The Virgin Widow

September 6, 2010
O'Brien (Compromised Miss) explores the Wars of the Roses in her first historical romance for NAL. When Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, plots to marry his daughters Anne and Isobel to King Edward's brothers, Richard and Clarence, Edward disapproves of the earl's ambition. Neville joins with Clarence to rebel against Edward; their failure leads the Nevilles to France and the exiled Lancasters. Anne's father promotes her as a possible bride for Edward Lancaster, though Anne's passion for her onetime fiancé Richard, now on the other side of the battle, is unabated. No matter how the rebellion goes, Anne is trapped with a husband she does not want and no way to reach the man she loves. O'Brien has excellent control over the historical material and a rich sense of characterization, making for a fascinating and surprisingly female-focused look at one of the most turbulent periods of English history.

November 1, 2010
Written more for romantic historians than history buffs, this novel focuses on the life of Anne Neville, daughter of the powerful and revolutionary Earl of Warwick, as she lives through the War of the Roses. Anne grows up as any noble daughter would in the late-fifteenth century: studying, sewing, and learning how to carefully negotiate political and personal alliances. As an adolescent, she begins a fiery and undying romance with Richard of Gloucester, brother to the king, who is being trained at her familys castle. Her father grows increasingly intolerant of the kings less than palatable political decisions and plots a rebellion that leads the king to banish her entire family from Englandeffectively destroying any hope she had of marrying Richard. As Anne and her family flee, she must leave her romance with Richard to fate as she struggles for survival and as her father begins to plot his return to England. While slightly anachronistic in tone, this novel is an engaging romance with well-developed and fetching characters. An enjoyable, heart-wrenching read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)