A review by smitch29
Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power by Leah Redmond Chang

informative slow-paced

3.75

This was better than I expected and hoped. It was a bit slow and dragging at times, but overall, I feel like I learned a lot and got a decent perspective on how terrible it was to be a monarch (regardless of gender, but also more especially a queen) in medieval Europe. The author tried to stick to dedicated themes within chapters, which led to some jumping around in history to illustrate how a particular aspect of power or responsibility affected a particular queen. It was well done for the strategy, but I prefer just a bit more linear of a story. Also, this was a very dreary book. It focuses heavily on the hardships in these queens' lives and what turmoil they experienced. There are some happy moments, but very few. Perhaps that is all that is known, and/or maybe their lives were miserable. I found it fascinating to see how they people with significant power reacted to certain hardships, as it gave me a better perspective on history, but let me learn it in a narrative format. I appreciated the sprinklings of modern takes on medical issues, and when the author would draw in feedback from contemporaries. It is hard to understand what was normal for the time period for certain behaviors and decisions. Overall, I would recommend this book, and I enjoyed my time listening. The narrator was excellent, really making it a seamless listen.