Monday, August 31, 2015

#Review: Honor Among Thieves by J.M. Aucoin


France, March 1609. The French Wars of Religion are over, but forces still conspire against the crown…

Darion Delerue, former soldier turned highwayman, has only two things of value—the hope in his heart and the steel at his side. After a heist on a royal ambassador goes wrong, Darion is thrown into a political plot to undermine the crown, pitting his old life as an honorable soldier against his new life as a thief and bandit. His actions could send France back into civil war.

Honor Among Thieves is a gripping tale of daring sword-play and political intrigue, with superb historical detail of 17th Century France that will have readers wanting to draw their swords and fight for glory!


Saturday, August 29, 2015

100 Words on Saturday - Write Tribe - The Duke's Vial

100 Words on Saturday - Write Tribe

#100WordsonSaturday 22 August 2015
How does this work?
  1. You write a 100 words in response to our prompt/or on any subject and post it on your blog. Remember to include a link back to this post.
  2. Then add the link to our linky below.
  3. Visit and comment on at least two or as many linked posts as you can.
  4. The linky will stay open until the following Friday.
  5. You can grab the 100 Words on Saturday badge here.
You'll have to go to the "100 Words" hub on WriteTribe to see the pictorial prompt for today.  My computer is not letting me upload the picture. :(

Anyway, here's my "100 Words":

Elizabeth had been looking forward to the ball since she received the invitation.  Wanting to shine and sparkle beyond the other young ladies in attendance, she had had her dressmaker add sequins and Swarovski crystals to the original design.  The brother of Elizabeth's rival asked her to dance, and, not wanting to be rude, she accepted.  The cad stepped on her gown, loosening a key thread holding the baubles on, and they scattered across most of the room.  The duke came off the dais, handed Elizabeth a small stoppered vial, and they picked up the shiny pieces of decoration together.

Friday, August 28, 2015

#Review: Treasure on Moon Lake by Amy Gamet


True love is hiding where you least expect to find it...

Jewelry designer Tori Henderson’s first year in business was far more expensive than she could have imagined. Faced with closing the doors of Tori’s Treasures, she sinks her last dollar into one final promotion—a widely publicized treasure hunt for a chest of fine, handmade jewelry that could drum up enough business to get her back in the black... or kill her shop once and for all.

The last thing she needs is her mother's announcement that she's preparing to marry Edward Trainor, the father of Tori’s long ago summer crush, Gabe - a man who regularly makes his way into Tori's dreams some ten years later.

Corporate tycoon Jed Trainor has no intention of attending his estranged father’s wedding, and he certainly doesn’t need to see his half-brother Gabe after the other man put the moves on Jed's one-time fiancĂ©e. But with business problems looming, Jed needs time to think, and the small town of Moon Lake seems like the perfect place to hide away while he figures out how to save his empire.

The last thing he needs is the distraction of a beautiful woman who thinks she’s in love with his idiot half-brother.

Tori is determined to win Gabe’s heart, but Jed has other plans. When they learn Gabe is bringing a date to the wedding, Jed offers to bring Tori himself, knowing any woman on his arm is sure to be on Gabe’s radar. But his ploy for her attention just may blow up in his face. Can Jed prove to Tori he’s the Trainor brother she really belongs with?

Write On Review-A-Thon August 2015

Write On Review-a-Thon

The Write On review-a-thon is a monthly event created and hosted by Brianna at The Book Vixen. This edition it’s THREE days dedicated to getting reviews done, whether you have one review to write or 30+. This edition of the review-a-thon takes place all day Friday, August 28th and Sunday, August 30th. Let’s get those reviews done!

~~~oOo~~~

Here's my list this month:


***I'm going to include a couple of reviews I did (the first posted this morning, the second tomorrow morning, since they are part of book tours.  I look at it as "hey, at least they won't be on this list next month, eh?"  And the reviews were actually completed within the review-a-thon.

Honor Among Thieves by J.M. Aucoin  

Uneasy in New Orleans by Carol Carson
  1. Treasure on Moon Lake by Amy Gamet *DONE 8/28
  2. Tennessee Waltz by Trana Mae Simmons
  3. Ready to Were by Robyn Peterman
  4. Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher
  5. Julia by Ashley Merrick
  6. Ashes by Kelly Cozy
  7. Sir Dudley Dinklebottom by T. J. Lantz
  8. Gathering Bittersweet by JoHannah Reardon
  9. My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse
  10. Maid for Love by Marie Force
  11. Rose Hill by Pamela Grandstaff
  12. The First Cut by Dianne Emley
  13. Visions of Love by Joynce and Jim Lavene
  14. This Time Forever by Rachel Ann Nunes
  15. Slow Curve on the Coquihalla by R. E. Donald
  16. The Case of Moomah's Moolah by Jim Stevens
  17. Under the Ice by Aaron Paul Lazar
  18. Celtic Viking by Lexy Timms
  19. Rest in Pieces by Katie Graykowski
  20. Mine all Mine by Ella J. Quince
  21. Purling Road by M. L. ardner
  22. Perilous Pranks by Joyce & Jim Lavene
  23. High Heels Mysteries 1-3 by Gemma Halliday
  24. Black Sands by Carl Goodman
  25. Mistaken Kiss by Kathleen Baldwin
  26. Sinjin by H.P. Mallory
  27. Imogene in New Orleans by Hunter Murphy
  28. Hollywood Dirty by MZ Kelly
  29. The Executioner: War Against the Mafia by Don Pendleton
  30. Summer of Promise by Amanda Cabot
  31. Streetlights Like Fireworks by ? Pandolfe
  32. Defending Turquoice by John Ellsworth
  33. The Taming of Lady Kate by G. G. Vandagriff
  34. A Winter Wrong by Elizabeth Ann West
  35. Around the Bend by Rosemary Hines
  36. Play Dead by Leslie O'Kane
  37. A Time to Live, and a Thyme for Murder by Phoebe T. Eggli
  38. The Singularity: Heretic by David Beers
  39. Chloes by Dean Garlick
  40. The Hunter Awakens by J. R. Rober
  41. Goodey's Last Stand by Charles Alverson
  42. The Duke and the Baron by Jenn LeFlanc
  43. What if it's True? by Dixie Burns
  44. Seaside Secrets by Cindy Bell
  45. Double Trouble by Deborah Cooke
Geez.  The bad news is that with the exception of one title, the list is the same as last month's.  The not-so-bad news is that I have been busy with book tours this past month, so I haven't been totally sitting on my TBR (in this case, to be reviewed) stack!

#GuestPost: J.M. Aucoin of Honor Among Thieves


Don Pedro de Toledo and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Mission
By J.M. Aucoin
When I sat down and came up with Honor Among Thieves (Hope & Steel series), I knew I wanted it in the 17th Century, a historical adventure in the vein of Alexandre Dumas’ Three Musketeers and Arturo PĂ©rez-Reverte’s Captain Alatriste.
I also knew that I wanted it situated in an exciting time, but one not too well known to the modern reader. I found that time in France during the early 17th Century, a couple of decades before Dumas’ famous Musketeers fought for king and country.
Changing Political Climate
The European political landscape was starting to change. France was recovering from decades of religious civil war and the Low Countries (aka United Providences) constant rebellion was starting to take a heavy toll on Spain’s military and royal coffers.
Henry IV of France was very much in favor of seeing the Dutch and Spanish go at each other’s throats for as long as possible. So much so that he had supplied the United Providences with some money, and allowed a large number of volunteers fight for the Dutch. But the Dutch tired from war almost as much as Spain did. The Low Countries were in shambles from the fighting, and Archduke Albert was prepared for peace with Spain.
But seeing an opportunity to both win the gratitude and friendship of the United Providences and stick it to Spain, Henry decided France would act as the mediator between the two warring parties. He sent President Jeannin as his representative and arranged a defensive alliance with the United Providences.
Meanwhile, the Nuncio and some Jesuits at the French court assured Spain that Henry IV could be persuaded to abandon his protestant, Dutch friends (and possibly even go to war against the Dutch).
You really need to question what these guys at court were on to think this. Not only was Henry not interested in being buddies with Spain, but he was actually toying with the idea of declaring war on them. Henry hated Spain and, more so, hated the Hapsburgs who had done all they could to thwart Henry from ascending to the French throne.
Sure, Henry went from being a Huguenot to a Catholic, back to a Huguenot to back to a Catholic, but those transitions were always about survival and political advancement. With the crown on his head and a recovering military and economy at his back, Henry was in a prime position to enact a little revenge on Spain.

Don Pedro watching (probably awkwardly) as King Henry IV plays with his children
Don Pedro vs. Henry IV
Still, King Phillip III of Spain and his advisors believed in the intelligence that Henry could be swayed. And so Don Pedro de Toledo Osorio y Colonna, fifth Marquis of Villafranca, cousin to Henry’s wife, Queen Marie de Medici, and one of the great lords of Spain, was sent to Paris on a special mission: secure an alliance with France via a double marriage.
Again, you have to wonder what Spain was on to think this would work. If Henry wanted to go battle against Spain, there was not a snow ball chance in hell he was going to let his own flesh and blood mix with Hapsburgs. Not to mention if he accepted the terms, he would’ve been sending his daughter to Madrid as a hostage more so than to be a loving wife.
(I guess the intelligence in “intelligence gathering” was more of a recommendation than a rule back then.)
Right off the bat, “negotiations” started off poorly for Don Pedro. In his first audience with the king, Don Pedro mentioned that Phillip III would gladly negotiate on the basis of the double marriage proposal made to him, to which Henry rebuked: “What proposals?”
Don Pedro even tried flattery and vanity as a way to win Henry IV’s favor. As the king’s servant walked by with the royal sword, Don Pedro bent to a knee and kissed the blade, stating: “I’m a happy man; I hold in my hands, the sword of the bravest king in the world!”

Don Pedro kissing King Henry IV’s ass sword
When flattery failed, Don Pedro turned to good ol’ fashion threats. During a heated argument with Henry, Don Pedro said that France’s friendship with the Dutch may provoke Phillip III to war. Henry, ever the witty fellow, retorted, “Let your master have a care. I should be in the saddle before his foot touched the stirrup.”
Amazingly, Don Pedro attempted to acquire a Franco-Spanish alliance for eight whole months. He got help from his cousin, Queen Marie de Medici, though using her as an ally probably did as much bad as it did good. He also attempted to fan old embers of hate between the Catholics and Protestants, but both sides were exhausted at the thought of new, civil war. He tried every avenue he could think of, but each time he was met with insult or rebuke by Henry.
Henry’s resolve was a mountain, and all the Don Pedro’s bluster wasn’t going to move Henry from his stance.
The Backdrop for Honor Among Thieves
Don Pedro’s mission to secure an alliance with France is the historical backdrop for Honor Among Thieves. His motives and actions are the kindling for what becomes a daring plot for Darion Delerue and Jacquelyna Brocquart. A fictional conspiracy is interwoven with the political intrigue of Don Pedro’s visit, and quickly there becomes more at stake than just alliances.
About Honor Among Thieves
Darion Delerue, former soldier turned highwayman, has only two things of value—the hope in his heart and the steel at his side. After a heist on a royal ambassador goes wrong, Darion is thrown into a political plot to undermine the crown, pitting his old life as an honorable soldier against his new life as a thief and bandit. His actions could send France back into civil war.
Honor Among Thieves is inspired by the high adventure of The Three Musketeers and the gritty swashbuckling of the Captain Alatriste series. J.M. Aucoin weaves a gripping tale of daring sword-play and political intrigue, with superb historical detail of 17th Century France that’ll have readers wanting to draw their rapiers and fight for glory!
About J.M. Aucoin
Author. Fencer. Sometimes actor. Full-time nerd. J.M. Aucoin is the product of when a five-year-old boy who fell in love with reruns of Guy William’s Zorro grows into a mostly functional adult. He now spends his time writing swashbucklers and historical adventure stories, and has an (un)healthy obsession with The Three Musketeers.

When not writing, he practices historical fencing, crafts historical outfits, and covers the Boston Bruins for the award-winning blog Days of Y’Orr. For more info visit J.M. Aucoin’s
website and blog. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads and YouTube.