This is an interesting period of history, and the story is told through a mix of narrative, letters, recipes and chronicles.

I really wanted to enjoy the story, but the frequent switching between narrative, letters and chronicle prose meant I found it difficult to engage with the characters. This must have been a stressful and emotional time for Cecily, Duchess of York, but the style of the story didn’t portray that for me.

As a result, I wasn’t hooked by the book and I’m sorry to say I gave up 40% of the way through.

I’m sure there are many who will like the unusual style of story-telling, and I did enjoy the recipes. Therefore I give it ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. This is my unbiased review.

When I started this book I really didn't think I was going to finish it; solely because of the writing style. It is presented as letters to and from Cecily Neville, wife of Richard of York, interspersed with prayers and an odd bit of narrative. The element I had most problem with was the 'Chronicle' - a first person narrative that reads like a modern newspaper - totally ridiculous in this historical book.

However, I persevered, and the book tells the tale of the rise and fall of the House of York, how Richard almost became king, how his sons fought and betrayed the family, how they too became monarchs and the dynasty continued. The power play between the Neville and Woodville families, and the machinations of the king's wife Margaret of Anjou (and his sad mental decline) are really interesting and well portrayed, so it reads well apart from the silly Chronicle bit that could perhaps have been better handled as straight narrative to bring the reader up to speed about events not directly experienced by Cecily or to indicate public opinion and rumour.

A shame, as the Wars of the Roses is a fascinating era, and the author was clearly well informed about the period (I had to keep a family tree to hand to follow who was whom). Overall I did enjoy it, Chronicle notwithstanding.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As an avid fan of Plantagenet/Tudor history I have read many books and articles on the history of those times.   After reading Anne O’Brien’s book, I can say without doubt it is one of the best.  The perspective is unusual and so well done.  I couldn’t wait to read the next letter, causing a couple of very late nights!  The addition of the Chronicle tied things together very nicely without lengthy explanation.  The hope and ambition of all the main players is well put forward, as is the tragedy that resulted from the actions taken.  There were very strong, ambitious women who are often forgotten in history, but Anne takes their stories and shows how vital these women were.  The interaction between Cecily and her sisters was amusing and bittersweet, just like families everywhere.
All in all, an excellent read, thoroughly enjoyed.

I am a huge fan of Tudor and Plantagenet historical fiction so I was really excited to read The Queen's Rival by Anne O'Brien and I wasn't disappointed. This book tells the story of Cecily Neville the 'Queen that never was.' Wife of Richard of York and mother to the 3 'suns' of York, Edward IV, the Duke of Clarence and Richard III.
This book is written in the form of a series of letters from Cecily to different relatives and vice versa. I have to admit that at first I thought I wouldn't like this approach to storytelling. However, it worked and I loved the book. Cecily Neville is most definitely worthy of a book being written about her. What a strong and formidable woman who experienced so much loss, death and betrayal in her lifetime, even by her own sons. Yet as any mother would, she remained loyal to each of them to the end of each of their lives. Cecily outlived all of her sons such was her strength and endurance.
At the end of the book, the author explains why she chose to begin and end the book where she does. The book ends with the coronation of Richard III and not the death of Richard at the battle of Bosworth as I expected it to, but in terms of Cecily's role in the aggrandisement of the house of York it is appropriate.
I would recommend this book to all fans of Tudor/Plantagent history and especially those of you, like me, who love the writing of Phillippa Gregory and Alison Weir. This is not the first book I have read by Anne O'Brien and it most definitely wont be the last. Thank you for enabling me to read this great book.

I’ve always enjoyed historical fiction set in a medieval court but until now I haven’t explored the works of Anne O’Brien. ‘The Queens Rival’ is a very solid entry into the genre but not my favourite.

The book tells the story of Cecily, Duchess of York and mother of Edward IV and Richard III. Covering some of the most intriguing events during the Wars of the Roses there’s plenty of good material here and it was interesting to consider how it all unfolded from Cecily’s perspective. Cecily was often put in difficult positions, being left behind to face the victorious Margaret of Anjou as her husband fled to Ireland, facing the fall out of her sons marriage to Elizabeth Woodville, acting as mediator between her sons and seeing her youngest son usurp her grandson. Cecily led a fantastic life and makes for a great centre for this tale.

The weakest point of this book was the way Cecily’s story was told. Letters sent to and from Cecily make up the bulk of the narrative, with recipes, prayers and short sections of basic prose making up the rest. While the inclusion of letters can be a great added layer to any story, I felt this one relied too much on them. This framework made it seem like Cecily spend an awful lot of time talking and hardly anytime doing, unlike the other people in this book. This impression really doesn’t do Cecily any justice. Additionally, I’d find it hard to believe that Cecily and the others would have committed their deepest, inner most personal thoughts to paper, so I felt as if we were being held at a distance and Cecily’s character was never fully developed.

Despite this, I did find myself drawn into the book. The writing is a little more in the modern side than other authors of the same genre, this felt a little jarring to me initially but after a while I got used to it and it became a very easy read. I’d recommend this for anyone wanting to dip their toes into this area of history.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was very interested to read a book about Cecily Neville, which gives a rather different perspective on the Wars of the Roses. However, this wasn't really my sort of book. It is essentially a rather romanticised story, with an attempt to portray Cecily and her sisters as very much modern characters, which doesn't really work. I liked the epistolary style, although this does give rise to clunky statements such as "your husband Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham". The inclusion of the recipes was just irritating. On the whole I think this is a good and easy-reading beach book.

I really enjoyed this book. The quirky way that the narrative was told appealed to me. Told by ‘ letters’ between the main characters and ‘newspaper’ accounts from the English Chronicle it was a refreshing change. Highly recommended!!

I have read many historical novels about the War of the Roses but this is a first. It is written solely from the female perspective through a mix of prose, correspondence, newspaper articles and private diary/prayers. The story line, which focuses on Cecile of York (Mother to King Edward IV, King Richard III and grandmother to the princes in the tower) is a fascinating read. An extremely powerful and wilful woman who lived a turbulent life through the actions and political career of her husband the Duke of York and three son’s who all aspired to be crowned King of England. I love reading historical fiction depicted through the eyes of the wives and mother’s of the men who became household names.

This book is unusual to read as many of the events are depicted through the correspondence of the female characters left behind rather than through narrative of the male perspective. More often than not, historical fiction of this nature is centred on the battles and action, this books shows the anxiety of those left behind to wonder the outcome. Although I very much enjoyed the prose and letters, I did find the prayers became repetitive.

The book is a superb mix of the political and personal history of the house of York. You are drawn into understanding the family’s feuds and sympathising with all sides.

Anne O’Brien’s writing brings the 15th century vividly to life. We follow Cecily Neville during this tumultuous time in English history, known as the War of the Roses, as she fights for her family’s survival and their rightful claim to the throne. Anne O’Brien’s writing makes history so accessible with brilliant writing and extensive knowledge of English history. This book reminds you quite starkly of how turbulent those times were, as you follow the twists and turns of the politics of the time. The story is quite repetitive but only in such a way that brings home how life was, as they survived from uprising to uprising, threat to threat. I wasn’t a fan of the way the story swapped between Cecily’s story to letters and documents between the family as I felt it effected the flow of the story but overall it didn’t effect my enjoyment of the book. Definitely a recommended read for history fans.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this book. I don’t normally read many history books but having read a few recently and having heard good reviews about this one I thought I would give it a go.
For me, the style of how it is written, in the form of letters, I just couldn’t get into.

I’m sure, for someone into their history, who likes the writing style, this will be a very good book, it just wasn’t for me.

This novel chronicles a fascinating period in English medieval history, the Wars of the Roses, told mainly through the perspective of Cecily Neville Duchess of York. I love that much of the focus is on strong, ambitious female characters such as Queen Marguerite and Elizabeth Woodville, as history is still overly male, and I enjoyed reading about the constant scheming, plotting, rivalry and mistrust during this period of heightened political battles. However, despite the high stakes, conflict and drama going on, the narration was oddly dry for the most part so I didn’t feel that gripped by the story. Trying to straddle between history and fiction is challenging nonetheless and the novel is well researched, well written, and the use of letters for much of the narration very effective. I would recommend the printed copy, rather than kindle edition, for this book as the useful family trees at the start of the novel would have been much easier to read and refer to in printed format.

Set in the 1400s, The Queen's Rival follows the story of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York and mother to two future kings of England. Author Anne O'Brien skilfully weaves together her story through the inclusion of various chronicles, letters, extracts and prayers, and the result is a very interesting historical account of Neville's life, including the period of The Wars of the Roses. O'Brien sets the scene well and readers are able to get an insight into the life of a fascinating and strong woman. However there does come a point in the book where the epilstolry style gets too repetive, and it's hard to gain and understanding of Cecily's emotions and therefore warm to her.

Nevertheless The Queen's Rival is a fascinating book that would appeal to any history enthusiast, and I'll definitely be checking out O'Brien's other novels!

DNF at 16%

Unfortunately this book isn’t for me. I really wanted to love it, and was so interested in the storyline. Usually I love historical fiction books, but this one was just a little too complicated for me. There are too many characters introduced right at the beginning, I kept having to flick back to the family trees included, but that’s so difficult on a Kindle! I think this book would be much easier read as a physical copy. While O’Brien’s writing is gorgeous, I couldn’t get on board with the style of the book (all written in letters). I don’t usually like this style anyway as I always feel like I’m missing something.

I think this book would be so enjoyable for someone who likes this style of writing in historical fiction, and I would recommend it to them, but it’s just not for me. I’ve given it three stars because I love the premise and the writing is, as I say, beautiful, but it’s just not my kind of book.

I've always thought Cecily Neville to be a fascinating historical character and I loved reading her point of view. What a tragic life she led, losing so much, yet continuing to be so strong and supportive. How awful to have one son have another executed - I wonder whether he really did die in a vat of red wine at his own choice! I though the epistolary style brought the times to life and loved this.

I am a fan of medieval historical fiction and I enjoyed looking at Cecily Neville, Duchess of York in 15th C England. However I am not keen on epistolary story telling and while I enjoyed the plot and historical detail, that did take some of the shine off the book for me. If you’re ok with that kind of narrative, then give it a go.

Unfortunately I could not get into this book. Therefore did not finish.

I have three as just because I personally didn’t like it does not mean it is a bad book. It’s very well written and the story seems to be a good one.

It it’s quite clearly a novel to empower women and there’s history in the pages.

But for me it just wasn’t working.

I have read several of Anne O'Brien's books& have enjoyed them - This one did not disappoint -I loved it & read it in two days

Written as a series of correspondence between Cecily Neville - wife to Duke of York during the Wars of the Roses & her family - it gives a unique perspective & an insight into the period from the female perspective. It portrays how they may have been affected and their feelings on events. & how they may have felt about the events of the day.
It shows a male dominated world the female angle.

It begins from the sack of Ludlow Castle - when the major York & Neville protagonists flee - to Edward IV's accession

Highly recommend for lovers of this period of history

I'm so glad someone told this fascinating and little-known story. Ambitious queens don't always get the credit they're due, so it was wonderful to read a story about Cecily. Thanks for the ARC!

I am a big fan of historical fiction, particularly when set during Tudor times.

Sadly I didn't enjoy this, it was slow and bitty. A lot of it is based around written letters which detracted from the flow of the read and the story line really didn't interest me. Usually I love court drama but this came across as old complaining woman!

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

I am a big fan of historical novels, and the Wars of the Roses is one of my favourite time periods, as both a reader and a historian. Anne O'Brien had a clear grasp of the chronology and characters of the period, and it was good to see the events from the perspective from a character who had been limited to the background in other books that I have read.

This book follows the life of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York and mother to two kings from 1459 to 1483. This timeline aligns with the majority of the Wars of the Roses, and the titular "Queen" transitions throughout the timeline from Marguerite of Anjou to Elizabeth Woodville. Lady Cecily is their rival, and we get a good insight into her life and thought processes.

The Queen's Rival is primarily an epistolary novel, told through various letters, documents and chronicles. I felt this format was strong to help convey the behind-the-scenes political dealings that would have been a part of society, as well as the vast sprawling nature of noble medieval families and their interconnections. The Neville's seemed to be connected to every family that was anybody, and that familial connection was played on frequently. However, I felt that O'Brien's writing was strongest in the sections that were more akin to her other books and their traditional prose.

What this book really struggled with, though, was the historical context. There was little beyond the events of the plot to really help ground the reader into the historical context, and it was riddled with incongruities. For instance, O'Brien directly references the roses as faction symbols, whereas we have no historical evidence of this until after the wars were completed. Also, one of the documents that frequently arose as a format to convey plot information was called England's Chronicle. To a historian, a chronicle is an official document that recorded the vital details of events that occurred in any given year. O'Brien's Chronicle, however, functions more like a tabloid press, speculative and sensationalist, and seems at times to suggest that there was a broad readership. This would have been incredibly unlikely - mass information and pamphlets of the like were only possible with the invention of the printing press, which took until the sixteenth century to become widely used, and even then there would still have been a low literacy level among the general populace.

Overall, I think I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy and are familiar with the time period, but not necessarily well versed. If you are a picky historian or history student, you might struggle, but it is a good story, and I loved getting this different perspective and the focus on family loyalty.