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Semper Fidelis: "For Fraunceys, Viscounte Lovell..."
The rebellions have been quashed.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, basking in the approval of the king for proving his steadfast loyalty and courage in battle, has been heaped with rewards and titles. As his star rises, Francis finds himself drawn closer into the family fold as, with Warwick dead, King Edward places him in the home of his own sister Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk. With Caitlin Desmond and her children closeted away in Pontefract Castle, a battle for supremacy amongst the king’s brothers is about to begin. Richard is determined to marry Warwick’s daughter Anne, their childhood friend and a woman with a claim to a vast fortune. A fact which has not escaped George, the Duke of Clarence. Married to Anne’s sister Isabel, his acquisitive nature has been far from quelled despite the downfall of the powerful Neville brothers. As Francis strives to negotiate a permanent place at Richard’s side, he grows closer to gaining his own inheritance and the gap that once formed a chasm between himself and his young wife narrows, bringing with it both pleasure and pain.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, basking in the approval of the king for proving his steadfast loyalty and courage in battle, has been heaped with rewards and titles. As his star rises, Francis finds himself drawn closer into the family fold as, with Warwick dead, King Edward places him in the home of his own sister Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk. With Caitlin Desmond and her children closeted away in Pontefract Castle, a battle for supremacy amongst the king’s brothers is about to begin. Richard is determined to marry Warwick’s daughter Anne, their childhood friend and a woman with a claim to a vast fortune. A fact which has not escaped George, the Duke of Clarence. Married to Anne’s sister Isabel, his acquisitive nature has been far from quelled despite the downfall of the powerful Neville brothers. As Francis strives to negotiate a permanent place at Richard’s side, he grows closer to gaining his own inheritance and the gap that once formed a chasm between himself and his young wife narrows, bringing with it both pleasure and pain.
701 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 5, 2018
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December 14, 2021
Another novel about Francis Lovell
This is the second part of this saga about the story of Francis Lovell telling in first person, this part covers from the moment Edward IV is secure in his throne after Tewkesbury until Richard takes the crown.
First of all I will said that I read the first part of the saga (squire of Middleham ) few months ago, there I realized that the author made a previous saga called Desmond's daughter that basically follows the same events but taking Caitlin (Desmond's Daughter ) who is the mother of Richard's illegitimate children as the main character so I went to read that as well to complement the story but most of all because I enjoyed a lot "squire of Middleham" so I wanted to read more of this author, yes the sagas are connected but not needed to read both.
Said that I have to admit that I was eager to read this book since the first gave me a good impression but unfortunately this disappointed me.
In previous book (squire of Middleham) Francis Lovell was a child married to a little girl, living with warwick having the problems and fun that any other young noble but without Independence, while he is Richard's best friend and companion Francis fell in love with Caitlin (Desmond's daughter) who was Richard's mistress and the mother of his children, but unfortunately she went to live to Pontefract after Tewkesbury and Francis stayed in London but in touch with Richard who was looking the hand of Anne Neville.
This book opens after Tewkesbury many things changed and soon Francis is able to get his lands and build his path as a powerful man, with the years passing Francis can have his wife Anna and he tries to make a family with her what is not easy because as we could predict in the previous book they are not compatible so their relationship is complicated, and yes the marriage is far from be happy, but it is what it is Francis si Richard's friend but at the same time is one of his man so they are together trough the problems and all the situations that appear in their way as powerful nobles so we could think that many things changed and in apparently it is Richard now is a married man and lord of the north, there are problems in the borders and inside of the york family , the other friends are taking new challenges, but after all not much as changed Francis is still in love with Cattlin who is still i love with Richard, that in this book married Anne Neville but is still in love with Cattlin and having an affair with a girl called Angel, so again this is more about the personal relationships than politics, but the book is well researched it's true it doesn't respect the facts because indeed not much is known about Francis Lovell so the book tries to follow in a good way the historical events, since this is telling in first person we will get to know only what Francis hears or sees that part limits the story but allow you to follow the important things, I will admit that this is one of the most detailed book I have ever read of Francis Lovell and is well done in general but I disliked the book and I think that it's a pity to start so good a saga and then spoil it this way I will explain what I mean.
One of the charm thing that has the first part was the personality of this teenagers that I learned to like, so most of all I was waiting to see the evolution of them but being honest that never happened, even after years most of the characters keep acting like teenagers going for this cruel world without a sense of responsibility, I know it is a novel but if you put your characters in medieval england respect that and don't make them act as a bunch of immatures, is extremely frustrating reading that Richard now almost in his 30s with an important position and problems to solve keeps acting like the young duke who was training with Warwick speaking like an idiot, acting like an idiot and thinking like an idiot he is like: "to the devil with the political matters I just want to keep explaining why I love Caitlin" " Caitlin oh Caitlin she is so wonderful please Francis take care of her and oh by the way take care of my wife if you have time " and he is not the only one Anna Lovell is now a full wife with duties and all but is the same annoying girl that acts like a mean girl to the world , Anne Neville I know she is younger than Richard but put her as a silly empty girl used as a thing and without pride was unnecessary, she was like :"Ok Richard don't love me and use me as a thing while your real desire is other girl who you force me to have with me so you can have her close to you, it doesn't matter I still love you just because yes and I accept your bastards I accept and forgive everything because I have not self respect not pride you know I'm a medieval boring wife ".But the worst of all is Francis that I really liked before, now I wanted to punch him on face, he was so immature thinking again and again about the same old thing ,his idiot love for Cattlin or his desires for other woman all except his wife not matter what problems he is facing or hard situation he only can think in Cattlin I never read about a love so childish and empty, in this sense the book is very repetitive many times I found myself turning the eyes to this book and I wanted to stop reading, Cattlin I can't stand her she is like the main character let's say that is more important than anyone else for everyone, she is like the queen, everything is about her what took the book to have very absurd moments there is one part where Francis scolds Richard (🤣) because he discovered that Richard slept with a girl after or before Tewkesbury I don't remember but Francis is like :" Damn Richard why did you do that ? Why did you cheat on Caitlin ? " And Richard is like : "I don't know my friend I'm a weak mean but did I mention that I love Caitlin ?" Ha ha ha . Then there is another part where Francis discovered that Richard will sleep with this girl again now Richard is married with Anne Neville and Francis gets mad because Richard is cheating on Anne Neville but don't misunderstand me he is not mad for the cheating part he is upset because Richard chose this girl and not Caitlin to cheat his wife (Wtf?) and Richard is like:" oh it's because I love Caitlin so I want to be a respectful husband sleeping with this other girl" ( really ?) this can sound funny and it is but it wasn't supposed to be (seriously Francis get your own life ).The constant mention of Caitlin for me just didn't work I mean this isn't the Desmond's daughter book, it's already a saga about her why to tell her story here again and giving her so much attention ? Seriously why? , I know that is important to complement the story of Lovell but I found this part so silly and Cattlin as a character is overused,and forced to take part of the story, I know and understand that we follow what happened in Desmond's daughter but for me would have been awesome to read about the historical people with such interesting stories not much of a fictional character and I will say again, that all is cliche in this book Richard loving a mistress who loves and is waiting for him , Richard giving her a ring , but at the same time "being" good husband and having an understanding and quite wife, Francis having an aweful marriage, Buckingham being mean and sick of power, I accept there are few characters like angel that can give a change but in general is predictable and disappointing specially if you have read other novels with the same topic.
I really believe that this book is well written and the author is very talented but I disliked the course of the story, what doesn't mean I will not recommend this book indeed I do recommend this saga specially for those who are new in this topic and doesn't care to read fiction without logic or balance.
However I will be fair the book does not deserve less than 3 stars the plot can make me angry, but it is written beautifully, the dialogues when they are not ridiculous are beautiful almost poetic, and it is obvious that the author feels passion for the subject I can not even imagine how many hours did she spend doing the research that is noted in this book.
This is the second part of this saga about the story of Francis Lovell telling in first person, this part covers from the moment Edward IV is secure in his throne after Tewkesbury until Richard takes the crown.
First of all I will said that I read the first part of the saga (squire of Middleham ) few months ago, there I realized that the author made a previous saga called Desmond's daughter that basically follows the same events but taking Caitlin (Desmond's Daughter ) who is the mother of Richard's illegitimate children as the main character so I went to read that as well to complement the story but most of all because I enjoyed a lot "squire of Middleham" so I wanted to read more of this author, yes the sagas are connected but not needed to read both.
Said that I have to admit that I was eager to read this book since the first gave me a good impression but unfortunately this disappointed me.
In previous book (squire of Middleham) Francis Lovell was a child married to a little girl, living with warwick having the problems and fun that any other young noble but without Independence, while he is Richard's best friend and companion Francis fell in love with Caitlin (Desmond's daughter) who was Richard's mistress and the mother of his children, but unfortunately she went to live to Pontefract after Tewkesbury and Francis stayed in London but in touch with Richard who was looking the hand of Anne Neville.
This book opens after Tewkesbury many things changed and soon Francis is able to get his lands and build his path as a powerful man, with the years passing Francis can have his wife Anna and he tries to make a family with her what is not easy because as we could predict in the previous book they are not compatible so their relationship is complicated, and yes the marriage is far from be happy, but it is what it is Francis si Richard's friend but at the same time is one of his man so they are together trough the problems and all the situations that appear in their way as powerful nobles so we could think that many things changed and in apparently it is Richard now is a married man and lord of the north, there are problems in the borders and inside of the york family , the other friends are taking new challenges, but after all not much as changed Francis is still in love with Cattlin who is still i love with Richard, that in this book married Anne Neville but is still in love with Cattlin and having an affair with a girl called Angel, so again this is more about the personal relationships than politics, but the book is well researched it's true it doesn't respect the facts because indeed not much is known about Francis Lovell so the book tries to follow in a good way the historical events, since this is telling in first person we will get to know only what Francis hears or sees that part limits the story but allow you to follow the important things, I will admit that this is one of the most detailed book I have ever read of Francis Lovell and is well done in general but I disliked the book and I think that it's a pity to start so good a saga and then spoil it this way I will explain what I mean.
One of the charm thing that has the first part was the personality of this teenagers that I learned to like, so most of all I was waiting to see the evolution of them but being honest that never happened, even after years most of the characters keep acting like teenagers going for this cruel world without a sense of responsibility, I know it is a novel but if you put your characters in medieval england respect that and don't make them act as a bunch of immatures, is extremely frustrating reading that Richard now almost in his 30s with an important position and problems to solve keeps acting like the young duke who was training with Warwick speaking like an idiot, acting like an idiot and thinking like an idiot he is like: "to the devil with the political matters I just want to keep explaining why I love Caitlin" " Caitlin oh Caitlin she is so wonderful please Francis take care of her and oh by the way take care of my wife if you have time " and he is not the only one Anna Lovell is now a full wife with duties and all but is the same annoying girl that acts like a mean girl to the world , Anne Neville I know she is younger than Richard but put her as a silly empty girl used as a thing and without pride was unnecessary, she was like :"Ok Richard don't love me and use me as a thing while your real desire is other girl who you force me to have with me so you can have her close to you, it doesn't matter I still love you just because yes and I accept your bastards I accept and forgive everything because I have not self respect not pride you know I'm a medieval boring wife ".But the worst of all is Francis that I really liked before, now I wanted to punch him on face, he was so immature thinking again and again about the same old thing ,his idiot love for Cattlin or his desires for other woman all except his wife not matter what problems he is facing or hard situation he only can think in Cattlin I never read about a love so childish and empty, in this sense the book is very repetitive many times I found myself turning the eyes to this book and I wanted to stop reading, Cattlin I can't stand her she is like the main character let's say that is more important than anyone else for everyone, she is like the queen, everything is about her what took the book to have very absurd moments there is one part where Francis scolds Richard (🤣) because he discovered that Richard slept with a girl after or before Tewkesbury I don't remember but Francis is like :" Damn Richard why did you do that ? Why did you cheat on Caitlin ? " And Richard is like : "I don't know my friend I'm a weak mean but did I mention that I love Caitlin ?" Ha ha ha . Then there is another part where Francis discovered that Richard will sleep with this girl again now Richard is married with Anne Neville and Francis gets mad because Richard is cheating on Anne Neville but don't misunderstand me he is not mad for the cheating part he is upset because Richard chose this girl and not Caitlin to cheat his wife (Wtf?) and Richard is like:" oh it's because I love Caitlin so I want to be a respectful husband sleeping with this other girl" ( really ?) this can sound funny and it is but it wasn't supposed to be (seriously Francis get your own life ).The constant mention of Caitlin for me just didn't work I mean this isn't the Desmond's daughter book, it's already a saga about her why to tell her story here again and giving her so much attention ? Seriously why? , I know that is important to complement the story of Lovell but I found this part so silly and Cattlin as a character is overused,and forced to take part of the story, I know and understand that we follow what happened in Desmond's daughter but for me would have been awesome to read about the historical people with such interesting stories not much of a fictional character and I will say again, that all is cliche in this book Richard loving a mistress who loves and is waiting for him , Richard giving her a ring , but at the same time "being" good husband and having an understanding and quite wife, Francis having an aweful marriage, Buckingham being mean and sick of power, I accept there are few characters like angel that can give a change but in general is predictable and disappointing specially if you have read other novels with the same topic.
I really believe that this book is well written and the author is very talented but I disliked the course of the story, what doesn't mean I will not recommend this book indeed I do recommend this saga specially for those who are new in this topic and doesn't care to read fiction without logic or balance.
However I will be fair the book does not deserve less than 3 stars the plot can make me angry, but it is written beautifully, the dialogues when they are not ridiculous are beautiful almost poetic, and it is obvious that the author feels passion for the subject I can not even imagine how many hours did she spend doing the research that is noted in this book.
April 6, 2018
Another triumph for C J Lock - this is quite a long novel and is, of course only the second part of the whole story, but the writing and the tale continue to delight, even though it covers the same ground as the Desmond's Daughter trilogy, as this is from the viewpoint of Frances Lovell, Richard III's close friend, the same events are shown differently. We get a greater insight into what occurred between Richard and Angel, the innkeep's daughter and see Richard from another perspective. He is still the honest, loyal and just king beloved by Lady Desmond (and all true Ricardians). The depictions of emotions and atmospheres are amazing and I found I wanted to read and read to the end, yet didn't want it to end. I can't wait until the next installment, although I know it will be equally emotional and, like most of the others, will make me shed tears. These books stay with you and will certainly be re-read again and again.
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April 22, 2025I'm sorry to the writer, but this book needs a proofreading.
But thanks for writing a series of thick books on my favourite subject 🤍
But thanks for writing a series of thick books on my favourite subject 🤍
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews