Set in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine, this historical novel revolves around Joanna of Agen, 14, and her guardian aunt, Alice, navigating the complexities of medieval court life, romance, and danger. With an engaging historical setting, the book beautifully portrays the ambiance and political turmoil of Eleanor's court during the 12th century. In contrast, the character lack an in-depth portrayal, especially the central characters, which makes the connection with them least likely. The novel hints at potential, while at the same time leaves readers hoping for further depth and exploration in subsequent books.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Sapere Books, and the editorial team for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review.

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I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A great historical fiction novel. Love the cover.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I'm a sucker for historical fiction and am quite fond of the middle ages, but I had a hard time caring about our main characters. I know she's only 14, but Joanna is insufferable. She does not deserve the things that happened to her, but I didn't have a whole lot of sympathy because her character was not likeable. I have no problems with an unlikable protagonist, but they have to be complex and not just whiny, "don't tell me what to do, you old hag" characters. Nonetheless, I did enjoy the story and learning more about Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alice has her own issues to work through and I wish that we could have had more of her story outside of her relation to her niece. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher that provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A romantic historical novel about the lady’s of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I enjoyed reading some background information of the famous lady herself however I was not so sure on the storyline itself.
I personally felt there needed to be a bit more development of the characters of which the story was about. There also did not appear to be too much in the way of romance.

This was just the perfect book for me TBH. I love a good sapphic historical romance!! Really excellent and descriptive writing as well.

I enjoyed the story and the descriptive writing. A quick read but the ending was a-bit abrupt. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

This was ok - I was a bit disappointed as this is very much my genre

Quite a quick read but the characters could have been developed more. A very abrupt ending

This book was not what I expected.

Set at the court of Eleanor of Aquitane, a powerful heiress in her own right & wife of two kings (Louis VII of France and Henry II of England), this is the story of the women who surrounded Eleanor and their friendship/loyalty to the unconventional Queen.
It focusses primarily on Joanna, a young lady who is on the edge of adulthood and her aunt Alice who has taken responsibility for Joanna following the death of her mother and who hopes to find her a good marriage with an aristocrat, knight or nobleman. Alice is a lonely woman who craves friendship and love.
However we have no background to the women & how they have ended up at Eleanor’s court - The opening of the book felt like I’d missed a chapter or two! It assumed I already knew the characters and had some interest in them/cared what happened to them. Throughout the rest of the book, I was waiting for something significant to happen & it really didn’t. The book is set in historical fact but it does nothing to educate the reader or really entertain them. The writing was flat and the characters fairly one dimensional
The time period in which this novel is set is one of turmoil - the King of England has falled out with Archbishop Thomas Beckett, the King of England is married to the King of France’s ex-wife and the sons of the King of England are rising against him. This historical fact is included but not with enough clarity to confirm this as a good historical novel, its almost like the author has taken the headlines and popped another story round them, expecting the history to carry the rest.
The book could have developed in a number of ways – with all of the men portrayed so negatively I felt it was going to look at the place of women in medieval society and those who defied “convention”, or maybe develop the relationship between Marie & Alice but none of this happened and the ending was abrupt with no conclusions to any of the storylines.

Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the author & publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own & my review is left voluntarily.

This is an historical fiction which was good and not too long but is not as enthralling as other historical fictions I have read. It is interesting but not the best written book I have read. The characters weren't as well developed as I would have liked which made the story a bit bland.

It was a fairly quick read and didn't drag on but the ending was a bit strange. Just ended and I felt I was left hanging. Maybe this was so I would read the next book in the series (I think that may be the case).

A good read but not a favourite for me I'm afraid.

A delicious surprise and a wonderful piece of historical fiction.

I was expecting too much romance but to my surprise the author gave me a magnificent fictional portrait of the Plantagenets and all their family's oddities, weirdnesses and total dysfunctionality and
especially the fiery and violent relationships between King Henry & Queen Eleanor's dimwitted sons....

A very rollicking and truculent fictional journey full of twists and turns and a gallery of exquisitely drawn characters.

Very colorful historical fiction that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sapere Books for this terrific ARC

Historical fiction, especially for English fiction, is one of my favorites. This novel was okay, I felt it was lacking some important events but then the ending happens so fast it seems rushed. I love her independence but it seemed like the author ran out of time to finish the story.

This was overall a good book. This is also a good introductory book to the historical fiction genre.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book and provide my review.
I enjoy reading English historical fiction and this fit that genre well. The story ie set in 1168 at Poitiers, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine’s palace. She is married to Henry II of England. It is a time of political turmoil involving the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket. In addition Eleanor and Henry are at odds with each other and their sons.
The story also involves Joanna of Agen, 14 years old whose Aunt Alice removes her from a brutal father to court and becomes her guardian, which is no easy job.. Being beautiful, she attracts Eleanors son and other men at court. She acts carefree and speaks her mind and is all for adventure., including Hawking. Can Alice protect her and will Joanna find a man to love?. It was not really described where Alice comes from and just enters the story.

For me, the story could have been more about Eleanor. She plays a strong part in English history. I enjoyed reading how strong she was in her court and how passionate she can be with her sons., to include her dialogue with Alice and Joanne. It gives you a good description of court life. There is intrigue and danger.
The ending seems to come quickly and I think it could have had more development. However, since I understand there will be follow up; the ending leaves you with what just happened and stay tuned for the next book!

This was a very good read and a different take on the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. It definitely made me want to read more.

The Lady's Keeper
by Coirle Mooney
@saphere.books

Can Alice protect her young ward’s honour…?

1168, France

At Eleanor of Aquitaine’s palace in Poitiers, fourteen-year-old Lady Joanna of Agen is coming of age.
Her aunt and guardian, Alice, rescued Joanna from her brutal father by bringing her to court.

But now Alice fears Joanna could once again be at risk from the men around her.
When Queen Eleanor’s son, Henry, arrives at court, Joanna quickly catches his eye. But Alice overhears the lewd conversations of the male courtiers and worries that Joanna’s honour is at stake.

And as the relationship between Queen Eleanor and King Henry II of England becomes fractious, a dark mood settles over court.
Drawn into a world of intrigue, danger and adventure, Alice must fight to keep her and Joanna safe.

Will Joanna find a love match? Can Alice secure her place at court?
Or will they fall victim to the dangers of court life?


My Thoughts:

Set during 1168
The reader sees through the eyes of two ladies in waiting in the court of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alice tries desperately to keep her young mores who is fourteen years old safe at court. Headstrong Joanna carefree ways need to be rained in during this turbulent time in England. As the relationship between Queen Eleanor and King Henry unfolds, so does the rising political tension with Thomas becket.
Historical fiction set to actually events in history.

#TheLadysKeeper #historicalfiction

Kind of boring. The main characters are ladies-in-waiting not key historical figures and none of the action really happens to them. There’s no sense of personal danger or anything that made me care about them.

I love reading about Eleanor of Aquitane, so was excited to dive into this book by Coirle Mooney.

Coirle uses two characters to introduce us to Eleanor’s court at Poitiers: Alice, and her 14-year-old niece, Joanna. We join them at a turbulent time in Eleanor’s life. Eleanor’s children by her current husband, Henry II of England, are reaching the age when they are due to inherit lands from their father’s and mother’s side. Henry is reluctant to hand over his territory in France or England to anyone, and Eleanor’s first husband, Louis VII of France, ends up playing both advocate and advisor to Eleanor and her sons.

The historical background is undoubtedly complex, so I understand that Coirle needs to help readers new to these characters to understand enough to follow the psychological battles being waged by and against Eleanor. However, there’s a lot of telling, rather than showing which really holds back any momentum in the story.

The character of Alice is sketchily drawn. I would have loved to have got to know more about her past to understand better why she was at court, and why she behaved as she did. There are also hint of an interesting relationship that Alice would develop if given the right encouragement. I’ll say no more for fear of introducing spoilers, but some tension and friction around that would have helped build out her character more.

Joanna was portrayed with the attitude of many a teenager across the centuries who wants everything now, and thinks anyone trying to stop her from enjoying herself is old and has never had any fun. But that was the only side we saw of her really. Given what happens to her in the story it would have been interesting to spend more time with her processing these challenges, which I feel would have affected her considerably more than we saw. Also, we mainly see her relationship with her aunt, and it would have lent colour and realness to the story if we also saw her interactions with the other young females at court, particularly around the challenges I alluded to above.

I read the book while struggling with a bad head cold, and it was actually the perfect kind of story for sick days on the sofa - not too demanding and no intricate plot lines to keep up with. But, given that this book was about one of the most remarkable women of any era, it could have offered so much more.

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This was terrible. First, if you’re going to write a historical novel, don’t use modern colloquialisms like smog. Second, the character of Alice is awful. She s a scold and a shrewd and terribly boring. Nothing redeeming about her. Third, the book just… ends. The narrative arc is almost non existent, the author can’t seem to decide what story she is telling, whether it’s about Alice and Joanna or about the queen and her intrigue with her sons. She therefore ends up telling neither story effectively.

I am such a big fan of Eleanor of Aquitaine that I was thrilled to get a free copy of this book to review. However, I was disappointed by this book as the story drags in many parts and lacks in its character development. I will say that the character of Eleanor is in line with other books that I have read about her but her two other central characters leave you asking alot of questions. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story though described as medieval romance, is also quite historical. Detailing the life of Joanna and her guardian
Aunt Alice, it also describes in fair detail the intricate, complicated lives of Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry and
the King's hold on the lands of both his and his wife and his refusal to let go. He was also of the "divide and rule" policy
even between his sons which certainly did not leave room for sibling love. Eleanor had to fight tooth and nail for the rights
of her sons.

Joanna was a headstrong girl who arrived at the Court as a maiden along with Alice. Alice was a retiring personality who only
wanted to secure a good, secure marriage for Joanna but she had her own ideas and followed her heart. She was swayed this way and that and also taken advantage of because of her personality, which did not win her any favours either amongst her colleagues or her suitors.

The story was for me more historical than a romance and one I enjoyed very much.