confusing - Rated 
Essentially the tale of Edward and Richard of York brought into the 20 century. I read this one and will probaby read the next in the series but must say I prefer the real story of Edward and Richard. I found the similarity in names confusing and even irritating at times e.g.Hastings became Hasling. I also found it irresistable to think about what had happened to the Yorks rather than pay attention to what was happening to the Derevenals. I suppose the idea was worth a try but I think Ms Taylor Bradford should do what she can do so well and devise her own plots
One to be avoided - Rated 
When I started to read the book I hadn't realised the link to the Plantagenets. I soon did and the story written round real events but updated to the Edwardian period and with thinly disguised names irritated me. If you want to read a good fiction book about the Plantagenets, read The Sunne in Splendour.
A Complete Letdown! - Rated
If I could give this zero stars; I would!
I have been a big fan of Barbara Taylor Bradford since A Woman of Substance; no longer! I found this book boring from the first page; the prose was repetitive; going over ground already covered, the dialogue was unreal, I can't believe people actually spoke this way! There didn't seem to be any real plot & took an eternity to get to any real point; it was patchy & had no continuity. I found the characters increasingly hard to like & I felt depressed reading it; so much so, I gave up before the end! BTB must have written this in a day; it's so awful, she should be ashamed! I can safely say, I will NOT be following The Ravenscar Dynasty to it's conclusion!
An Epic - One Of Bradford's Best - Rated 
The Ravenscar Dynasty is an outstanding new novel from one of my favorite authors, Barbara Taylor Bradford. Based loosely on the life of King Edward IV, this fictional story is moved forward to the 1900s. And instead of running a monarchy, Edward is attempting to run a family business empire.
Edward is a dashing young hero with boundless energy. His life is filled with young women, family conflict and business ambition. When he is not conquesting lovely widows, "Ned" is plotting revenge against a portion of his extended family who are responsible for the murder of his father and uncle.
There are few authors today who write good old fashioned family sagas. Thankfully, Barbara Taylor Bradford is still at it. The Ravenscar Dynasty is the promising new begining to what is being called a trilogy of books in this saga.
Disappointing..... - Rated 
Loosely based around the story of Edward IV and Warwick the 'Kingmaker',with several historical flaws!! The idea of a modern historical retelling is not a new one & was done superbly by Susan Howatch with Wheel of Fortune. Unfortunately Bradford's attempt is disappointing to say the least. As a huge fan of Woman of Substance and Hold the Dream, I was hoping that Ravenscar could succeed where the three recent Woman of Substance sequels failed - and take us back to the brilliance that we know Bradford is capable of. It's almost as if this is a completely different author & I really got the feeling that Bradford just raced through the writing of this book without any of her previous excellence, eye for detail and intricacy. Where Woman of Substance was absorbing, extravagant, and gloriously unputdownable, Ravenscar is dull and forgettable with colourless characters, and the book contains none of the intricate detail that we would like to associate with Bradford. And the dialogue is appalling - did people really talk like that in the early 20th century??
If you've never read Barbara Taylor Bradford before you'll probably enjoy this read, but for all hardcore Bradford fans - do yourself a favour and give it a miss.
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