The Widow Queen

The Widow Queen is an uniquely written, superb, historical fiction masterpiece set in the time period from 984 A.D. - 997 A.D. The fascinating yarn it weaves, grabs hold of you from the beginning to the end.

Reminiscent of a "literary game of chess", the story centers around the Piast Dynasty. Duke Mieszko of Poland is a ruthless leader, who seeks to expand Poland's borders through cunning, strength and his children. He's a supreme strategist, and will do whatever is necessary for the good of his growing empire, including arranging for marriage alliances between his children with whomever he chooses he feels will aid them to become the most mighty, respected, and dominating power, not only of his time, but for all time to come. He is a man who moves his pawns around always anticipating his opponents next step, and carefully grooms his children likewise in the roles they are commanded to play. Poland, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark, for now, but the vision is growth that knows no boundaries beyond the horizons!

With a full spectrum of actions and emotions portrayed, the characters are dynamic and memorable.. There is betrayal, murder, lies, unrequited love, disgust, repugnance and brutality. There are births, deaths, the purity and taint of both Christianity and Pagondom with division ,and at times the mixture of both. Arising at the center of this epic novel, is Swietoslawa, the Bold One, Mieszko's favorite daughter with intelligence, and her very presence that commands respect, because she indeed has proven herself to be the Bold One, yes, sometimes as being too bold. The reader is left with wanting more, and the author promises there is so much more to learn and be had! With that said, I can hardly wait for the next offering, "The Last Crown" to become available.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced Uncorrected copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A fantastic telling that leads to the beginning of the Kingdom of Poland.

This is historical fiction at it's greatest, all too often historical fiction ends up being historical romance but no such fate befell this wonderful book. Our main character is a strong female character written accurately to the period and not tweaked or modified to fit with our modern politics or views (a quality all too often lacking in HF), which lends a greater historical accuracy and feel to the character. The characters all feel more like historical figures instead of modern characters who time traveled. Elzbieta Cherezinska also shows a fair and unbiased view of both pagan and christian religions that were in the region at the time.

It focuses on an era and an locality often ignored by western writers, Poland is woefully under represented in English language historical fiction, however, Elzbieta Cherezinska provides us with a five star example of why we shouldn't overlook the people or history of Poland.

I absolutely tore through this book I enjoyed it so much, I was sad to reach the last page and am impatiently waiting for more! I am thrilled to find Elzbieta Cherezinska and to learn that Tor Books has acquired the rights for the English translation. I can only hope that means we'll be seeing more from this wonderful author (perhaps the other books in this series or her other titles) as well as other fantastic Polish authors we don't yet have here.

A riveting story filled with fascinating history, court intrigue, and dynamic characters, focusing on the Piast dynasty of Poland and the Vikings in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway during the period of 984 A.D. to 997 A.D.

Told from multiple points of views, the characters are well developed where you feel each of their motivations and emotions as they are faced with difficult situations and decisions. I especially enjoyed Swietoslawa’s chapters. Even though her heart belonged to someone else, she embraced her role and fulfilled her duty, living up to her name as the bold one, and became a beloved queen true to her beliefs while securing power for her family and her kingdoms.

I felt so immersed in this story and enjoyed this book until the very end. And what an ending! This was an excellent read and I cannot wait for the next book, The Last Crown. Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This book is perfect for history buffs or people that loved the tv show Vikings. The bold one and her siblings story is amazing, I feel sorry how women were treated back then no more than pawns for their fathers and country. I also feel like this is a story on how christianity took over and wiped out old relations at any cost. I thoroughly loved this book I would love to see it as a movie or show as well.

The Widow Queen opens up into a world I new little about before Elzbieta Cherezinska. A Queen trying to live in a King’s world, only without the king. The Widow Queen was such a powerful and beautifully dramatic character that made me want to learn more about her and her royal history.

Well developed characters. An epic saga over land and sea. A historical fiction of how daughters and sisters were used as pawns to join kingdoms’ and how such a ‘bold one’ adapts to her less than ideal circumstances and leverages all of her cunning to protect her children and her people.
Looking forward to the sequel.

I approached this book because of my Polish roots. I expected so much from it. So much more! I believe the plot and idea was well presented, but perhaps the translation of this book damaged the reading here?
I did not finish the book, not because I did not like it, but because I will read it in original language written - Polish.
Then I can truly reward this book with 5 stars!