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I can't believe it's taken me this long to read a Philippa Gregory book as I love stories about the machinations of royal families (Big fan of The Tudors.) I really didn't know much about the War of the Roses or the Plantagenet family prior to reading this book, so it was quite an eye-opener! Gregory did an incredible job of bringing these historical figures to life on the page. Elizabeth Woodville was a fascinating woman. She captured the heart of a king and survived much loss and tragedy in her life. I liked that she was never portrayed as a victim in TWQ, even though she was often at the mercy of the men surrounding her. In the book, a lot of Elizabeth's power is derived from the magical abilities she (and her mother, Jacquetta) inherited from their ancestor, the water goddess Melusina. The two of them were rumored to be witches, so I thought it was clever of Gregory to weave these magical threads into TWQ. Strange mists that decided the outcome of a battle, raging storms that kept rebel forces from invading, it's amazing how these historical events could be feasibly explained as having a supernatural origin.I found myself growing to care about so many of the characters in this book - Elizabeth, her charming husband Edward, their sweet children, Elizabeth's brother Anthony who had the heart of a poet. I rooted for them and felt their devastation when they were betrayed by various friends and family members who wanted the throne for themselves. I'm still not sure how I feel about Edward's brother, Richard. Was he a villain or a good man who made mistakes because of his ambition? I liked that Gregory gave no definitive answers on that score and left it up to the reader to decide if Richard was to blame for the disappearance of the two princes (his nephews) from the Tower.I thoroughly enjoyed The White Queen and look forward to reading more of the Cousins' War series. What I liked best about TWQ is that I felt as though I was educated by the novel, as well as entertained. After completing the book, I did research into the main players in the story and events that were mentioned, so I now have a good understanding of this pivotal time in European history. I would recommend The White Queen to anyone who fancies historical romance or stories about court intrigue as this book is chock full of both!