DNF = got almost halfway through, too many offensive stereotypes and cliches. It's a shame, too, because this period in British history is interesting and it's cool to see what Katherine Swynford's descendents are up to but between the amateurish writing and the stereotypes the history couldn't shine. ( )

First book I've read by this author and I was not disappointed. Wonderfully written and I got lost in the love affair of Kate and Richard III. I can't wait to read the other two books I have purchased from this author. ( )

Basically the life story of Richard III in novel form. I knew little of the Plantagenet's before I read this book which has inspired me to do a little historical research. I find this book to be competent in most of its historical assumptions; perhaps a little less so on the intertwining of Richard and his mistress, Katherine Haute; but it makes for a great story! I will definitely read more of this author. ( )

A Rose For The Crown is a big improvement over this author’s other works I’ve read. The storytelling is more fluid without a ton of awkward descriptive side paragraphs or too perfect characters (though at times Kate had that stink about her). Phrasing sometimes read as awkward, but I could see the author’s reasons for those exchanges. Overall, I enjoyed this historical exploration more than previous attempts by Smith.

I think the ambiguity of my Kate Haute and Richard III knowledge helped spice this story for me. All I really knew about Richard was the propaganda that history has spewed about him and the fairly recent discovery of his bones under a parking lot. To see him from the eyes of one who loved him for himself rather than his position was an eye-opener. Kate’s simple faith and love made him more human to me, giving him more complex motivations rather than a lust for power and evil murdering personality.

Kate was a blank slate for me; I’d only read her name in passing. I enjoyed seeing her fleshed out into a woman with a personality all her own: loyal, sometimes blind to reality, loving, and sweet. The author didn’t have much in the historical record to go off of; according to her author’s note, there’s even some doubt that Kate was Richard III’s mother of his illegitimate children at all. Yet, she was a great foil with which to see the times and Richard’s place in them.

The author pleases again in the history department. Her setting skills are handled with aplomb, as per usual. The reader sees, hears, and smells each scene. I’ve come to expect this from Smith. The one area where this book falters a bit falls in this area, though. There are locations in the narrative where the speech can get very stilted and awkward, dragged down with exact phrasing from the era. I can appreciate that the author was striving for historical accuracy; so I can understand the reasoning. Yet, at times these exchanges made reading enjoyment hard to reach.

A great window into a little known woman who saw much change in her life, this work was a pleasant diversion. Historical figures got new life and perspective, Kate giving us a new window into their soul. She, herself, shone as a loving, if flawed, personality. Some stilted conversational exchanges don’t condemn this book. When taken as a whole, the book is a great historical fictional work, and I highly recommend it. ( )

Anne Easter Smith presents a thoroughly plausible scenario in which Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) meets and loves woman who fathers his illegitimate children. Her research is complete and detailed as she weaves the known people surrounding Richard III as well as his own character. I have always been of the mind that Richard III was a good man who has been maligned through the ages and this book, though fiction, presented my views of him in a believable way. Great book! ( )