Review & Giveaway: Promised to the Crown (Daughters of New France, Book One) by Aimie K. Runyan

Bound for a new continent, and a new beginning.

In her illuminating debut novel, Aimie K. Runyan masterfully blends fact and fiction to explore the founding of New France through the experiences of three young women who, in 1667, answer Louis XIV’s call and journey to the Canadian colony. They are known as the filles du roi, or “King’s Daughters”—young women who leave prosperous France for an uncertain future across the Atlantic. Their duty is to marry and bring forth a new generation of loyal citizens.

 Each prospective bride has her reason for leaving—poverty, family rejection, a broken engagement. Despite their different backgrounds, Rose, Nicole, and Elisabeth all believe that marriage to a stranger is their best, perhaps only, chance of happiness. Once in Quebec, Elisabeth quickly accepts baker Gilbert Beaumont, who wants a business partner as well as a wife. Nicole, a farmer’s daughter from Rouen, marries a charming officer who promises comfort and security. Scarred by her traumatic past, Rose decides to take holy vows rather than marry. Yet no matter how carefully she chooses, each will be tested by hardship and heartbreaking loss—and sustained by the strength found in their uncommon friendship, and the precarious freedom offered by their new home.

“An engaging, engrossing debut.”—Greer Macallister, USA Today bestselling author of The Magician’s Lie

“An absorbing adventure with heart.”—Jennifer Laam, author of The Secret Daughter of the Tsar

Publication Date: April 26, 2016

Kensington

Paperback & eBook; 352 Pages

Series: Daughters of New France

Genre: Historical Fiction

****

I am happy to be part of this tour of Promised to the Crown.  Being Canadian I am always on the lookout for historical fiction taking place in this beautiful country.  It's sometimes hard to find and this being the first in series means more to come.  This is Aimie K. Runyan's debut and I feel she is off to a really good start.  

Following the lives of 3 young women, Elizabeth, Nicole and Rose, all with different backgrounds and various reasons for going to Canada.  The author kept my attention throughout this book, she didn't sugar coat the crossing or the struggles these women faces in making decisions.  It wasn't hard to get to know them, feel their plight and sympathize with what life throws at them.

I found this book to be character driven and it would have been nice to learn more about the culture, lifestyle and see more interaction with the natives.  But then again this is the first in series so we'll see what comes next.  I still ended up giving this book 4 stars, being captivated in this story it was hard to put down and I am interested in the next chapter.

One of the things that stood out for me was the author's passion and desire to share this time period. Love author's notes!

"My purpose is not to depict these women as angels.  They were not.  They were real women with struggles, aspirations, and fears, who had the remarkable opportunity to help found a nation.  If they had a common virtue, it was bravery.  They left a prosperous, flourishing France, sacrificing all they had, with little chance of return, in order to marry strangers and raise families on a foreign and often dangerous frontier."

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Aimie K. Runyan, member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and Women's Fiction Writers Association, has been an avid student of French and Francophone Studies for more than fifteen years. While working on her Master's thesis on the brave women who helped found French Canada, she was fortunate enough to win a generous grant from the Quebec government to study onsite for three months which enabled the detailed research necessary for her work. Aimie lives in Colorado with her husband and two children.

 For more information please visit Aimie's website.

 You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

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Giveaway

Two copies of Promised to the Crown by Aimie K. Runyan are up for grabs!

To enter, please use the GLEAM form below.

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  Promised to the Crown