Review: The Forbidden Queen

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User:Kate Winters
The Forbidden Queen "Blue"

- 'I am afraid' I say. 'There is no need. I love you more than life'

The Forbidden Queen is a passionate romance novel, written by Anne O'Brien and published by Harlequin UK limited. It follows the story of Katherine of Valois, a French Princess wed to the English King Henry and her lifelong search to find love. It is due for publication in March 2013.

Katherine Valois, at ages 15 is offered to King Henry as a bride. With the Kingdom of France as her dowry, Henry 'would be a fool to refuse' and accepts. Katherine falls for him, but he has no such feelings for her and only wishes to produce an heir to the French and English throne. When Katherine is widowed just six years later, her role as Queen Mother is make her purity unquestionable, but her hand is marriage is a still a prize to be won. Her choices are never suitable to the Council, either too noble or not noble enough, so Katherine elopes with the love of her life and dangerous consequences ensue.

The themes of this book not only revolve around love and betrayal, but the consequences that they have in a political arena. The marriage of the Queen Mother is hardly her choice and their are very many who would wish to stop her. Her elopement causes a scandal and a great deal of danger to her husband, but they are determined to endure. And through that marriage, not her first, she shall be mother to perhaps one of the greatest dynasties in English history.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was well written and very well researched with all but a few points corresponding with actual events, and after all it is historical fiction and their is always room to play. There were so many moments in the book when I was shouting 'no' or 'don't do it' to the pages of the book as though Katherine could hear me, or would listen if she could. The ending was bittersweet and I won't spoil anything for you but to say I was completely shocked by it. I would definitely recommend this book to romance or history lovers and especially to both.