title: Queen By Right
author: Anne Easter Smith
genre: historical fiction
published: May 2011
pages: 494
source: Historical Fiction Book Tours
first line: A scream pierced Cecily's dreamless sleep.
rated: 4 out of 5 stars
About:
Cecily Neville is duchess of York and is also known as Rose of Raby and Proud Cis.
As a child Cecily was betrothed to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York and married by age thirteen. Although the marriage is arranged, the two actually fall in love.
They become involved in what is known as the War of the Roses, a period where the York family and Lancaster family are fighting for the throne of England. This was also known and the Cousins War, since cousins and in-laws were fighting on opposite sides.
As Richard fights for the throne, he has Cecily's support.
The story is told from the viewpoint of Cecily as she reflects back on her life right after her beloved Richard dies.
My thoughts:
I love it when I read a book and am immediately swept into a storyline filled with descriptive passages and interesting characters. That's exactly what happened when I picked up Anne Easter Smith's Queen By Right.
This was my first time reading about Cecily and I enjoyed getting to know her.
As a child she'd dress up as a boy and go out riding with her father, which was really frowned upon and considered a sin for a female to dress as a male. Cecily had a mind of her own from the start. Richard takes a liking to her as soon as he meets her and astonishingly enough, the two actually fall in love.
There was plenty going on within this story, but it never got overwhelming and I found no dry spots and I stood up late into the night reading. I felt like author
Anne Easter Smith took history and blended it with fiction perfectly bringing these characters to life. I liked both Cecily and Richard. And I must mention again, the setting and time period, I was perfectly swept away into the story.
I can definitely imagine this one being made into a mini-series.
This is a book to sink your teeth into and I highly recommend it, especially to fans of this genre. Romance, history, love and war all make for a juicy read!
Anne Easter Smith has become a new favorite author.
She stared into the darkness of her curtained bed, seeing again the magnificent hall and reliving that special day in her life. All her senses were satisfied that night by the delicious taste of delicate dishes, the pungent aroma of roasted meat mingled with the heaved scents liberally applied to the throats and wrists of the ladies, the myriad of colors of silks, satins, damasks, and the velvets adorned with every precious gem known to man, the sweet sounds of gems-horns, viols, lutes and recorders. And then there was the touch of Richard's hand as he led her out to dance.
p.76
Queen By Right is on a virtual book tour. For a complete list of tour links, click here. You can check out reviews as well as other guest posts, interviews and book giveaways.
Special thanks to Historical Fiction Book Tours for making this possible.
