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Clash at Sea #1.5
Alain & The Duke
Alain Tristan du Montbron, the 2nd Son of the Marquis d' Sevigne-Chambord, is in a hell of a lot of trouble. After spending a blissful night in the arms of his lover, the Duke of Atelier, he is on his way home when he is picked up by the king's forces. In his pockets the soldiers find evidence pegging him a spy in the ongoing clash between the king's forces and the Resistance that could lead him to the gallows. With his life on the line, Alain is forced to choose between keeping his visit and ultimately his relationship with the duke a secret or coming clean and incriminating them both to save himself. Will his love for the duke and loyalty to the man who stole his heart lead him to make the ultimate sacrifice leaving the duke to wonder what happened to his lover? Or will he redeem himself in this short novella by AE Kendall from the critically acclaimed Clash at Sea series.
85 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2016
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 12, 2025
A really enjoyable and interesting experience, I found it was brilliant and I couldn't put it down until I finished it 😀
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2016
I loved this sequel! I couldn't put it down!
We first heard of Alain as the idolized, misunderstood, exiled older brother of Michel, the sexy protagonist in AE Kendall's first amazing novel, The Quartermaster & the Marquis' Son. But even then, we just knew there was something more to Alain's story than what innocent and naive Michel believed of his brother.
And finally, in this novella, AE Kendall reveals to us the true Alain...
Alain Tristan du Montbron is beautiful, brave, passionate and desperately in love. It is when he is captured on his way home, after a day and night spent in his lover, the Duke's, arms, and accused of being a spy for the French Resistance, that we realize the true depth of his love. But will it be deep enough to keep him from confessing under torture to the handsome Commander of the King's Men that the only guilt he carries is love for another man? Or will he hang as a spy and make the ultimate sacrifice by taking this secret to his grave?
AE Kendall has the special gift of bringing her characters to life for the reader...where you feel their pain and confusion as if it were your own.
This Novella can be read as a stand alone but will leave you dying to read Kendall's first novel just to know the story behind the du Montbron brothers and how far they will go for the love of their men.
We first heard of Alain as the idolized, misunderstood, exiled older brother of Michel, the sexy protagonist in AE Kendall's first amazing novel, The Quartermaster & the Marquis' Son. But even then, we just knew there was something more to Alain's story than what innocent and naive Michel believed of his brother.
And finally, in this novella, AE Kendall reveals to us the true Alain...
Alain Tristan du Montbron is beautiful, brave, passionate and desperately in love. It is when he is captured on his way home, after a day and night spent in his lover, the Duke's, arms, and accused of being a spy for the French Resistance, that we realize the true depth of his love. But will it be deep enough to keep him from confessing under torture to the handsome Commander of the King's Men that the only guilt he carries is love for another man? Or will he hang as a spy and make the ultimate sacrifice by taking this secret to his grave?
AE Kendall has the special gift of bringing her characters to life for the reader...where you feel their pain and confusion as if it were your own.
This Novella can be read as a stand alone but will leave you dying to read Kendall's first novel just to know the story behind the du Montbron brothers and how far they will go for the love of their men.
October 27, 2016
(Originally reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews.)
Alain & The Duke is what I had hoped that The Quartermaster & The Marquis’ Son would be. I really enjoyed this short novella and the characters portrayed.
In this novella, we are given the background on the second son of the Marquis d’ Sevigne-Chambord, the older brother of Michel from the first book above. We briefly met Alain at the beginning of that prior book, and learned of his father’s displeasure with his sordid affair with the Duke of Atelier, the King’s younger brother.
In this story, Alain is captured while on his way home from the Duke’s estate to Alain’s father’s estate. Suspected of being a spy, he cannot tell the soldiers the truth and risk implicating his lover Augustin. Punishment for sodomy at this time was death, so Alain needed to keep it secret. I was moved by the character of Alain and his willingness to die to protect his love.
I also enjoyed in a round-about way the characters of Roget and Etienne. I would really like to see more of their story in the future. And I’d really like to know what happened between this story and the beginning of the prior book. For example, how did the Duke feel about Alain being shipped off to Jamaica?
I really liked this one. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in a short fast read about the French nobility and the issues they faced for being gay.
Alain & The Duke is what I had hoped that The Quartermaster & The Marquis’ Son would be. I really enjoyed this short novella and the characters portrayed.
In this novella, we are given the background on the second son of the Marquis d’ Sevigne-Chambord, the older brother of Michel from the first book above. We briefly met Alain at the beginning of that prior book, and learned of his father’s displeasure with his sordid affair with the Duke of Atelier, the King’s younger brother.
In this story, Alain is captured while on his way home from the Duke’s estate to Alain’s father’s estate. Suspected of being a spy, he cannot tell the soldiers the truth and risk implicating his lover Augustin. Punishment for sodomy at this time was death, so Alain needed to keep it secret. I was moved by the character of Alain and his willingness to die to protect his love.
I also enjoyed in a round-about way the characters of Roget and Etienne. I would really like to see more of their story in the future. And I’d really like to know what happened between this story and the beginning of the prior book. For example, how did the Duke feel about Alain being shipped off to Jamaica?
I really liked this one. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone interested in a short fast read about the French nobility and the issues they faced for being gay.
December 10, 2016
Perfect Segue to a Spirited Adventure
I'm not quite sure if you should read this before or after "The Quartermaster and the Marquis' Son" because it might spoil you for whatever comes in the third book--which has not been released yet.
This one takes us into the affair Alain, brother of Michel (the quartermaster's lover), was apparently having when their suspicious and vicious father banished Alain to Jamaica early in the big book.
As it turns out, Daddy was correct, but this one takes shape in a totally unexpected--and quite brutal--way when Alain is captured as a suspected spy after a secret assignation with his lover, the brother of the King of France. What happens is frightening and almost depressing, but a totally out of the blue episode turns this one on its head. It was a surprise at how the torture stopped but more of a surprise at how the matter was resolved--who was involved, who is involver with whom, and whomever there is who will make it right.
Mysterious enough for you? There are some characters here I hope to see again.
I'm not quite sure if you should read this before or after "The Quartermaster and the Marquis' Son" because it might spoil you for whatever comes in the third book--which has not been released yet.
This one takes us into the affair Alain, brother of Michel (the quartermaster's lover), was apparently having when their suspicious and vicious father banished Alain to Jamaica early in the big book.
As it turns out, Daddy was correct, but this one takes shape in a totally unexpected--and quite brutal--way when Alain is captured as a suspected spy after a secret assignation with his lover, the brother of the King of France. What happens is frightening and almost depressing, but a totally out of the blue episode turns this one on its head. It was a surprise at how the torture stopped but more of a surprise at how the matter was resolved--who was involved, who is involver with whom, and whomever there is who will make it right.
Mysterious enough for you? There are some characters here I hope to see again.
April 10, 2016
I was given this book for an honest review:
This was a great story. I couldn't put it down. It actually answered the questions I had about Alain. It also was written very well and the chemistry he and the Duke have is wonderful. You can feel the connection they have towards each other. They can only be together in secret and be passionate and loving there, because they're love is forbidden. It's both happy and sad, because they can't shout out their feelings for one another.
Alain is true to his love. When faced by soilders being mistaken for a spy. Alain is beaten, questioned and shown evidence that belongs to the Duke, but not once did he tell the truth about the affair he and his lover keep between them. Alain would do anything for the main he loves.
I would enjoy seeing more of Alain and the Duke in any future books in the series. This was such a great short read.
June 14, 2016
This book was really sweet. I'm sure we all have had a lover we'd be willing to die for.
November 16, 2016
Alain & the Duke a short story about Michel's brother Alain who was in Jamaica. This appears to be before Michel and Galen's story it seems.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews