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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I don't normally read historical fiction and this is particularly why. The story, while it had some engaging aspects I felt I could skip a few pages and not miss much. The first half of the book was before she became queen and the last half was her rule. A lot of the time, if felt like there was too much detail and other times not enough. Wasn't a good balance. Overall I was not very impressed.
I won this through goodreads first reads and i got really bogged down reading this. It was just way too much detail for my taste. It was an intriguing story and I don't know much about spain so that was cool but It was just too much for me. It seemed too slow because of all the extra detail. Not necessarily bad but only recommended for people who really enjoy that kind of book
C. W. Gortner's historical novel The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile, does an excellent job of creating a believable and even sympathetic portrait of the warrior queen who ruled Castile and Leon in her own right, and Aragon through marriage, who is remembered in history as the patron both of Christopher Columbus and Torquemada, the Most Catholic Majesty who with her husband Ferdinand (Fernando in the novel) drove the last of the Moors from Spain, expelled all Jews who refused to convert, and loosed the fires of the Inquisition on heretics within her lands.
Gortner paints Isabella of Castile as a strong-willed and intelligent woman of her time, who could shun the native tradition of bullfighting because of its cruelty, yet at the same time condemn the inhavitants of an entire conquered Moorish city to slavery and suspected apostates to the auto-da-fe. A woman of deep contradictions, who pushed at the boundaries of acceptable female behaviour on one hand while she followed the conventions of her faith without question on the other.
Well-written and fast-paced, Gortner tells an exciting story about the woman who played a major role in creating the united nation of Spain.
Gortner paints Isabella of Castile as a strong-willed and intelligent woman of her time, who could shun the native tradition of bullfighting because of its cruelty, yet at the same time condemn the inhavitants of an entire conquered Moorish city to slavery and suspected apostates to the auto-da-fe. A woman of deep contradictions, who pushed at the boundaries of acceptable female behaviour on one hand while she followed the conventions of her faith without question on the other.
Well-written and fast-paced, Gortner tells an exciting story about the woman who played a major role in creating the united nation of Spain.
The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile
By C.W. Gortner
Date completed: May 20, 2016
Length: long, 12-15 hours
Source of book: Discount book from Bookbub, purchased from Amazon for$1.99
"No one believed I was destined for greatness."
Isabella of Castile. The woman responsible for Christopher Columbus "discovering" America. And while this is obviously a fictionalized tale, it's eerie and so different then I expected.
I never studied Spanish history. There are some great gaps in my knowledge. And other then Isabella and Ferdinand having a great love story, I didn't know what else there was to her story.
It turns out there's a lot to her story. More then you could possibly imagine. To start with, she is the first born of the Kings second wife. He has a much older son from his first wife, and a younger son by his second wife. We pick up the story upon his death.
The important thing about this is Isabel wasn't next in line for the throne. Even when her elder brother has no heir, the succession would go to her younger brother. The throne would go to their issue, before her. Obviously, spoiler alert, Isabella becomes queen.
For all that she has an interesting story, the novel drags. There is an abundance of prose and description, and not a lot of action. It drags and then it becomes political. And while intriguing things happen, I found they were boring and overburdened by either inaction, complacency, or just poor decisions.
What really starts to distinguish itself in the latter half of the novel it's Isabella's religious fervour. She is a Christian queen... A very Christian queen. Her fight for the throne comes from her deep seeded belief in the divine right of ruling. All her choices are based on her religious belief. Her loyalty to her older brother, her fights against the opposition to her rule... And it culminates with the inquisition and crusade into Grenada. If you are sensitive to religion in literature, avoid this book. If you're accepting to the historical significance, it's a little more acceptable but I found it a little overbearing even then. The one oddity was Isabella's defense of her Jewish subjects. Ultimately it was for naught, but she attempted to protect them.
Rating: 7/10 a slow start gave way to a very detailed and researched expedition. Perhaps a little on the dry side but a window into an otherwise unknown section of history for me.
See more reviews by me at https://abrutalreview.wordpress.com/
By C.W. Gortner
Date completed: May 20, 2016
Length: long, 12-15 hours
Source of book: Discount book from Bookbub, purchased from Amazon for$1.99
"No one believed I was destined for greatness."
Isabella of Castile. The woman responsible for Christopher Columbus "discovering" America. And while this is obviously a fictionalized tale, it's eerie and so different then I expected.
I never studied Spanish history. There are some great gaps in my knowledge. And other then Isabella and Ferdinand having a great love story, I didn't know what else there was to her story.
It turns out there's a lot to her story. More then you could possibly imagine. To start with, she is the first born of the Kings second wife. He has a much older son from his first wife, and a younger son by his second wife. We pick up the story upon his death.
The important thing about this is Isabel wasn't next in line for the throne. Even when her elder brother has no heir, the succession would go to her younger brother. The throne would go to their issue, before her. Obviously, spoiler alert, Isabella becomes queen.
For all that she has an interesting story, the novel drags. There is an abundance of prose and description, and not a lot of action. It drags and then it becomes political. And while intriguing things happen, I found they were boring and overburdened by either inaction, complacency, or just poor decisions.
What really starts to distinguish itself in the latter half of the novel it's Isabella's religious fervour. She is a Christian queen... A very Christian queen. Her fight for the throne comes from her deep seeded belief in the divine right of ruling. All her choices are based on her religious belief. Her loyalty to her older brother, her fights against the opposition to her rule... And it culminates with the inquisition and crusade into Grenada. If you are sensitive to religion in literature, avoid this book. If you're accepting to the historical significance, it's a little more acceptable but I found it a little overbearing even then. The one oddity was Isabella's defense of her Jewish subjects. Ultimately it was for naught, but she attempted to protect them.
Rating: 7/10 a slow start gave way to a very detailed and researched expedition. Perhaps a little on the dry side but a window into an otherwise unknown section of history for me.
See more reviews by me at https://abrutalreview.wordpress.com/
This was my first Christopher Gortner novel and I will definitely be reading more. Gortner describes by showing, not telling. The words are each chosen with precision and powerful meaning.
I've never read about Isabella of Castile. All I knew about her prior to this book was that she and Ferdinand were the ones who sent Columbus on a new trade route to find India. But Isabella's story starts when she is very young, her father dies, and her half-brother takes the throne and doesn't do a very good job at it.
I love and gravitate toward stories with strong women, and Gortner's Isabella is no different. She doesn't start off with much of a backbone, but when she realizes she needs to get one, she does so and is the epitome of bravery. She goes after what she wants with pride, wit, love, and courage.
The Queen's Vow is a story that will sweep you off your feet and remind you why you love reading. Highly recommended!
I've never read about Isabella of Castile. All I knew about her prior to this book was that she and Ferdinand were the ones who sent Columbus on a new trade route to find India. But Isabella's story starts when she is very young, her father dies, and her half-brother takes the throne and doesn't do a very good job at it.
I love and gravitate toward stories with strong women, and Gortner's Isabella is no different. She doesn't start off with much of a backbone, but when she realizes she needs to get one, she does so and is the epitome of bravery. She goes after what she wants with pride, wit, love, and courage.
The Queen's Vow is a story that will sweep you off your feet and remind you why you love reading. Highly recommended!
The first thing I did after finishing The Queens Vow: run to the bookstore in hopes of finding more books by C.W. Gortner. Unfortunately my nearest bookstore didn't have any of his books :( Hopefully internet shopping can help me out here.
This book was so so good. I want, need, more! I really like the way Gortner describes the things that happen in the book. I could picture every scene like I was watching a movie. Trough the book I've learned a lot about Spanish history. Not everything in the novel is historically correct, I appreciated that Gortner addresses the changes he's made in the afterword to the book, although I don't always understand the choices he made.
If Gortner's other books are as good as this one, I might have found someone to add to my list of favorite authors!
This book was so so good. I want, need, more! I really like the way Gortner describes the things that happen in the book. I could picture every scene like I was watching a movie. Trough the book I've learned a lot about Spanish history. Not everything in the novel is historically correct, I appreciated that Gortner addresses the changes he's made in the afterword to the book, although I don't always understand the choices he made.
If Gortner's other books are as good as this one, I might have found someone to add to my list of favorite authors!
I didn't know much about Isabel of Castile before I read this book. Here's what I knew:
She and King Ferdinand were the ones that financed Columbus' misadventure to the West Indies.
I was familiar with two out of her children. First, I knew of Joanna the Mad (also called Juana), who was considered crazy. Second, I knew of Catherine of Aragon, who went on to become King Henry the VIII of England's first wife.
I knew about the involvement with the Spanish Inquisition.
It was fascinating to get to know more about this queen. I didn't realize that before the reign of Ferdinand and Isabel that Spain was not fully unified. I knew that they came from different kingdoms but I didn't realize there was so much separation. I liked the relationship between Ferdinand and Isabel. They really love each other and because they come from separate kingdoms, their love is forbidden; however, they're able to marry and they lay the groundwork for a Spanish reunification.
There was so much going on in Spain during this time. It was interesting to see it through the eyes of someone who was at the forefront of so many of the decisions. It was very interesting to me to see how Ferdinand and Isabel's reign worked. They seemed to be very much on equal footing when it comes to making the rules.
This will be the second C.W. Gortner book. I love his writing because he does such a good job of getting into the brain of his characters and really making you, the reader, feel what the character is seeing. You begin to feel like you could be friends with the characters because you get to know them that well.
Bottom line: This is a great book with vivid descriptions. It's perfect for all you historical fiction lovers out there!
She and King Ferdinand were the ones that financed Columbus' misadventure to the West Indies.
I was familiar with two out of her children. First, I knew of Joanna the Mad (also called Juana), who was considered crazy. Second, I knew of Catherine of Aragon, who went on to become King Henry the VIII of England's first wife.
I knew about the involvement with the Spanish Inquisition.
It was fascinating to get to know more about this queen. I didn't realize that before the reign of Ferdinand and Isabel that Spain was not fully unified. I knew that they came from different kingdoms but I didn't realize there was so much separation. I liked the relationship between Ferdinand and Isabel. They really love each other and because they come from separate kingdoms, their love is forbidden; however, they're able to marry and they lay the groundwork for a Spanish reunification.
There was so much going on in Spain during this time. It was interesting to see it through the eyes of someone who was at the forefront of so many of the decisions. It was very interesting to me to see how Ferdinand and Isabel's reign worked. They seemed to be very much on equal footing when it comes to making the rules.
This will be the second C.W. Gortner book. I love his writing because he does such a good job of getting into the brain of his characters and really making you, the reader, feel what the character is seeing. You begin to feel like you could be friends with the characters because you get to know them that well.
Bottom line: This is a great book with vivid descriptions. It's perfect for all you historical fiction lovers out there!
I'd give this 3 & 1/2 stars, if there were half stars. It's fun to fill in some details about a queen you have heard about since preschool, even if fictionalized. I liked how the author romanticized the power couple of Castile / Aragon. Parts of the plot were monotonous, but that wasn't the author's fault- all the major kingdoms spent their time (except winter) invading or fending off their neighbors & Isabella's kingdoms especially, as middle eastern armies were a constant threat. The rest of the time was spent trying to birth heirs & raising money for wars. The storylines around the strengthened Inquisition are eerily familiar: constant, splashy rumors & fear-mongering about horrific acts committed by people of Jewish heritage in order to spur the majority population into violent action. Seriously, if Christian children were actually found ritually killed back then, the mob would have murdered all the Jews in that city within the hour. It was always a rumor from somewhere else in the mouth of a priest raging that to disobey his wishes were to disobey God himself. There are still those voices today.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While he kept me reading, I feel like Gortner glossed over important parts of what made Isabella of Castile who she was. Where was the fanatic Catholic zeal Isabella had? Her part in the Inquisition really came off as subdued or coerced by other people in the book. (Maybe to make her more relatable to modern standards?) Still though, [b:The Queen's Vow A Novel of Isabella of Castile|12796941|The Queen's Vow A Novel Of Isabella Of Castile|C.W. Gortner|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1321053644s/12796941.jpg|17945131] was entertaining.