literarykate616's review against another edition
5.0
Why I Read This
I have been a huge Philippa Gregory fan since before I even started blogging. I love reading anything about British history and quickly fell in love with her series about the Tudors. I've continued reading everything she publishes no matter what time period in history. I knew next to nothing about the War of the Roses when I first started this series but now I love all of the historical characters almost, but not quite as much as the Tudors. Let's just say they're a very close second. To be honest I had been putting this book off because I am not a fan of Warwick and had no desire to read a book about his daughters. Oh my, was I so off base.
Thoughts
I think The Kingmaker's Daughter is now one of my favorites of this series. I thought I was totally a fan of Elizabeth Woodville and the rest of the Rivers family but man they are not portrayed in a very flattering light in this book. Elizabeth is basically seen as an evil sorceress who controls Edward. I felt sympathy for Elizabeth and her family in The White Queen*, The Red Queen* and The Lady of the Rivers* but now I have seen both sides of the coin. Everything that went wrong with Warwick's family is easy to throw accusations towards Elizabeth and her magic so I guess we'll never really know who was to blame. All I know is that I really enjoyed seeing the other side of the story when I believed Warwick to be such a villain in the other books.
Future Plans
I've already started reading The White Princess and like it so far but it's hard not to dislike Elizabeth of York now that I've finished The Kingmaker's Daughter. Hopefully my opinions will settle and I'll be back to liking Elizabeth Woodville and the Rivers family but we'll see. Right now I just can't forgive her for flirting with Richard who was supposed to be loyal to Anne Neville. I really liked Anne in this book and didn't really know much about her beforehand. It's always nice when I get to read a historical fiction novel without a bunch of spoilers. Of course knowing all the history never makes me enjoy the book less, it's just different.
I have been a huge Philippa Gregory fan since before I even started blogging. I love reading anything about British history and quickly fell in love with her series about the Tudors. I've continued reading everything she publishes no matter what time period in history. I knew next to nothing about the War of the Roses when I first started this series but now I love all of the historical characters almost, but not quite as much as the Tudors. Let's just say they're a very close second. To be honest I had been putting this book off because I am not a fan of Warwick and had no desire to read a book about his daughters. Oh my, was I so off base.
Thoughts
I think The Kingmaker's Daughter is now one of my favorites of this series. I thought I was totally a fan of Elizabeth Woodville and the rest of the Rivers family but man they are not portrayed in a very flattering light in this book. Elizabeth is basically seen as an evil sorceress who controls Edward. I felt sympathy for Elizabeth and her family in The White Queen*, The Red Queen* and The Lady of the Rivers* but now I have seen both sides of the coin. Everything that went wrong with Warwick's family is easy to throw accusations towards Elizabeth and her magic so I guess we'll never really know who was to blame. All I know is that I really enjoyed seeing the other side of the story when I believed Warwick to be such a villain in the other books.
Future Plans
I've already started reading The White Princess and like it so far but it's hard not to dislike Elizabeth of York now that I've finished The Kingmaker's Daughter. Hopefully my opinions will settle and I'll be back to liking Elizabeth Woodville and the Rivers family but we'll see. Right now I just can't forgive her for flirting with Richard who was supposed to be loyal to Anne Neville. I really liked Anne in this book and didn't really know much about her beforehand. It's always nice when I get to read a historical fiction novel without a bunch of spoilers. Of course knowing all the history never makes me enjoy the book less, it's just different.
magdon's review against another edition
4.0
Typical Philippa. one of my more favorites. Liked her reasoning behind the Richard takeover and his other actions. I also want to reread The White Queen to remind myself was Elizabeth was thinking about Anne & Isabel.
philippafrederique's review against another edition
4.0
I am a very big fan of Philippa Gregory's novel, and this one certainly lived up to its expectations. Anne Neville is someone I knew practically nothing about, and it's interesting to see how PG chooses to focus on people that have often been neglected during the course of history. There are countless books on Anne Boleyn or Elizabeth I for instance, but there are so many other fascinating women out there whose stories are waiting to be told.
What I love about this Cousins' War series in general is that it's teaching me so much about the Wars of the Roses, a topic I was vaguely familiar with, but didn't know much about. The way PG writes her characters is an interesting one. My view on them has often changed radically from one book to the next. [b:The White Queen|5971165|The White Queen (The Cousins' War, #1)|Philippa Gregory|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348040140s/5971165.jpg|13560666] for instance, made Elizabeth Woodville an interesting and likeable character that I sympathised with, and this fourth installment made her the epitome of all that is evil in the world (this is slightly exaggerated, but I'm trying to make a point here). The same goes for Jacquetta Rivers and Margaret Beaufort. It's very nifty to be able to write several books that partially cover the same topic but with a different background story and a different main character, and make each of them as interesting as the previous one. Once again PG has managed to do this very well.
I don't think I will ever tire of reading her novels, and I'm already counting down the days until her next novel, [b:The White Princess|12326627|The White Princess (The Cousins' War #5)|Philippa Gregory|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|17305270]!
What I love about this Cousins' War series in general is that it's teaching me so much about the Wars of the Roses, a topic I was vaguely familiar with, but didn't know much about. The way PG writes her characters is an interesting one. My view on them has often changed radically from one book to the next. [b:The White Queen|5971165|The White Queen (The Cousins' War, #1)|Philippa Gregory|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348040140s/5971165.jpg|13560666] for instance, made Elizabeth Woodville an interesting and likeable character that I sympathised with, and this fourth installment made her the epitome of all that is evil in the world (this is slightly exaggerated, but I'm trying to make a point here). The same goes for Jacquetta Rivers and Margaret Beaufort. It's very nifty to be able to write several books that partially cover the same topic but with a different background story and a different main character, and make each of them as interesting as the previous one. Once again PG has managed to do this very well.
I don't think I will ever tire of reading her novels, and I'm already counting down the days until her next novel, [b:The White Princess|12326627|The White Princess (The Cousins' War #5)|Philippa Gregory|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|17305270]!
janettedv's review against another edition
3.0
I think I was permanently spoilt for books about Richard 111 by Sharon Penman's The Sunne in Splendour. The Kingmaker's Daughter is OK but I don't think that the author gets inside Anne's head as successfully as she does in some other books.
mverdoorn's review against another edition
5.0
This is now my favorite book of this series, with The Red Queen being a close second. I like how Richard III was portrayed as being a human being instead of the Shakespearean monster that history seems to define him as being.
rcaivano's review against another edition
Classic Philippa Gregory novel - the royal family was filled with intrigue and deception - I don't know how these people lived, they couldn't trust a soul. It's often confusing because everyone is named Edward and Richard and Ann and Elizabeth, but once again, I learned a little bit about English history. It was good.
bookish_brooklyn's review against another edition
5.0
My full review can be found on my blog: https://brooklynthebookworm.wordpress.com
Huzzah. Such a beautiful read; my favourite thus far in the author's Cousin's War series. Cannot wait to read the other two, and other Philippa Gregory books. She truly is the queen of historical fiction, and she's always been a favourite of mine.
Huzzah. Such a beautiful read; my favourite thus far in the author's Cousin's War series. Cannot wait to read the other two, and other Philippa Gregory books. She truly is the queen of historical fiction, and she's always been a favourite of mine.
heykylie's review against another edition
4.0
One of my favorites from the Cousins' War series! I just loved Anne's POV and seeing Queen Elizabeth and Richard III through her eyes.
anovelstart's review against another edition
4.0
A very well written book. I've left it a while before reading this book as I went through a short obsession with Star Trek Voyager books, however I really liked the previous books in this series and I knew this one wouldn't let me down. A very nice piece of historical fiction.
Anne Neville, in my opinion, is a victim of circumstance. Nearly her whole life she suffers because of this and causes her deep suspicion about everyone around her. She doesn't trust her sister because of her husbands flimsy loyalty's, her mother because she abandoned her, her Queen because she thinks she's a witch, sometimes her own husband because of the lack of dispensation from the Pope... the list continues...
I do think her encounter with her first mother-in-law, the "Red Queen", hardened her and made an impact on her that she'd never forget. She taught Anne never to hesitate, if she wanted something she had to fight for it and always treat it as the last battle. No one would give her what she wanted, she'd have to get it herself any way she can.
I think what I liked most about this book is that it was from the perspective of a woman whose life was technically (or should have been) out of her control. Her life was meant to be in the control of the men closest to her (her father or husband). Other historical fiction books about woman are about Princesses or Queens and they can get quite tiresome because it's all the same thing, ordering people and strutting about. This books is different, you feel for the character and try to solve her problems in your head, try to work out how she can escape or impress a certain person.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction with female main characters and their struggles in the Middle Ages.
For more reviews, please visit my book blog at: http://a-novel-start.blogspot.co.uk/
Anne Neville, in my opinion, is a victim of circumstance. Nearly her whole life she suffers because of this and causes her deep suspicion about everyone around her. She doesn't trust her sister because of her husbands flimsy loyalty's, her mother because she abandoned her, her Queen because she thinks she's a witch, sometimes her own husband because of the lack of dispensation from the Pope... the list continues...
I do think her encounter with her first mother-in-law, the "Red Queen", hardened her and made an impact on her that she'd never forget. She taught Anne never to hesitate, if she wanted something she had to fight for it and always treat it as the last battle. No one would give her what she wanted, she'd have to get it herself any way she can.
I think what I liked most about this book is that it was from the perspective of a woman whose life was technically (or should have been) out of her control. Her life was meant to be in the control of the men closest to her (her father or husband). Other historical fiction books about woman are about Princesses or Queens and they can get quite tiresome because it's all the same thing, ordering people and strutting about. This books is different, you feel for the character and try to solve her problems in your head, try to work out how she can escape or impress a certain person.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction with female main characters and their struggles in the Middle Ages.
For more reviews, please visit my book blog at: http://a-novel-start.blogspot.co.uk/