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This book was available only to the author's newsletter subscribers for a limited time. It is no longer available.
***THIS BOOK IS A FAN EXTRA. It was written as a character study/backstory, but because it includes so many Welsh Blades characters that fans love, it has been shared with newsletter subscribers. It is not necessary to read this before Desire Lines.***
She was born to nothing, lost everything, and survived to reinvent herself. Meet Nan, a serving girl in the court of King Edward I until she becomes the subject of a powerful lord's unwanted attention.
To save herself from a cruel fate, she makes a formidable ally, only to become entangled in the machinations of scheming nobles. When she decides to do whatever she must to protect herself, her life will never be the same.
This is an installment in the Welsh Blades series and contains spoilers for The King's Man and Fair, Bright, and Terrible.
***THIS BOOK IS A FAN EXTRA. It was written as a character study/backstory, but because it includes so many Welsh Blades characters that fans love, it has been shared with newsletter subscribers. It is not necessary to read this before Desire Lines.***
She was born to nothing, lost everything, and survived to reinvent herself. Meet Nan, a serving girl in the court of King Edward I until she becomes the subject of a powerful lord's unwanted attention.
To save herself from a cruel fate, she makes a formidable ally, only to become entangled in the machinations of scheming nobles. When she decides to do whatever she must to protect herself, her life will never be the same.
This is an installment in the Welsh Blades series and contains spoilers for The King's Man and Fair, Bright, and Terrible.
ebook
Published January 31, 2019
141 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Kingston
12 books315 followers
***Sign up for the Elizabeth Kingston Newsletter for updates on new publications.***
Elizabeth Kingston lives in Chicago, where she can be found gleefully subverting tropes and inventing new ways to make fictional people kiss. When there's time for it (hint: there's always time for it) she shouts loudly about the intersection of historical romance and white supremacist narratives. Lipstick, skincare, and baked goods all rank high on her list of Other Interests. She sincerely hopes you enjoy her writing, and that you'll share it with others.
Elizabeth Kingston lives in Chicago, where she can be found gleefully subverting tropes and inventing new ways to make fictional people kiss. When there's time for it (hint: there's always time for it) she shouts loudly about the intersection of historical romance and white supremacist narratives. Lipstick, skincare, and baked goods all rank high on her list of Other Interests. She sincerely hopes you enjoy her writing, and that you'll share it with others.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 5, 2019
I really appreciated this novella and how it reinforced all of the badass-ness (both subtle and outright) of the strong women in this series, and gave us one more in the form of Nan herself, but for some reason I didn't always love how this story was told. The telling of it somehow bogged up some of the strength of the story but I'm hard pressed to explain how.
That being said, the underlying narrative of agency and independence and overcoming trauma was breath-taking at times, and I loved spending some time behind the scenes of the previous two books. And, y'know, more time with Gwenllian and Eluned in general.
So so excited for book three!
That being said, the underlying narrative of agency and independence and overcoming trauma was breath-taking at times, and I loved spending some time behind the scenes of the previous two books. And, y'know, more time with Gwenllian and Eluned in general.
So so excited for book three!
March 5, 2019
A prequel to the third book in the Welsh Blades series, Nan is the eponymous heroine of the upcoming third book, and she does have a potentially interesting story to tell. While the first two books told the stories of larger than life characters -- warriors and nobility, Nan is a serving girl without family to help her navigate the treacherous world of the Welsh Blade stories.
Told in the first person, I was not though initially enamored with her narrative voice, as she tends to convey a bit of "woe-is-me" in her undoubtedly sad story of victimization. Nan's beauty attracts men, and without status and people to defend her, she is in danger constantly, at least until she comes to Lady Eluned's attention, who makes it her business to help Nan succeed in life. Eventually Gwenllian is called in to train Nan in self-defense. Here is where the underdog story develops into a familiar trope, and I could almost hear the "eye of the tiger" theme song in the background. I'm of course rooting for Nan to keep enemies and lecherous men at bay, but the story goes far beyond that and sets Nan up for greatness. She's no longer just self-sufficient or even accomplished; it appears she's going to be an unparalleled assassin.
Conveniently, Nan also develops some moral ambiguity around killing too, which allows her to sleep better at night. This late development in the story might serve the third book well too because the complex three dimensional characterization of the former characters of the Welsh Blade books is one of the best features of this series. Gwenllian, Eluned, and Ranulf are fabulously flawed heroes, whereas Nan is fairly one-dimensional for most of this novella. I think I will like her better as a protagonist with some problematic dimensions. Now onto Desire Lines!
Told in the first person, I was not though initially enamored with her narrative voice, as she tends to convey a bit of "woe-is-me" in her undoubtedly sad story of victimization. Nan's beauty attracts men, and without status and people to defend her, she is in danger constantly, at least until she comes to Lady Eluned's attention, who makes it her business to help Nan succeed in life. Eventually Gwenllian is called in to train Nan in self-defense. Here is where the underdog story develops into a familiar trope, and I could almost hear the "eye of the tiger" theme song in the background. I'm of course rooting for Nan to keep enemies and lecherous men at bay, but the story goes far beyond that and sets Nan up for greatness. She's no longer just self-sufficient or even accomplished; it appears she's going to be an unparalleled assassin.
Conveniently, Nan also develops some moral ambiguity around killing too, which allows her to sleep better at night. This late development in the story might serve the third book well too because the complex three dimensional characterization of the former characters of the Welsh Blade books is one of the best features of this series. Gwenllian, Eluned, and Ranulf are fabulously flawed heroes, whereas Nan is fairly one-dimensional for most of this novella. I think I will like her better as a protagonist with some problematic dimensions. Now onto Desire Lines!
September 15, 2019
I loved this extra story about Nan and her life and how her character evolved. What a treat! This isn't a romance,it's a work of historical fiction and is meant as a bridge between Fair, Bright and Terrible and Desire Lines (which will fully flesh out Nan's story and IS a romance) but isn't required reading to keep up with the series (and indeed, if you didn't get a free copy from the author's newsletter link you won't be able to find it anyway, as it's not for sale). It's intended as a snapshot of life at that time for women in general and for this woman in particular and how fate and choices propel her to a better chance at survival. It's also written from Nan's first person POV, which is different than the rest of the series (which is third person POV) which makes it all the more interesting to me. Glad I finally got to read it!
April 10, 2019
3.5 stars, rounding down
This isn’t a romance, but I wanted to read it before starting the next book in which Nan is one of the protagonists. This is told in the first person, so I imagine you either like Nan’s voice or you don’t. I happened to. I especially loved how she related to other women in her life and the bond between her and Eluned and the one she also eventually formed with Gwenllian. It’s been a while since I read the first two books—still two of the best historical romances I’ve ever read—and I liked revisiting some of those characters, too.
This isn’t a romance, but I wanted to read it before starting the next book in which Nan is one of the protagonists. This is told in the first person, so I imagine you either like Nan’s voice or you don’t. I happened to. I especially loved how she related to other women in her life and the bond between her and Eluned and the one she also eventually formed with Gwenllian. It’s been a while since I read the first two books—still two of the best historical romances I’ve ever read—and I liked revisiting some of those characters, too.
August 17, 2019
Normally, I wouldn't have thought twice about tossing this on my old life is too short pile and moving on.
It was not my thing. I love EK, but somehow the only thing that kept me reading was that my reward was Nicholas Boulton the sooner I finished it.
And the best thing I can say of it is that: now I get to listen to Boulton.
It was not my thing. I love EK, but somehow the only thing that kept me reading was that my reward was Nicholas Boulton the sooner I finished it.
And the best thing I can say of it is that: now I get to listen to Boulton.
January 2, 2021
I was lucky enough to win one of the rare copies of this book from Elizabeth Kingston in the Romancing the Runoff auction, and saved it for my first official read of 2021! It was a really terrific book, too. The amount of character development for Nan, as well as for some of the other characters from the previous two books, is really tremendous. It was touching and beautifully done, and I think it really adds to the third book in the series, and the arc of the series overall. It's a shame this isn't more widely available, but I'm delighted to have had the chance to experience it.
February 20, 2019
Really liked this companion piece to Desire Lines. I would say this could be read before or after Desire Lines, but is definitely not a standalone, but the whole series is good, so do read at least the two first books first.
February 13, 2019
CW: near rape, non-sexual assault and violence, protagonist suffers serious emotional trauma after her ordeal
This was a free short novel from Elizabeth Kingston’s newsletter and I wanted to read it before reading an arc of Desire Lines (Nan is the heroine in that book and this short novel is about her backstory). I haven’t read Kingston before but didn’t really have trouble keeping up with the characters (though I probably missed some nuances that I would have gotten had I read the first two Welsh Blades books).
To be clear: this is not a romance. It’s the backstory of Nan, a servant girl, and covers her life before her romance in Desire Lines. She suffers from some pretty traumatic events in the beginning; the second half of the book is mostly about her emotional recovery and her weapons training. This book was weird in that I liked a lot about the plot, but the first person POV didn’t work for me as Nan digressed a lot and sometimes narrated events out of order. It’s not that I didn’t like Nan as a character - I did, but I found Eluned and Gwenllian far more compelling characters and would get bored when Nan wasn’t with them. There were large introspective scenes that I mostly skimmed because they seemed too long or repetitive.
Every time I was saved, every time someone stepped between me and cruelty, it was a woman.
Putting the POV issue asides, I adored Nan’s relationships with Eluned and Gwenllian. I loved everything about them. Every once in while, Nan would think about how she owed her life to women, because only women had ever saved her from men. I loved the theme of feminine agency and the importance of Nan learning how to defend herself. So even though I didn’t love this one because the POV didn’t work for me, I’m still really excited to read Nan’s book in Desire Lines because 1) I really liked her character arc by the end of the book and 2) Desire Lines is in 3rd person, so I likely won’t experience similar issues. I’m also really tempted to go back and read the first two books because of how much I loved Eluned and Gwenllian.
In summary, this is not the best place to start if you’re new to Elizabeth Kingston (I probably shouldn’t have started here) but it is worthwhile if you’re a fan of the series and want to catch up with the protagonists of prior books.
This was a free short novel from Elizabeth Kingston’s newsletter and I wanted to read it before reading an arc of Desire Lines (Nan is the heroine in that book and this short novel is about her backstory). I haven’t read Kingston before but didn’t really have trouble keeping up with the characters (though I probably missed some nuances that I would have gotten had I read the first two Welsh Blades books).
To be clear: this is not a romance. It’s the backstory of Nan, a servant girl, and covers her life before her romance in Desire Lines. She suffers from some pretty traumatic events in the beginning; the second half of the book is mostly about her emotional recovery and her weapons training. This book was weird in that I liked a lot about the plot, but the first person POV didn’t work for me as Nan digressed a lot and sometimes narrated events out of order. It’s not that I didn’t like Nan as a character - I did, but I found Eluned and Gwenllian far more compelling characters and would get bored when Nan wasn’t with them. There were large introspective scenes that I mostly skimmed because they seemed too long or repetitive.
Every time I was saved, every time someone stepped between me and cruelty, it was a woman.
Putting the POV issue asides, I adored Nan’s relationships with Eluned and Gwenllian. I loved everything about them. Every once in while, Nan would think about how she owed her life to women, because only women had ever saved her from men. I loved the theme of feminine agency and the importance of Nan learning how to defend herself. So even though I didn’t love this one because the POV didn’t work for me, I’m still really excited to read Nan’s book in Desire Lines because 1) I really liked her character arc by the end of the book and 2) Desire Lines is in 3rd person, so I likely won’t experience similar issues. I’m also really tempted to go back and read the first two books because of how much I loved Eluned and Gwenllian.
In summary, this is not the best place to start if you’re new to Elizabeth Kingston (I probably shouldn’t have started here) but it is worthwhile if you’re a fan of the series and want to catch up with the protagonists of prior books.
February 4, 2019
Kingston continues her story of strong, unusual women in the Welsh Blades series. Nan is a serving girl who is brutalized, and then rescued by Lady Eluned, whom we met in the previous novel. Eluned teaches Nan to overcome her PTSD and sends her to her daughter Gwenllian. Nan is schooled in skills to protect her from future attacks. The story is narrated in the first person, which makes it compelling. Through Nan's experience the vulnerability of women is explained, whether the exploiter is a husband or a stranger. In the two previous novels, Eluned had been a difficult character to like, but in this story she becomes more sympathetic, or at least more understandable. This novella is an introduction to the next full length book in the series.
August 22, 2023
Volevo qualcosa di corto e mi è venuto in mente che avevo questo da parte.
Pensavo che la Kingston sarebbe stata troppo difficile per me e invece, probabilmente perché essendo in prima persona dal punto di vista di un personaggio di bassa estrazione sociale, non ha usato un registro alto e mi ci sono trovata bene. Non ero nemmeno convintissima sul personaggio e invece la storia è stata talmente accattivante che a questo punto leggerò anche Desire Lines.
Pensavo che la Kingston sarebbe stata troppo difficile per me e invece, probabilmente perché essendo in prima persona dal punto di vista di un personaggio di bassa estrazione sociale, non ha usato un registro alto e mi ci sono trovata bene. Non ero nemmeno convintissima sul personaggio e invece la storia è stata talmente accattivante che a questo punto leggerò anche Desire Lines.
March 11, 2019
FYI - not a romance! An interstitial between FAIR, BRIGHT, AND TERRIBLE and DESIRE LINES. A fascinating, beautifully written character study. I had actually started DESIRE LINES and realized I had this novella and wanted to read it before continuing.
Anyway. Lovely. Read it.
Anyway. Lovely. Read it.
March 5, 2019
Me encanta
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews