Review/Giveaway: Days of Sun and Glory (The King’s Greatest Enemy #2) by Anna Belfrage

Adam de Guirande has barely survived the aftermath of Roger Mortimer’s rebellion in 1321. When Mortimer manages to escape the Tower and flee to France, anyone who has ever served Mortimer becomes a potential traitor – at least in the eyes of King Edward II and his royal chancellor, Hugh Despenser. Adam must conduct a careful balancing act to keep himself and his family alive. Fortunately, he has two formidable allies: Queen Isabella and his wife, Kit. England late in 1323 is a place afflicted by fear. Now that the king’s greatest traitor, Roger Mortimer, has managed to evade royal justice, the king and his beloved Despenser see dissidents and rebels everywhere – among Mortimer’s former men, but also in the queen, Isabella of France.

Their suspicions are not unfounded. Tired of being relegated to the background by the king’s grasping favourite, Isabella has decided it is time to act – to safeguard her own position, but also that of her son, Edward of Windsor. As Adam de Guirande has pledged himself to Prince Edward he is automatically drawn into the queen’s plans – whether he likes it or not.

Yet again, Kit and Adam are forced to take part in a complicated game of intrigue and politics. Yet again, they risk their lives – and that of those they hold dear – as the king and Mortimer face off. Once again, England is plunged into war – and this time it will not end until either Despenser or Mortimer is dead.

Days of Sun and Glory is the second in Anna Belfrage’s series, The King’s Greatest Enemy, the story of a man torn apart by his loyalties to his lord, his king, and his wife.

Publication Date: July 4, 2016

Matador eBook & Paperback; 418 Pages 

Series: The King's Greatest Enemy 

Genre: Historical Fiction

       

*****

I don't think it's a big secret that I am a fan of Anna Belfrage and have been since reading her Graham Saga Series, so it only stands to reason that when she has a new book out I read it right away. Days of Sun and Glory is book two in her The King's Greatest Enemy series and she does a great job of recapping enough to make this book work as a standalone but I highly recommend starting with book one, it's a great series and starting from the beginning will just make the ride more enjoyable.

 Though Kit, Adam and the family are largely fictional characters the author has set them in a real historical place and time. Kit and Adam are a great couple, they are authentic and not immune to the times, they struggled with separation, jealousy, deception and heartache. The future was bleak and they were forced to live their lives not really knowing who they can and should trust while at the mercy of a King who wasn't ruling with a heart for his country but relying on advice from the wrong places.  Prince Edward was used as a pawn in his agenda as was his queen giving this story the added intrigue, suspense and adventure that made Days of Sun and Glory such a pleasure to read.

This isn't a small book coming in at almost 500 pages but it is the type of book that draws you in, making you care about the characters, what happens to them and sometimes even feeling (maybe a tad) sorry for the enemy. The author's passion for this time period is evident and shows in her knowledge of the era, taking the reader not just through the English countryside but also to France and even the coast of the Netherlands.  

Of course there was romance here, Anna know's how to do that right, some of those pages were just a sizzlin'.

Definitely a series I highly recommend.  Thank you to Amy at HFVBT for the invite to be part of this tour and to Anna Belfrage for a lovely print copy of this book (love the cover).

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a professional time-traveller. As such a profession does as yet not exists, she settled for second best and became a financial professional with two absorbing interests, namely history and writing.

These days, Anna combines an exciting day-job with a large family and her writing endeavours. When Anna fell in love with her future husband, she got Scotland as an extra, not because her husband is Scottish or has a predilection for kilts, but because his family fled Scotland due to religious persecution in the 17th century – and were related to the Stuarts.

For a history buff like Anna, these little details made Future Husband all the more desirable, and sparked a permanent interest in the Scottish Covenanters, which is how Matthew Graham, protagonist of the acclaimed The Graham Saga, began to take shape. Set in 17th century Scotland and Virginia/Maryland, the series tells the story of Matthew and Alex, two people who should never have met – not when she was born three hundred years after him. With this heady blend of romance, adventure, high drama and historical accuracy, Anna hopes to entertain and captivate, and is more than thrilled when readers tell her just how much they love her books and her characters. Presently, Anna is hard at work with her next project, a series set in the 1320s featuring Adam de Guirande, his wife Kit, and their adventures and misfortunes in connection with Roger Mortimer’s rise to power. The King’s Greatest Enemy is a series where passion and drama play out against a complex political situation, where today’s traitor may be tomorrow’s hero, and the Wheel of Life never stops rolling. The first installment in the Adam and Kit story, In the Shadow of the Storm, was published in 2015. The second book, Days of Sun and Glory, will be published in July 2016.

Other than on her website, www.annabelfrage.com, Anna can mostly be found on her blog, http://annabelfrage.wordpress.com – unless, of course, she is submerged in writing her next novel.

You can also connect with Anna on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

click on banner for more stops on this tour

Giveaway

To win a copy of Days of Sun & Glory by Anna Belfrage, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on September 29th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

  Days of Sun and Glory