Solomon's Crown by Natasha Siegel is a mesmerizing and intricately woven tale that immerses readers in a world brimming with intrigue, power struggles, and the complexities of human relationships. Set against the backdrop of royal courts and intricate political machinations, the novel follows the journey of its protagonist as she navigates the treacherous waters of ambition and loyalty.

Siegel's writing is both lyrical and immersive, effortlessly drawing readers into the vivid landscapes and intricate details of the narrative. The characters are well-developed and multifaceted, each driven by their motivations and desires that propel the plot forward. The protagonist, in particular, emerges as a compelling figure whose growth and resilience resonate throughout the story.

One of the standout aspects of Solomon's Crown is its exploration of themes such as identity, power, and the sacrifices demanded in the pursuit of greatness. Siegel skillfully examines the moral dilemmas faced by her characters, compelling readers to confront the often-blurred lines between right and wrong in their quest for power. The tension between personal ambition and the well-being of those around them adds depth to the narrative, making it a thought-provoking read.

The novel's pacing is expertly managed, striking a balance between action and introspection that keeps readers engaged. As the plot unfolds, unexpected twists and turns heighten the stakes, leading to a gripping climax that leaves a lasting impression.

The world-building in Solomon's Crown is exceptional. Siegel crafts a rich tapestry of culture, tradition, and history that enhances the narrative and fully immerses readers in the setting. The political dynamics and social hierarchies are intricately portrayed, adding layers of complexity to the characters' interactions.

Solomon's Crown by Natasha Siegel is a captivating read for fans of historical romance and epic love stories, particularly those who enjoy the forbidden, enemies-to-lovers trope and are drawn to tales of passion, politics, and self-discovery set against the rich backdrop of medieval Europe.

I know a lot of people had trouble with this book, mostly to do with the real life figures and actual events that were left out of this. I am a big fanfiction reader, so I am used to this sort of thing, and was able to enjoy this story for what it was. I had fun reading it, and that is what matters!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I liked this book, and there were sections that I even loved, though it was a little difficult to get past the amount of liberty taken with historical figures and events and just think of it as a complete alternate-universe. I don't even care -- unlike many other reviewers -- that the real people who inspired this work did a lot of bad things that aren't included here at all, since I'm willing to suspend my disbelief on that count; but the relationships and timelines and political machinations in this book were kind of confusing to me as a result of real history being an inspiration and yet being thoroughly obfuscated at the same time. (I do want to mention how much I appreciated the portrayal Isabella of Hainault, who was probably the most fleshed-out character here!)

The first few chapters seemed to have a slightly different, deeper-purple writing style than the rest of the book, which caused a bit of a disconnect for me, but the style improved as we got out of the the characters' heads and they began to interact more. By the middle of the book I was enjoying the story and the slow-burn romance quite a bit. I mean, I was at a "couldn't put it down!" level of enjoyment. But then there were a couple of wrong turns: there's a supposedly climactic scene rendered anticlimactic by subsequent mawkishness, and then that's followed by an upsettingly abrupt ending.

Unfortunately, I was bored with most of this. I saw the play A Lion in Winter several years ago and my interest was piqued by that period in time along with the same characters, but this was just meh. I didn't care about anyone except Isabella. She was awesome and bumped this book up to 2 stars. However, she wasn't enough to save it. Boring.

When a poet writes queer historical romance…

The relationship between Richard I (“Lionheart”) of England and Philip II (“Dieudonné”) of France has been the subject of much debate, particularly whether it was of a romantic and sexual nature, as a number of medieval and modern scholars attest, or an intense friendship at a time when sharing a bed was a common expression of trust. Historically, the relationship turned bitter and ended only with Richard’s death in 1199.

Historical fiction, especially romantic historical fantasy, takes such questions as these as a starting place. It goes beyond the dry facts and dates to the juicy question of, “What If?’ What if Richard (then Duke of Aquitaine), larger-than-life action hero, and introverted, cautious Philip fell in love the first time they met? Richard was not then heir to the throne and had a contentious relationship with his father, Henry II. Philip, newly ascended, had to contend with repairing the damage to France caused by the weakness of his late father. But what if they each found solace, completion, and joy in one another?

In the hands (or rather, the pen) of a brilliant poet, the answer is a heartbreakingly beautiful story whose words sing on every page. The author relates how she used history as a starting point and then followed where the story lead her. This is the “romantic fantasy” aspect of Solomon’s Crown. This love story shaped Western Europe perhaps never happened but should have. It is not altogether accurate regarding the social attitudes of 12th Century C.E. England and France. I agree with most of Siegel’s choices and with her commitment to make the story emotionally true.

My favorite character was neither Richard nor Philip, but Philip’s wife, Isabella of Hainaut. In Siegel’s version, by the time Philip was forced into marriage, he had had enough lustful encounters with Richard to have figured out his sexuality, to the point of severe doubts he can perform on his wedding night. She’s very young (only eleven years old) and terrified of pregnancy (the desired result of said wedding night) and its high mortality rate. When she summons the courage to beg Philip to postpone intercourse, he’s relieved. But he’s a kind person, so when she lies beside him, unable to sleep, he soothes her by reciting her favorite poem (in Latin). The next day, she memorizes the following part to recite to him. With such a beginning, they become friends. She turns out to be a perceptive, resourceful person who has no issues with Philip’s relationship with Richard, not just the sex but the love. Like Richard’s mother, the redoubtable Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella matures into a force in her own right. While Philip and Richard wrestle with inner demons and family power struggles, Isabella’s character growth and essential decency stand out.

I loved every page of this book, even though I knew the romance would eventually fizzle and Richard would die. Those sad events remain in the future, and perhaps in Siegel’s world, the lovers will remain joyously devoted and grow old together.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

Even though I'm pretty firmly anti-RPF, I still wanted to give this one a chance because I love historical fiction. Sadly I tried starting this several times and the writing just did not jive with my personal tastes.

King Philip and Prince Richard slept in the same bed, a historical fact. When you search for King Richard on Google, you will immediately find many arguments about whether they were having sex or not because sharing a bed had a different meaning in those times. I think it's almost impossible to figure out the sexuality of historical figures. There are some exceptions, but not many. Heterosexuality could only be determined if the person had children, but even then, it's not perfect proof. Therefore, I was interested to read a novel about something historians write essays criticizing.

However, this particular book left me feeling empty. Philip and Richard fell in love instantly, and Richard wasn't hiding it, but Philip was hesitant due to the political environment that made it difficult for them to trust each other. Almost the entire book revolves around Philip holding himself back because he knows that they will be enemies once Richard becomes the king of England. In the end, the conflict was easily resolved, which was disappointing.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for my honest thoughts.

Thank you Ballantine and NetGalley for the eARC of Solomon's Crown! All opinions in this review are my own.

I appreciate how honest the author is in the historical note at the beginning of the book. She recognizes that other than the characters themselves, she strayed far from the historical facts. I know little about Philip and Richard so this didn't bother me too much.

Although it took me awhile to get into, I ended up really enjoying Solomon's Crown. I liked the political intrigue and rival aspect of the romance. The last 100 pages were so good!

Solomon’s Crown is an overall fun read with engaging writing, but had a bit too little substance for me to truly enjoy. It’s definitely a book that I enjoyed my time with, but not one that will stick with me for a long time.

There was a lot to this book that drew me in very quickly, and I found myself drawn in to both the relationship and politic dynamics (both between Richard and Philip and within their respective countries). There was a complex web of politics that kept Richard and Philip from both fully trusting each other and allowing themselves to get fully entangled in a relationship, and I felt like the author did a great job of weaving this web. I often feel like the plot points keeping two characters from entering a relationship in a romance book to be flimsy, and it often leads to frustration. However, the author did a good job of showing the true depth of the complications that would arise from their relationship, and that resulted in me both yearning for Richard and Philip to be together while also being entirely understanding of why they were hesitant (without being frustrated that the reasoning was silly or frivolous). It was a strong point of the book for me!

Unfortunately, I did have some issues with the pacing that led to my interest waning at points during the story, and it felt like certain aspects sometimes dragged on. A lot of time was dedicated to exploring the politics and historical setting of the book, and I feel like this began to take more and more focus as we neared the end of the book, with the romance often being overshadowed. While this would make sense in most books, the set-up and eventual end of the book was more romance focused. This meant that a lot of the political development in the second half of the book felt under-used. I found this especially true for the ending, where it felt like things just kind of suddenly worked out to make the romance end well, and didn’t necessarily ring true with the political aspects of the book. It overall left me conflicted, because while I overall found both the romance and the political plot interesting, they didn’t seem to actually work well together.

Overall, I had a fun time with this book and I do see myself trying out more novels by this author, even if Solomon’s Crown isn’t a new stand-out favorite for me. I definitely recommend it for those looking for a historical romance to read over a day or two!

Review will be cross-posted to my blog soon! Link to come.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Solomon's Crown is a historical retelling of the lives, or I suppose the romantic entanglement of Phillip II of France and Richard I of England. It takes place mostly during France's war with Henry II (Richard's father). Obviously a few liberties were made with this one but who knows? There could definitely have been some shenanigans happening behind the scenes.

This story is told both in Richard and Phillip's point of view, and it was interesting to see the story unfold from both perspectives.

I listened to the audiobook of this one, because as I said, life got just a little bit too lifey for me to do much, lol. The narrators, Ben Allen and Steve West did a fantastic job at bringing the characters to life.

All told, if you like a good historical retelling, or a M/M romance that takes place along actual history, then you should definitely get Solomon's Crown!

We begin with a bit of mournful poetry from a legendary king of England. Because why have enemies to lovers when we could have rival medieval monarchs to lovers during the wars of the Angevin Empire? SOLOMON’S CROWN (Dell, 368 pp., paperback, $17), by Natasha Siegel, explores the relationship between Philip II of France and Richard the Lionheart — the queer love story we get hints of in “The Lion in Winter.” I cannot believe this book exists. I want to wrap myself in velvet to read passages aloud beside a blazing hearth that’s taller than I am. Quaffing is absolutely called for.

The prose thrums with the best kind of heartbreak: “I simply brushed a kiss across his temple, left the room, and went to war with a man whose hips were still inscribed with the shadow of my fingertips.” It’s staggering the space that “and” makes between “left the room” and “went to war”: a whole chasm in a single word.

These men are flawed on a grand scale. Philip is melancholy and controlled, Richard tempestuous and violent with an appealing poetic streak to undercut the bloodthirstiness. Their romance is a sin and a crime and an abuse of power in nearly everyone’s eyes; betrayal and tragedy lurk around every corner. And yet there are moments of breathtaking loveliness: a kiss by a frozen woodland stream, light pouring through a stained-glass window, every acid-bright cameo by Eleanor of Aquitaine.

If you're looking for a detail filled, in-depth historical novel that will transport you into the era it's writing about: this isn't it. Likewise, if you're looking for something truly fraught, where characters are forced into making difficult, costly decisions there's not really much of that to be found here.

But if what you're looking for is a light historical-flavored novel, where there is tension but no insurmountable conflict, and the characters are all drawn in light, but interesting strokes: yes, this is it. For me this worked beautifully, because I was looking for something engaging but not overly taxing, but someone more in the mood for a Mary Renault or Nicola Griffith style book will probably be disappointed. I'm not sure that I would really be compelled to seek out this author again, but overall I did have a pleasant experience reading this and would probably recommend it to someone who wants a starter historical fiction.

The ANGSTY AND PINING. Ugh I loved it. I wanted more even. Obviously the historical parts weren't entirely correct but I honestly didn't care because I loved the characters.

A wonderful alternative historical romance! I just loved the tension between Richard and Phillip.
Well written - Siegel does a great job detailing the complexity of their relationship. Two countries historically at war, land won and lost.
The inclusion of Phillip's wife, Isabella, was also well done. Obviously not a relationship supported by all - background issue which I loved.
Great story!

I stopped reading about half way. It was too odd for me and I just couldn’t enjoy reading it. Because I did not finish I will not be sharing my feedback.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This definitely puts the fiction in historical fiction! It’s basically what if these two mega rulers during the crusades were actually pining for each other?

Not historically accurate of course, but good fun and well written.

Solomon's Crown is an exceptionally well written and lyrical queer historical romance by Natasha Siegel. Released 14th March 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Dell imprint, it's 368 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

This is a "what if" romance set in the 12th century between Richard of Aquitaine (aka the Lionheart) and Philip II of France. Both of them, viewed through the lens of modern society were more or less absolute rulers who made some dubious decisions about harming the people living within their huge spheres of influence: the crusades, driving the Jews out of France, unprovoked crushing and looting folks who just wanted to be left alone, etc.

The author says openly at the beginning that neither of them were paragons of virtue and that the two main characters aren't the *historically* accurate real figures, and license was taken. For readers who love historical accuracy and the sort of "what if" that weaves fiction around a solid framework of actual history, there are freedoms taken here which will likely annoy. On the other hand, for readers who love a well written queer romance, the author can certainly write.

It's full of frustrated longing and lingering touches and not much historical accuracy.

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.