The Innocent

The Innocent by Posie Graeme-Evans

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have recently become addicted to the Australian television drama McLeod’s Daughters created by Posie Graeme-Evans, so when I discovered she is also an author I had to check it out. The Innocent is the first of a trilogy about a romance between Edward IV and a fictional illegitimate daughter of the ousted Henry VI, Anne de Bohun. It isn’t a bad book, but it isn’t particularly good either. It is a light sort of romance with a historical setting and lots of period atmosphere (if not always accurate.) It is also light on any actual history or plot/character development. The heroine, Anne, is entirely too good to be true. There is no evident “reason” for why these two love each other, other than some sort of “occult” fate or destiny. Quite implausible in my opinion. The characters are shallow and predictable. And the consummation is disappointing. The Piers/Aveline thread in the first third of the book did a good job of creating tension, but once it was resolved it had no bearing on the rest of the story. If you don’t care about historical accuracy or believable characters this is a nice sort of book to lose yourself in for awhile, but I don’t think I will be reading the sequels.

Book Description: The year is 1450, a dangerous time in medieval Britain. Civil unrest is at its peak and the legitimacy of the royal family is suspect. Meanwhile, deep in the forests of western England, a baby is born. Powerful forces plot to kill both mother and child, but somehow the newborn girl survives. Her name is Anne. Fifteen years later, England emerges into a fragile but hopeful new age, with the charismatic young King Edward IV on the throne. Anne, now a young peasant girl, joins the household of a wealthy London merchant. Her unusual beauty provokes jealousy, lust, and intrigue, but Anne has a special quality that saves her: a vast knowledge of healing herbs. News of her extraordinary gift spreads, and she is called upon to save the ailing queen. Soon after, Anne is moved into the palace, where she finds her destiny with the man who will become the greatest love of her life — the king himself.