Book: Men of the Cross
Series: Battle Scars book 1
Publisher: Blue X Entertainment
Publication date: April 28, 2014
Length: 355 pages
Reviewed by Meredith
Synopsis
War, political intrigue and passion… heroes… friends and lovers… and the seeds for a new Robin Hood legend await you…
Two young knights’ journey to war at Richard the Lionheart’s side sweeps them from England to the Holy Land in this historical adventure set against the backdrop of the Third Crusade.
Henry de Grey leaves Southampton in high spirits, strong in his faith and passionate about the mission to take Jerusalem back from Saladin’s army. Stephan l’Aigle’s prowess on the battlefield is well known, as are his exploits in the arms of other men. He prizes duty, honour and loyalty to his king above all else. But God and the Church? Stephan has little use for either.
Henry’s convictions are challenged by loss and the harsh realities of bloody battles, unforgiving marches, and the politics of the day. Man against man. Man against the elements. Man against his own heart. Survival will depend on more than a strong sword arm.
Review
Men of the Cross is book one in Charlene Newcomb's Battle Scars series. Men of the Cross is every historical fan's dream! It's a truly epic adventure. It's war, love, blood, sweat, tears, triumphs, and failures.
This is told in the POV's of Stephan l'Aigle and Sir Henry de Grey, Knights in King Richard the Lionheart's army. They develop a friendship; which in war, so close to so much tragedy, is normal.
Stephan and Henry's love affair isn't an easy one to fold into. Stephan falls hard for Henry. Stephan being gay and Henry being religiously bound; presented moral questions and a tangle of situations.
We deal with so many political and religious battles in this book.. Written within a time when same sex relationships were forbidden. Where such relationships were a fatal crime. That always pulls at my heart. To have love be denied but it being so strong that the lovers involved would rather die than be forced apart *sigh*
When you take Stephan and Henry's personal and professional situations and meld them together, you get a very intense, rich, intoxicating story.
Charlene Newcomb's writing is exemplary. Her grasp on history is breathtaking; add in the fact she created a love story within history... I must applaud her.
This book, in no way, could have been easy to write, even though it's flawless. It was breath-stealing at times to read.
This is a book for everyone. One I highly recommend for those who love literature.
About Charlene Newcomb
Charlene
Newcomb, aka Char, is currently working on Book III of
her Battle Scars series, 12th century historical adventures
filled with war, political intrigue, and a knightly romance of forbidden
love set during the reign of Richard the Lionheart.
While medieval historical fiction has her under its spell at the moment,
her writing roots are in the Star Wars
Expanded Universe where she published her first short story in 1994 in the Star Wars Adventure Journal. She has
also dabbled in contemporary fiction - Keeping
the Family Peace is a family saga/coming of age story centering on the
lives of a Navy family.
Char was a Supporting Author at GRL2016. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society (HNS) and a contributor
and blog editor for English Historical Fiction Authors. Her Battle Scars books are indieBRAG Medallion honorees; Book II is an
HNS Editors Choice and also a finalist in the Chaucer Awards for pre-1750
Historical Fiction.
Librarian by day.
Mom to 3 grown, amazing children.
She lives in Kansas. Yes, Toto. Kansas.
Bonus: Sign up for Char's Mailing List and she will welcome you with a chapter from For
King and Country (that isn't part of the Amazon sample). Her Mailing List will
be used sparingly to offer exclusive content and to let you be the first to
know about special offers.
Giveaway
Charlene will be gifting one person a copy of Men of the Cross
AND a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card!
Be sure to enter the rafflecopter below.
Contest will end December 18th.
Thank you!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for the post Charlene. To be honest I have never read any books you wrote, but this one sounds very interesting.
ReplyDeleteA new to me author. I'm slowly coming back to historicals so this is just what I have been looking for. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting, thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThis looks very different. Im looking forward to jumping into a different type of m/m novel.
ReplyDeleteOh historical novel! I'm in.
ReplyDeleteYou are new to me but I look forward to reading your books.
ReplyDeleteCongrats and thanks for the post. YES, I so love gay historicals, especially set at this time. Growing up I was all about King Arthur, Robin Hood, 3 Musketeers ... And I've been looking at this series for quite a while.
ReplyDeletePurple Reader - TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
It will be interesting to see what parallels can be drawn with the religious and political wars being fought in the same locale today!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Charlene's books before but I do love historicals and this sounds like an awesome one! Thank you for the post!
ReplyDeleteI have this already in my tbr list, so was excited to read Meredith's review. Now at the top of the list!!!!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had the pleasure to read this author yet but I added the books to my TBR list. I love historical romance.
ReplyDeleteI love historicals. It is one of my favourite genres. Although I've not read any of your books, yet, but this one sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved historical book and this one sounds fascinating. I'm adding the book to my wish list.
ReplyDeleteI briefly met Charlene Newcomb at GRL in Kansas City, and am definitely looking forward to reading this series! I love the time period and historical fiction is one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThe Battle Scars series is one that people should read! Personally, I think a Mini-Series for TV should be made from this series. When I first started reading Men of the Cross I never knew what to expect so to my surprise I feel in LOVE with the series and am waiting for Book III.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read your books but I slowly enjoy historical MM romance.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book, would love to read it !Love Historical MM
ReplyDeleteNew to me author bur this sounds really interesting
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post! I do love historicals, but haven't yet read any of Charlene's books. This one sounds great, so I will have to check them out.
ReplyDeleteHi Charlene! Congrats on the new book and good luck on the book tour! I am new to your books, but I do enjoy historicals and look forward to checking out your books!
ReplyDelete