Thoughts

Wow- talk about an opening synopsis. It pretty much wraps up what the entire book is about, a woman that I've always known to be evil, receives an author who brings her to life in the way only fiction can. G.W Gortner takes us on a journey of exciting historical account, laced with lavish detail and romance that swept me off my feet.

While reading this I almost had to retrain my brain, as a reviewer I tend to rush through my novels, taking everything in at warp speed, with this novel I took it slow, savoring each chapter and choosing to devour Gortner's words over the course of a few weeks. The novel came to life for me and despite everything that history and school has taught me of Queen Isabella, I found her to be a fascinating larger than life character. I loved that the book started in her childhood and wove together all the events in her young life, leading to her eventual title as queen, a position she never thought would be hers. As readers we see the nightmarish reign of her brother how he came to ruin and how her rise to power and scorching love affair with Fernando of Aragon led to marriage and ruling together with almost frightening power that of course to this day has romanticized them into an eerie, cruel and passionate couple. We also see the political warfare, the pressure Isabella faced trying to repair her torn apart kingdom, her desire to fight and her bravery which in the novel made her more the hero and not of the damsel class, which unfortunately history has the sneaking ability to do. While Isabella certainly had the love a man, she could take care of herself and do so boldly, which for me was what made this story special. I love reading about strong women who have intelligence, bravery and harbor exquisiteness that show multifaceted personality.

Gortner also takes much liberties to explain Isabella's devotion to her faith, which caused that famous inquisition we always hear about when dealing with this particular historical figure. Over the span of time kings, queens and nations have committed horrendous atrocities in Gods name, actions that faith never require, they do it out of pride or actually thinking they are doing Gods work. Of course there are those who do things in Gods name out of pure evil and I've always placed Isabella's actions against the Jews in that category, while this book gave me plausible insight into the workings of Isabella's mind and the political strategy that may have determined many of her decisions, I still see her actions hard to justify. Gortner's account and presentation almost make me want to ditch what I know and the lack of what I know about history and retell this one as truth....a mark of a great author.

Walk into a world bursting with seductive secrets, bold story telling and history done right.

Rating

Recommended to adult readers and contains: Violence, political warfare, sexuality, mild language.

4/5- Historical
Thanks to Random House and Historical Fiction Virtual Tours for Review Copy