The Queen’s Guard: Peony
Winter, 1147, this is the second book in The Queen’s Guard series, and as the blurb says: “follows the fortune of Lady Catherine le Rochefort who was welcomed into Queen Eleanor’s guard after escaping a deadly encounter.”
King Louis of France is determined to recapture Edessa, and Queen Eleanor waits with her guard and retinue in Nicaea for him to decide which route the caravan should take to Antioch. Louis mistrusts Eleanor and asks his friend, Lord Payen de Montfer, to infiltrate the guard. He tries to ignore Catherine, while she tries to protect her secret from the observant man.
This was a gutsy read, with a decent pace and interesting characters. Not being well-versed with the period I could not say how accurate the historical side was portrayed, but as an adventure romp this would probably appeal to readers who appreciate this period.
I did feel the ending was a little abrupt, but as this is a series, I assume there is more story to come?
