Title: Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses
Author: Sarah Gristwood
Rating: ★★★★

I’ve only recently become interested in the time of the Cousin’s War, and mainly because of Philippa Gregory’s latest novel series. So when I came across this book dealing with the women of the time, I knew I wanted to give it a read.

Not a lot can be known for certain about the women discussed in this book. The records are spotty and not always reliable to begin with, but women weren’t usually considered important enough to have much written about them. It truly is a shame, because it seems as though these women played a huge part in getting England through this crazy time.

Each of the women has an interesting story, but some played a greater part than others. Margaret Beaufort worked nearly her entire life to get to her final position of mother of a king. Elizabeth Woodville came up from a low position to become queen. Her daughter saw how easily fortunes could change, but still made it through it all to become one half of the marriage that united a country divided.

Sometimes, books such as this one can become a little boring and textbook-like. There were parts of the book I glazed over, mostly because the material being discussed wasn’t all too interesting, like how much money was spent on what things, but overall the book kept me interested enough that I really took my time to read this. I wanted to gain a bit of knowledge from this book that I wouldn’t have otherwise found.

If you’re interested in the history of the Cousin’s War and want to learn more about it, this is definitely a good book to pick up.

If Blood Sisters sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound

Thank you to Basic Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.