The Lady of the Rivers

Well this wasn't my favourite novel. The first half was slow to gain momentum. I believe that the first section was a vehicle to introduce all the characters and solidify their relationships with each other. Once this section ended there was a moment of storytelling which caught my attention and I was looking forward to continuing. Unfortunately this moment was short lived and quickly followed by a back and forth description of wins and losses of battles between the Duke of York's Supporters and the crowned and mentally frail King. This became boring as these battles and skirmishes simply continued over and over along with repetitive descriptions of the kings addled state continued writings about the great love of The Duchess of Bedford and her husband Richard.
Simply too repetitive, I understand this is based on true events which cannot be changed. It was difficult subject matter to portray in an interesting fashion.

I love the entire Plantagenet and Tudor series, but the added element of witchcraft and magic makes this book so much more interesting than the other books in the series. Jacquetta, high-born, descended from Melusina, the water goddess, with the gift of The Sight, is a fascinating character. She is an also a very smart woman who learns to survive in the unpredictable world of Medieval English Court, where even a whisper of womanly powers can lead one to the stake. And she is lucky in love, which is always a pleasure to read. A tale of the Wheel of Fortune in all its glory.    (The Wheel of Fortune that can throw you up very high or bring you forth very low - “... they draw a circle in the air with their forefinger when something very good or something very bad happens.” - Its message is to be indifferent to victory and defeat, as they both come on the turn of the Wheel.

I've been a long time fan of Philippa Gregory and the way she tells her stories and this one was as good as many others.

I love how connected we get to these people, even when there's actually very little known factually from history, just like Jaquetta.

As usual the monarchy are the worst ones and I really couldn't deal with Margaret (of Anjou) by the end.

I will say this was way too long, it could have been less than 400 pages and been perfect.

I also now feel I need to reread The White Queen as I've read them all out of order. 🙈