Rating: 
Summary: Educational, with little action.
Review: "Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136" was a good book. Not a lot of high action, but still interesting and educational. I'm sure not many readers even know about Eleanor (I know I didn't) and that's one reason why I chose to read this book. This royal girl wasn't like others for some reason and that may make faithful "Royal Diaries" readers a little uneasy. I learned a great deal about France and its royal people. I recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: A great addition to The Royal Diaries
Review: After enjoying Cleopatra VII, I knew that Kristiana Gregory's second book in The Royal Diaries would be very detailed and well-written. Even though I expected this book to be excellent, it even outreached my expectations. The story begins when Eleanor receives a diary from Grandmere (her grandmother). She writes of daily activies with her sister Petronilla, events at the castle, people of the government, etc. When her father, the Duke of Aquitaine, plans to go on a pilgrimage and dies shortly after reaching his destination, Eleanor's life is completely changed. She is the Duchess of Aquitaine and must be held under severe security. Because she holds more land than the King of France, he marries her to his son, Louis the Younger. Eleanor is fond of him from the early beginning. As they venture to return home, both are informed that King Louis of France has died, and now they are both the new king and queen. This was a very excellent addition to The Royal Diaries. If you are looking to start off the series, I would recommend this as a beginning.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit interesting, but not very...
Review: After reading Cleopatra by the same author, I didn't have very high hopes for this book. However, while not great by any means, it was mildly interesting. For one thing, I did not know much about Eleanor before the book, and the author did give us a feel of what life would be like in France in 1136. There also was a plotline, but the book ended in a strange place. Not a bad book to read, but not great eithier.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books from The Royal Diaries series.
Review: Fourteen-year-old Eleanor is the oldest daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine, one of the most powerful men in France in 1136. Her father's only legitimate son died as a young child, leaving Eleanor, the oldest of his two daughters, next in line to inherit his lands, which are larger than those controlled by the King of France. Eleanor knows that because of her position, she will be married off in a strategic alliance. But what she would like is to marry for love, something that's completely impossible. Eleanor records the experiences of her life as a noble girl in Medieval France in a diary given to her by her grandmother. This was one of my favorite books in the Royal Diaries series. I especially loved the Medieval setting. I'd highly recommend this book to all Royal Diaries fans.
Rating:
Summary: iF I COULD DO 4 AND A HALF STARS I WOULD
Review: I found this book quite interesting because I was able to learn about history without being bored. This book is the diary of Eleanor, the crown princess of Aquitaine and it tells the reader about the events that affected and happened during her life. The story begins when Eleanor is 13-years-old and the eldest daughter of William, the Duke of Aquitaine. This diary was given to her by her grandmother who wanted her to record the things that made her happy and the drama that took place in her life. Eleanor openly reveals her deepest fantasies about a knight she secretly names Clotaire the Strong. Even though she knows they may never be together, she enjoys the occasional glance and smile he gives her when they meet. Eleanor orders Clotaire to be one of her many bodyguards as she is positioned in a dangerous situation due to her father¡¦s political position. There are many people who dislike the Duke and hope to get rid of him. It is well-known that Eleanor is William¡¦s most prized possession and therefore guards were needed to prevent kidnappings from occurring. Also, Eleanor confides in her best friend and younger sister, Petronilla because she is the only one that can closely relate to her situation. Although Eleanor is a princess, she has a lively and mischievous side to her and struggles to comply with the rules that her Grandmother and ladies-in-waiting give her in order to sustain her status. However, the plot twists when Eleanor¡¦s father mysteriously dies during a pilgrimage and circumstances force Eleanor to marry off at fifteen to the sixteen-year-old Prince Louis the VII of France. How will Eleanor adapt to the new environment in Paris? How will she get over the ache of losing her father? How will she overcome the fact that she has a politically arranged marriage which has no love? I would recommend this book to those who enjoy reading for pleasure and those who would like to learn about history from something other than a textbook. Even though I enjoyed the book overall, I felt that the pace was a little bit slow and in some places the author was giving too much unnecessary information. But otherwise, it was a good book and I¡¦m glad I read it because I was able to learn more about the ancient times and the royalty.
Rating:
Summary: Best Royal Diary ever!
Review: I thought this book would be boring and bought it early at a September bookfair to complete my Royal Diaries collection, but when I read it-I found it too be better than Gregory's earlier Royal Diary-Cleopatra.Not only better thna Cleopatra, but better than any of the Royal Diaries! The story follows the teenage years of Eleanor, the oldest daughter of the duke of Aquitaine-a French duchy.As a teenage girl-Eleanor lives a life in her father's many castles-particularly Poitiers and Talmont-by-the-Sea under the education of her Grandmere (Grandmother) along with her dearest sister, Petronilla. Over the years we see the beautful and artistic court of Aquitaine-which is very genuine considering the courts of other countries are artless and dank places. Anyway, we hear stories of Eleanor's past-filled with tragic deaths-including her four-year-old brother's which is heartbreaking.We hear Eleanor's love interest over a knight-Clotaire the Stronger and we even get to experience her strong and fantasy like relationship with Petronilla.However, after her father's many careless and artistic years as Duke of Aquitaine, he begins to become a religious man and decides to take a religious pilgrimage to a cathedral in Spain.Taking his daughters only as far as Bordeaux, he dies only months later of food poisoning he contracted from uncooked fish. Eleanor is placed under the guardianship of the King of France-Louis VI.Since Eleanor now holds more land than the king-Louis marries Eleanor to his son-14 year old Louis VII.Eleanor instantly falls in love with him.Although she meets him in the most unexpected spot-she is in the lake having jumped in with so much excitement.A shirtless boy with golden hair and a tanned chest helps her out.Only thne doe sshe realize it's her teenage husband. We then begin to hear of her love for Louis and his for her and their secret meetings. The story ends only a few days after the marriage of the two teens-who travel on their wedding night to secure a castle that endsin a military tragedy.It's not the romance Eleanor imagines.The last entry is when Eleanor finds out Louis's father-the king-died of dysenterry and now she is the queen of France and Aquitaine with her husband at her side! This is a romantic and lively story that is well-written researched, full of great vocabulary, gives a great insight on Eleanor's later life, and shows the world of the wonderful court of the duchy of Aquitaine.This book is great and everyone should read it!-don't just buy it to finsih the collection.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: One of the best in the entire series. Gives wonderful insight into life during the Middle Ages, and shows the hopes and wishes of a duchess during that time. I would recommend that middle schoolers read this book.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite Royal Diary so far.
Review: Thirteen-year-old Eleanor is the oldest daughter of Count William Aquitaine, and heir to her Father's powerful empire even since her younger brother died at the age of four. Being a teenage girl, Eleanor and her younger sister Petronilla, live in the many beautiful palaces of her father and are under the care of their Grandmere, who also gave Eleanor this diary to write in. Mischieveous Eleanor is always a constant struggle to her Grandmere and ladies-in-waiting. However, Eleanor's light, happy life takes a turn when her careless father, dies of food-poisoning, on their pilgrimage to Spain. All of a sudden Eleanor finds herself owning a bunch of land and bethrothed, for political reasons, to sixteen-year-old Prince Louis VII of France. Eleanor knows that her father's many lands, which is even bigger than King Louis's empire is very much the reason for the bethrol. Through this all Eleanor wonders if she can ever marry only for love and nothing else. Her perseptives change though when she finally meets her young teenage husband, and the sparks between them fly. This is definitely my favorite Royal Diary. I am quite the romantic and I loved Prince Louis and Eleanor's romance, it was brilliantly written. I can tell much research was made to write this book and I recommend all fans to read it.
Rating:
Summary: iF I COULD DO 4 AND A HALF STARS I WOULD
Review: This is a really great book. It's especially easy to do book reports on ( like i did!). However, IT was kinda boring in some places.... but right after that it was really exciting! This is a great book for teachers to read to their class. It has lots of cliffhangers and great things having to do with history. If you are learning about early Europeans, this is a great way for learning to be all fun and no work. Eleanor's main family includes, her father who is a duke, her Grandmere, her sister, Petranilla, who she calls Petra, but her mother and brother, Willie, had died. This is a great book for peoples of all ages to read. It has a wonderful plot. It is a really, really, great book about a girl who gets everything she wants, but toward the end of the book, she emerges as a full grown woman with a great personality who is ALWAYS honest. In Conclusion,
I recommend this book to peoples of all ages and sizes. ( and shapes)
Rating:
Summary: A great addition to the Royal Diaries
Review: This is the best book in the series! It was like you were standing right next to Eleanor during the whole story! The author does a great job describing life in the Middle Ages. The story begins...Eleanor is the oldest daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine. She lives in France. Later in the book she inhearits Aquitaine and...wait!...I don't want to give the whole story away. It's a great book! You should read it. (This is the best book in the royal diaries series, some of the others are really great, too.)
|
