I'll be honest, having a Kobo has been fantastic. So easy to maneuver, the version I have lights up and it is so lightweight to hold but not too lightweight that you forget it's with you. The biggest issue with a kobo is that if you want to read books they are generally going to cost you money. That's where the library came in. The Cambridge Public Libraries (or if you want to use their silly new name, Libraries Unlimited) allow you to download books online. It's free to use as long as you have a valid library card. I signed up for it awhile ago because I was reading like crazy on the ipad. Now that I have a kobo, I'm really glad to see that I can still get books from them. I signed on the other day and downloaded two historical romances, which as you may know, is my favourite genre to read. The one was your traditional, slightly predictable drama about the Scottish Highlands with lairds and lasses. It was good, but it didn't hit home to me as being something original. Something I would really recommend to someone who wants to read a historical romance.
That's where The First Princess of Wales comes in.
The novel written by Karen Harper takes place during the reign of the Plantagenet's in England during a very tumultuous time in British History. It's all based on true facts surrounding the very first Princess of Wales, Joan of Kent and her star crossed journey to marry Prince Edward, the Black Prince.
I don't think I'm giving anything away by telling you that above. I mean, the book is titled the First Princess of Wales so you have to know that it's coming at some point. What I found remarkable about the story was how much it twisted and pulled your heart in so many directions. You felt for our heroine the entire way through the novel and cringed when she made errors in judgement and cheered when something wonderful happens. You laugh along with her and she bumbles through court and turns from a free-spirited country girl into a lady. At times you want to punch out the king and queen for being, well, kings and queens and you want to shake the royal family so that they can see what you as the reader can see by going on the journey.
It was a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed it even if it was a bit long and did have a large number of references to violet eyes and how beautiful everyone was. There was a certain amount of intrigue in the story that kept my mind moving through the pages and wanting to know what happens. I'm also incredibly happy that they stuck as close to the real version of events and didn't fluff over major events to keep the plot flowing.
There was a large amount of time devoted to describing the clothing and the fashion of the day which to mean seemed to show how much research Karen Harper put into the story. She didn't get all the historical facts right, but the clothing at least matched well.
I did find after reading and digesting the book that there was an interesting correlation between the Joan of Kent and the current Princess of Wales, Camilla Parker-Bowles (or whatever her name is now that she's married to Charles.) Both women ended up married to the Prince of Wales after having been previously married and both women were looked at as potentially having relations with the prince before they were wed.
Needless to say, if you are looking for a long sweeping romance where you feel swept along and taken on a journey from England to France and back again, I do recommend this book.
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