Book Review: The Queen's Lady by Eve Edwards

Eve Edward's is a wonderful author who has created a charming, romantic and
beautifully detailed historical novel. She has the ability to transport her
readers back to Tudor England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.


Although The Queen's Lady is the sequel to the first book, The Other
Countess, it can be read as a stand alone book! In fact, I read this book before
I read The Other Countess!

The story follows on from the first book,
with the focus turning more on Lady Jane Rievaulx who played a minor role in The
Other Countess. Having been recently widowed at only eighteen, she is now at the
mercy of her own ruthless family and her greedy stepsons. She decides to become
a lady in waiting to the Queen when a certain James Lacey, the dark and brooding
hero of the story, returns to court and she finds she still feelings for him.
However James is struggling to cope with what he has witnessed in war. He
decides to sail to America in the hope of getting over his problems at the
expense of Jane who finds herself struggling against her family's plans to marry
her off for their own benefit and the greed of her stepsons. Jane finds herself
a pawn in the games of court and she is desperate for someone to save
her.

Her treatment is appalling at times at times and you really get a
taste of what it must have been like for a lady at court during the Tudor period
subjected to gossip, rumour, attention, and judgement.

I loved the descriptions of the Elizabethcan ostumes and the sights and sounds and the
smells of daily Tudor life. It is as if Eve Edwards has been to Tudor times to
see for herself what life was like! The amount of research and hard work that
has gone into all her novels is impressive and it really shines through!


I particularly loved the character's Tudor language. There is nothing
worse than reading a period historical novel only to find the characters speak
modern day language! Eve Edwards, however, has done her research! The characters
talk the way Elizabethan's would have talked which makes this book so much more
believable!

I loved reading about Milly, Jane's seamstress friend, and
Diego, the black servant of James. However my favourite character in the book by
far was Christopher Turner, the theatrical illegitmate brother of James Lacey.
Christopher Turner's story comes to light in The Rogue Princess due to be
released in May 2011.

All in all, Eve Edwards had written a lovely book and I for one can't wait for the release of the third book!