Audiobook Review: The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

Title:  The Lady of the Rivers

Author:  Philippa Gregory

Narrator:  Bianca Amato

Unabridged Length:  19 hrs, 11 mn.

Here is a summary of the book from the Goodreads website: 
Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg and kinswoman to half the royalty of Europe, was married to the great Englishman John, Duke of Bedford, uncle to Henry VI. Widowed at the age of 19, she took the extraordinary risk of marrying a gentleman of her household for love, and then carved out a new life for herself.

My Review:   
I have been listening to this series of books on audio, and let me tell you, I am so glad that I have chosen this method.  Amata has done most of the narrating in the series so far and she doesn't fail to nail the characters every time!  You get a glimpse of Jacquetta in previous installments so it was interesting to see things from her point of view this time.

When Jacquetta is just a young girl, one of her aunts sees a special gift in her.  A mysterious gift that has been attained by many females in the family.  Jacquetta will spend years learning to harness her powers to help herself and her entire family.  Although the book touched on this subject it wasn't overwhelming as it really was a small but important element of the story.  It did help to clarify events from the previous installments though.

From the previous books I had labeled Jacquetta to be a heartless and cruel woman, but this novel proved her to be the exact opposite.  She was a passionate woman who would do anything to protect those she loves.  And the love she declared for her mate was proved countless times, with the many children they had together.  

Although this is part of a series, I think this book would also be fine as a stand alone novel.  I did enjoy this audiobook, but it probably is my least favorite so far, but maybe that's because Jacquetta is my least favorite character!  With themes of love, family, and war, you may enjoy this book just as much, if not more, than I did.  I recommend this novel for either personal leisure or as a book club selection.

My Rating:  3/5

Disclosure:  I borrowed this audiobook from the local library to read for my own entertainment.