Reviews for The Winter Queen (Harlequin Historical #970)

The average rating for The Winter Queen (Harlequin Historical #970) based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-12-04 00:00:00 Stuart Mcdermott In December, 1564, nineteen-year-old Rosamund Ramsey is sent away from her home in the country (Ramsey Castle) by her parents after they try to break up a romance she is having with a young man (Richard) they don't approve of. Rosamund is sent to London where she is to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I. (Queen Elizabeth I) While traveling to London in a litter she stops and goes in the woods for a short break. She sees a small group of people and a handsome man ice-skating on the frozen pond. She is quite captivated by this man and his astonishing skills at ice-skating. Someone calls the man Anton. He sees Rosamund and goes over to speak to her, but she runs away. Anton was quite intrigued with this lady and would have liked to know more about her. Rosamund eventually arrives at the Palace of Whitehall. There she meets Queen Elizabeth and makes friends with some of the other ladies-in-waiting. She is also surprised to see the man she saw ice-skating in the woods, Anton, who is also at court, with his fellow Swedish delegates. Anton can't dance well so the Queen persuades Rosamund (as a wager) to give Anton dance lessons. Rosamund agrees, and Anton suggests he will give her ice-skating lessons. They both get to know each other better and start falling for each other. But what happens when Rosamund's former love Richard shows up at court? Anton is both Swedish and English. Besides being in court on behalf of King Eric, he is also battling with his cousin, Celia. They both want an estate in Suffolk (Briony Manor) that Anton's grandfather left him when he died. Rosamund lived a very sheltered life before she came to court in London. She was living in the country and thought herself in love with Richard. Her parents didn't approve so they sent her away to London and hoped she'd get over her infatuation. And, as time goes by, Rosamund sees her parents were right after she falls in love for real with Anton. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were so many things I liked about it. I liked the time period in which it was set, during 1564, Queen Elizabeth I's reign. I haven't read many books with this setting so it was new and interesting to me. I liked all the activities at court. I liked how it was set during the weeks around Christmas and New Year's. It gave the story a very festive feel to it. The descriptions were really good. And the story had fun elements like the Frost Fair, a masquerade ball for New Year's Day, etc... It also had a little suspense. Anton was a handsome and dashing hero with his dark, wavy hair, he was quite appealing. I also liked Rosamund. Anton thought of her at times as his "winter-fairy" with her silver-blonde hair. This was a charming and highly enjoyable story, perfect to read around Christmas.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-12-12 00:00:00 Vivan Mandeville This book was okay. The history was right as far as I could tell, but the premise was a little wobbly. Early in the story, the main characters make an incomprehensible bet that each can win simply by not trying. They each lose on purpose because there wouldn't be a story otherwise. It could have been a good story if the bet had made sense. A personal turn off for me is the main characters are flawlessly beautiful and talented in their endeavors (except of course common sense in making bets). I didn't believe the characters could have been real because they were too perfect. I never felt invested in the story enough to care if the perfect peoples' lives turned out perfect (it did because this is a romance novel - that's expected going in). It was well written and detailed so it gets 2 stars instead of just one.