Book Review: A Plethora of Phantoms (Spirited Encounters Book 2) by Penny Hampson

A Plethora of Phantoms 
(Spirited Encounters Book 2)
By Penny Hampson

Whose footsteps in the dark?

He is heir to the earldom of Batheaston and lives in an elegant, stately home, but handsome twenty-something Freddie Lanyon is not a happy man. Not only is he gay and dreading coming out to his family, but he’s also troubled by ghosts that nobody else can see.

When Freddie’s impulsive purchase of an antique dressing case triggers even more ghostly happenings with potentially catastrophic consequences, he has to take action.

Freddie contacts charismatic psychic Marcus Spender for help and feels an immediate attraction to this handsome antique dealer –– a feeling that is mutual. But the pair’s investigations unearth shocking, long-buried secrets, which prove a major challenge to their task of laying unhappy spirits to rest and to their blossoming relationship.

Being brave isn’t one of Freddie’s standout qualities, but he’ll need all the courage he can muster to rid himself of wayward phantoms and get his life on track.

A Plethora of Phantoms is an uplifting ghostly tale about love, friendship, and acceptance.

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Oh look, a nice quiet country-house story (in which the family estate comes with entirely too much history attached, unsettling visions, and a deeply inconvenient attraction to a man who keeps turning up precisely when things become alarming).

A Plethora of Phantoms is a warm, witty, and quietly haunting tale of identity, inheritance, and the rather persistent problem of the past refusing to stay where it belongs.

I went into this expecting something pleasantly familiar. You know the sort: old estate, slightly eccentric family, perhaps a few odd noises in the night that can eventually be explained away with a combination of draughts and imagination.

Instead, the book takes that expectation, gives it a polite nod, and then immediately introduces footsteps that absolutely should not be there.

Freddie Lanyon has returned to his family home to take on his responsibilities, which is already quite enough to be getting on with without the additional complication of things moving about when no one is looking and an increasing suspicion that he may not be alone in his own house.

This becomes rather more difficult to ignore when the disturbances begin to feel… personal.

Enter Marcus Spender, an antiques dealer with an interest in a particular dressing case and, somewhat inconveniently, in Freddie himself. As first meetings go, this one involves a great deal of mutual attraction, a healthy amount of suspicion, and the creeping sense that something is unfolding around them that neither of them entirely understands.

Which, as foundations for a relationship go, is perhaps not ideal.

Marcus, to his credit, approaches the situation with a mixture of curiosity, patience, and a willingness to stay involved even when events take a distinctly unnerving turn. Freddie, on the other hand, is attempting to manage an estate, a family, a haunting, and his own long-standing habit of not saying what he actually feels.

This proves challenging.

Most of the story follows Freddie as he tries to untangle a series of increasingly complicated problems: the identity of the ghost, the history attached to the house, and the small matter of his own deeply buried truths. Unfortunately for him, these issues are not separate.

They are, in fact, very much the same problem.

The more Freddie learns about the past, the clearer it becomes that this is not simply a matter of an inconvenient spirit. It is a matter of old secrets, unresolved grief, and a love story that ended badly and has been waiting, rather stubbornly, to be acknowledged.

Quite a long time, in fact.

Freddie spends much of the book attempting to make sense of things, which would be easier if the answers did not have a tendency to produce further questions. Usually at inconvenient moments. Often late at night.

Meanwhile, Marcus finds himself increasingly entangled in both the mystery and Freddie’s life, dealing with ghosts (literal), emotional repression (considerable), and the growing realisation that he is falling for someone who is, in several respects, more complicated than he initially appeared.

Again, not ideal.

Their relationship develops with a lovely mix of awkwardness, tenderness, and urgency. This is not a leisurely “we shall consider our feelings at a sensible pace” sort of romance. This is very much a “there is a ghost in the house, everything is escalating, and we may as well be honest about at least one thing” situation.

Which, under the circumstances, feels entirely reasonable.

The family dynamics are also a delight. The Lanyons are chaotic, affectionate, occasionally exasperating, and far more perceptive than Freddie gives them credit for. There is a great deal of warmth here, which balances the darker elements of the story beautifully.

And the haunting itself is handled particularly well. It is not simply there to be frightening (though it can be); it is there to be understood. The mystery unfolds gradually, revealing layers of history, emotion, and injustice that give the supernatural elements real weight.

Every revelation matters.

What I enjoyed most is how the story steadily expands. It begins with a house and a few strange occurrences, then becomes something deeper, stranger, and far more emotionally resonant. By the time everything comes together, the resolution feels earned rather than imposed.

And rather moving.

Inheritance, hidden histories, family secrets, a romance that refuses to wait for convenient timing, and a haunting that is as much about love as it is about fear.

What can I say? This one starts with footsteps in the night and ends with something altogether more meaningful.

I had a thoroughly lovely time with it.

You can grab your copy of this book over on Amazon. This book is available with #KindleUnlimited.

Penny Hampson

Penny Hampson writes mysteries, and because she has a passion for history, you’ll find her stories also reflect that. A Gentleman’s Promise, a traditional Regency romance, was Penny’s debut novel and the first of her Gentlemen Series. There are now four novels in the series, with the latest, An Adventurer’s Contract, released in November 2024. Penny also enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with a hint of the paranormal, because where do ghosts come from but the past? The Unquiet Spirit, a spooky mystery/romance set in Cornwall, is the first in the Spirited Encounters Series. Look out for A Plethora of Phantoms coming soon.

Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time).

If you’ve enjoyed any of Penny’s books please leave a review on Amazon, Bookbub, or Goodreads, and let other readers know!

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Book Review: All the King's Bastards: A Succession of Chaos by G. Lawrence

 

All the King's Bastards: A Succession of Chaos
 By G. Lawrence

What if one event could change the course of English history?

January 1536
England

The King is dead... but who will live long now?

A fateful accident upon the jousting field leaves Henry VIII dead, crushed to death under the weight of his horse. His country, already divided over faith and power, trembles on the brink of chaos as Anne Boleyn rises to become Regent, ruling for her children, for her daughter Elizabeth and for the child as yet unborn in her womb.

Yet the children of Anne Boleyn are not the only ones who may stake a claim to the succession. Heirs will rise, supported by families of power and wealth, all vying to place their heir upon the English throne.

As conflict and rebellion unfold, alliances will be made and broken. At court and in the streets of England this war will rage, deciding who has the right to rule England, and who has the will to see this fight through, to the end.

All the King's Bastards is book one of A Succession of Chaos by G. Lawrence.
This is a work of speculative historical fiction.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Oh look, a neat little alternate Tudor history (in which the king inconveniently dies mid-joust, the most controversial woman in England takes power, and absolutely everyone has opinions about it—many of them armed).

All the King’s Bastards is a sharp, compelling tale of power and perception, of legitimacy and survival, and of what happens when Anne Boleyn is no longer a scandal… but the one holding the kingdom together.

I went in expecting a familiar “what if” scenario. You know the sort: one historical divergence, a slightly reshuffled court, a few changed outcomes, and a gentle exploration of how things might have been.

Instead, the book takes the Henry VIII jousting accident, removes him from the board entirely, and then lets the consequences spiral in all directions at once.

Because it turns out that England without Henry is not calmer. It is not simpler.

It is, in fact, significantly more dangerous.

With Henry gone, Anne Boleyn steps into power as regent—and the shift is immediate. This is not the Anne defined by rumor, factional whispers, or hindsight. This is Anne as a political force, navigating a court that is deeply divided and not at all convinced she should be in charge.

As first days in office go, it’s less “ceremonial transition” and more “quietly assessing who might try to overthrow you before the week is out.”

Quite a long list, as it happens.

Because legitimacy is suddenly a very fragile thing. The question of succession—already complicated in Tudor England—becomes even more precarious when filtered through Anne’s position, her daughter, and the ever-watchful court.

Everyone has a stake. Everyone has a plan.

And very few of those plans align.

Most of the story follows the delicate (and often not-so-delicate) balancing act Anne must perform: maintaining authority, securing her daughter’s future, and managing a nobility that is, at best, uncertain and, at worst, actively hostile.

Every decision feels like it could tip the kingdom one way or another.

Often both at once.

What makes this particularly engaging is how the book leans into the tension between perception and reality. Anne is constantly being judged—not just for what she does, but for what people believe she represents.

And those beliefs are not easily changed.

Meanwhile, the court itself feels alive with intrigue. Alliances shift, loyalties bend, and every conversation carries an undercurrent of risk. There is a strong sense that history is being rewritten in real time, and that no one—not even Anne—is entirely certain how it will end.

Which keeps things delightfully tense.

There is also a personal edge to the story that grounds all the politics. Power here is not abstract; it is tied to identity, to motherhood, to survival. Anne’s position is not just precarious because of the crown—it is precarious because of everything she is in the eyes of those around her.

And that makes every victory feel hard-won.

What I enjoyed most is how the premise refuses to stay simple. It begins with a single divergence—Henry’s death—but quickly expands into a layered exploration of power, gender, legitimacy, and control.

Every choice matters. Every outcome has weight.

And just when it seems like the situation might stabilise, something shifts—reminding you that this version of England is still finding its footing.

Alternate history, court intrigue, dangerous politics, and a woman rewriting her place in a story that was never meant to let her win.

What can I say? This one starts with a fall from a horse and very quickly becomes a fight for a crown.

I had a great time with it.

You can grab your copy over on Amazon, and get this, it is free to read with #KindleUnlimited subscription.

G. Lawrence

I am an independently published author, and proud to be so. Living in a little cottage in Wales in the UK, I love where I live as much as I love to write.

The age of the Tudors has been an obsession for me since I was a child, and many of my upcoming books will centre on that time, but I also pen the odd dystopian fiction or historical fiction from other time periods. I will be releasing all my titles on amazon, for kindle, paper and hard back, and soon to come, audio books!

I studied Literature (with a capital L) at University and usually have twenty or more books I'm currently reading. Reading and writing are about mood for me, and I haven't found a genre I didn't enjoy something about so far...

I can often be found on social media, sharing my books and any interesting historical site I have managed to find that week, so come find me if that’s what you like to see!

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Book Review: The Scald Crow (Beyond the Faerie Rath Book 1) By Hanna Park

The Scald Crow
(Beyond the Faerie Rath Book 1) 
By Hanna Park

Calla left her life behind, haunted by a curse she cannot control. She seeks refuge in the land of a thousand hellos, Ireland, for a fresh start—a place where no one knows who or what she is.

Colm fled from Clonmara seven long years ago, but now it’s his father’s birthday, and the clan has gathered to celebrate the ould one. Each day brings back the memories that ruined him.

Saoirse dwells in the shadows of a lost love, unwilling to move on and unable to forget. The crystals say one thing, but the cold, hard truth tells another.

Ciarán walked away from the woman he loved for the fun, for the craic. He didn’t realize that one rash decision would impact the lives of so many, least of all his own.

Four broken hearts, brought together by the thread of love.

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Oh look, a nice quiet inheritance story (in which the inherited property comes with unsettling visions, fae politics, and a deeply inconvenient attraction to a man whose life you may or may not be about to complicate beyond repair).

The Scald Crow is a dark, sensual tale of identity and inheritance, of old magic stirring beneath modern life, and of one woman discovering that her past is rather more complicated than she had been led to believe.

I went into The Scald Crow expecting a fairly standard set-up. You know the sort: mysterious inheritance, trip to Ireland, a slightly crumbling property, perhaps a few secrets tucked away in dusty drawers.

Instead, the book takes one look at that expectation and immediately hands Calla a vision she very much did not ask for.

Calla Sweet arrives in Ireland to settle the estate of a man she barely knew, which would already be awkward enough without the small detail that she can apparently sense things she really ought not to be able to.

This becomes particularly noticeable when she meets Colm O’Donnell and very quickly realises that something is not quite right.

As first impressions go, it’s not ideal.

Colm, understandably, is not especially thrilled to discover that the woman he has just met may have some kind of unsettling insight into his family’s circumstances. On the other hand, he is also very much attracted to her, which complicates matters, as these things tend to do.

Because nothing says “promising romance” quite like mystery, tension, and the creeping suspicion that fate may have taken a rather personal interest in your life.

Most of the story follows Calla as she attempts to untangle her inheritance, her increasingly vivid visions, and her growing connection to Colm. Unfortunately for her, the more she learns, the clearer it becomes that this is not simply a matter of paperwork and property.

It is, in fact, a matter of old magic, hidden truths, and a number of people who know far more than they are willing to say.

Quite a number of people.

Calla spends much of the book trying to answer a series of increasingly complicated questions about who she is, where she belongs, and why everything seems to be happening now. And every time she gets close to an answer, something shifts.

Usually in a way that raises at least two further questions.

Meanwhile, Colm is dealing with his own set of difficulties, including family tensions, past losses, and the growing realisation that the woman he is falling for is not, strictly speaking, ordinary.

To his credit, he handles this with a mixture of concern, determination, and a willingness to carry on regardless, which is either very romantic or a triumph of questionable judgement depending on your perspective.

Possibly both.

Their relationship develops with considerable intensity. This is not a slow-burn “we shall talk about our feelings over several months” situation. This is very much a “we have met, something strange is happening, and we are going to lean into it immediately” arrangement.

Which works rather well, largely because neither of them is entirely in control of what is happening.

There is also a strong sense throughout the book that Ireland itself is watching. The folklore is not decorative; it is active, present, and occasionally unsettling. The world Calla has stepped into is one where old stories are not stories at all, but something much closer to reality.

And Calla is very much in the middle of it.

What I enjoyed most about the book is how the mystery continues to expand. It begins with a simple inheritance, then becomes something deeper, stranger, and rather more dangerous.

Every answer comes with consequences.

And just when it feels as though things might settle into something resembling clarity, the story shifts again, reminding you that this is only the beginning of something much larger.

Inheritance, folklore, hidden identities, intense attraction, and a heroine discovering she is far more entangled in everything than she ever expected.

What can I say? This one starts with a house and very quickly becomes something else entirely.

I had a great time with it.

You can grab your copy of this book over on Amazon.

Hanna Park

 `I began my writing career in the pre-dawn of a winter morning while my husband snored like a train. We could call my husband the catalyst. If it weren’t for him, I would never have gone to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, feed the cat, and sit on the loveseat in front of the fire. It was there, in those moments of wondrous quiet, that I did something I had never thought possible. I opened my laptop, and while the coffee went cold, I wrote a story. My husband had no idea that these sojourns to the loveseat in front of the fire would become a daily occurrence, that writing would become an obsession, but the cat knew. She knows everything.

I write stories that make you laugh, make you cry, and make you love. Thank you, friends, for reading!

In the beginning, there was an empty page.

I am a writer who lives in Muskoka, Canada, with a husband who snores, a hungry cat, and an almost perfect canine––he’s an adorable little shit.

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Book Review: The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven (The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy) by Jennifer Ivy Walker

The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven
(The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy)
By Jennifer Ivy Walker

In this paranormal fantasy adaptation of the medieval legend of Tristan and Isolde, the rightful heir to the Irish crown must flee the wicked queen, finding shelter with a fairy witch who teaches her the verdant magic of the forest. Fate leads Issylte to the otherworldly realm of the Lady of the Lake and the Elves of Avalon, where she must choose between her life as a Celtic healer or fight to save her ravaged kingdom from the ruthless Black Widow Queen.

Tristan of Lyonesse is a Knight of King Arthur's Round Table who must overcome the horrors of his traumatic past and defend his kingdom of Cornwall against a Viking invasion from Ireland. When he becomes a warrior of the Tribe of Dana, a gift of Druidic magic might hold the key he seeks.

Two parallel lives, interwoven by fate. Haunted and hunted by the same Black Widow Queen.

Can their passion and power prevail?

I picked up The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven expecting the Tristan and Issylte story. You know the one. Tragic. Legendary. Slightly doomed from the outset. I was prepared for noble suffering, dramatic longing, and at least one emotionally devastating misunderstanding involving a boat.

Reader, the author looked at that expectation… and quietly handed me Ronan instead.

And honestly? I’m not even mad about it.

Because when Ronan arrives, he does not gently ease into the narrative like a polite secondary love interest waiting his turn.

He takes one look at the story, picks up a hammer, and rebuilds it entirely around himself.

Move over, Legolas.

No, really — pack up the arrows, we’ve got a new elf in charge.

Instead of the distant, untouchable, slightly aloof elf we might expect, Ronan is gloriously present. He’s in the forge, muscles working, skin glistening, crafting weapons with a level of competence that feels almost aggressively attractive .

But then — and this is where the book really gets you — he turns around and is gentle.

He cares for animals. He builds a home. He creates warmth. Stability. Safety.

And for Issylte, that matters more than anything.

Because while the wider world is busy being an absolute nightmare — political betrayal, loss, war, and a stepmother who continues to radiate pure menace — Ronan becomes something rare: a place where she can rest. Where she can heal. Where she can imagine a future that isn’t defined entirely by survival .

At some point, I realised something slightly alarming.

I didn’t just like Ronan.

I wanted him to be Tristan.

Which feels mildly treasonous, given the whole legendary romance situation — but here we are. And when Tristan did turn up, all noble and heroic and very much the man I was expecting to root for, I found myself thinking… oh. You’re still here.

Worse, I wanted to snub him.

Not dramatically. Not rudely. Just… quietly redirect the narrative back to Ronan, who was busy being emotionally supportive, domestically competent, and generally superior in every way that matters to my reading experience.

It’s not that Tristan isn’t compelling. He absolutely is.

It’s just that Ronan raises the bar to a frankly unreasonable height.

The relationship between Issylte and Ronan is intense in that immersive, slightly overwhelming way — full of comfort, passion, and the quiet sense that this happiness has been hard-won. It’s not effortless. It’s not perfect. But it feels real.

And that makes it hit harder.

Because the world outside his cottage is still falling apart.

There’s suffering everywhere. War creeping closer. A kingdom under threat. And through it all, Ronan stands steady — not as some flawless saviour, but as someone who chooses, again and again, to protect, to build, to love.

What I loved most is that he isn’t just “the elf love interest.”

He has his own craft. His own purpose. His own life. He’s forging weapons, running a thriving trade, caring for those around him, and somehow still finding time to be romantically devastating.

It’s frankly a bit unfair on everyone else.

By the end, I was completely invested — not in the story I thought I was getting, but in the one the author actually gave me. One where Ronan quietly, stubbornly becomes the emotional centre of it all.

Naturally, I had a great time.

Five stars — and a respectful but firm reshuffling of the fantasy elf rankings.

Jennifer Ivy Walker

Jennifer Ivy Walker is an award-winning author of medieval Celtic, Nordic, and paranormal romance, as well as contemporary romance, historical fantasy, and WWII romantic suspense.

A former high school teacher and college professor of French with an MA in French literature, her novels encompass a love for French language, literature, history, and culture, including Celtic myths and legends, Norse mythology, Viking sagas, and Nordic lore.

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Audiobookclub - Listen of the month - Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Wolf Hall 

By Hilary Mantel 

Narrated by Simon Slater 

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor.

Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.

From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.

I went into Wolf Hall feeling fairly confident.

I knew the broad strokes of the story. Henry VIII wants a divorce. Anne Boleyn is waiting in the wings. Thomas More is sharpening his moral objections. Someone, somewhere, is going to lose their head eventually. History class had, I assumed, prepared me.

Reader, the book laughed at that idea.

Instead of politely presenting the Tudors in a tidy historical line-up, Hilary Mantel drops you directly into the mind of Thomas Cromwell — a man who begins the story being beaten so badly by his father that you immediately understand two things:

1. This is not going to be a gentle historical stroll.

2. Cromwell is going to survive absolutely everything (at least for the time being).

And survive he does.

The audiobook throws you straight into Cromwell’s world of politics, grief, calculation, loyalty, and the constant background hum of “one wrong word could ruin absolutely everything.” The Tudor court is less a royal household and more a very expensive pressure cooker.

Cromwell moves through it all with the calm competence of someone who understands that information is power, silence is also power, and occasionally the most powerful thing of all is simply letting someone else underestimate you.

Which people do. A lot.

One of the great joys of the book is watching powerful men repeatedly assume Cromwell is just a slightly mysterious fixer with a talent for paperwork. Meanwhile Cromwell is quietly assembling alliances, remembering every insult ever delivered in a corridor, and building a political network that could probably hold up Westminster.

Naturally, none of this is relaxing.

Cardinal Wolsey — Cromwell’s mentor and the closest thing he has to a father figure — falls from power spectacularly early on, which sets the emotional tone for the entire story. Cromwell’s loyalty to Wolsey becomes this quiet engine driving much of what follows. It’s grief, but the very practical Tudor version of grief that says: right, I will honour your memory by absolutely dismantling everyone who humiliated you.

Very healthy coping strategy.

The court itself is full of familiar historical figures, but Mantel gives them a startling amount of life. Henry VIII is charming, dangerous, impulsive, and extremely aware that everyone around him wants something. Thomas More is brilliant, devout, and — depending on your perspective — either morally heroic or deeply exhausting.

Anne Boleyn drifts in and out of the story like a political storm cloud everyone pretends not to notice yet.

And Cromwell stands in the middle of it all, watching.

What makes the audiobook especially brilliant is how conversational the narration feels despite the political complexity. The dialogue crackles with wit and threat in equal measure. A dinner conversation can turn into a philosophical debate, a veiled insult, or the first step toward someone’s complete destruction.

Sometimes all three.

What I loved most is that Cromwell is not presented as a straightforward hero. He’s pragmatic, observant, occasionally ruthless, and very good at reading the emotional temperature of a room. He cares deeply about the people in his household, remembers the brutal poverty of his childhood, and never quite forgets that the system he’s navigating can destroy anyone — including him.

Which makes every success feel slightly precarious.

Because in Tudor England, power isn’t something you possess.

It’s something you borrow from the king.

And the king changes his mind a lot.

By the end of the audiobook I was equal parts impressed, fascinated, and mildly suspicious that I had somehow spent fifteen hours rooting enthusiastically for a man who might quietly reorganise the entire government while smiling politely at dinner.

Five stars — and a renewed appreciation for the fact that my workplace politics do not currently involve the possibility of execution. 

This book is well worth reading, or listening to. You can find it on Amazon

 Next Months audiobook is The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin.

If you would like to join our audio book club drop me a line!

Rogues & Kings (Tales of Robin Hood) by Charlene Newcomb

Rogues & Kings

(Tales of Robin Hood)

By Charlene Newcomb

Deadly secrets. Hidden identities. A true enemy.

Silence is the only shield.

The year is 1216 and civil war rages in England. King John ravages the countryside against rebellious barons and a French invasion. Unbeknownst to him, his newest squire, Richard, is in fact the son of a man the king would hang without a second thought. A man the common folk call Robin Hood.

For years, Robin has lived as a knight in exile. But when his son is ensnared in the treachery of the royal court, Robin is forced out of the shadows, aided by his outlaw friends in the Hood.

There is no question for Richard where his loyalties lie but it’s more than his own life at risk. He has the trust of a dangerous king. Can he serve the Hood better from within John’s inner circle, or will schemes against the crown unravel? 

Rob from the rich, give to the poor takes on a whole new meaning.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Oh look, another Robin Hood book (in which Sherwood Forest is largely abandoned in favour of King John’s court, proving that politics is actually more dangerous than banditry)

Rogues & Kings is a sweeping tale of courage and betrayal in a kingdom on the edge of ruin, of a boy coming of age in the midst of war, and of legends being born.

I went into Rogues and Kings expecting a fairly traditional Robin Hood story. You know the sort: Sherwood Forest, clever ambushes, arrows flying through the air, and the Sheriff of Nottingham having a very bad day.

Reader, the book promptly marched me straight into King John’s court instead.

And it turns out the royal court is significantly more dangerous than the forest, largely because everyone is wearing silk, smiling politely, and plotting something.

Most of the story follows Richard, a young squire trying to survive life among the king’s household. Unfortunately for him, being a squire involves a lot of training, a lot of watching your back, and a lot of dealing with other squires who are absolutely convinced they are destined for greatness.

Godfrey, for example, has clearly decided he is already halfway to legendary knighthood and is simply waiting for the paperwork to catch up. His main hobby seems to be reminding everyone else how much better he is than them. It’s the kind of confidence that makes you suspect gravity may eventually intervene.

Richard, meanwhile, is trying to prove himself in a court where reputation matters almost as much as skill. Which would already be complicated enough if not for one small problem.

He is pretending to be Richard le Grand, son of Sir John le Grand.

Sir John le Grand being, of course, Little John.

This arrangement exists for a very sensible reason: Richard’s real father is Robin Hood, and if King John were to discover that little detail the reaction would be… energetic. The sort of energetic that involves guards, shouting, and Richard very suddenly reconsidering his career choices.

Robin himself would actually prefer his son to be absolutely nowhere near the royal court. Richard, however, has decided that since he is already there he might as well make himself useful and spy for the Hood. Parents everywhere will recognise this moment — that magical stage where your child is absolutely convinced they know everything. Give it a few years and by twenty-one they’ll be even more certain… while you quietly wonder how you raised someone who now explains the world back to you.

Meanwhile Robin moves quietly around the edges of the story in disguise, appearing where he’s needed and disappearing again before anyone inconvenient recognises him. It’s a slightly older, more cautious Robin than the carefree outlaw of ballads — though he’s still surrounded by people who are very good at causing trouble.

Particularly Allan.

Allan clearly believes that if one is going to use a disguise, one should commit fully to the performance.This philosophy eventually results in him appearing as a bishop, which is already an ambitious life choice before you remember he is technically an outlaw, and a known one for that.

Allan throws himself into the role of Bishop Allan with impressive confidence — which is slightly worrying when people begin expecting the bishop to perform actual bishop-type duties, like giving the last rites. He’s very much one of those characters whose friends take one look at him and think, oh no… what is he up to now?

What I enjoyed most about the book is the constant tension of the setting. Court life means alliances, rivalries, and a great many people trying to work out who they can trust. Richard is trying to prove himself as a squire, avoid Godfrey’s ego, and quietly gather information — all while hoping nobody asks awkward questions about his family.

Because pretending to be the son of a respectable knight is manageable.

Pretending you are not the son of Robin Hood while serving King John is a slightly more delicate operation.

It makes for a story that mixes court intrigue, rivalry, and the occasional piece of extremely creative problem solving. And it’s great fun watching the pieces slowly move toward the moment when someone inevitably notices something is not quite right.

Squires, spies, disguises, court politics, and at least one extremely committed bishop impersonation — what can I say? I had a great time with this one.

***

This book is a fabulous frolic and is a brilliant new take on an old legend. This book is available on Amazon. And get this, it is free to read with #KindleUnlimited subscription.

Charlene Newcomb

Charlene Newcomb, aka Char, is a retired librarian, a U.S. Navy veteran, mom to three amazing humans, and grandma to three. She writes historical fiction and science fiction.

Her award-winning Battle Scars trilogy is set in the 12th century during the reign of Richard the Lionheart. Her writing roots are in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (aka Legends) where she published 10 short stories in the Star Wars Adventure Journal, and published the original novel Echoes of the Storm.

Char returned to medieval times with Rogue and her latest novel Rogues & Kings, both in her Tales of Robin Hood series.

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