QUEEN'S CHOICE- PB

This book is am emotional roller coaster. It is very intense and it is interesting to read this history from a woman's point of view.

Queen of England,Joanna. Managed to marry for love- unheard of in these times when women were sold to cement alliances.This is first a love story against all odds. Her incredible strength impressed me.A true meat and potatoes read- I enjoyed this.

Joanna of Navarre has an independent life and rein when is challenged to become Queen of England through marriage with Henry IV. There come the consequences of this choice described in full colors in this book: some bright, some dark. The reading is enjoyable from start to end.

A well appreciated gift to a great friend whose very happy with it.

Good book nice read

It’s 1399. When Joanna of Navarre’s husband dies she gets to rule over Brittany temporarily until her oldest son is grown up. She has a luxurious life and is an influential woman. Her husband always liked the English and because of him Joanna meets Henry IV, the man who’s going to be king of England. They have a connection and he asks her to be his wife. Joanna would become queen of England if she accepts, but she has to give up a lot if she decides to marry Henry. She would have to leave her home, her country and family behind and also her influence. It’s a difficult choice to make, especially since she has no idea what lies ahead.Joanna of Navarre has to make a difficult choice. She has to leave everything she knows behind to move to England if she wants to marry king Henry IV. In 1399 kings are quickly succeeding each other. There’s always a war going on and life at the court is pretty uncertain. That’s the climate in which Joanna has to live her life. She’s strong, she’s courageous and she’s stubborn. She and Henry have that in common, which makes them an intriguing pair. I love how brave Joanna is. Her best feature is that she can admit it when she makes a mistake. I liked that a lot about her. She’s an amazing main character for a book and I enjoyed reading about her life very much.I greatly admire how Anne O’Brien writes about influential women from the past. She makes them come to life very well and her stories are always interesting. She also has a beautiful and expressive writing style. Her stories are impressive and they manage to captivate me from beginning to end. Joanna doesn’t have an easy character and sometimes she makes things difficult for herself. It was fascinating to read about her inner battles. I think Anne O’Brien wrote about her in such a brilliant way. The story is fantastic and the proud character of Joanna makes an admirable heroine. I highly recommend this book.

*I contacted the author to request a review copy of this book for my blog, Historical Fiction Obsession*I honestly do not even know where to start with my review of “The Queen’s Choice. Anne O’Brien once again displays her artistry when it comes to bringing history to life. I was truly lost in medieval England every minute I spent reading it! This novel brings to light the fascinating life of Joanna of Navarre, who became Queen of England when she married King Henry IV. Although I have read hundreds of historical fiction novels set in medieval England, I knew next to nothing about her life prior to reading this novel, and only a little more about her husband, King Henry IV. I definitely had never imagined that there was a passionate love between them, or had any idea of the impact she had as Queen of England. Joanna’s strength is shown over and over throughout this novel as she sets out to prove to her husband, the King, as well as to the people of England, that she is more than just a foreign bride. She is a diplomat, a ruler, as well as an intelligent and strong woman. She is determined to sit beside him as his queen, and as his equal. She left everything she knew, and children she loved, in order to become his queen, and to experience true love. This novel is so incredibly well written and detailed, that I challenge any fan of historical fiction not to fall in love with this book, and with Joanna.“The Queen’s Choice” has absolutely cemented my belief that Anne O’Brien is the best historical fiction author past of present. I have read all of Philippa Gregory’s novels, most of Elizabeth Chadwick’s, many of Sharon Kay Penman and Alison Weir’s novels, as well as hundreds of other historical fiction novels, and Ms. O’Brien’s novels honestly surpass them all, in my opinion. She has the ability to bring these somewhat obscure, royal women, as well as their passionate romances to life for the reader. As you read, you really feel as though you get to know the characters, and you’re left thinking about them when the book comes to an end. The fact that most of the women she writes about are not widely known or written about is what draws me to her novels the most. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good novel about Anne Boleyn, Eleanor of Aquitaine, or Lucrezia Borgia, but it can get repetitive reading about the same famous and dramatic women from history by different authors. The royal women Anne O’Brien chooses to bring to life are women like Elizabeth of Lancaster, Katherine de Valois, Philippa of Hainault, and more. These women were all important to the history of England, and they all have fascinating stories of strength and intelligence, and they all had incredible tales of love. However, they do not have the dramatic stories of incest and adultery like Anne Boleyn and Lucrezia Borgia, or tales riding horses half naked during the Crusades and waging war on their husband like Eleanor of Aquitaine! However, with Anne O’Brien’s gift of writing, she creates novels that are able to illustrate just how amazing and interesting these women from history truly were. I go into the majority of her novels honestly not knowing how it will end, because most of the women she writes about are only secondary characters in other novels I have read. It’s refreshing to learn more about these women, and through her impeccable research, to get an idea of who they were, what their trials were in life, and how they impacted history in their own way. I cannot say enough great things about Anne O’Brien as a writer, and I await her next novel with great anticipation! It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyways) that “The Queen’s Choice” is a clear FIVE out of FIVE stars. It’s one of those books where you wish it was possible to rate it seven or eight stars!

The Queens choiceAnne O'BrienKindle versionRead June 2019 Until I read this novel I had never heard if Joanna (Queen Joan) of Navarre and Brittany, daughter of Charles II of Navarre. She was regent to her son and heir following the death of her first husband John Duke of Brittany.Joanna is portrayed as a strong and confident character. She made the decision of her life to abandon her family and powerful position in Francefor the love of an English King Henry IV who wooed her by proxy viaa loyal knight and friend Thomas who became a loyal and trusted friend and confidante,This is a well told story, you feel as if you are living in the day with the wayin which Anne describes the characters and their way of life.I did find it moved a little slow through the first few chapters then as thestory unfolded it proved to move at a fast pace and turned out to be a realpage turner.I have read all of Anne O'Briens previous books and found this one like herothers very well written and thoroughly researched.Looking forward to reading Queen of the North next.

V irritated to find, a few chapters in, that I’d already read this & chucked it away. I found, again, the writing ponderous & often affected, the historical fillers/presumptions irritating/fanciful. There was a bit I appreciated on muddy hardships but that’s it. If you enjoy this author and historical romances, you’ll probably enjoy this. The basic premise of the foundation of the relationship is intriguing but it doesn’t make for a fulfilling book.

Joanna of Navarre is a lesser known queen from the medieval period and her story is definitely worth the telling: set in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, Joanna becomes, on the death of her first husband, Duchess of Brittany and regent for her young son and heir. However, the charismatic Henry Bolingbroke, exiled for a time in Brittany, seizes the crown of England from Richard the Second, and determines that Joanna will become his Queen. The choice Joanna faces, therefore, is to leave her province where she has significant authority along with her sons who must remain to grow into manhood and duty in Brittany and travel to an unknown country whose King (now Henry the Fourth) has an uncertain grip on his throne and faces armed rebellion from many close quarters and along his fragile frontiers in Scotland and Wales.As Queen of England, Joanna is not accepted by many of the nobles who would have preferred a different marriage alliance for their King, and her undoubtedly deep love for Henry is tested many times as misunderstandings and a serious estrangement threaten to pull them apart. However, compromises are reached, love remains and grows over the years into devotion, particularly in later years of the reign although Henry's ambitious heir, Prince Hal, is desperate for battle and aims to win the crown of France to add to his English inheritance.As people, Joanna and Henry can both be difficult to like at times and it is a credit to Anne O'Brien's storytelling that you do still care what happens to them. Joanna herself, as Queen Dowager, comes under great threat and has to call on all her undoubted strength and intelligence to survive in her adopted country as Prince Hal (now Henry the Fifth) gives his military ambitions full rein..This is an excellent and pacy book: sometimes I thought that the proof reading could have been a bit more scrupulous, but that is a minor quibble and fans of this author and this period in history will thoroughly enjoy O'Brien's latest offering.

I came to this book with an open mind as I don't really know all that much about Joanna of Navarre. I thought that the basic story and the historical facts were really interesting and learning about what big events happend in that time frame. I also thought that the characters lacked chemistry, and in most parts were rather dull and boring. Personally I thought that this book was far to long by a couple hundred pages and had a lack of suspence and was more of a chore to finish than a pleasure.

Just to clarify, this is set in the period BEFORE the wars of the roses, and the underlying reasons for such are touched on within the story. However the main characters Joanne of Navarre and Henry IV are stonkingly brilliant. Joanne comes across as a strong, confident woman who likes to be needed and valued by her spouse and others around her. As for Henry IV, he is exactly what it says on the tin...ruthless, ambitious and loyal to England with a deep rooted faith in his own ability to know what is best for England and his determination to keep the crown for Lancaster.This period of history is raw and convoluted, and dare I say English at its very best. With Anne's talent for bringing a turbulent time to life and weaving the romance throughout the book, this is historical fiction of epic proportions and of the highest quality. I loved the way her words inspired my imagination to bring the colours to life, and for Henry and Joanna to become more than names on a page, leaving me with a need to know more about them and to travel in their footsteps....of which Anne has been so kind at the end.