The story of The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis is packed with historical facts but does not become bogged down in the breadth of details, the story flowing naturally from season to season through the life of Sancha of Aragon.The young Sancha has a rebellious nature and is in a battle of wills with her father Alfonso II of Naples, although she completely loyal to her brother Alfonso. Retaliating against Sancha for her behaviour, her father contracts a marriage for her to the Borgia family of Rome, and in Sancha’s mind, the worst possible thing that could happen - being separated from her kind and loving brother. She becomes embroiled in the Borgia family’s struggle to gain more power and suppress their enemies through corruption, betrayal, poison and war. Sancha struggle’s against the evil in the Borgia family and is eventually faced with the ultimate choice… whether to murder.
There are some crude parts, rape, incest, in the story but I thought the author treated them as well as these subjects could have been, as they were based on historical facts. If you are a fan of Phillipa Gregory you are sure to be a fan of Jeanne Kalogridis.
My Rating: 4.0
Chapters
I enjoyed this one as well, and I thought Kalogridis did a good job rather tastefully handling the difficult parts of the story. I would have liked to see more backup for the incest claims in her author's note, though...
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Thanks for the comment. The Borgia Bride was definitely an uncomfortable book to read in some parts but I think Kalogridis is a great storyteller. I'm looking forward to reading The Devil's Queen when its out in trade paperback.
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