Review: Elizabeth Cole’s HONOR & ROSES – Worthy 12th Century Medieval Romance

Set in England, beginning in 1136, during the reign of King Stephen, this is the story of Cecily de Vere, heiress of Cleobury and Sir Alric of Hawksmere. They were friends as children and now they are more as their affection and respect for each other grows. Cecily is a caring woman who ministers to the poor and sick with her herbs and potions. Alric is a brave knight and a leader of men. Though he cares for Cecily, he knows such a fine lady can never be the wife of a mere knight.

Alric understands Cecily will be wed to a high-ranking lord, but he is dismayed when he learns he is the one who must escort her to her betrothed. But when she escapes the fate her guardian has in mind, Alric is there to help her.

The story is well written and kept me turning pages. It was also quite believable in terms of plot and the intriguing references to the attempts to dethrone King Stephen. Pierce of Malvern, the one to whom Cecily is betrothed and quite a villain when it comes to being a suitor, was intriguing.

There are some exciting scenes toward the end. What I liked most about this story was the genuine feel of it (despite a few anomalies for a knight’s behavior and a few modern words). And, of course, the history. I recommend it.

On Amazon

 

Honor & Roses is the first in the Swordcross Knights series. The set up for the three knights and their stories is in the beginning with Sir Rafe, Sir Luc and Sir Alric all swearing to be “brothers” to each other. Book 2 is Choose the Sky, Luc’s story.

Best Medieval Romances!

Who among us ladies hasn’t dreamed of a knight in shinning armour? Or, of living in a time when valor prevailed and honorable men did great deeds and women of character loved them? (I did say we were dreaming, right?) Well, these historical romances will take you back to those medieval times.

Since the medieval period in European history spanned the 5th century to the 15th century, all the stories on my list take place during that period; however, some Scottish, Irish, Viking and Pirate/Privateer historicals from that time period not listed here can be found on those specific “Best Lists” (found on the right side of my blog).

All of these listed below have garnered 4, 4 and ½ or 5 stars from me:

A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught

Betrothal by Jenna Jaxon (the first part of a 3-part story)

Bianca by Bertrice Small (1^st in the Silk Merchant’s Daughters series)

Blackheart by Tamara Leigh

Blue Heaven, Black Night by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

Bond of Blood by Roberta Gellis

Bride of the Lion by Elizabeth Stuart

By His Majesty’s Grace, By Grace Possessed and Seduced by Grace by Jennifer Blake

By Possession, By Design, Stealing Heaven, By Arrangement, The Protector and Lord of a Thousand Nights, 14^th century London series by Madeline Hunter

Candle in the Window by Christina Dodd

Come the Morning, Conquer the Night, Seize the Dawn, Knight Triumphant, The Lion in Glory, and When We Touch from the Graham series by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

Crimson Secret by Janet Lane

Damsel in Distress by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

Desire of the Heart by Katherine Vickery (aka Kathryn Kramer)

Enchantress, Kiss of the Moon and Outlaw, Welsh trilogy by Lisa Jackson

Everlasting by Kathleen Woodiwiss

His Stolen Bride by Shelly Thacker
Honor & Roses by Elizabeth Cole

Impostress, Temptress and Sorceress, Welsh trilogy with fantasy elements by Lisa Jackson

Keeper of the Dream by Penelope Williamson

Knight’s Honor by Roberta Gellis

Lady of Fire, Fire and Steel and The Fire and the Fury from the Fire Series by Anita Mills

Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson

Lady of Valor from the Warrior trilogy by Tina St. John

Laird of the Wind by Susan King

Lespada by Kathryn Le Veque

Lie Down in Roses by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

Lily Fair by Kimberly Cates

Lord of Desire, Lord of Temptation and Lord of Seduction, Risande Family trilogy by Paula Quinn

Lord of Vengeance by Tina St. John

On a Highland Shore and Rivals for the Crown by Kathleen Givens

Princess of Fire and the sequel Knight of Fire by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

Prisoner of My Desire by Johanna Lindsey

Rose of Rapture by Rebecca Brandewyne

Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale

Siege of the Heart by Elise Cyr

Silk and Steel and the sequel Desire and Deceive by Cordia Byers

Silverhawk by Barbara Bettis

Spellbound by Nadine Crenshaw

Sword of the Heart by Maureen Kurr

The Angel Knight by Susan King

The Bedeviled Heart by Carmen Caine

The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux

The Breaking Dawn by Jayne Castel

The Bride Gift by Sarah Hegger

The Christmas Knight by Michele Sinclair

The Conqueror, Promise of the Rose and The Prize, trilogy by Brenda Joyce

The Deepening Night by Jayne Castel (7^th century Britain)

The Dragon Tree by Marsha Canham

The Falcon and the Flower, The Dragon and the Jewel and The Marriage Prize, the Plantagenet trilogy by Virginia Henley

The King’s Pleasure by Heather Graham

The King’s Rebel by Michelle Morrison

The Last Knight by Candice Proctor

The Lily and the Falcon by Jannine Corti-Petska

The Lion’s Bride by Connie Mason

The Outlaw Knight (aka Lords of the White Castle) by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Raven and the Rose by Virginia Henley

The Rose of Blacksword by Rexanne Becnel

The Rose of York: Love and War, The Crown of Destiny and Fall From Grace, trilogy by Sandra Worth

The Swan Maiden and The Stone Maiden from the Maiden trilogy by Susan King

The Warrior’s Game and Spring’s Fury by Denise Domning

The Wild Hunt by Elizabeth Chadwick

The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss

Through a Dark Mist, In the Shadow of Midnight and The Last Arrow, Robin Hood trilogy by Marsha Canham

Uncommon Vows by Mary Jo Putney

Untamed, Forbidden and Enchanted, trilogy by Elizabeth Lowell

Warrior Poet by Kathryn Lc Veque

Warrior’s Song, Fire Song, Earth Song and Secret Song, medieval series by Catherine Coulter

When Love Awaits by Johanna Lindsey

Where Love Dwells by Elizabeth Stuart

Winter’s Heat by Denise Domning

Wonderful, Wild and Wicked, trilogy by Jill Barnett

And, if you will allow, I hope you will consider my own Medieval Warriors series: The Red Wolf’s Prize (winner of the RONE Award for Best Historical Novel, medieval), Rogue Knight, Rebel Warrior and King’s Knight.

Review: Mary Reed McCall’s THE TEMPLAR’S SEDUCTION – Disgraced Templar Finds Love

Set in 1309 in Scotland, this is the story of Lady Elizabeth of Selkirk, who holds Dunleavy Castle for her husband, Robert Kincaid, Lord Marston. At first, she hears he is dead but then she receives word he is alive. It’s been years since he was with her and when Robert returns, he is not the same man. Little does she know the man who claims to be her long-lost husband is actually an imposter, a disgraced Templar knight who agreed to the ruse to save his life and that of his friend. It just so happens that Sir Alexander de Ashby looks like her husband.

Alex thinks to seduce Lady Elizabeth (“Beth”) so she won’t notice (or care) about the differences between him and her dead husband. The book is well titled as much of the story is consumed with the seduction and their many lovemaking sessions. (I might have preferred a bit more action and some history.) As may be expected, Beth is not happy when she learns he is not the man she thought he was. At least until she decides she doesn’t care enough not to seek out his lovemaking.

The story is well written, had a “medieval feel” and the characters were developed. The author obviously did much research though she did deviate from the way Templars behaved (and she noted it after the story ended.) I ended up skimming over the long love scenes that followed one after the other. And sometimes the heroine appeared strong and at other times, weak. Alex was supposed to be ignoble, a disgraced Templar who stole from his fellow knights, however, all he did seemed to be honorable. Even the ruse was mostly done to save a friend.

Lastly, since the end and the Epilogue deal with other couples, I recommend reading this series in order. (I did not realize it was book 3 in the series when I began the story...)

On Amazon

 

Templar Knight series:

Beyond Temptation

Sinful Pleasures

The Templar’s Seduction

Celebrating St. Crispin's Day with Author Barbara Bettis!

Today is St. Crispin’s Day and here to explain all it means is historical romance author Barbara Bettis. 

In college, Barbara’s dream was to be a writer, but life took a different turn. After a stint as an insurance health claims adjuster, she finished her first degree, then took a job in newspapers. She worked mostly at a small daily so her two sons could attend a small town school. She enjoyed being a reporter and, later, an editor. Even after she became a teacher, her summers were spent at area newspapers or magazines. It wasn’t until after her husband died unexpectedly that she decided to try her hand at fiction. She gave up teaching journalism and English full time to work part time at a local community college as an English instructor, giving her time to write.
 

Be sure and comment to win your choice from two of her novels (pictured at the end of the post).

So, welcome Barbara to Historical Romance Review!

Hello Everyone. Thank you, Regan, for hosting me today. three days before the release of The Lady of the Forest, a novella that tells the story of how Henry and Katherine met. You’ll recognize them from my other stories. Henry talks about finding England’s traitor so he can be home by St. Crispin’s Day.

Lady of the Forest

So what is St. Crispin’s Day?

It is the feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, who died in the year 285 or 286. Although the occasion isn’t celebrated as it once was, in medieval times it was important because it observed the martyrdom of two early Christians. The lives of this pair are bound in legend and a bit of myth, but at the base is fact.

According to some sources, the two men were brothers—twins perhaps. Born of noble Roman parents, they came to believe in the new religion that was making a name for itself—Christianity. They traveled with St. Quintinus to Gaul, settling in what we know as Soissons. There, the brothers spread the word of Christ and worked as shoemakers.

Eventually their work caught the attention of Maximian (named Augustus co-emperor by Diocletian, the ruler in Rome), who was traveling in the area. Maximian tried to get them to change their spiritual allegiance. When he failed, he ordered them killed. Some sources report they were taken before Rictiovarus, who had them tortured.

Eventually, millstones were tied around Crispin’s and Crispinian’s necks and the men were thrown into a river. Miraculously, they escaped the millstones and swam to the opposite shore. Rictiovarus then forced them to embark on trial of fires, hot coals, boiling oil. One report says Rictiovarus was so upset they were unharmed, he threw himself on the hot brazier and died. Other reports just say he committed suicide. (At least one source doubts the existence of Rictiovarus.)

After that, Maximian had them beheaded.

Crispin and Crispinian remain the patron saints of shoemakers, cobblers and leatherworkers. At one time, shoemakers closed their shops on this day.

So the sad story of the brothers (assuming they were brothers) seems to be fairly simple if we disregard the touches that have been added through 1700 years of retelling. But… Maybe not. A fascinating account found on a website that promoted “the study, practice, interpretation and preservation of historical shoemaking and allied trades” offers a different aspect of the legend.

According to that version, Crispin and Crispinian were sons of the queen of what is now Kent. (Britain was still occupied by Romans at that time so Diocletian’s persecution of Christians could very well have been felt that far.)

 

Escaping that persecution, the two fled into the countryside, at last stopping at the home of a shoemaker. The man took them in and trained them. And here the story even more drastically deviates from the other accounts. The English version says the craftsman under whom they worked was named shoemaker to Maximinus. When Crispin took some shoes to the emperor’s daughter, Ursula, Crispin and Ursula fell in love.

After overcoming many obstacles, the two finally wed secretly. Here’s the rest: “When Maximinus learned of Crispin's high birth, he became reconciled to their marriage and blessed their son saying: "A shoemaker's son is a prince born." The marriage was confirmed October the 25th and celebrated with feasting and drinking. That day has ever since been the shoemakers' holiday.”

I don’t know about you, fellow romance authors and readers, but I like this version much better. No cruel martyrdom. No one has to die. Love conquers all. Unfortunately, it probably didn’t happen exactly that way. If the name St. Crispin’s Day is familiar, perhaps it’s because many historically relevant events have taken place on this day. However, the most memorably reference to it comes from Shakespeare.

The St. Crispin’s speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V is one of the most inspirational speeches in literature. It’s known today even by those who don’t realize where the words originate. They come when King Henry is rallying troops before the Battle of Agincourt in France, Oct. 25, 1415, the Feast of St. Crispin and Crispinian. It’s a long speech—here are the last few famous lines:

“And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.” 

Happy St. Crispin’s Day!

                                                                         

Do leave a comment and your email as Barbara is giving away one of her ebooks... you choice of these two medieval romances, Silverhawk and Heart of the Phoenix.

Silverhawk

Heart of the Phoenix

Keep up with Barbara on her Website, Facebook & Twitter.
 
The Lady of the Forest releases on Oct.28. See it on Amazon.

Review: Shelly Thacker’s HIS STOLEN BRIDE – French Noblewoman Abducted by a Highland Chief

First released under the title Falcon on the Wind, the story is set in Scotland in 1294 and tells of Lady Laurien d'Amboise, who step father would force her to wed the cruel comte de Villiers. She is just about to escape when she is abducted by Highland lord Darach of Glenshiel who needs her to secure France’s support for Scotland.

Laurien thought to return to the convent at Tours where she grew up but that was before Darach captured her heart. Little does she know he is already married. And that won’t stop Darach from claiming what he wants.

A clever plot with a twist toward the end and some good action scenes keeps the reader turning pages. 

I enjoyed the characters and anytime I can get a bit of the Highlands in the story, I’m delighted. There are a few historical references that anchor the story well in Scotland’s history.

My first by Thacker; it won’t be my last.


On Amazon.

A Knight’s Horses by Regan Walker

In the course of my research for my Medieval Warriors series, I learned a lot of surprising things about the horses the Norman knights rode. For example, horses were not so much distinguished by breed as by use. There were highly trained warhorses like destriers, strong coursers, smooth-gaited palfreys for lords and ladies, and general purpose rounceys. Knights did not, for the most part, ride their warhorses around the countryside, at least not very often. They rode palfreys, high-status riding horses. 

 

Warhorses—destriers and coursers—were trained for combat and reserved for battle and tournaments. They were difficult to handle. The courser was preferred over the destrier as it was light, fast, steady and strong—and less expensive. You can get a rough idea of the warhorses from illustrations of the period, such as the Bayeux Tapestry, which is actually an embroidery sewn in the 11^th century and meant to depict the events that surrounded the Conquest.

 

Destriers and coursers were stallions trained for charging and putting up with the shock of impacts. They had to be maneuverable, too, but with the strength to bear a knight’s weight in battle. (Though the chain mail was much lighter in the 11^th century than the mail and plate armor that came later.) In King’s Knight, Alexander has both a destrier and a palfrey. Palfreys were trained to be gentle, excellent horses for riding and hunting. Ladies rode the smooth-gaited palfrey, too, either astride or pillion (sitting sideways and having their horse led by a groom).

While the origin of the medieval warhorse is not clear, it is thought they had some Barb and Arabian blood through the Spanish Jennet, a forerunner to the modern Friesian and Andalusian horse. Today, breeds that have similar bloodlines include the Welsh Cob, the Friesian, the American Quarter Horse, a stocky Morgan and the Andalusian.

Sir Renaud's Spanish stallion

The Spanish-Norman horse, like both the Percheron and the Andalusian, is predominantly gray in color, and is the horse Sir Renaud (“the Red Wolf”) rides in The Red Wolf’s Prize. It is known that William the Conqueror was gifted a Spanish stallion at one point and so it occurred to me that a favored knight might also receive one as a gift from his lord.

In addition to palfreys, nobles rode the general purpose rounceys, but not typically knights, although knights might use them in a pinch. There were also horses for the hunt and the race that were fast and had stamina. And there were workhorses (common plough horses), and cart horses bred for hauling things.  

Palfreys

When the battle was over, the knight would leave his warhorse and his helm with his squire and ride off on a palfrey, a much more manageable horse than his often mean-spirited warhorse, and one that had a smoother gait making for a better ride.

William the Conqueror shipped horses across the English Channel when he invaded England in 1066—as many as thousand or more. And his son, William Rufus, who was King of England after the Conqueror’s death, shipped horses to Normandy when he was at war with his brothers, Robert and Henry.

Norman knights

Unlike the English, who rode their horses to battle and then dismounted to fight on foot, the Normans most often fought on horseback. It is also why they fought using longer swords than the English and their shields were kite shaped. The outcome of the Battle of Hastings has been described as “the inevitable victory of stirrupped cavalry over helpless infantry.”

I hope you enjoy my Medieval Warriors series and now you'll know why I have my characters riding the horses they do!

See the Medieval Warriors Series on Amazon. And the Boxed Set!

 And on my Website.

Review: Lisa Jackson’s ENCHANTRESS: Captivating Welsh Medieval Romance!

Jackson’s writing is superb, her feel for the medieval period genuine, her plot interesting and the characters engaging.

This story captured me from the beginning. It's the first in a medieval trilogy that takes place in Wales. Jackson weaves in myth and legends while still retaining the fundamental belief the characters have in the God of heaven, so as to capture the feel of another time and place where people were influenced by superstition and beliefs in forces of nature. Each in the trilogy is well written and quite wonderful. I recommend you read them in order as they are related and characters in the first show up in the last.

Set in late 13th century Wales, this is the story of independent, headstrong Morgana of Wenlock, who has the gift of sight and visions she inherited from her grandmother. With her gift she has helped others, finding lost souls and even saving some from death. Now she will be called upon to help the handsome widower Baron Garrick Maginnis of Castle Abergwynn find his missing son.

Morgana dreads this "lord of the north" because she's seen a vision of such a man bringing death. When the Baron comes to collect her and she is caught disobeying her father, her sire banishes her from Wenlock and gives her to the Baron (her father's liege lord), with the freedom to choose whom she will wed. Miserable, Morgana leaves her home but vowing to return and so the adventure begins.

There's treachery at Abergwynn and the man to whom Garrick would give Morgana—his cousin and a senior knight—is a man Morgana dreads.

You won't regret reading this one. It's a well told, captivating romance, a tale of love between the headstrong, noble girl and the bitter lord desperate to save his son even as greed and treachery swirl around them. I highly recommend it.

On Amazon

The Welsh trilogy:

Enchantress
Kiss Of The Moon
Outlaw