Friday 10 May 2019

BLOG TOUR: De Bohun's Destiny (The Meonbridge Chronicles Book 3) - Carolyn Hughes


I love historical fiction, especially when it is written with such spirit and vivacity as Carolyn Hughes' Meonbridge Chronicles.  De Bohun's Destiny is the third book in the series and, although it could be read as a standalone, please do read the whole series to experience the 14th Century through Carolyn Hughes' stunning wordsmithery (if that's even a word).  For the blog tour, I'm releasing my review but there's also a fabulous giveaway to win a £15/$15/€15 Amazon gift voucher to spend on books (or heaven forbid, something else) of your choice - scroll down to enter!


How can you uphold a lie when you know it might destroy your family?
It is 1356, seven years since the Black Death ravaged Meonbridge, turning society upside down. Margaret, Lady de Bohun, is horrified when her husband lies about their grandson Dickon’s entitlement to inherit Meonbridge. She knows that Richard lied for the very best of reasons – to safeguard his family and its future – but lying is a sin. Yet she has no option but to maintain her husband’s falsehood... 
Margaret’s companion, Matilda Fletcher, decides that the truth about young Dickon’s birth really must be told, if only to Thorkell Boune, the man she’s set her heart on winning. But Matilda’s “honesty” serves only her own interests, and she’s oblivious to the potential for disaster.
For Thorkell won’t scruple to pursue exactly what he wants, by whatever means are necessary, no matter who or what gets in his way…


What did I think?

Carolyn Hughes writes outstanding historical fiction and I enjoyed reading every single word of De Bohun's Destiny, her latest novel in The Meonbridge Chronices.  The 14th Century has never been brought to life so vividly in literature and I urge all readers of historical fiction to pick up this series and be as hooked on Meonbridge as I am.

There are some very strong female characters in the Meonbridge Chronicles but I really noticed their impact and strength in De Bohun's Destiny.  With Meonbridge still recovering from the Black Death, whole families have been wiped out and women have been left without husbands.  Following Sir Philip's untimely death and that of his unborn child, the De Bohun legacy is at stake leaving his parents without an heir.  Their daughter, Johanna, has entered a convent and renounced her inheritance, leaving only Dickon, the illegitimate son of Philip de Bohun and Agnes atte Wode with De Bohun blood running through his veins.  As with any inheritance, there is always someone hidden in the wings to contest it and Sir Richard De Bohun's cousin, Morys Boune, is just the man to do that; or at least his wicked and greedy younger son, Thorkell, is.

Thorkell Boune is definitely the villain of the piece as he woos Matilda Fletcher in order to obtain information about Sir Richard and Dickon.  Despite the charity shown to her by Lady Margaret de Bohun, Matilda has dreams of becoming lady of Meonbridge and Thorkell exploits her weakness and propensity to gossip.  It would be easy to dislike Matilda but I found her quite amusing as she just didn't think things through properly and couldn't see the potential effect of her actions.  

Although it's historical fiction, De Bohun's Destiny reads like a thriller filled with backstabbing, murder, secrets and lies.  Historical fiction is renowned for being slightly dry and I tend to read it a lot slower than other genres but not this one!  I whizzed through it as I was completely riveted and found it fast-paced and thrilling.  Carolyn Hughes is such a talented writer to take dry and dusty history and make it vivid and exciting.

I also have to give a shout out to the cast of characters at the start of the book and also to the manageable number of characters introduced in the book.  Sometimes it's overwhelming when too many characters appear but Carolyn Hughes balances her cast perfectly.  I've read the previous books so I know who a lot of the characters are, but the cast of characters is invaluable to any new readers picking up a book mid-series, which you certainly could do with De Bohun's Destiny, but the first two books are fantastic so you should definitely read them all.

With her stunning evocative writing it feels like Carolyn Hughes has opened a time-portal into the 14th Century, so jump right it and enjoy your visit; I certainly did.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:


Buy it from Amazon UK
Buy it from Amazon US



About the author:
CAROLYN HUGHES was born in London, but has lived most of her life in Hampshire. After completing a degree in Classics and English, she started her working life as a computer programmer, in those days a very new profession. But it was when she discovered technical authoring that she knew she had found her vocation. She spent the next few decades writing and editing all sorts of material, some fascinating, some dull, for a wide variety of clients, including an international hotel group, medical instrument manufacturers and the government.

She has written creatively for most of her adult life, but it was not until her children grew up and flew the nest several years ago that writing historical fiction took centre stage in her life. She has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.

De Bohun’s Destiny is the third novel in the MEONBRIDGE CHRONICLES series. A fourth novel is under way.

You can connect with Carolyn through her website www.carolynhughesauthor.com and social media:

Facebook: CarolynHughesAuthor; Twitter: @writingcalliope; Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2hs2rrX




Giveaway


Giveaway to Win a $15 / £15 / €15 Amazon Gift Card (Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.


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