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bibliomich 's review for:

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
4.0
adventurous emotional informative medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

After reading The Constant Princess (my first Philippa Gregory book), I knew that I wanted to go back to the chronological start of the series, but I seriously debated skipping The Lady of the Rivers. After all, why should I start with Jacquetta of Luxembourg's story when I could just jump right in to her daughter's (perhaps better known) story in The White Queen?

I am quite glad that I did not skip this one. First of all, Jacquetta's story on its own is truly fascinating. From her first marriage to a duke to her second marriage to that very duke's chamberlain to her role in the Wars of the Roses as a friend and confidant to Margaret d'Anjou, there was plenty of intrigue and drama in this novel. It also provided me with a lot of historical context about Henry VI and Queen Margaret that I didn't know. All of this is to say that I enjoyed this book, and I think it is a great place to start if you're interested in reading (loose) historical fiction about the Plantagenets.