The Queen’s Vow {#Book Review}

No one believed she was destined for greatness—until she became one of history’s most powerful and controversial queens.

Young Isabella is barely a teenager when she is thrust into danger. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, until, at age seventeen, she 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 whom she has vowed to love yet is forbidden to her—Fernando, prince of Aragón.

As together 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 a violent, treacherous battle against an ancient adversary erupts, it will test Isabella’s resolve, her courage, and her tenacious belief in her destiny . . . .

From the glorious palaces of Segovia to the battlefields of Granada and 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.

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (June 12, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345523962
• ISBN-13: 978-0345523969

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…C.W. Gortner is the author of The Last Queen, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici and The Tudor Secret.  He holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis in Renaissance Studies from the New College of California.

In his extensive travels to research his books, he has danced a galliard in a Tudor great hall and experienced life in a Spanish castle. His novels have garnered international praise and been translated into thirteen languages to date. He is also a dedicated advocate for animal rights and environmental issues.

He’s currently at work on his fourth novel for Ballantine Books, about the early years of Lucrezia Borgia, as well as the third novel in his Tudor series,The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles (US) or Elizabeth’s Spymaster (UK).

Half-Spanish by birth, C.W. lives in Northern California.

 

FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Once again, C.W. Gortner did an excellent job keeping me engaged chapter after chapter. How a man can write from a woman’s perspective so well, just amazes me. Gortner writes The Queen’s Vow so well from Isabella’s view that you feel as if you are her or at least sitting before her as she recounts her life directly to you. With “her” words you could feel the emotions she felt throughout her life that was portrayed in the novel.  She and her husband Ferdinand were equal in their marriage which was rare and together they stabilized their kingdoms to unite Spain. Isabella was a known warrior yet in The Queen’s Vow she’s also portrayed in a softer light as a woman who was like any other who loved and had fears of her own. I recommend this read to all who love reading historical fiction based on real history. Hardback worthy and keeper for the shelves (along with his other novels).

…once long ago, no one believed I was destined for greatness.

Now, I am Isabella, Queen of Spain.

 

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