Frances Cromwell has only ever really known her father as the leader of the Parliamentary army, victor of the Civil War and Lord Protector of England. With every day that passes, it seems more and more likely that he will be named King in his own right. Facing a choice between duty and desire, she must decide whether to snatch control of her own future or be used as a pawn in service to the fragile regime that makes her a Princess in all but name.

The biggest compliment I can give this book is that it really brings to life Oliver Cromwell the man; the father, the husband, the thinker and the man of God. The author has done a brilliant job at making him a well rounded character, casting off the traditional stereotypes and opening him up to be a more relatable, more understandable human being. I feel like I learned quite a lot about him from this book, despite him not being the lead character! Likewise, it was interesting to get to know his children a bit better - until recently I was only aware that he had one son! It humanises the downfall of the Protectorate and gives an insight into what he might actually have been trying to do for the country.

However, I was less impressed with the choppy pace and overall narrative. I appreciate that this is based on the lives of real people and the author has tried to stick closely to the real timeline, but there is an awful lot of build up within the romantic element for what ends up being a relatively brief payoff. I found it hard to understand the motive behind the author's writing; was she trying to tell a romantic tale based on historical events? In which case the focus should have been very much on telling Frances' story and having the constitutional issues as a background murmur. Or was she looking to give an easily accessible overview of the end of the Interregnum and the Restoration? If so, I think the wrong sister was picked to weave that narrative. As a result, the writing feels hesitant in places, giving neither subject the time and detail it really deserves.

I also think it does a disservice to the character of Bridget, Frances' older sister. While this was the first book written by the author, she followed it up with a prequel, 'The Rebel Daughter', which I read first. That book gives a very sympathetic portrayal of Bridget, which is completely ripped away in this one. I felt that I should have some understanding of her because of her hardships, and yes there are moments in Rebel Daughter that do foreshadow her hardening attitude, but the author seems to have lost all care for the character when writing this book; she is haughty, proud, stubborn and thoroughly unlikeable. I found this detracted from my enjoyment. It's hard to recommend either publication order or chronological order for reading in this case... I think you need the background of Rebel Daughter to properly appreciate what's going on in Puritan Princess, and yet publication order gives Bridget a  bit of a redemption arc, plus avoids spoilers!

As always, I think my favourites moments are those where history meets speculation. In this case, considering whether Oliver Cromwell might have been rescued by his daughters and their husbands so as not to suffer the indignity of being executed after being dead for two years. It's an interesting thought! 

I'll admit to knowing very little about this period - I did briefly study it in middle school, but it never interested me in the same way as the Tudors or the Wars of the Roses. So it was interesting to read about the factions within factions, and the considerations of where the merry go round might end. Some basic understanding may aid you in following the political background of the book, but overall you don't need that knowledge to follow the story.

This isn't a book I can get truly excited about, and nor am I likely to read it again, but if this era is to your taste, you probably would enjoy it more than I.