I have been having fun finding some historical books to read and this one was right up my alley. Alys was a fun character to read about, and what she has been through at a young age, given the time, she did want more for herself. It was a bit crazy with King Henry II goes for her, because of that age difference. But this book made you want Alys and William to get out of it all. Such a nice little quick read. If you like historical fiction, you could possibly like this one!

Full of the drama of the past this one is a great book for historical fiction lovers, especially those who enjoy reading about past monarchs. I liked that the young girl was the centre of this story and that she was able to wield what little power she had and use it to her advantage. The author clearly knows his stuff and gave a really detailed but easy to follow review of this little-known moment in history. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book.

3 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This was an interesting historical fiction set during the reign of King Henry II. It focuses on a young French princess, Alys, who arrived in King Henry's court at the age of 8 years old betrothed to Henry's son, Prince Richard. Alys suffered constant cruelty from Richard and was ignored by Henry and his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alys made it through Eleanor and Henry's son's rebellion unscathed, becoming Henry's mistress shortly thereafter.

It was clear the author conducted a lot of research for the book, and I enjoyed learning more about the politics of the time period. The book had a surprising amount of dialogue, with the author creating possible conversations the characters could have had based on what occurred in history. This surprised me, and was a little off-putting. Rather than talking and interacting with each other, the characters gave what seemed like a serious of speeches at each other. The book was also very choppy and didn't flow smoothly like a work of fiction. I felt like I was reading a history book rather than a novel.

The content of the information provided in the book was interesting, but the execution of it wasn't a style I enjoyed and did not resonate with me. That's not to say that it won't be other people's style. So, if this subject interests you, I recommend you pick the book up and give it a try.

I was provided a complimentary e-copy of this book from Breys Book Tours. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed Alan Gold's The Book of Alys and its view into life in southern France during the Middle Ages. There were some interesting historical aspects to this novel that really piqued my curiosity and have challenged me to do some more reading on. This was a strong book that was written with a vividly imagined style that, as you can guess from the above, challenged me to think about Alys as “The King’s Mistress” in new ways. I enjoyed the way this wove the romance between King Henry II of England with the young Alys together while touching on the problematic aspects of rule and the problems of royal marriage and love. Because Alys, as the king’s lover, is the focal character it was a very sympathetic presentation of her. However, I did find the narrative to drag at certain points and there were some secondary characters and relationships that I had been looking forward to reading about which were less developed than I had hoped to help round out the story. This was a very engaging read that was easy to follow.

If you have ever seen the movie or read the play "The Lion in Winter" you will love this book that brings more of that dramatic moment in British Royal History to Life.

My thanks to Alan Gold, @breysbooktours and @romauncebooks for sharing this ebook with me to review 4 You 🥰

This is not a genre I usually read, however I enjoyed this book. The thing that stuck out the most to me was how well this was written, and it was obvious that the author spent time researching this time period. I appreciate this, as it helped me to become more immersed in the book. The book was easy to follow and I enjoyed it throughout. I would definitely recommend this for lovers of historical books.

Thanks to @breysbooktours, @netgalley and @alangold for providing me an ARC of this historical romance in exchange for my honest opinion! I am a huge history nerd, and I’ve always had a particular interest in European but specifically French history. You can tell the author is well versed and researched this time period and the lives of the royalty in the book. This isn’t a time period that is over produced currently in tv shows or movies so I enjoyed learning the politics of this time. Alys was a very likable character and much different from my idea of how women were from this time period. It felt more like reading a non-fiction book about the characters and time period vs a novel but as a history buff I did not mind that flow. If you’re a fan of royalty, political intrigue or nerding out over a good historical book then you should definitely check this one out!

This was different than books I typically read. I found it interesting, since I really didn’t know much about Alys, but it read almost like a textbook rather than a novel at times. I thought the author was repetitive, however I was drawn in and felt like I was in the story and was captivated while reading. I think the author grasped the language of the time well. I feel like I learned something and my interest was definitely piqued. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes history and those fascinated with the monarch.

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

I have always been a lover of historical fiction, especially when it comes to anything related to royalty or different countries 🥰

(Thank you to @breysbooktours and @romauncebooks for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review!)

In this book, we follow Alys throughout her life and watch with her as she grows up and tries to find her place in the world of royalty. She is contracted by her father, King Louis VII of France, to be married to Prince Richard, who altogether is unkind to her and dislikes her entirely. However, Prince Richard will one day inherit Aquitaine and thus a treaty is formed between the two kings and Alys is sent to England to become a ward of King Henry II.

Things begin to change for Alys when three of King Henry II’s sons begin to rebel against him with the help of their mother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine - and after this we find a good deal more of the fiction that comes into play in regards to Alys’ life! What if she became the mistress to King Henry II instead of marrying Prince Richard? Would her heirs have future claims to the throne?

This book was very easy to read despite all of the historical dates and events - it wasn’t dry at all to read! It kept my interest up for sure thinking about how history might have played out ☺️ If you are a historical fiction lover, you should give this one a shot!