Sam Ibeh – OnlineBookClub.org review of “Divine’s Choice”

In Divine’s Choice by Alastair Carthew, Queen Liliana was the type of queen that did not care about the royal rules of conduct. She had ascended the throne by sheer will and the carelessness of the Windsor dynasty. Her daughter, Princess Divine, whose birth was an utmost disappointment to her father, King Filip, turned out much like her mother.

Years later, amidst battling with “Commexit” propaganda of member nations who sought to exit the Commonwealth, Queen Liliana arranged the most politically strategic marriage for Princess Divine. Before the princess’s birth, she and her lady-in-waiting, Baroness Harrison Ship-Wright, had hatched the perfect royal marriage, and she just had to enforce it. What she could not have counted on was fate’s interference with her plans.

One of the first things that readers might observe in this book would be the peculiar language of the characters. There was such freedom in the characters’ manner of speech. This gave the impression that these characters knew who they were and took pleasure in being themselves.

The book was not devoid of suspense. A sufficient air of intrigue was created by a narrator that only doled out tidbits of information per time. Also, with feisty and unpredictable characters, readers could never be sure what they would do next. The effect of this was an added sense of excitement and anticipation.

Alastair’s book was filled with humour. I wouldn’t be sure whether his brand of crude humour would appeal to all readers, but there were many laughing moments in the book. From the author’s hilarious description of Queen Liliana’s mischievousness to the odd communication pattern the characters had with God, there was always something to laugh about. Take, for instance, Queen Liliana’s prayer before her baby was delivered: “Dear Lord, I say unto thee. Help! You often seem to favour the Pope’s lot because he has more people. How about giving us Anglicans…a break.”

I found Princess Divine’s character endearing, especially how she took up movie characters in her fantasies. I found this character to be reminiscent of a little girl’s whimsical spirit. With movies like Casablanca, Fifty Shades of Grey, and The Notebook as her culpable victims, the author not only revealed an adventurous spirit but also exposed the relational beauty of movies.

I loved that Alastair was able to do so many things with this book. He exposed readers to the rosy ways of royalty and the burden that came with it. He told readers stories with historical relevance, hinting at sectional religious beef, status distinction, and the incursion of American culture into other countries. Yet, this book was about finding love, losing love, fate, passion, transformation, and second chances.

I’d recommend this book to lovers of history and epic love stories. There was nothing to dislike, and the editing was exceptional. Therefore, I’d rate it 4 out of 4 stars.