Queen Hereafter by Susan Fraser King

Synopsis from Goodreads:  Refugee. Queen. Saint. In eleventh-century Scotland, a young woman strives to fulfill her destiny despite the risks . . .

Shipwrecked on the Scottish coast, a young Saxon princess and her family—including the outlawed Edgar of England—ask sanctuary of the warrior-king Malcolm Canmore, who shrewdly sees the political advantage. He promises to aid Edgar and the Saxon cause in return for the hand of Edgar’s sister, Margaret, in marriage.

A foreign queen in a strange land, Margaret adapts to life among the barbarian Scots, bears princes, and shapes the fierce warrior Malcolm into a sophisticated ruler. Yet even as the king and queen build a passionate and tempestuous partnership, the Scots distrust her. When her husband brings Eva, a Celtic bard, to court as a hostage for the good behavior of the formidable Lady Macbeth, Margaret expects trouble. Instead, an unlikely friendship grows between the queen and her bard, though one has a wild Celtic nature and the other follows the demanding path of obligation.

Torn between old and new loyalties, Eva is bound by a vow to betray the king and his Saxon queen. Soon imprisoned and charged with witchcraft and treason, Eva learns that Queen Margaret—counseled by the furious king and his powerful priests—will decide her fate and that of her kinswoman Lady Macbeth. But can the proud queen forgive such deep treachery?

My thoughts:  I am about 50% of the way through this book and am loving it.  Margaret of Scotland is an incredibly strong woman.  While I haven't truly gotten to know Eva I have a feeling that she too is a force of her own.  I am in no way a history buff so I don't know if this is historically accurate, but I really enjoy the way that the accounts are presented.  

One of the thoughts that springs to mind while reading this kind of story is the merit in arranged marriage.  I've read several stories in which marriages are arranged for political reasons (such is the case in Queen Hereafter) or cultural reasons and end up being successful.  The partners develop a great respect for one another and a deep love evolves.  I find this very interesting.  Do you have any thoughts on or even experience with arranged marriages.  


I will provide a full review as soon as I've finished the book.  If you've read it, feel free to let us know what your thoughts are.


I was provided a copy of Queen Hereafter by the publisher to participate in the the blog tour put together by TLC book tours.  

 

Check out the other stops on the tour:

Susan Fraser King’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, December 6th:  Royal Reviews
Tuesday, December 7th:  Passages to the Past author interview/giveaway
Wednesday, December 8th:  Stiletto Storytime
Thursday, December 9th:  Scandalous Women
Friday, December 10th:  Rundpinne
Monday, December 13th:  Books Like Breathing
Monday, December 13th:  Life in Review
Tuesday, December 14th:  Life in the Thumb
Wednesday, December 15th:  Hist-Fic Chick
Friday, December 17th:  Simply Stacie
Monday, December 20th:  Elevate Difference
Tuesday, December 21st:  The Maiden’s Court
Wednesday, December 22nd:  Girls Gone Reading
Thursday, December 23rd:  Thoughts from an Evil Overlord
Monday, December 27th:  Teresa’s Reading Corner
Tuesday, December 28th:  The Tome Traveller
Wednesday, December 29th:  Chaotic Compendiums
Friday, January 14th:  Luxury Reading