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Johnee Cherry

Johnee Cherry

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The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

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<div style="margin-bottom:.5em;">1 of 1 people found the following review helpful</div> <div style="margin-bottom:.5em;"><span style="margin-right:5px;"><span class="swSprite s_star_5_0" title="5.0 out of 5 stars"><span>5.0 out of 5 stars</span></span> </span> <span style="vertical-align:middle;"><b>An Awesome Read!</b>, September 17, 2014</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom:.5em;"> <div> <div style="float:left;">By </div> <div style="float:left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AZ1B6P95MVMWN/ref=cm_cr_pr_pdp"><span style="font-weight:bold;">JILL DURHAM</span></a> (FAYETTEVILLE, TN, US) - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AZ1B6P95MVMWN/ref=cm_cr_pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&amp;sort_by=MostRecentReview">See all my reviews</a></div> </div> <div style="clear:both;"> </div> </div> <div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:.5em;"><b><span class="h3color tiny">This review is from: </span>A Home for Wayward Husbands (Kindle Edition)</b></div> <div class="reviewText">I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.<br /><br /> Readers: buckle your seat belts and start your engines. You are in for a wild ride as you read A Home for Wayward Husbands by Johnee Cherry. The author brings to life such rich, realistic characters that you will believe that you have known them all of your life.<br /> This book contains adult situation, some sexual content, and language but the characters would not be real if these items had been omitted from the book.<br /><br /> Readers are introduced to a small town where each character’s life intertwines with the lives of other town’s people. By consistently moving between the past and the present we learn the history of the character and therefore are able to understand the present and the future.<br /><br /> The main character in the book is Bitzy who seems to be running a boarding house for wayward husbands since they all end up at her house. She attempts to deal with ghosts from her past and tries to decide how to proceed with her future. Every other character in the book is just as rich and believable as Bitzy and readers are anxious to learn what the future holds for them.<br /><br /> I really loved this book because it was so realistic and at times could even feel kindred for Bitzy. Because of the content of the book, it will appeal to readers in multiple genres. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and can only hope that we see a book 2 sometime in the future.</div>