A mystery about Princess Alais, daughter of king Louis VII and his second wife, quest for the truth about the son she had with King Henry II that she believed died in infancy. There were historical rumours about the relationship and possible child. The princess is written as very feisty and has a love/hate relationship with Eleanor of Aquitaine who sends her on a quest with a promise to tell her abut her child if she suceeds. All the characters are well written and feel like real people, William of Caen a little less so. I would have like a better understanding of him and why he really fell in love with the princess, not just he'd had feelings for her since they were children. Lots of memories of her as a child and growing up with her bethrothed, Richard (the lionhearted to be) his brothers, her sister and William. Which I enjoyed , as not many historical novels deal with childhood. The love relationship alais has in the story seems to come up out of nothing. Although I'm having a hard time buying into most love stories in book these days, so maybe just me. But a well written mystery. And on to read the sequel. ( )

I'm not a reader of historical fiction, so I wasn't sure if I'd like this, but I was pleasantly surprised. It has plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader interested and has a reasonably satisfying conclusion. It is a bit of a slow burner though, compared to regular contemporary thrillers, and the number of characters can get a little confusing (not helped by the fact that several characters have the same name.) ( )

Set in the early 13th century, this book has more of the feeling of a
contemporary mystery/suspense novel. The middle-aged heroine, an obscure
historical figure (Alais Capet, a princess who was engaged to Richard the
Lionheart but whose marriage did not occur), is a smart and feisty woman
who would appeal to many fans of that subset of mystery novels which seem
to favor such women as protagonists - but I didn't find her believable as
a character of her time period. The historical details seem squished into
the story for the sake of having historical details, rather than naturally
stemming from the story.
This aside, the story was entertaining. Alais is blackmailed by her
stepmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, into trying to retrieve some of her old
correspondence from a hiding place in Canterbury cathedral. Hoping to gain
information of the baby that was stolen from her some 20 years earlier,
Alais agrees - but ends up being violently kidnapped and plunged into a
mystery involving much royal politicking. ( )

I've actually read this before but I wanted to re-read it in order to be prepared to read Rebel Princess - the sequel. It was just as entertaining and surprising the second time around. ( )

an easy & enthralling read - alternative history of Princesse Alais who was bethrothed (but not wed) to Richard the lionheart. ( )