The King's Man by Alison Stuart - Blog Tour + Review and Giveaway

The King’s Man

by Alison Stuart

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GENRE: Historical Romance

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BLURB:

London 1654: Kit Lovell is one of the King’s men, a disillusioned Royalist who passes his time cheating at cards, living off his wealthy and attractive mistress, and plotting the death of Oliver Cromwell.

Penniless and friendless, Thamsine Granville has lost everything. Terrified, in pain, and alone, she hurls a piece of brick at the coach of Oliver Cromwell, and earns herself an immediate death sentence. Only the quick thinking of a stranger saves her.

Far from the bored, benevolent rescuer that he seems, Kit plunges Thamsine into his world of espionage and betrayal – a world that has no room for falling in love.

Torn between Thamsine and loyalty to his master and King, Kit’s carefully constructed web of lies begins to unravel. He must make one last desperate gamble – the cost of which might be his life.

 

Janet Greaves Review:

This is absolutely a 5+ Star book! If you are a history buff and a romantic, you will love this book! I was so taken by this story and could not put it down.  We are met by a young woman who is down on her luck and during a convoy she throws a brickbrat at the coach of Oliver Cromwell, the leader of this village. Just after throwing the brickbrat, she is grabbed from the crowd and thrust down an alley. Her savior kisses her as people pass by them to avoid her being seen. She does not want his help and he departs. Thamsine is so downtrodden and does not have a penny to her name, she feels the only means of occupation left for her is to offer her body. A burly man takes her offer but he’s harsh and beats her, however, once again her savior comes to her aid. This time she does not refuse his help and he offers her at least to take him up on the offer of a warm meal.  He takes her to a local pub and Inn and there he asks his friends to help her and offer her employment.

The twin sister Nan and Meg take her under their wing and she takes on the duties of bar maid and soon begins singing for the pub. Kit Lovell, the savior of Thamsine is not really a gambler, but is actually working for the king. Betraying his friends and Thamsine, he turns them in which also lands himself in prison at the London Tower. However, during his time in prison he frets about Thamsine and asks the leader to let her go even though she has admitted her guilt. He decides to take Kit on his offer and comes up with a plan for the beautiful Thamsine and her lovely musical talents. He wants to learn more about the French goings on and so offers her employment teaching music to a French family. Her being fluent in French, he asks her to play dumb and pretend she does not understand French and therefore spy on him. Seeing as her only other alternative is to spend the next several years in prison, she takes him up on his offer. Soon she begins to learn the underminings and sneakiness of the French and gathers her information. Also, her feelings and love for Kit Lovell being to grow and he too begins to fall for her.. but what will happen when she finds out that it was he who betrayed her and turned her over to the officials? Will she be able to forgive him?

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it to any history buff!

 

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Excerpt:

1 (Thamsine)

Thamsine Granville had not begun the day with the intention of killing Oliver Cromwell.

Around her a jovial crowd pressed against the barricades, determined to enjoy the spectacle of the Lord Protector’s ride in state to dine with the Lord Mayor of London. But from across the road, he had seen her. A triumphant smile crossed his handsome face and he raised his hand to his hat, doffing it as he bowed. She saw him mouth her name and push his way towards the barricade. Thamsine swallowed, her mouth dry with fear. She only had a few moments to make good her escape, but the press of people to her rear hemmed her in, pushing her toward the barriers.

The bells of London, silenced for so many years, rang out, and above her the flags of the City Guilds flapped in the chill wind. A roar went up from the crowd as the coach bearing Cromwell approached.

From where she stood she could see the Lord Protector, clad in a reddish-coloured suit embroidered with gold. He inclined his head to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd with all the aplomb of a man born to such a station. She could see no trace of the simple farmer he had once professed to be. Thamsine’s heart beat a rapid tattoo. Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, the false King, was about to become Thamsine Granville’s personal protector.

She stooped and gathered up the broken piece of brick at her feet.

Oblivious to his fate, Cromwell smiled, his right hand raised in a parody of benediction as if forgiving them their sins. At the sight of his face, solid and pudding-like, framed by the open

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

 

Award winning Australian author, Alison Stuart learned her passion from history from her father. She has been writing stories since her teenage years but it was not until 2007 that her first full length novel was published. Alison has now published 6 full length historical romances and a collection of her short stories.  Her disposition for writing about soldier heroes may come from her varied career as a lawyer in the military and fire services. These days when she is not writing she is travelling and routinely drags her long suffering husband around battlefields and castles.

 

BUY LINKS

Kindle:  US Store:  http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Man-Guardians-Crown-Book-ebook/dp/B013AI1HVE

iBooks:  https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-kings-man/id1024910529

For all other BUY links:  http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/product/9781760378141

 

Links

Website:  http://www.alisonstuart.com

Blogs:  www.alisonstuart.blogspot.com         

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/AlisonStuartWriter

Twitter:  @AlisonStuart14  https://twitter.com/AlisonStuart14

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4636079.Alison_Stuart

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Alison will be awarding a Kindle, 6" Glare-Free Touchscreen Display, Wi-Fi to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host. Additionally, Goddess Fish Productions will be awarding a $5 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn host.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0d923dde5/