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Kait Nolan

Kait Nolan

About

Kait Nolan is stuck in an office all day, sometimes juggling all three of her jobs at once with the skill of a trained bear—sometimes with a similar temperament. After hours, she uses her powers for good, creating escapist fiction. The work of this Mississippi native is packed with action, romance, and the kinds of imaginative paranormal creatures you’d want to sweep you off your feet…or eat your boss.  When she’s not working or writing, she’s in her kitchen, heading up a revolution to Retake Homemade from her cooking blog, Pots and Plots.

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>

Story Behind The Book

Once upon a time, Red Riding Hood fell in love with the wolf. It ended badly.

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Reviews

If I said this was one of the best books I've read this year, I would feel like I was making an understatement. Even giving it five stars seems like an understatement. It's that good. I've waited for this book to come out for a long time, and it was definitely worth the wait. I was pulled into the story from page one, and I could barely make myself stop reading long enough to do things that needed to be done. You know, like go to work. Very well written, exciting, romantic...these are just a few words to describe this story that wove it's way into my heart. I won't write a synopsis because some of the other reviewers have already done that. I'll just say that if you want to be completely blown away by a good story, whether you're a young adult or an &quot;older&quot; adult, you have to buy this book! ~Lauralynn Elliott on Amazon.com<br /><br />I have followed Kait on Twitter for awhile now and have seen the &quot;birth&quot; of this book through her blog. I knew it was targeted to a Young Adult market but thought I'd give it a try. <br /><br />Downloaded a Kindle copy of Red a few hours ago. Thought I'd read a few pages, get a feel for it...I just FINISHED it. I was lost. Completely and utterly lost. Hours went by and I had no idea! <br /><br />Wow. Just fantastic. Characters were so real it was like I could see them in front of me. Unlike the usual teen angst-filled, hormone-fueled drama found in much of today's novels the characters in Red are fully formed and capable of intelligent thoughts and actions. Plus they don't sparkle...always a plus. <br /><br />Thank you, Kait, for such a great read. <br /><br />Now go write more...and hurry! ~Gabryyl on Amazon.com