The action in this book centers around a castle in Wales where Edward Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham, is preparing to host a tournament in honor of the memory of the prince who died at the end of The Usurper's Throne, but in the interest of not spoiling things, I won't say the prince's name. Anyway, the tournament means that lots of people get thrown together as they gather to watch or participate in the festivities. Friends and enemies alike mix in the crowds.
Of particular interest to me was the Lady Anwen, who spent months as a tormented captive of Lord Meuric and his brutish protege Beynon. Though they never actually assaulted her virtue, they threatened to do so repeatedly. Anwen is now free, but traumatized. She breaks off her engagement to a wonderful young man named James because she cannot bear to be touched by anyone. Gradually, she finds healing for body, soul, and mind by learning new things and eventually confronting her tormentors.
But my favorite character was once again Sir Thomas Lovell, the sly, devious, but often honorable Enforcer. He spies and connives and bullies, and sometimes I want to slap him. But just when I think I'm done with him, he does something absolutely wonderful and then I'm a fan again.
There's lots of mystery and intrigue in this book. A dead woman is said to haunt the castle, and several characters make it their mission to find her remains. Treason and envy and desire lie at the root of several other mysteries entwined throughout the story, keeping me on the edge of my seat through the last nine chapters.
If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for a little bad language, discussions of attempted rape, violence, bloodshed, and some intimate scenes between married people that do not progress beyond passionate kisses.
Full disclosure: I received an ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given here.
You can pre-order the Kindle version here, and there will be a paperback edition available soon as well. The Goodreads page for this book is here.
Aww. ;)
ReplyDelete"he does something absolutely wonderful..."
I bet I know what that is, and it may interest you to know, that scene was a last-minute revision in my last major edit. Ha, ha. The best things often happen with no planning!
I feel lovely that you enjoyed it so very much, but I'm afraid I'm setting the bar far too high too early on and I'll have to keep topping myself. Ah well... I like a good challenge. ;)
Charity, there may have been more than one something wonderful, but yes, there was one particularly AWESOME thing Lovell did that I think he should be hugged for :-)
DeleteSometimes those final little additions make all the difference, don't they?
I'm having the same feeling right now -- how can I ever live up to how much my friends are liking DD? :-)
Lovell only accepts hugs from the Tudor children. And quite possibly, Meg Pole if she were ever so inclined, which she isn't. But he thanks you all the same. ;)
DeleteThey do! I think that's what makes editing worthwhile -- you script and you shave and you drive yourself insane but if you stay at a book long enough, something good always bleeds through in the final go-over.
You and I will probably wind up doing the same sort of thing -- taking our compliments, adding them to our bucket of "when I'm feeling miserable, I need to think about these things" and... keep writing. ;)
Yes, that bucket, or file, or MSWord document hidden away somewhere is pretty indespensible sometimes. Especially when facing down critics or uncooperative characters, heh.
DeleteThis sounds like it's full of incident and interesting characters!
ReplyDeleteJohn Smith, it definitely is!
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