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jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
3.0
This review is full of spoilers if you don't know anything about Eleanor of Aquitaine.
This is (obviously) the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, from the time of her father's death to her divorce from whichever King Louis of France (that was never made clear). She plots to become Queen, goes on Crusade, and then divorces her weak, religious husband.
This book was okay. I've heard of Eleanor, of course, but I didn't know much about her. I did learn some things, but the pacing of the book was all wrong for me. The part where she's trying to choose a husband who will help her hold her father's lands was pretty quick. All of a sudden, she was a queen. Then she was an unhappy, bored, unappreciated queen. That part dragged on and on. Then she went on Crusade with her husband, on his orders. This was actually pretty interesting. She meets the Emperor of Constantinople, she sees fighting, she discusses strategy with the local leaders, and then her husband grows a backbone, tells her he's doing everything his way, and she'll be quiet and like it. Flash forward about three years. We've read what feels like her every waking thought for the previous ten or so years, but just when it gets interesting and she starts to show what she's capable of, we just flash forward. I was disappointed. Then she gets divorced from the mostly spineless King Louis and outwits him to marry Henry Plantagenet. And they lived happily ever after? Who knows? This is where the author just decided to stop. For me, there was way too much of the parts I didn't care about and very little of the parts that were interesting.
The character of Eleanor was very well-developed. I was interested in her and she felt real to me. Louis was developed enough for me to despise him. Everyone else was pretty flat.
I would say that there have got to be better books about Eleanor of Aquitaine out there. Read those instead.
This is (obviously) the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine, from the time of her father's death to her divorce from whichever King Louis of France (that was never made clear). She plots to become Queen, goes on Crusade, and then divorces her weak, religious husband.
This book was okay. I've heard of Eleanor, of course, but I didn't know much about her. I did learn some things, but the pacing of the book was all wrong for me. The part where she's trying to choose a husband who will help her hold her father's lands was pretty quick. All of a sudden, she was a queen. Then she was an unhappy, bored, unappreciated queen. That part dragged on and on. Then she went on Crusade with her husband, on his orders. This was actually pretty interesting. She meets the Emperor of Constantinople, she sees fighting, she discusses strategy with the local leaders, and then her husband grows a backbone, tells her he's doing everything his way, and she'll be quiet and like it. Flash forward about three years. We've read what feels like her every waking thought for the previous ten or so years, but just when it gets interesting and she starts to show what she's capable of, we just flash forward. I was disappointed. Then she gets divorced from the mostly spineless King Louis and outwits him to marry Henry Plantagenet. And they lived happily ever after? Who knows? This is where the author just decided to stop. For me, there was way too much of the parts I didn't care about and very little of the parts that were interesting.
The character of Eleanor was very well-developed. I was interested in her and she felt real to me. Louis was developed enough for me to despise him. Everyone else was pretty flat.
I would say that there have got to be better books about Eleanor of Aquitaine out there. Read those instead.
bookshy's review against another edition
1.0
The front cover says "What a ripping way to learn a history lesson". I'd rather hear a history lesson on Eleanor, as I'm sure it would be much more interesting than this damn book.
fairiesnest's review against another edition
1.0
This was a severely disappointing look at the life of Eleanore of Aquitaine. The author took a historical queen known for her beauty, cunning, extreme intelligence, and independent character and made her into a soppy figure from a romance novel. The book actually began well and even had a bit of pagan magical realism that seemed to be heading in an interesting direction but this plot line was never developed and the bright, interesting child Eleanore became a boring trivial adult. ...and what was with the constant references to her "crackling' hair? I felt like she must have had a frizzy mass of static on her head! (Bonus point however for the gorgeous cover art by Kinuko Craft.)
emiged's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining read about a fascinating woman and time in history. Great characterization of Eleanor - didn't idolize her, but made her seem real and extraordinary. Lots of characters that were sometimes hard to keep straight - would have liked a "dramatis personae" list and some maps included to follow their travels all over Europe and down to the Holy Land.
For more book reviews, visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
For more book reviews, visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
jakreamer's review against another edition
3.0
I was actually pretty disappointed in this book. I was expecting a lot more and feel as if they didn't focus at all on the advancements that Eleanor brought to French court. The ending also felt very rushed and forced.
altea_charisma's review against another edition
3.0
It was an okay book. Not one of the best books I have read. It did loose me several times and did bore me to the point I forced myself to finish it. The story kept changing perspectives to new people/people who seemed to not majorly effect the plot. I personally would not recommend it to anyone I know, but please don't let me stop you from reading it.
shinydiscoballx's review against another edition
2.0
Not thrilled with this novel. I found it very wordy, I was not engaged and I lost interest regularly. There were a few good scenes but overall I found the characters to be very flat, and the spontaneous, short-lived side plots irritated more than entertained me (ie. Faenze's escapade).
emakay's review
3.0
Uuuugh this book DRAGGED.
I love history. Always have, always will. And I’ve wanted to know more about Eleanor if Aquitaine. This book wasn’t what I wanted. It was slow in places, infuriated me in others, and only briefly was entertaining. It also jumps around quite a bit with no warning, and expects the reader to keep up with its vague allusions to historical happenings and movements. I did greatly enjoy the first few chapter, however.
I wouldn’t recommend this to most, but if you like dull historical scene-setting, go for it.
I love history. Always have, always will. And I’ve wanted to know more about Eleanor if Aquitaine. This book wasn’t what I wanted. It was slow in places, infuriated me in others, and only briefly was entertaining. It also jumps around quite a bit with no warning, and expects the reader to keep up with its vague allusions to historical happenings and movements. I did greatly enjoy the first few chapter, however.
I wouldn’t recommend this to most, but if you like dull historical scene-setting, go for it.
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