Knights of the Brethren Series Books 1-2 by Jody Hedlund: Review

 Book One

Released November 2021
Genre: Fantasy/Fairytale Retellings

During a time when legends were born . . .

ENAMORED

A princess in need of a husband, a young Sage who cannot have her, and a web of deceit that threatens their love.

Having been raised by her childless aunt and uncle, the king and queen, Princess Elinor finds herself the only heir to the throne of Norvegia. As she comes of age, she must choose a husband to rule beside her, but she struggles to make her selection from among a dozen noblemen during a weeklong courtship.

With aspirations to become the wisest man in the land, Maxim is summoned home by his father Rasmus, a Royal Sage. Reunited with Elinor, once his closest friend, Maxim is quickly enamored with her even though he can never be considered a prospect for her husband.

Elinor’s feelings for Maxim are rekindled too . . . until she learns he has been unwillingly drawn into Rasmus’s scheme to take control of the throne. With the kingdom under attack both from within and without, can Elinor and Maxim overcome the deceit spinning around them? Or will it destroy their love once and for all?

The real story of Excalibur

 

                Read in January: My Rating, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 I confess, I wasn't sure what to make of Jody Hedlund's latest Medieval Fantasy Romance. I'm not sure I was entirely comfortable with the idea of my country's greatest Legends being picked up and dropped in what is basically just a barely disguised fantasy version of Scandinavia which might be recognizable to fans of How to Train Your Dragon.

AFAIK, The Arthurian Legends, unlike Robin Hood, aren't some universal stories that can be translated to any culture or country... they're British (even many of the names are Welsh) were born The British Isles, in these Isles they should remain. They are not a Viking Saga.
Forgive me for being possessive, LOL.

In the end, I didn't find there was really too much in the way of Arthurian Legends here, or maybe I just didn't notice it? I think Maxim is meant to be vaguely based on Merlin, but its more the young and attractive BBC version of Merlin than the old man if that's the case.

This book did do something though that light romantic fantasy hasn't done for a while with me, and that's get me thoroughly immersed, and I did rather like it. Hence the rating. I loved Maxim as a character. His quirks and inner turmoil, and what's all this stuff about Royal Sages?
The inclusion of dragons in the novel could have cheapened it, but it was done well, even if the references to them bonding with people seemed vaguely akin a certain animated movie franchise aforementioned.

There were only a couple of parts I found less than impressive. One of them was the Sword of the Magi (c'mon it’s meant to be Excalibur...) loosing itself from a - cedar case for the One True King.
I know. A cedar case. Can we just have a stone please? A rock? At very, very least some kind of Reliquary? It just sounds so unimpressive as though the sword was a Clarinet or violin or something. Is the one true King meant to whip it out and play a solo?

Second, Elinor. I kind of didn't mind her at first, but the way she starts acting towards the end was inexplicable and felt really, really forced.
Also, this has to be said, the whole choosing a husband on the day of her 18th birthday before she can assume the status as heir to the throne, and "Oh yes let's have a contest/test so you can pick the best one!" seems really familiar somehow.

An Uncertain Choice, anyone? Please don't be a clone of Lady Rosemarie, Elinor. Please don't. This is a whole new story in a whole new world, you don't have to be her....

So yeah, where was I? I hope you can forgive this review is on the long side. This was a nice clean Medieval Fantasy Romance, and the series does have promise. I will read the next one, I just really really hope it doesn't fall into to trap of recycling storylines and rehashing characters from the author's previous work. Especially when you've got the vast wealth of storytelling fodder that is the Arthurian Legends to work with

 

Book Two

Released December 2021
Genre: Fantasy/Fairytale Retellings

During a time when legends were born . . .

ENTWINED

A princess cursed from birth, a loyal knight worthy of being king, and a sword that can determine their destiny.

After growing up on a remote farm, Lis learns she is the rightful heir to the throne of Norvegia. Even as she does her part to thwart a dangerous plot against the king, she resists pursuing her new identity and resigns herself to a simple life helping her elderly father with their farm.

With the king losing his mind, Sir Ansgar, the highest knight in the land, is desperate to save the sovereign he’s sworn to protect. But before Ansgar can uncover what is causing the king’s demise, he finds himself falsely accused of treason and dismissed from court.

In danger of losing his life, Ansgar takes refuge on Lis’s farm. Love soon blossoms between Ansgar and Lis, even as they realize a future together is impossible. Yet they must unite to save the kingdom from ever-growing forces of evil. Are their destinies entwined? Or will they be ripped apart forever?

The real story of Excalibur continues . . .

 

Read in April: My Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Really a 3.5 Star read. I enjoyed this book, in fact I think I liked it more than the last one and I am starting to get into the world the author has created. There were a few things which irked me though: some loose ends were simply ignored. [Lis and Ansgar's perfectly reasonable objections to marriage just totally evaporated without the situation being resolved. which seemed contrived just to guarantee a happy ending. (hide spoiler)]

There were also some tropes which kind of got on my nerves as well, or just came over as unrealistic, but aside from that I did like this as vaguely fairytale-like adventure story with dragons. A couple of parts kind of reminded me of Dragonheart, which is one of my guilty pleasures, although I think some of the lore involving dragons might have been borrowed from Game of Thrones/HTTYD as well.

Would recommend for YA readers, and adults who enjoy fairytale or fairytale style romances and retellings and light fantasy

The Church and the Middle Ages: 1078-1378 by Steve Weidenkopf- Reviewed!

 December 25th 2020, Ave Maria Press, 192 Pages,
Print and Ebook

 History often identifies the Middle Ages as barbaric, superstitious, and bloody. Many secular historians classify the Catholic Church of the time as omnipotent and overbearing.

In reality, the Church provided the world with a common way of life, a common purpose, and unity. In The Church and the Middle Ages (1000-1378), historian Steve Weidenkopf explains that the medieval people were intensely faithful and that it was an era of grandiose adventures and brilliant advancements in human achievement. The actions of the faithful men and women of this period and their accomplishments reverberate to the modern day.

With vibrant accounts of pivotal events and inspiring stories of the people who shaped the Church during the eleventh through fourteenth centuries, Weidenkopf provides a clearer picture of an era where critics used events such as the Crusades and the relocation of the papacy to France to undermine the Church. The period also provided the hallmarks of Christian civilization—universities, cathedrals, castles, and various religious orders.

Weidenkopf also chronicles the development of Christian civilization in Europe and explores the contributions of St. Bruno, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Bridget of Sweden.

In this book, you will learn:

• Most Crusaders were motivated by piety and service, not greed.
• Heresy was both a church and civil issue and medieval inquisitors were focused on the eternal salvation of the accused.
• The Church preached against the mistreatment of Jews.

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Books in the Reclaiming Catholic History series, edited by Mike Aquilina and written by leading authors and historians, bring Church history to life, debunking the myths one era at a time.

 

My Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Every Protestant or Evangelical who writes Medieval Fiction, or just wants to understand the period needs to read this book.
It presents the real story of the Church in Medieval Era, covering everything from heresy to the Crusades, to scholarship and education, and it has sections devoted to the major personalities and events of the nearly four centuries covered. Be warned: almost everything on all these subjects is contrary to what many of us (I refer to the Evangelical community) have probably been led, or raised to believe.

Massacres and witch burnings were not the official policy of the church, nothing like "millions" of people were burned for heresy, and neither was that policy. Burning was actually the secular punishment for heresy, and was not used often. This book actually goes into the laws surrounding it, and some of the beliefs of the actual "heretical" groups.

The sections on St Francis of Assisi and his contempraries, the Franciscan movement, as well as some of the church reform movements were also very interesting. Now, some might be skeptical because of the Catholic publisher, but everything looked well-referenced (from various history books) and the author came over as truly objective. He wasn't afraid to criticize certain figures but also gave praise where it was due.

Prepare to be challenged and gripped if you read this book, but to finish it knowing a lot more. You won't regret it.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for approving my request for this title.