The summary of Natasha Siegel's book Solomon's Crown instantly caught my attention and I am so grateful to have received an advance digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. .I started reading it as soon as I received the ARC and I could not put it down. It fulfilled so many of my likes: historical setting, first person narration, alternating POV, romance, intrigue, medieval setting, enemies to allies to lovers..

Solomon's Crown tells the story of Philip II of France and Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) through their own first person alternating narration. It starts with the history and moves to the author's recreation of the characters and what could have been, in beautifully lyrical writing that transports you into their lives, their minds, their hearts.

The book spans about a decade in the lives of Richard and Philip, with time skips that work as far as propelling the narrative. The historical events are imparted with excellent clarity and are woven into the POVs seamlessly.
The recounting of the specific events from both characters POVs is fascinating and immensely satisfying. The characterizations are nuanced and historically based, with a loving helping of The Lion in Winter added in. It works so well. You are immersed in the story, the politics, the lives. I literally inhaled this book over the course of 24 hours. And I will be going back for a reread.

The prose is lush and packed with emotion. The vulnerability of both characters really stood out to me. This story fleshed out these epic historical figures and made them real, approachable, in all their flawed and vulnerable ways. It is a peek behind the curtain at leadership, at what ruling and kingship means. And what it means to find love and happiness along with the power and pomp that their station entails.

Richard and Philip are enthralling and utterly engaging. I loved them both. I loved their POVs, I loved their stories, I loved them together. The secondary characters are well written, interesting in their own right, and unique in their portrayals.

The history is on every page but it is the romance and the attraction that shines through the story. The depiction of all the obstacles in Richard and Philip's way. The way their exalted roles give them dizzying power but also limit them and confine them and force decisions on them. This story is about how they navigate that to find and keep each other and a measure of happiness in their lives.

I was thinking about this book long after I finished it. Philip and Richard will stay with me, in the way Siegal wrote them. I was rooting for them from the start and the book fulfilled all my wishes for their story.

This is a debut book and it is dazzling. I greatly look forward to more books by this author. This will be a wonderful new addition to my shelf. I've already preordered the physical book after reading this ARC.

My highest recommendation. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC.

Solomon’s Crown is based on a pair of powerful men who were historically enemies, but I loved how Natasha Siegel reimagined their dynamic. I was somewhat familiar with the history behind these two significant figures, but you do not need to have this background knowledge to enjoy the book. This is a story filled with queer yearning and fighting to be with the person who knows who you truly are.

I enjoyed how creative Phillip and Richard were as they navigated a treacherous court, homophobia, and perilous politics. I loved the secondary characters such as Isabella and Geoffrey, who really helped flesh out the characters. In reading this book, you know from the start that there will be no stereotypical happy ending here, but instead the book invites you to imagine how people in history found joy and queer love despite the obstacles of the time.

Solomon’s Crown was a quick, enjoyable historical romance. I would recommend this for readers who enjoy historical retellings, LGBTQ+ rep, and joyful romance. Solomon’s Crown is available March 14, 2023. Thank you to Natasha Siegel, Dell, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

What an exciting read! I love a good historical fiction and Solomon’s Crown is a good historical fiction!

I was reminded of The Song of Achilles many times while reading this. I would not say they are comparable, but it sent little reminders.

I love a good bending of history too. It was refreshing to say the least. My biggest concern was the pacing. There were times I felt like the story had unnecessary passages and I think overall it made it feel longer than necessary. I found the ending to be cute, but again because of the pacing it felt almost incomplete.

Anywho, thank you to NetGalley, Natasha Siegel, Random House Publishing, and Megan Whalen for bringing my attention to this debut and allowing me the opportunity to read an eARC for my honest review!

Solomon’s Crown by Natasha Siegel releases today, March 14, 2023!

I can't figure out how a story can be both hopeful and depressing simultaneously, but this one manages it in a way I instantly connected with. It's a weird mish-mash of actual historical facts and figures in completely made-up situations that still feel like things that could possibly have happened in real life. If that sounds confusing, it's a little intro to what reading this book while knowing the true history behind the characters is like.
Phillip is the king of France, ascending to the throne after his father became an extremely religious zealot and basically bankrupted the country while also losing most of it to England. Richard is the Duke of Aquitaine with some very complicated family dynamics and a giant chip on his shoulder. They meet somewhat randomly despite their positions while fate and birthright instantly become very stressful pressure points in what is otherwise an instant attraction. Being royalty is not an easy thing and a lot lies on each of their shoulders, things that they have to maneuver despite wanting nothing less than to forget about it all and enjoy each other's company. Their every interaction is a dance of what's said, what's implied, what can actually happen, and their true desires.
There are some very low points in the story, but it's also surprisingly joyful in the little things that life allows the characters. So much could be analyzed in how characters interact and the decisions they make, but it can also be enjoyed as a riveting story of forbidden love. Siegel wrote a phenomenal novel that takes whispers of the past and gives them life on the page.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Dell for the riveting read!

This is a lovely historical fiction, heavy on the fiction, romance about King Philip of France and Richard, Duke of Aquitaine. It was easy to lose yourself in this book and their perspectives of their love story and gorgeous writing! It left me wanting a little more, however. The romance is probably considered slow burn but at the same time, it did feel a little bit "insta-love" to me, at least from Richard's POV. I would have liked to have seen more of their interactions instead of being told about them.

Overall though it was lovely and a solid 4 stars!

As soon as you begin reading Solomon’s Crown by Natasha Siegel, you will fall in love with the beautiful and immersive world she creates. The novel quickly drops you into the world and historical setting of King Richard the Lionhearted and King Philip II of France. It is a fictional tale of the romance between the pair, what could and might have been between the pair. While it is speculative and the author freely admits not to keeping to historical accuracy, it still maintains historical feel, both the realities of the time period and many of the overarching events that shaped the time period, including the conflict between England and France. Without those elements, this novel would not be as good. It feels authentic even if it steps away from accuracy. 

The characters themselves feel true other than the romantic elements to the nature of the two kings. The author doesn’t try to paint either as perfect. Their temperaments and brutalities are truthful to what history tells of the pair. But what is most compelling is the complexity of the situation, the viewpoints of each and the beautiful emotions. It is layered, emotional, and absorbing. 

Beyond the characters and the relationship between them, I also like the fascinating view of the political situation of the time period, the different players upon the stage, and the various impacts this had on Richard and on Philip. While I think it would be interesting to hear a story more filled with the gritty realities of the time, I actually found this story to be beautiful and loving despite the real history.

If you love romances and you find history fascinating, you will likely love this novel, despite the lack of desire by the author to be historically accurate. It is a beautiful and immersive story, with a joyful ending and complex characters with a feel of authenticity. The romance might bring you to tears but you will love it even so.

This is a fascinating look at two kings, separated by an ocean, who fall in love. Set during the twelfth century, King Philip of France, sets in motion a plan to restore his kingdom to its glory. The only obstacle in the King Henry of England, so Philip makes an alliance with his son Richard, Duke of Aquitaine. He not only risks his throne but matters of the heart. Gripping story where desire and politics collide, pitting Philip against the love of his life.

This book transported me to the worlds of each characters, and the battles they fought to be together. This is a story about betrayal, love and a desire so strong two men will risk it ALL. I throughly enjoyed this read, and I'm still haunted by their love story.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for the advance reader copy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Solomon's Crown offers a fictionalized account of the relationship between King Philip II of France and Richard of Aquitaine as they fall in love on the brink of war.

Though this is historical fiction, it is much more fiction than it is historical. For me, I don't really mind a major lack of historical accuracy in my historical fiction as long as I'm still able to maintain my suspension of disbelief. However, readers who may be going into this book wanting more history than fiction will likely be disappointed.

Additionally, the front half of the book felt much longer than the back half, especially with regards to the political maneuvering, which wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped it would be.

Ultimately I do think this was a sweet, somewhat slow burn, enemies-to-lovers-ish romance, and it did leave me with a big grin in the end.

A really ambitious first novel that I think needed one more hard pass to come into focus. That's not to say it isn't worth reading.

The author gives us our history one universe over, wherein neither Richard Plantagenet nor Philip of France were quite the stinkards they were in real life. Here, they end up in a romance with one another.

The two main threads are Richard and Philp's slow progress toward romance, and family dynamics, especially among the Plantagenets. They talk. A LOT. There's less of the minnesinger/troubedour/ courtly love rituals and settings, fewer jousts and wars... I'm okay with that, but over the course of the book I got this sense of everyone sitting around in modern comfort talking up a storm.

Readers looking for m/m might be disappointed, because although this novel has the m/m frame, and a lot of the angst, it doesn't have the steam. Which again is okay by me.

My favorite part was actually the friendship and respect that Philip had for his wife Isabella, forced to marry him at way too young an age, as sometimes happened in dynastic marriages with huge tracts of land and political fortunes at stake. Their dynamic is what really drew me. The historical accuracy is more Hollywood backdrop, but the author says up front this is a what-if. The book stands on its characters, who are larger than life and complex, and I look forward to seeing what this author does next.

A fictionalized account of the relationship between King Phillip of France and Richard, Duke of Aquitaine before he was crowned King of England, and the the conflicts that arise with the tensions between their respective kingdoms and responsibilities and their burgeoning feelings for one another.

I like the idea of telling this story about someone who is so tied to their title that it becomes all they are. They often say Phillip is France and Richard is Aquitaine (will be England), and those two factions cannot live together peaceably as they will always be looking to usurp the other.

There's this constant struggle, especially on Phillip's side, about figuring out who you are in terms of being a King to the people - and the land - but yet still wanting to be your own person. He's been groomed his entire life to be King and I think somewhere along the way he loses his wants and desires.

Conversely, you have Richard who was never supposed to become King (being the second son and all). His outlook is a bit more free. He loves Aquitaine, and despite being a Duke, he has a bit more freedom. That is, until his older brother Harry suddenly dies and Richard is set to become heir.

I think you really got to see the struggle between Richard and Phillip but also between Richard and his father and siblings. The power structure and the need to assert dominion over your title and land. The political machinations is strongly felt and shown that there's no easy answer there's no easy peace. There's always another angle to ruling.

I liked the hard-won devotion that Richard and Phillip show for one another and at the same time how they can feel at odds with one another. The story is peppered with little action. It's more a continuous yearning and a lot of quiet deception. In this story, Richard and Phillip's feelings for one another are common knowledge and I loved how Natasha Siegel allowed that to be. While it wasn't officially acknowledged by them, they still didn't really hide anything from anyone.

What really trips me up about the story is that it admittedly takes liberty with history. Not just in putting Richard and Phillip in a romantic relationship, but in other ways as well. I feel like this could have been a great story showcasing a relationship between two people on opposite sides finding that common ground, but didn't have to be with historical figures. I think the impact could have equally been reached with fictitious characters.

Overall, though, the story surprised me. Despite the overwhelming odds against them, Richard and Phillip fight hard for each other and that's always a refreshing thing to read.

I have so many mixed feelings about this book! On one hand, I freaking loved the vivid and poignant tale of King Richard and King Philip, two men greatly known in history but on the other hand, initially, I had trouble suspending what I know about these men to be able to fully immerse myself into this beautiful fictional tale. To be clear, Ms. Siegel is very open and addresses the liberties she takes with this story and the carefully crafted fiction she’s written around real life historical characters.

Medieval times are one of my favorite time periods and I love to get caught up in the lives of those that lived in these times. It’s fascinating to me. The wars were brutal, the political intrigue something to behold and the very idea of love precious and not to be taken for granted. But to think of two men, battle hardened with the love of their country first and foremost at the center of all they do - all while fighting against love for the enemy? Oof, it just broke my heart.

So, despite my initial hesitancy about the liberties taken with the characters, I still found this to be so enjoyable and so beautifully written.

My thanks to Random House – Ballantine for this gifted DRC. I’m looking forward to what Ms. Siegel does next!

An alternate history centered on the possible romance between Phillip II and Richard I. Most of the book focuses on how each of them became king of their respective lands and then on the possibility of war between them and how their relationship affects that. The romance aspect was very much slow paced and more alluded to than anything. The marriage and partnership between Isabella and Phillip II was well written and refreshing to read between the political scenes. While not meant to be historically accurate, it's a solid romance on it's own.

I always hate giving an ARC such a low rating, but this was really not my cup of tea. I was bored almost right from the start and slogged my way through it. I think the writing style is just not a good fit for me. I felt so removed from the characters. I don't know if this is because of them being loosely based on actual historical figures or what but I could not connect with them or the romance or plot at all. For as much as it is mostly fiction, this felt more like a history book entry than an emotional romance and I didn't even have the spark of interest I usually feel towards interesting historical figures. This one was just a miss for me all around. Might very well be just a personal taste thing, and others might enjoy it much more.

Philip of France and Richard of Acquitaine as a couple? Yes. this is an alternative history and a love story all in one that I suspect will have many fans of historical fiction shaking their heads. But. read for its plot and on its own merits. it's a beautifully written story that while not accurate on some things, has all the feels of the period. It's complex and thoughtful- Siegel has clearly spent a great deal of time contemplating these people in order to bring them to life in this way. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Wonderful writing makes this a very good read.

I still don't know quite how to review this book or what I think about it.
In the author's note, Natasha Siegel writes, "The story I initially envisaged was one much truer to history—darker, grittier, and ending in tragedy. But eventually as I grew older, I realized that I wanted something more joyful. So, accuracy fell by the wayside, and I wrote a romance instead."

Unfortunately, as I read this book, I found it balancing the line between those two options too much, and I think I would have preferred this book more if one side had been leant towards more. Because while this definitely wasn't a tragic book, it was altogether too anxiety inducing for me to fully enjoy. The weird in-between space this book occupies might work for some people, but it ultimately just left me anxious and wanting.

"Nothing had mattered, with a pair of thrones between us, and my heart clutched like a rosary between his hands."

I have not read such compelling romantic tension, flirtation, and banter in a very long time. Absolutely beautifully written with well-rounded characters and concise story-telling over long periods of time so that even a "slow" plot felt engaging at every moment.
The prose felt authentic to the time period without being overly flowery or inaccessible.
And god, the yearninnnnnnggggggg. My heart.

There was however some unnecessary use of archaic offensive language (p. 103, 111) that seemed by context intended to add some "historical accuracy". I reject that, though, for a story that is not intended to be historically accurate beyond its inspirations. The story would have been unchanged entirely by the exclusion of such language, and it should have been.

I want to start my review by saying that this book is written beautifully. It was easy to fall in to the imagery of the world and fall in love with Phillip and Richard's love.

With that said, I do think this may have been better if it was 100% fictional. I'm not a historian so I had no prior familiarity with Phillip or Richard in history or the area's they were warring over. I looked up maps, read wikipedia pages, and all-in-all I felt more confused than before.

This book is VERY heavy on the war and fight for domain between France and Europe. The entire plot is built on the character's forming partnerships/betrayals/battles etc. That's all great and interesting for the most part as an adult fantasy but I think the combination of somewhat real history and somewhat not real history made it a little tricky to get in to.

Regardless of that, I found myself interested in the outcome of Phillip and Richard's relationship and love for one another so I made it through all the rest of the book because I was rooting for them.

It's a very strong period piece with a lovely romance and, to repeat myself, beautiful writing. It's for a specific audience who lives a structure of 70% history/war/etc and 30% romance/pining/etc. So if you fit that audience then youre going to love this!

I had super high hopes for this one after seeing it compared to The Song of Achilles and finding out the setting was medieval France. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to my expectations, but I still thought it was a mostly enjoyable read. The best way I can describe my general reaction is that I kept waiting for more to happen. The premise of the book was interesting, and the author did a good job of crafting both romantic and political tension. There just never felt like any payoff to all that tension, though. The writing was beautiful and did a good job of setting up the time period, but it did feel repetitive at times with how often the men would commiserate over their feelings of not being able to be together. I also think it is important to note that this book is not at all historically accurate, which the author is up front about at the beginning. I'm sure some people will be turned off by the lack of accuracy, but I was totally down for a queer re-imagining of Philip and Richard's relationship.

The plot of the story was largely focused on two things: the budding romantic entanglement between Philip and Richard and the family drama between Richard and the rest of his family. I enjoyed all of the political maneuvering, deception, and tense interactions. The author did a wonderful job of infusing the relationships and conversations with wit, subtle sensuality, and believable interpersonal dynamics. The problem was that there was little else to the story other than a string of conversations. The characters talk about wars, rebellions, and other things happening, but the reader rarely got to see them. Instead we just got to read the characters talk about them, which isn't very exciting no matter how great an author is at crafting compelling conversations. This also made the world feel a bit too small for my liking because we didn't get to see much of it.

The characters were the highlight of the book for me. I loved Philip and Richard. They were both so intense in completely opposite ways, and it made their interactions fun to read. Philip was anxious AF, ambitious, calculating, and constantly worried about building his legacy and returning France to its former glory. Richard never desired to be heir to the English throne and just wanted to live his life and love who he loved. He was rash, hot-tempered, and larger than life. The two of them spent the book carefully balanced between being brutal enemies and passionate lovers. There was plenty of mutual pining, and both men struggled to fight their feelings for the other. I enjoyed their romance and loved seeing how they helped each other grow, especially Philip who needed to learn that it was okay for him to be a person rather than just a crown. My only quibble with the romance was the lack of steam. There was plenty of tension, but once again felt like there was little payoff. Everything was fade to black, which I'm sure plenty of people will like. I just wanted more. It didn't need to be super explicit but just something.

I also really loved Philip's wife, Isabella. She was forced into marriage at a very young age, but she and Philip developed such a sweet friendship. She made the best of a bad situation and became a true partner to Philip even though they weren't in love with each other. Philip also showed a great deal of patience and respect for her and her desires, and I just really enjoyed reading the two of them together.

Finally, the journey of Philip and Richard showed how love can overcome even the bitterest of rivalries. I liked that they both learned from the mistakes of their parents and chose not to let their love fester into resentment. All in all, this was a good story with great characters. It didn't quite live up to my expectations, and I wanted a bit more from the plot and world-building. However, I still enjoyed following the political and relationship drama as it unfolded. Therefore, I rate this book 3.75 out of 5 stars.

DNF at 41%

I don't know y'all, I just don't think this is my thing. It's a weird book because it almost entirely does away with historical accuracy (as stated in the author's note at the beginning), so it's more like fanfic of what if Philip of France and Richard of Aquitane fell in love, and weren't people who did some terrible things, and the world was a kinder place. I just....don't know why at that point you wouldn't write original characters with the vibes of this time and place. It feels a little weird and I had a difficult time just going with it. I was hoping to still enjoy it, but that strangeness mixed with the slow pace and length of the book, I was struggling to push through. Hopefully others do better with this than I did. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

I relished every page of this book. The two kings depicted within its pages will undoubtedly tug at your heartstrings, leaving you yearning for more. Natasha Siegel's writing style is a breath of fresh air in the realm of historical fiction, and her voice is one that I have come to crave.