The novels begin with Jacquetta of Luxembourg's friendship with Joan of Arc, in her final days of imprisonment before being burned at the stake, and Jacquetta's powers as a seeress.

I will say that I liked this one slightly less than Tidelands (which I have RAVED over to anyone that will listen). I think that's because the cast of characters is much larger because of all of the people that cross Jacquetta's path while at court. I had a bit of a time keeping the names straight (Richard of York, John of Bedford, Margaret of Anjou, etc) but once I figured it all out, it was a bit easier in the reading. There were also a couple of chapters toward the end that were battle-heavy, and this dragged the story a little bit, to the point where I had to reread those chapters. Most interesting was Jacquetta's gift and her references to Melusine. Least interesting to me was Joan of Arc's part, which almost turned me off and was boring. I understand her significance in history, and at least she didn't dwell upon her like Margaret did in The Red Queen.My only grizzle is that being numbered Cousins War #3, you would think that it would be following in a chronological sense after The White Queen and The Red Queen but this is not so. I loved this story so much. There's something about Philippa Gregory's writing that wraps all around you and makes you feel like you're there. The language is beautiful and descriptive, and I crave it when I'm not reading it. This isn't a light story by any means-there is drama and war and romance and death and issues of class. But court politics and political intrigue are some of my favorite parts of fiction, particularly in medieval fiction, and I'm thrilled to get to experience aspects of world history that I'm not very knowledgeable about. Taking small breaks from the story so I could go research people, places, events in Jacquetta's story was the best part. I was meant to be entertained by this book, but I also feel like I learned a lot.

One of the oddest things about The Lady of the Rivers was that there almost didn’t seem to be a plot. It felt like a vehicle to get the book from A (Jacquetta’s childhood) to B (the moment where The White Queen begins), stumbling through the key events like a join-the-dots but without an overall big picture.Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, Jacquetta is introduced by him to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the Duke’s squire, Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen. I'm not going to say much about Gregory's writing idiosyncracies here, since what I was reading was a galley (which had not even been edited for capitalization and paragraph layout; that surprised me). I desperately want to send her the gift of a big bag of semicolons, though. Gregory is the undisputed queen of the comma splice. over the years, I have read at least a dozen books by Philippa Gregory - some I really liked and some, not so much. I have read snippets about Lady Jacquetta Rivers, Henry VIII's great-grandmother, in other books. Many people believed that she was a descendant of Melusina, a female water spirit in European folklore. Occasionally she was thought of as a witch (although never outright accused of being one) because people claimed she had the ability to see visions of the future;

Lady of the Rivers is the third book in Gregory's Cousins' War series, and focuses on Jacquetta of Luxembourg. While staying in France with her uncle, Jacquetta *meets* imprisoned Joan of Arc and the two share some BFF time together with the tarot cards and the wheel of fortune. After Joan meets her unhappy end, the beauteous Jacquetta catches the eye of the powerful Duke of Bedford, uncle to young king Henry VI. Jacquetta's worries about being ravished by her older husband come to naught as he's more interested in using Jacquetta's virginal qualities to aid his experiments - experiments that have something to do with alchemy, the philosopher's stone and the unicorn. If you are scratching your head over this, rest assured I was doing the same thing. I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now.

The Lady of the Rivers

The Woodvilles soon achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta can sense the growing threat from the people of England and the danger of royal rivals. Not even their courage and loyalty can keep the House of Lancaster on the throne. King Henry VI slides into a mysterious sleep; Margaret, his queen, turns to untrustworthy favorites for help; and Richard, Duke of York, threatens to overturn the whole kingdom for his rival dynasty of the House of York. Dupa ce ramane vaduva, constienta ca-si va pierde averea si pozitia, se casatoreste cu Richard Woodville, scutierul fostului ei sot. Casnicia este una ca de vis, ei iubindu-se enorm, iar ea nascandu-i o gramada de copii. Nu regreta niciodata ca renunta la statutul de ducesa si la avere pentru aceasta casnicie splendida. When Jacquetta was a young girl she married the duke of Bedford. From this connection, she was instantly dragged into the war of the roses. Cousins battling against one another for power and land. I didn't really like Jacquetta in the beginning of the book, but once the cousin war and more people were introduced I started to like her a little bit more. I must premise, I am a HUGE English history geek. I have read more books about the Tudors than I care to admit to and am creeping up on that number with this era about the Plantagenets. I also am very hesitant to admit that this family might be stealing the place in my heart that was previously held by the Tudors. They are slowly but surely surpassing them. This is huge. But anyways, I can understand that this type of writing or book might not appeal to everyone but I absolutely cannot get enough of Gregory's writing. I am obsessed with this entire 200 year time period that she has written about and I devour her books like they're fast paced young adult novels; I just love them. Actiunea debuteaza in 1430 la castelul Beaurevoir unde Jacquetta, fetita fiind, o cunoaste pe Ioana d'Arc care este ascunsa de englezi de catre stramatusa ei. Din pacate aceasta moare si astfel Ioana ajunge pe rug sub ochii Jacquettei, ea intelegand care este uneori soarta unor femei alese.