The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile

I’m a lover of historical fiction and was looking forward to this narrative. But I was reminded of Isabella’s sponsorship of the large-scale importation of kidnapped African people as slaves. So no, I can’t and won’t endorse this book. I, for one, am not willing to ignore the horrible legacy of the wholesale kidnapping and forced labor, not to mention the laws of chattel slavery that consigned generations of Africans born in slavery in the West to remain in slavery. I cannot read about this “victorious” Queen while simultaneously turning a blind eye to her legacy.

This is a great book to read on a beautiful queen injured much of her life to save her country. It is written with Spains history in twined with its people and how they lived. I loved the history behind the scenes.

I have always enjoyed books that shed light on victorious Queens of medieval era. In a time where women have virtually no control over their own choices, I thoroughly enjoyed the authors telling of a valiant Queen ruling her own way.

“Young Isabella is barely a teenager when she and her brother are taken from their mother’s home to live under the watchful eye of their half brother, King Enrique and his sultry conniving queen. There, Isabella is thrust into danger when she becomes an unwitting pawn in a plot to dethrone Enrique. Suspected of treason and held captive, she treads a perilous path, torn between loyalties, until at age seventeen she finds herself heiress of Castile, the largest kingdom in Spain. Plunged into deadly conflict to secure her crown, she is determined to wed the one man she loves yet who is forbidden to her—Fernando, Prince of Aragon. As they Unite their two realms under ‘One Crown, One Country, One Faith’ Isabella and Fernando face an impoverished Spain beset by enemies.” I could not put this book down!!