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Five years ago I discovered the world of historical fiction and one of the first books I read (actually I believe it was the third book) was A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith about Richard III. I loved it and was hooked on the genre forever. Smith’s latest release, Queen by Right, is again set during the turbulent Wars of the Roses period, but this time, in the years leading up to the conflict.


Cecily Neville is the beloved and indulged daughter of Ralph Neville, earl of Westmorland and Joan Beaufort (daughter of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford). Her outspoken nature tends to get her smiles from her father and reproaches from her mother. When her father takes in a young ward, Richard of York, little does Cecily know her life will be changed forever.

Cecily and Richard form a friendship and father Neville sees the benefit of a marriage between the pair. The friendship begins to grow into something more and by the time the pair is actually married, they have a true sense of love for each other and their marriage is a happy and productive one. But stormclouds are gathering in England and their lives will be consumed by the fallout – and Richard’s own claim to the throne.

This period of English history can be very confusing with lots of characters and political ins and outs and twists and turns. Smith does a good job with the history behind the story, providing lots of details that helped explain not only what happened, but why and for the most part, it’s fairly straightforward. Sometimes the detail becomes a little much though and at times it made me more confused. The genealogy charts and list of characters definitely helps!

In many books that focus on this time period, Cecily is a secondary character portrayed as befits her nickname, “Proud Cis”. Given a nearly 500 page book to herself, Cecily is well developed as a woman, wife and mother. Her pride still gets in the way sometimes, but most of the time I liked and admired her and at times my heart broke for her as some of her children are taken from her and she fears for her husband’s safety as his ambition leads to his untimely death.

The book is broken into sections with each one prefaced by Cecily working through her grief over the death of her husband and son and then remembering earlier times and how her family got to this point. Although told in third person, the point of view is mostly Cecily’s so we do get a bit of telling at times as events are related to Cecily either by Richard when he returns home or by messenger. It often works though since the way that it is done allows the reader to hear and react to it as Cecily might have done.

In much the same way that I loved the “love story” in A Rose for the Crown, I loved the romance between Richard and Cecily. Their relationship isn’t perfect – they disagree, fight, and say things they sometimes later regret – but through it all, they love and support each other. There is some sex, but it is not overly graphic. I also liked Smith’s fun explanation for the whole “Edward-is-the-son-of-an-archer” rumor that would crop up in the family’s future.

An Author’s Note, partial bibliography, glossary and Readers Guide are also included.



In case the FTC asks: The publisher sent me a copy of the book to review as part of the author’s virtual book tour.

Make sure you check out the other dates on the tour.  And don't forget to enter the giveaway (ends today!).