Author: Charlene Newcomb
Book: For King and Country
Series: Battle Scars #2
Self Published
Publication date: April 27, 2016
Length: 579 pages
Reviewed by Meredith
Synopsis
England 1193
Civil war threatens as battle-scarred knight Henry de Grey returns from the Crusades. King Richard languishes in captivity, a prisoner of the Holy Roman Emperor. Traitors to the crown pit Henry and his friends against dangerous and unknown enemies.
Loyalties will be tested, families torn apart. Friend or foe? It is hard to tell one from the other.
The king’s brother John and his allies plot to usurp Richard’s throne. With the knights Sir Stephan and Sir Robin, Henry fights for king and country. But he must keep his feelings for Sir Stephan l’Aigle secret. Sure as arrow or sword, their forbidden love could destroy him.
War, political intrigue and passion… heroes… friends and lovers… and the seeds for a new Robin Hood legend await you…
Review
We continue the journey with Stephan and Henry. They are back in England after the Crusades, by no means is the war over. As a matter of fact the country is in pure chaos thanks to Prince John. King Richard is being held captive, the throne is being fought upon, there's traitors everywhere! There are many story arcs in this book and I was on the edge of my seat for so much of it. I had no idea who to trust, what words were truth, and what "next thing" Henry, Stephan, Robin, or John would do that might get them killed.
With new books comes new characters of course. We meet Henry's father and sister and Stephan's brother. I find secondary characters to be vital to any story. In this one I found myself muttering, "Oh look, more suspects."
The romance in this story for Little John was delightful. A little bit of fresh air through all the fire and ashes. I kept finding so many small joys throughout the intensity of the tale. On top of the suspense, intrigue, and romance, this book was filled with so much history. It's rich in many things. It is a very long book but I felt like I just glided along. There was no lag, the characters were brilliant, (even the evil ones) outstanding writing. This is truly a marvelous series. Especially if you're a history buff! You must read this in order. No book is a standalone. You're following a journey. I look forward to book three!
About the Author
Giveaway
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Charlene is a new author to me; the story intrigues me though so I guess I'll check back to the first book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, Meredith.
I like historical books but I must admit I've never read a book this so far back in time but it sounds so good and thank you for the review.
ReplyDeleteLove historical novels and this sounds so interesting; totally need to start this series.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review. The series sound great and I put it on my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteCharlene is a new author to me, but I love historical novel, so this is a must read for me!
ReplyDeleteI read your newsletter, and like you, I also beta read Michael's Broken Land, and I enjoy stories with gay characters that aren't just about the romance. So, I love gay historicals, and I love this time period. - TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
ReplyDeleteI read a sample chapter and it was good so this series is definitely going on to my to-be-read list.
ReplyDeleteHaven't read this series and Charlene is a new-to-me author so it will be a good chance to give it a go. Especially since I have started to enjoy MM historical romance :)
ReplyDeletecongrats charlene!!!
ReplyDeleteFantastic cover and title. Love them both!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your release!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review. Congrats on the release =)
ReplyDeleteI met Charlene at GRL in Denver this past fall - what a lovely person! I am looking forward to reading the series!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new release
ReplyDeleteHello, Charlene! Congratulations and much success. England 1193, huh. That's a lot of history, there. New to me author and willing to learn more.
ReplyDeletetaina1959 @ yahoo.com
Congrats on the new release. I haven't read much historical fiction but I like the sound of this.
ReplyDeleteAs a medievalist, I am always so thrilled to find new historical fiction authors about the period. These look absolutely fabulous and I am excited to read them!
ReplyDelete