The Summer Queen a Great start to a trilogy

I remember starting this book two years ago but not being that interested in it. I gave it another chance 2 years later and I enjoyed it. This is the first book in a trilogy about Eleanor of Aquitaine. This covers the time frame of when she was a teenage girl duchess of Aquaitaine and Queen of France when she was married to Louis. The book ends when she’s pregnant with her second child with Henry II and she’s Queen once more except of England.

Pros & Cons

I liked how Elizabeth Chadwick’s writing. She made it seem as though you were actually there in medieval times. As well as Elizabeth’s point of view I liked how we had also seen others point of views such as  Louis’s, and her sister Petronella’s,  and Henry’s in little snippets it reminds me almost of Alison Weir’s writing. I think this book would have been better if it was told in first person by Eleanor and sometimes the story seemed to drag but over all I enjoyed it.

It was a bit strange reading Eleanor’s name Ailinor with an A instead of an E but Chadwick explains that that was how the name was spelled in the times that Eleanor lived and it was possibly pronounced that way as well. My favorite parts of the story was when Eleanor went with Louis on the crusades and her finally being able to get an annulment so she could be free to marry who she chose which during those times women had little to no choice. I will warn you this isn’t for young readers since there is descriptive sex scenes that get a bit much at times.

Overall

Overall I enjoyed it. I will probably get the trilogy for my kindle fire so I can read the second and third book in the series. I had to return the trilogy to the library today and picked up three other books that were on hold. I’m stocking up on reading material whether its from the library or from amazon since covid cases are rising and I do not know if we’ll be on lockdown again. Stay safe everyone and happy reading! Also Happy Halloween!