The Seventh Son (Norman Conquest #4) by Ashley York

Title: The Seventh Son (Norman Conquest #4)

Author: Ashley York                            
Genre: Medieval Romance
Length: 324 Pages
Publisher: Indie
Release Date: March 30, 2016
Source: Review Request
Rating: 3
Heat Rating: 3
Reviewed by: Vashti                                                                                        

Drogheda, Ireland 1075

The sixth son bears a curse as certain as the seventh son bears a blessing. When Tadhg MacNaughton’s betrothed is ripped from his arms and married to another, he believes the legend is true.

Tisa O'Brien's life slams into a downward spiral at the news she is no longer betrothed to the love of her life but to the tanist of a warring, prideful clan with dangerous political aspirations, the Meic Lochlainn. She faces her destiny with all the strength and dignity of her Irish heritage despite dealing with a husband who resents her and meets his needs in the arms of others, fighting off the lustful advances of her father-in-law, Aodh, and longing for the husband of her heart.

Tadhg MacNaughton makes a deal with the devil to ensure the survival of his clan as he is commanded to fight for Aodh who envisions himself the new High King of Eire. Up close and personal, Tadhg must witness his true love's marriage and remain silent even as it rips him apart. When a sinister plot to overthrow King William of England led by the exiled Leofrid Godwin and Clan Meic Lochlainn comes to light, Tadhg is faced with saving his clan or endangering his sister and her Norman husband.

An Irish beauty and a warrior betrayed, doomed in love from the start or does fate have something else in store for them?

The Seventh Son is the final book in the Norman Conquest series.

This is the story of Tadgh and Tisa, and whether they will get their happy ever after or not.  However, given that  this is the last book in the series, we see all the main characters from the first three books brought back and questions answered. Including the question of  Sir. John's paternity.

This could be a stand alone read but I think there are too many story lines going on, and the reader may have a hard time understanding all that is happening and why.

There really is not  much interaction between Tadgh and Tisa until midway near the end of the book. To me, this story seemed to revolve more around Tisa, her queen of a husband Darragh, and Tisa's struggle for survival in an unfamiliar, totally foreign, and many times hostile situation.   Tisa and Darragh are both forced into this marriage by their fathers.  A marriage that neither of them wants.  Tisa was really blindsided by her father, Roland, and not only because he ends her engagement to the love of her life.  It was very cruel, no matter his reasons, and Roland never redeemed himself in my eyes.

Sometimes a character can rub you the wrong way in the beginning of a story and then totally redeem themselves, but Darragh is not that character!  I think Darragh was very much bipolar because he seemed cruel, hard, and extremely self-centered, but after the marriage sometimes he's kind and warm, wanting to protect and help Tisa.  Then BAM, in the blink of an eye, or in the wink of a guy, he flips and is all about himself and what he wants.  Leaving Tisa to fend for herself on more than one occasion.  It actually got really old, very fast, hearing him drool on and on about how he doesn't sleep alone, or seeing him fawning over his preferred bed partners. The fact that he is so disrespectful to his wife in their home and then at one point he has the nerve to question her as to whether she's cuckolding him, was one of many reasons why I totally disliked Darragh.  He keeps saying he wants to protect her and he sees how she is truly protecting him from his father Aodh, yet he does not reciprocate.  Every time I started to warm up to him, the bipolar switch came on and he would do something that just disgusted me.

When Tisa and Tadgh finally get together and interact it is literally so heart-wrenching I was tempted to go to the end of the book to find out what happened but that's not my style.  I will never go to the end of the book because I thoroughly enjoy the "read" when a book captures my attention.  I really was tempted though, because Tisa seemed like she just couldn't catch a break, and I was desperate to find out how it all ends.

There is an extreme amount of confusion that leads to heartache for most of the characters in this story, which all started off in book 2 with Padraig, Tadgh's father.

This book is a journey, to say the least.  Not just the struggles of Tisa and Tadgh, but some of the very evil characters that are introduced in this book  are literally cringe-worthy, and you actually want them to die.  Tisa's father-in-law or more accurate, her Creep-in-law, was the worst in the series and I didn't think anybody could stoop lower than that swine Ivan from books 1, 2 and 3.  Garrett is another vile creature but Malcolm, who was assigned as a sort of bodyguard, seemed at first an iffy guy, but he actually turned out to be one of the best men in the book.

There were a few bits I found hard to believe such as Aodh having tears of grief.  Simply because he was so vile and disrespectful to Tisa and Darragh.  Also his vain ambitions led him to badly mistreat his first wife and granddaughter.  Just hard to believe this first rate A-hole even had tears in is body.  I'm sure they were as black as his soul!  I won't go into much more detail but I seriously question the naming of Tisa's first born.  Hard to believe that no matter Tisa's thinking,  how could her husband approve of his 1st born son being given a name other than his.

This was not my favorite book of the series, which is ironic because this book is the one I had the most anticipation to read.   The cover was actually my favorite out of all four books.  By no means is this a bad book,  I simply liked books 2 and 3 more.  There were just so many different stories and points of view going on that from chapter 1 to the next it was jumping back and forth and just a little hard to follow in the beginning.  Along with a few typos, but not enough to distract from reading.  Lovers of this series will certainly love this book.

I recommend to anyone who is into medieval romance novels,  Irish medieval history, which I thoroughly enjoy,  men with a twitch in the wrist, or just heartfelt struggles and wondering if your hero and heroine are ever going to find their way through to a happily-ever-after, then this book is for you.

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The Norman Conquest

The Saxon Bride #1

The Gentle Knight #2
The Irish Warrior #3

The Irish Warrior by Ashley York

Title: The Irish Warrior (The Norman Conquest #2.5)

Author: Ashley York
Genre: Historical Romance, Medieval
Length:186 printed pages
Publisher: Indie
Release Date: September 30,2015
Source: Review Request
Rating: 3 ½
Heat Rating: 3
Reviewed by: Vashti  

Outcast and alone, Thomasina MacDonell is hell bent on finding her brother, the only person who can thwart their father's latest scheme to offer her as payment for his gambling debts. Disguised as a lad, she defiantly sets off on foot to locate him—never expecting to find a handsome, Irish warrior riding her beloved horse. The warrior's offer of help and unsolicited advice on how to be manlier sparks an intimate desire to reveal her more feminine side.

Rejected by the love of his life, Sean O'Cisoghe wants simply to return home and heal his broken heart. When a young "lad" steals the horse out from under him, he discerns the spirited woman may be in way over her head against her ruthless father. Finding her brother while keeping her would-be betrothed at bay, Sean must confront the fact that Thomasina has stolen his heart. Will Norman soldiers out for his blood and shifting clan alliances cut short their growing passion?                   

This is my third book by Ashley York, and third in her Norman Conquest Series. However The Irish Warrior is completely fine as a standalone read.

But like many others I suffer from that crippling disease  MRBI. So if you too must read books in order than "The Irish Knight" is all the more enjoyable.

Sean O'Cisoghe is an Irish Warrior that we are first introduced to in "The Gentle Knight".  Feeling dejected, bitter and broken hearted he is trying to make his way back home to Eire, when he crosses paths with Tommy aka Thomasina.

Tommy aka Thomasina came across as childish to me at first,  but I guess you can't blame her given the fact she is in disguise as a young lad.  There  is one scene in the Tavern Inn that completely displays not only her childish behavior but says maybe she is a bit off in the head. Thomasina does something so ridiculous that  I'm like What??  Has her dilemma completely robbed her of all sanity?  Read the book to find out what I'm talking about.  I guess this is just another classic case of silly girls doing really stupid things.  She put not only herself in extreme danger but Sean as well.  Enough of my rant over the tavern scene. Yeah it really did annoy me.   Thomasina  does redeem herself and by the end of the book I'm actually pulling for her and feel really sorry for her.  When we meet her scumbag of a dad, who was just an A-1 first-class crap hole, we see why the girl was so screwed up.

I liked  Sean very much.  He was a strong, no-nonsense warrior, even though he was nursing some wounds to his heart and pride. He saw straight through Thomasina's  disguise and trickery, and he didn't let her get away with it.  By the end of the book Sean got a little mushy with his feelings when he began to acknowledge them for what they really were, but he was still first and foremost a warrior till the end.

This was a fast-paced, quick read with plenty of action.   I don't know if Ashley York writes scenes with humor in mind but I find that certain scenes in all of her books quite literally crack me up.  The Irish Warrior is no exception,  the scenes between Sean and Tommy the "lad" are simply hilarious.

We do see previous characters from The Gentle Knight, some a pleasant surprise, such as the three Scottish Highlanders, others not so much.  Ivan the Lecher is back and he finally gets his just reward.

Miss York's knowledge of medieval history, as I've said before, is fantastic. The historical knowledge she adds to her novels is an underlying element that is not in your face but adds sense of realism.  I asked Mrs. York about the differences in Accents in this novel in particular, and she explained that in order to be  true to the period  Sean's accent  was not more distinctly Irish as we recognize it now. That's another great thing about reading her books, you may learn something about medieval history that perhaps you didn't know before, which is always a bonus (IMO).  I recommend The Irish Warrior to anyone who is a lover of medieval history, filled with action and one sexy hero.

Check out Ashley Yorks website for some truly beautiful scenery that will transport you to another time.

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The Norman Conquest

The Saxon Bride #1

The Gentle Knight #2

Review The Gentle Knight(The Norman Conquest #2) by Ashley York

Title: The Gentile Knight (The Norman Conquest #2)
Author: Ashley York 
Genre: Historical Romance, Medieval 
Length: 246 printed pages
Publisher: Indie 
Release Date: March 21, 2015 
Source: Review Request 
Rating: 3 ½ 
Heat Rating: 3 
Reviewed by: Vashti

Brighit MacNaughton is an obedient daughter following her father's death bed decree that she take her vows and become the virginal bride of Christ. The hired men seeing her to the Priory at Tanshelf are more interested in the building resentment against the English king than her safety. But when the handsome Norman knight offers his protection against the lecherous mercenaries, he sparks her passion with his gentle touch and smoldering looks of desire, reminding her of dreams best forgotten. Can one night with him quench the intense need in her or will it cause the fire to burn out of control?

Peter of Normandy is a trusted knight of King William, sent north to subdue the unrest and rumblings of revolt at York. Giving aid to an Irish princess more noble than many knights, he is quickly overcome with the need to possess her. With a body meant for a man's pleasure and an unrelenting stubbornness to follow her father's wishes, he struggles against giving her what she wants if it can only be for one night. Will one night of passion prove to be enough or will it unleash an insatiable need that makes him never want to let her go? 

Ashley York has managed to bring forth another tale rife with danger, intrigues, false assumptions, heartache, love yearned for and love fulfilled.

The story initially had a slow start for me, and it took me a few chapters before I could really get connected with the many new and returning characters as well as the twists and turns of the plot. However, the story does pick up when Peter and Brighit meet.

While this can certainly be read as a stand-alone novel, I advise reading book one, in which we are first introduced to Peter.  Other characters are also brought into this book and knowing the history and background will certainly help the reader understand the character connections and relationships in this book.

I was quite excited to read Peter's story.  He ended up being my favorite character by the end of "the Saxon Bride" and he is still my favorite character at the end of "The Gentile Knight"

This "Gentle Knight" can certainly hold his own.  Peter is a seasoned warrior, loyal, a protector, and above all a manly man! Which we certainly love.  Yet Peter hasn't had a lot of happiness in his own life.  He's been living with rejection, hurt and guilt over situations that he had no control over and couldn't have changed the outcome if he wanted to. Yet he believes he is cursed because of the mistreatment and abuse he has suffered at the hands of his father.

Brighit is obedient to a fault and it was frustrating at times to listen to her rationale, justifying her determination to keep her father's death bed decree that she become a nun.  Although I don't know what kind of nun she would have been.  She had quite the vivid imagination for one to be so innocent (apparently she'd been watching the sheep mating back on the farm in Eire)

Brighit's early interactions with Peter had me cringing and  saying WTFudge was she thinking?  I really do hate to give away spoilers, but Brighit's hand collides with Peter's face in what we would call a slap.  Yes, she smacked the crap out of Peter's face, I won't say why, but then she attempts to do it a second time.  Really Brig? Yet she is too afraid to stand up for herself against that jerk Ivan, she's like one of the sheep being led to the slaughter, just as dumb and quiet as you please. Not very realistic that she finally gets the nerve to stand up to this Giant Warrior but she doesn't open her mouth when little bald Ivan is grabbing her ass every chance he gets.

Aside from Brighit's temporary insanity, I like the interaction and relationship of our H and H.  Peter is proud to claim what he wants and what is his!

Mort is another character that we first meet in "The Saxon Bride ". We see a lot more of his real character and nature.  He is almost a completely different person altogether than from book one of the series. While he is still somewhat of a pansy and kind of foppish, we get to know that he too is a skilled  knight who can hold his own. He even has a wife he adores and kids, who knew. I like the scenes that Mort was in.  He was quite funny and made me laugh, but we see that he is also a caring and attentive man.

Some things that I wasn't overly fond of about the book was the ending, it ended rather abruptly, and I felt like I was left hanging.  Secondly, the question is never answered or even a reference made to whether or not Brighit was molested while she slept by Ivan and the mercenaries?  The idea and suggestion were so strongly implicated that this deserved to be cleared up.

In summary, I loved Peter, and I simply do not know how Mrs. York is going to top him but I look forward to finding out in the 3rd installment "The Irish Warrior"

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The Norman Conquest

The Saxon Bride #1

Review: The Saxon Bride (The Norman Conquest #1) by: Ashley York

Title: The Saxon Bride (The Norman Conquest #1)

Author: Ashley York
Genre: Historical Romance, Medieval
Length: 222 pages
Publisher: Indie
Release Date: August 8, 2014
Source: Review Request
Rating: 3 ½
Heat Rating: 3
Reviewed by: Vashti

In war torn England the battle lines between Saxon and Norman are clearly drawn. Rowena Godwinson, the sole remaining member of the defeated royal family, stands proudly against the Normans that would trample them underfoot. Her nobility and grace, however, make her an ideal pawn in King William's play for power with the Saxon people. When he decrees she marry a powerful Norman knight, her subjugation appears to be complete. Can she hold firm to her Saxon heritage and refuse to give in to his tempting advances?

John of Normandy is rewarded for his service and loyalty with land, titles, and a Saxon beauty for a bride. John balks at the marriage, driven by the secret guilt of knowing Rowena's father died by his sword. As their people look to them for guidance and peace, can John and Rowena find a love that unites all of England?

As a lover of medieval history this book quickly caught my attention.

The year is 1071 Essex England just five years after the Norman defeat of the Saxon King at the Battle of Hastings.  Two  unlikely people are brought together against their own will to unite the Norman and Saxon people.  Rowena Godwinson, daughter of the late Earl of Essex, and John of Normandy, a powerful and trusted Knight to the Norman King William are ordered to marry.  The King has given John a time frame in which to bring the Saxon's under subjugation.

John had no desire for power and never wanted to marry because of his questionable heritage.  Rowena certainly never dreamed of marrying a Norman Knight responsible for the downfall of her family.  Somehow these two will have to to have to come together and build a life beyond deception, distrust, prejudices, and misplaced assumptions.

One thing that I dislike about the Medieval era, is how young the brid's actually were, but Mrs. York brings the story together after Rowena has matured and weaves her magic and brings medieval history into romance fiction book.

Rowena knows her duty, and is determined to do her duty to God, country and husband.  Her loyal friend Arthur is always waiting in the wings to capture her should she fall. I had a love-hate relationship with Arthur in the beginning and I genuinely felt sorry for the loss to him and his family. That had to be particularly hard to come to terms with and not seek revenge, especially given the time period.  However, Arthur's actions towards the end are unforgivable (you'll have to read the book to find out what those actions are).   

Rowena's handmaiden Joan was another early on love/hate relationship for me. She seemed to care about Rowena and have her best interest at heart in the beginning, but  as the story progressed, she almost seemed like a modern-day woman, in that she spoke very freely with Rowena, her mistress and Lady of the Manor.  Joan caused Rowena undue distress and confusion in her marriage.  She was constantly meddling, and making Rowena feel belittled by her man and I was glad to see her finally put in her place! Even more so than Arthur I think.  I also was never sure about her age as the only real description given is of her blond hair.

John is handsome (the face of an angel to be exact), kind and loyal to the King.  The Big fault I found with Him was that I could not understand his reasoning for not consummating his marriage.  I get that he wanted Rowena to be willing, well several times she was more than willing, and he walked away?? I just couldn't wrap my head around that one.  I found myself asking did he prefer a "Rowen" instead of "Rowena"?  Just sayin...   Not to worry, he wants Rowena, which is made comically evident in the Siren bathing scene (again, you have to read the book, I wont give away any spoilers)  But...., and theirs always a but, I don't know any man, well maybe a eunuch, that walks away from a naked, willing, and beautiful women (maybe I did give away something here).   Heck,  for that matter I don't know any man that would walk away from a naked, willing women, even if she had the face of a dog and smelled like an ass.  Aside from this flaw, which he does rectify satisfactorily, John is a decent man.

Sir John's right-hand man and fellow Knight Peter was someone I didn't like at first, but he genuinely grew on me and ended up being one of my favorite characters.  He is a warrior, loyal and lover of the ladies.  I can't wait to read his HEA.

There are a few other shady characters thrown in the story.  This was a time of power and political upheaval after all,  so sometimes underhanded alliances and fealty was a matter of survival.  I didn't see the purpose of  Mort of Bedgrove's character to the story.  I know what he was, but in my opinion, he really added nothing to the story.   I would have also liked an epilogue.  I was left wondering about John's lineage as it is hinted that The King knows more than he has revealed to John concerning his lineage and that possibly he may be of noble blood.  Maybe that will be cleared up in future books.  I also would like to have learned if  John and Rowena got another "blessing".  Read the book to see what the blessing was!

Overall I highly recommend this to lovers of medieval romance. It was engaging, sometimes very sad and at times quite humorous ie: 

1. John needing a bath so his B.O. isn't offensive
2. John thinking that "common sense seemed a foreign concept to both father and daughter, 
3. Morts offer of fulfilling any service John may need,

as well as a few other comical scenes, which may not have been intended that way but the delivery was just down right funny to me. Mrs. York has done a wonderful job of marrying history, intrigue, and romance weaving it all together into a beautiful story. I EAGERLY, look forward to the next book in the series!!! 

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