Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, The Virgin’s Daughter is the first book in a captivating new saga about the next generation of Tudor royals, which poses the thrilling question: What if Elizabeth I, the celebrated Virgin Queen, gave birth to a legitimate heir?
Since the death of her brother, William, Elizabeth I has ruled England. She’s made the necessary alliances, married Philip of Spain, and produced a successor: her only daughter, Anne Isabella, Princess of Wales. Elizabeth knows that her beloved Anabel will be a political pawn across Europe unless she can convince Philip to grant her a divorce, freeing him to remarry and give Spain its own heir. But the enemies of England have even greater plans for the princess, a plot that will put Anabel’s very life and the security of the nation in peril. Only those closest to Elizabeth—her longtime confidante Minuette, her advisor and friend Dominic, and the couple’s grown children—can be trusted to carry forth a most delicate and dangerous mission. Yet, all of the queen’s maneuverings may ultimately prove her undoing.

My rating: 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I decided to read this book since I was approved for a NetGalley of the second book in the series, The Virgin’s Spy. I don’t like to pick up a series in the middle if I can avoid it but some other times there are like 5 books ahead of the one I’m reading and I only have 2 weeks before the book is published so there isn’t really enough time. Luckily there was only one book I needed to read to catch up on the series so I was able to fit it in. This book is about a number of people though the main focus seems to be on Lucette Courtenay and Julien LeClerc. The Courtenay family has always been a close friend of Queen Elizabeth and her daughter, Anabel. When Elizabeth learns of a plot currently in the works to assassinate her, there isn’t anyone she trusts more than her close friends. Lucette is the oldest child in the Courtenay household, and Elizabeth has asked her to travel to France to try and get to the bottom of who is behind this nefarious scheme. Lucette agrees but the last thing she ever expects is to fall in love while she’s in France. A good spy though should always expect the unexpected.
Overall I really liked this book a lot. There were a lot of different view points, which was interesting and there was a combination of all the stress points I look for in a book: intrigue and romance. The characters were all interesting and I loved the dynamic between all the different royals in the story. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and see what happens next, I wish I could just skip ahead to that book but I have some other book deadlines to get to before then. Definitely looking forward to reading the next book though, I really liked the characters and I expect that we haven’t heard the last from Mary, Queen of Scots.