Reign of Madness review

I love fictional books with historical settings. Especially when they involve royalty and intriguing love triangles! I was so excited when I was given a copy of Reign of Madness,by Lynn Cullen,through Goodreads. Here is the description,via Amazon.com.

From the author of The Creation of Eve comes a tale of love and madness, royal intrigue and marital betrayal, set during the Golden Age of Spain.

Juana of Castile, third child of the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Fernando, grows up with no hope of inheriting her parents' crowns, but as a princess knows her duty: to further her family's ambitions through marriage. Yet stories of courtly love, and of her parents' own legendary romance, surround her. When she weds the Duke of Burgundy, a young man so beautiful that he is known as Philippe the Handsome, she dares to hope that she might have both love and crowns. He is caring, charming, and attracted to her-seemingly a perfect husband.

But what begins like a fairy tale ends quite differently.

When Queen Isabel dies, the crowns of Spain unexpectedly pass down to Juana, leaving her husband and her father hungering for the throne. Rumors fly that the young Queen has gone mad, driven insane by possessiveness. Who is to be believed? The King, beloved by his subjects? Or the Queen, unseen and unknown by her people?

One of the greatest cautionary tales in Spanish history comes to life as Lynn Cullen explores the controversial reign of Juana of Castile-also known as Juana the Mad. Sweeping, page-turning, and wholly entertaining, Reign of Madness is historical fiction at its richly satisfying best.


I really loved this book,and became deeply invested in the characters right away. Juana is an extremely empathetic character,who is intensely relatable. However,some characters whom you feel connected to,turn out to be complete antagonists! Its a page turner,and leaves you guessing right through to the last chapter. Things arent what they seem. Id recommend this to anyone who's interested in fictionalized accounts of history,especially noble history!