Carole's Sunday Review: The Blood of princes - Derek Birks

Author: Derek Birks 

Title: The Blood of Princes

(The Craft of Kings #2)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: ebook

Published:  February 9th 2018

Where I Got It: My shelf (Netgalley)

A savage tale of love, treason and betrayal.

A bloody struggle for power at the heart of the royal court.

In April 1483, the sudden death of King Edward IV brings his 12 year old son to the throne.

Restless young lord and ex-mercenary John Elder is newly-appointed to the service of Edward, Prince of Wales, and charged with the boy’s safety. His first task, escorting the new king to London for his coronation, seems a simple one but the accession of a boy king raises concerns among the leading noblemen of the land. 

As old jealousies and feuds are rekindled, the new king’s uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, seizes control and plunges the kingdom into crisis. But is Gloucester young Edward’s enemy, or saviour? 

While John, outlawed and trapped, must wait to see how events unfold, other members of the battle-scarred Elder family are drawn, one by one, into his conspiracy. Soon they are mired so deep in the murky underbelly of London society, that there seems no hope of escape from the tangle of intrigue and murder.

In the end, all lives will hang upon the outcome of a daring incursion into the Tower of London itself.

This one took me a while to finish because I had to keep pushing this back on the back-burner. Finally completed!

The story takes places after King Edward IV dies and has left his 12-year-old son is now up for the throne. John Edler is newly-appointed to be in charge of the new King's safety. As we all know, the boy's uncle, Richard, takes over and plunges England into crisis. Now, John is outlawed. As events unfold, his family members are drawn into his conspiracy.

*wipes sweat from brow* There was a lot going on in this story. Lots of conspiracies, lots of back-stabbing, lots of drama. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. The only thing I know for sure is that everything was a lost cause for the boys in the Tower. Not a spoiler since we all know they were lost. Did Richard kill them? Toss them to the side? Did they run off? Did someone else murder them? We'll never truly know. And for me...that's sad and tragic. 

I did like John Elder and he really did get screwed over because of Richard and his take-over. Poor guy.

There is some backstory I feel I missed since this is book 2. However, I could overlook it, but I do have some questions. I did feel like I missed some references and character building. I recommend reading book 1 first to avoid this. 

I was worried about John and his family. 

The romance was bleh. Not a fan. THAT IS YOUR COUSIN GOOD SIR/MADAM! I know it was commonplace back yonder, but even they had an issue with it and how "wrong" it felt, but they still did it and felt how they felt. They kept bringing it up so it was at the forefront of my mind. Plus, I didn't feel their chemistry at all either so it made it more awkward. 

I also wished we had more POV from Richard. There was some, but I wanted more. Not that I didn't like John and his crew...but I wanted to see more from the inside. 

Overall, I did enjoy the story. Stinks that I had to keep putting it to the side to read things that were due, but I finally got a chance to finish it and it was good. I wasn't a fan of the romance aspect and I wanted more of that slimy Richard. I'll stamp this with 3 stars.