My very first book review: The King's New Man

I've done the reading - time for the reviewing!

Note: This book is from my own private stash.
Paperback, Harlequin. Historical no. 7.
269 pages. By Elizabeth Henshall.

I finished reading The King's New Man by Elizabeth Henshall about a week ago, but I had to square away my last blog post first. So here goes, my first review: 

TKNM is by far my favorite book! 

It has been for the past 12-14 years. I can't remember exactly how old I was when my sister gave it to me. I don't talk to her much in general, but back then we were more connected. I visited her only a couple of times since she lives half a day-trip away. 

Anywho, she had bought the book back when it was new in 2003, at a time she was dealing with heavy stress and this book was what got her through it. She gave it to me too, I think maybe because she knew I was struggling too. By then it was already worn with a loose page. 

I don't have a count on how many times I have read it, but I can probably tell you about every single worn, miscolored page. Half the book has detached from the back and I can no longer find the loose page. It has rifts and wrinkles. I've searched for other copies, but I want it in Danish and that complicates things, as it hasn't been in production in forever.

Anywho, about the story itself!

TKNM is not my usual kind of story. It's historical romance. But it's so well described, that I can sense the molded bread, the cold river, I can see the castle and the muddy grounds. I can see de Rohan and Maude and Hoel. 

The story is so relevant even today, dealing with the worth of women and portraying their differences. Maude is a strong, stubborn, scared, protective and smart young woman. There's no fancy, delicate, sensitive fragility in her like there is in Mrs. de Vere. That woman is a bit hysterical. 

It portrays a woman as a heroine in a strong, badass character, with a difficult past and many narrow-minded people trying to put her down for things that were never her fault. 

It also portrays an arrogant, slutty peacock of a man, who might be a lot more than just that. 

It has a main plot, manageable subplots, intrigue, mystery and excitement. It has fast-paced scenes as well as slower ones, but never dull. This book is one of the most well-described I've ever read, without over-doing it. It doesn't have an insta-romance, Elizabeth Henshall manages to draw it out at a good pace and make it believable.

I can't recommend it enough. It can be found on Amazon as used, but they are so worth it!

6 out of 5. My heart is as broken as the book spine, that it's so worn. 

(On a sidenote: The Bonds by I. A. Noah will not be reviewed since I won't finish reading it. I can't. It has zero editing and is painful to read. I don't know if the story is good, because I can't read past the too many errors.)