A Darn Good Read: Blog Tour/Book Review: Jasper (Book #2 The Tudor Trilogy) by Tony Riches

Publication Date: March 22, 2016
Preseli Press
eBook & Paperback; 360 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Following the best-selling historical fiction novel OWEN – Book One of The Tudor Trilogy, this is the story, based on actual events, of Owen’s son Jasper Tudor, who changes the history of England forever.

England 1461: The young King Edward of York has
taken the country by force from King Henry VI of Lancaster. Sir Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, flees the massacre of his Welsh army at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross and plans a rebellion to return his half-brother King Henry to the throne.

When King Henry is imprisoned by Edward in the Tower of London and murdered, Jasper escapes to Brittany with his young nephew, Henry Tudor. Then after the sudden death of King Edward and the mysterious disappearance of his sons, a new king, Edward’s brother Richard III takes the English Throne. With nothing but his wits and charm, Jasper sees his chance to make young Henry Tudor king with a daring and reckless invasion of England.

Set in the often brutal world of fifteenth century England, Wales, Scotland, France, Burgundy and Brittany, during the Wars of the Roses, this fast-paced story is one of courage and adventure, love and belief in the destiny of the Tudors.

My Thoughts

The novel begins with Jasper fleeing the battlefield at Mortimer’s Cross unaware of the fate of his father, Owen. While making his escape, he meets Gabriel, an Irish soldier, who is wounded and will perhaps die unless given assistance. Torn between his desire to reach safety or to assist Gabriel, Jasper decides on the latter. You’ll have to read the book to learn what becomes of this meeting, but from here my long-held, pro-Yorkist sentiments began to waver as Jasper Tudor’s personality emerged. One that suggested he wasn’t the scheming, ruthless and power hungry man I’d read about in other books. Tony Riches’ Jasper is more emotionally stable, shrewd and likeable, intent on keeping his promise to protect his nephew, Henry, and ever loyal to his half-brother, Henry VI, and the Lancastrian cause.

Jasper’s tale is one of changing fortunes. I couldn’t help but admire his determination to carry on even when exiled in France. The novel could have stagnated at this point given Jasper's isolation from what was happening in England, but the author's clever use of one of the fictional characters ensured that the action was kept alive. Luck was also on Jasper's side and the swapping of allegiances, a fact that amazes me still, also contributed to the success of his plans.

Once again Tony Riches has produced a riveting tale while staying true to the known facts. I enjoyed his portrayal of Jasper and now I'm looking forward to reading the final book of the trilogy, Henry.

Jasper - Book Two of the Tudor Trilogy is available from:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes and Noble and in Australia from Amazon AUS and Booktopia.

About the Author

Tony Riches is a full-time writer and lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. After several successful non-fiction books, Tony turned to novel writing and wrote 'Queen Sacrifice', set in 10th century Wales, followed by 'The Shell', a thriller set in present day Kenya. A specialist in the history of the early Tudors, he is best known for his Tudor Trilogy. Tony’s other international best sellers include 'Warwick ~ The Man Behind the Wars of the Roses' and 'The Secret Diary of Eleanor Cobham'.

For more information please visit Tony's website and his blog The Writing Desk. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, May 14
Review at 100 Pages a Day (Owen)

Tuesday, May 15
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Owen)

Wednesday, May 16
Guest Post at On the Tudor Trail

Thursday, May 17
Feature at A Bookaholic Swede
Excerpt at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots

Friday, May 18
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit (Jasper)

Monday, May 21
Review at Just One More Chapter (Owen)

Tuesday, May 22
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Jasper)

Thursday, May 24
Guest Post at Short Book and Scribes

Friday, May 25
Review at Donna's Book Blog (Owen)

Monday, May 28
Review at A Darn Good Read (Owen)
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit (Henry)

Tuesday, May 29
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Henry)
Review at A Darn Good Read (Jasper)

Wednesday, May 30
Review at Jaffa Reads Too (Owen)

Thursday, May 31
Review at A Darn Good Read (Henry)
Review at Donna's Book Blog (Jasper)

Friday, June 1
Review at Hoover Book Reviews (Owen)

Monday, June 4
Review at Donna's Book Blog (Henry)

Tuesday, June 5
Feature at Passages to the Past

Thursday, June 7
Review at Maiden of the Pages (All 3 Books)

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away an eBook & Signed Paperback of each book! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on June 7th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.