What do readers think of The Widow Queen by Elzbieta Cherezinska? Write your own review.

This was a challenging book to read. Character names were new to me; long and complex. I had no idea how to pronounce them, even mentally. There was much violence, death and destruction, as the characters plotted for more land and more power. I looked for a story within the book that would cause me to keep reading to find out what happens; but there wasn't enough of that to hold my interest. This is not a book I would recommend.

An imagined life story of a 10th century princess in what are now known as Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, there is great potential here to tell a story that most fans of historical fiction are unfamiliar with. The unfortunate thing about receiving an advance copy is that it is missing the family trees and maps that would have been helpful in determining alliances and rivalries and borders. But the few characters who were likable were minor characters and the main ones come across as self-involved and uncaring except for power and riches. And the things people do in the name of religion is absolutely horrifying. You can be baptized or you can be killed. A scary time to be alive. This is the first book in a 2-book series and the author just flat stops right in the middle of some pivotal action, so be forewarned if you don't like cliffhangers.