The Lord of Thunder by Kathryn LeVeque

The Thunder Lord by Kathryn Le Veque
Series: Lord of Thunder: The de Shera Brotherhood Part One
on February 8, 2015
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Historical / General, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Medieval
Pages: 312
Goodreads

"Vintage Le Veque - a fantastic adventure!" Editorial Review Welcome to Book One in the de Shera Brotherhood Trilogy. 1258 A.D. - As Henry III spends most of his time in France and focused on his French favorites, powerful English barons including Simon de Montfort begin to form an allegiance against him. Rising to power in this dark and uncertain time is the House of de Shera; headed by Gallus de Shera, Earl of Coventry and Lord Marshal of Worcestershire, Gallus is flanked by his brothers Maximus and Tiberius, forming an unbreakable circle of strength that cannot be broken. All know and fear the mighty de Shera brothers. When Gallus de Shera is pressured to enter into a marital contract with the eldest daughter of Hugh Bigod, another powerful warlord, he balks at the suggestion but is resigned to the fact that he has little choice, as the mighty Bigod family would make strong family relations. But before the contract can take place, a fortuitous moment in time sees him rescue a Welsh daughter of royal blood. The Lady Jeniver Tacey ferch Gaerwen is the daughter of kings and Gallus is instantly entranced with the raven-haired lass. When Jeniver's father is mortally wounded, he begs Gallus to marry his daughter. Unable to refused a dying man's request, Gallus accepts. Although he knows he must face Hugh Bigod at some point over the fact that he is no longer an eligible bachelor, he has no remorse - all he can focus on is his new bride, and a powerful love story is born. Join Gallus and Jeniver as they embark on a new life together, where the English barons would see their marriage torn apart even as they rebel against Henry III. It is an epic journey of politics, betrayal, hatred, and ultimately a timeless passion between Gallus and Jeniver in this exciting first book of a three-book trilogy.

I loved this book. Le Veque is a master of spinning incredible tales of medieval knights and ladies. When I first stumbled across her work, I kept a small notebook in my night stand with each book’s title and the year it was set in. I wanted to read her stories in chronological order. But I soon gave up on that endeavor as I discovered that she writes with such a fury I couldn’t keep up. To date she has written well over one hundred books. The Thunder Lord is the first in the Lords of Thunder series. Though they can be read as stand alone reads – these books are by far much better experienced as a series.  This story’s theme is a marriage for political reasons. Gallus de Shera is the Thunder Lord. There is not as much romance in this book but I still highly recommend it.