King's Concubine

I found Alice a very compelling 3 dimensional character who had her soft spots and edges as hard as steel. Her headspace was an intriguing one to get into and I enjoyed it. I knew very little about Alice before this story, though the author focused a little on Alice's business acumen when it came to property and was able to paint a convincing picture of Alice as a savvy ‘femme sole' of the medieval ages.

I found that a lot happened in this story with some moments glossed over or rushed to cover a set time period. I would love to have read more scenes between Alice and her formidable fellow courtiers/rivals Princess Isabella, the Duke of Lancaster and Princess Joan Plantagenet. That said, the writing from Anne O'Brien is beautiful and I feel she has a gift for crafting emotional and thought provoking stories based from real people.