a "distant" relation to the ruling family, when she was actually first cousin to the king! How is that distant?
I never felt very compassionate to Joan. I don't know if it was how the author wrote her, or just the person herself, but I never really liked her in this book. I know she was trying to "be her own person" and also get revenge for her father's murder, but I never really cared about her or her motives. I actually liked the secondary character of Princess Isabella a lot more than Joan. And I also liked the Prince.
All in all, I kept reading the book because I wanted to like Joan, and I wanted to enjoy the book. I rated it a 3 for some of the plot points and storylines such as the battles with the French. But I don't feel that this lived up to the "epic" love story that Joan and the Prince were reported to have had.

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