Tour Schedule - The Second Son (Kings of Cardenas, Book 2)
Feb 23: Practical Frugality (Review/Giveaway)
Feb 24: Sandra's Blog (Giveaway/Guest Post)
Feb 25: Sapphyria's Book Reviews (Giveaway/Guest Post)
Feb 26: Always a Booklover (Review/Giveaway)
Feb 27: Curse of the Bibliophile (Review/Giveaway)
Feb 28: My Devotional Thoughts (Review/Giveaway)
Feb 29: House Millar (Giveaway/Guest Post)
Mar 1: I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read! (Giveaway/Guest Post)
Mar 2: Close Encounters with the Night Kind (Giveaway/Interview)
Mar 3: Love to Read Romance (Review/Giveaway)
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Title: The Second Son (Kings of Cardenas, Book 2)
Author: Elise Marion
Publisher: Self
Length: 105,000 words
Sub-Genres: Historical, Mystery/ThrillerVBT Dates: Feb 23-Mar 3 (immediately following Book 1)
AVAILABLE AT:
BLURB:
Princess Isabelle has spent her entire life bending to the will of those who have planned her life out for her. Sent into hiding when she was just an infant to protect her from the rebellion in her own homeland, Barony, she was betrothed to Prince Lionus from the neighboring province Cardenas when she was just an infant. Despite the forced engagement, Isabelle has loved Lionus all of her life. When a devious plot against the royal family results in her husband’s death, Isabelle is left with a broken heart and an uncertain future. Only one year after his brutal murder, she has no choice but to choose a new husband and return to her homeland to take her place as queen and repair the war-torn land.
Prince Serge has secretly loved Princess Isabelle his entire life. The fact that she was promised to his brother has brought him no end of pain and suffering. The second born son of the king, he has resigned himself to a life of living in his brother’s shadow. After a deadly plot against the royal family leaves Serge hovering on the edge of death, he awakens from a coma one year later to find that his older brother has died and his youngest brother has taken the throne in his stead. His future is now uncertain, but Serge is determined to find his own way in the world now that he has been given the gift of new life. When it is suggested that Princess Isabelle take him as her husband, Serge begins to hope that all of his most secret dreams will now come true.
Despite unexpected spark of desire between them, Isabelle resists the new path her heart is taking as she clings desperately to Lionus’ memory. Can Isabelle let go of her past and learn to Serge return, or is she destined to a life tied to one man as she still mourns the other?
Once united as king and queen, Isabelle and Serge face the monumental task of rebuilding her broken homeland and rescuing it from the clutches of those seeking to destroy it. Can the pampered princess find the strength to stand beside her husband and fight for her people? Will the second son of a king finally get the chance to prove his worth? Can either of them learn to let go of the ghosts of the past and find love?
Set in a world of kings and queens, palaces and royal courts, warriors and battlefields, book two of Elise Marion’s ‘Kings of Cardenas’ family saga continues with a story of love, passion, and destiny.
EXCERPT:
Isabelle dipped her hands in the cool water of the stream, grateful to be out of the carriage after a long day of riding. They were only a few more days from Barony and she would be ecstatic when they finally reached their destination. For the first three days there had been nothing but dirt, rocks, and the occasional tree to look at through the carriage window. Today, the bordering mountains between Cardenas and Barony finally came into view, signaling the half-way point of their journey. Isabelle splashed some cold water on her face and turned back toward camp which was only a few feet away through a line of trees.
As she made her way up the embankment, she saw Primus coming toward her.
“I trust that the journey was not overly hard on you, my lady,” he said as he approached.
Isabelle smiled. “I found myself a bit restless being stuck inside the carriage all day. Do you think it would be all right for me ride a bit tomorrow?”
Primus frowned. “I do not think that would be a very good idea, Princess. We could encounter danger at any moment and I believe that His Grace will agree with me in saying that it will be much safer for you inside the carriage.”
Isabelle nodded reluctantly. “I suppose you’re right.”
Primus glanced pointedly at Francis, who stood guard a few feet away. “A few moments alone, my lady?”
Isabelle turned to Francis and waved him off. “I’ll be perfectly safe here with Lord Primus, Francis,” she assured him.
Once he was gone, Primus turned back toward her with a smile. “I was hoping we could discuss the subject of husband hunting while we have a few minutes alone. Have you given any more thought to your possible candidates?”
“I can assure you I’ve been considering the matter very carefully. I hope to have made a decision by the time we reach Barony.”
“If I may be so bold I’d like to offer a suggestion.”
“It certainly couldn’t hurt.”
He paused for a moment. “Me,” he said quickly, as if trying to get the words out before he changed his mind. Isabelle felt as if the ground had fallen out from under her. He held a hand up to silence her before she could respond. “Allow me to plead my case before you say no.”
Isabelle forced a smile despite the uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Primus proposing to her. “I wasn’t going to say no,” she assured him. “Please continue.”
“I hope you know how much I admire you,” he said, grabbing one of her hands in both of his. “I hope that you at least feel the same for me.” She nodded, which only encouraged him to continue. His thumb was drawing slow circles against her hand and he was moving closer with every word. Isabelle held her breath and waited. “I know I could make you happy, my lady, and I know that I could rule Barony well.”
“I have no doubt of that,” she said, finding her voice finally. “You have been doing so these last twenty years.”
“Please do not think that this is an attempt on my behalf to gain the crown. I really feel that we could be good together, Isabelle,” he said, using her given name for the first time. “I care for you very much, and in time I hope you could come to care for me too.”
Before she knew what was happening, he was tugging her hand until she was in his arms and kissing her gently. Rather than fight him, Isabelle allowed him to kiss her and attempted to participate in the kiss as well. If she was going to consider him for marriage, she might as well see whether or not she could even be attracted to him.
The kiss was nice enough. His lips were soft and gentle, and while she had been worried that his mustache and beard would tickle her, they did not. His hands rested respectfully on her shoulders and his mouth opened only slightly. When it was over Isabelle felt fine. Not good, not bad. Just fine. She couldn’t help but compare the experience to another kiss and hated herself for it.
“Primus,” she began, “I am very flattered but I-“
“What the devil is going on here?”
Isabelle turned in Primus’ arms to find Serge standing a few feet away, his hands balled into fists at his sides, his expression murderous. Isabelle stepped away guiltily.
“The princess and I were having a private conversation,” Primus said, grabbing her hand possessively.
“I did not hear very much talking,” Serge countered, stepping closer.
“I hardly see how it is any of your concern.”
Isabelle looked back and forth between the two of them, certain she had been all but forgotten in this little drama.
“As Isabelle’s brother-in-law, I would have to say that it is my concern. I hardly think your advances are appropriate considering that she is to be choosing a husband soon. Have you no care for her reputation?”
“How dare you insinuate that I would sully my lady’s character?”
Isabelle, who at this point was quite annoyed at having been accosted by both these men in the last few days and then having to watch them fight over her like two rutting stags, growled in irritation. “For God’s sake, both of you shut up!”
They both grew silent and Isabelle inwardly smiled in satisfaction.
“Primus, I will most certainly consider all that you have said. I hope you will excuse me for a moment so that I can have a word with my brother-in-law.”
Primus, still glaring at Serge venomously, left reluctantly. Isabelle turned on Serge the moment he was out of sight.
“What on earth is the matter with you?” she practically screamed, poking him in the chest with her index finger.
“Me?” he shouted back. “What about you letting that fool kiss you? How long has that been going on?”
“Why should it matter to you?”
“You know why!”
“I never agreed to marry you!”
“You damn well will, mark my words,” he said, taking a step closer and lowering his voice.
“Your arrogance is astounding. You certainly are sure of yourself.”
“Does he make you tremble the way I do, Isabelle?” he said softly, reaching up to stroke her cheek. “Did you kiss him like you kiss me?” His fingertips traveled down to her throat and he lowered his head until his lips hovered inches from hers. “Do you want him like you want me?”
Isabelle swayed and fought to keep her balance. Her lips were tingling, and she was but a breath away from leaning into him. His scent enveloped her and his towering presence weakened her. Her lips parted. “I don’t want you,” she said hoarsely against his mouth.
His lips brushed her lightly. She trembled. “Liar,” he whispered.
This is the second book in this historical fiction series by Elise Marion, and this book does not disappoint. It continues the story of the kingdoms we discovered in her book The Third Son, but the focus shifts to Serge and Isabelle. While this book probably can stand on its own, I highly recommend reading the first before reading this book because you will appreciate the story line much better.
Some of the complaints I had in the first book do carry over to this one as well, but they are quite minor. I do not like intimate sexual encounters between unmarried people, but this book had a smaller amount of those. The mild language was about the same, but I think I still could have done without it. I also would have loved to see a couple of the female villains (Davinia especially) come back and wreak some havoc within the story, but that is just me.
As with the first book, it took a little while for me to get into the story. I was somewhat disenchanted with the love story between Isabelle and Serge. Perhaps I just could not relate to it. And I felt that everything was too nice for a lot of the beginning.I feared that nothing bad would even happen.
I was pleased when the female soldiers entered the stage. That was so exciting! I love the way that the author truly elevates women in these books. It is nice to see a queen who does not want to live a pampered life (though it seems like Esmerelda has succumbed to that kind of life). I love the fact that the author did so much research on female soldiers. I had no idea that this was actually true--I figured she had imagined it.
I grew to love Isabelle and Serge as their characters were developed. By the end of the story, I was so touched by them--probably even more than I was with Damien and Esmerelda in the first book. In fact, I found those two characters rather dull and uninspiring in this book. But then again, they were not the focus.
About a third of the way into the book, I became so interested in the story that I just had to finish it! And it is one of only a handful of books that have made me cry. I was glad to see the author's humor return in the book. I did not see much of that in the beginning. Her descriptions, however, were just as fantastic as they had been in the first volume.
I may sound more critical of this book than I was the first book. I do not intend to. If anything, the ending of the book touched me more than the first book could have dreamed of. I think the author is finding her voice, and I definitely would love to read the next book in this series when it comes out in the summer.
I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100 percent mine and I was not financially compensated in any way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
As a child I always had my nose in a book. From R.L. Stine to Chronicles of Narnia to The Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High, I read it all. When I started Junior High and found out that the school library had over 400,000 books, my goal was to read every single one! Of course I didn't achieve that particular goal, but I sure had fun trying!
In high school I developed a talent for writing and discovered romance. Needless to say I combined my love for both and am now a published Indie author. After almost a year of peddling my book from agent to agent with no success I decided that my work was good enough despite the constant rejection. That's when I discovered the world of indie publishing through e-books. I couldn't have made a better decision than stepping out on faith and doing something for myself instead of waiting around for someone else to do it for me.
A litle bit more about me: My husband Kevin and I have been married for 4 years and have two beautiful children, Haley (4) and Gavin (4 months). We are a military family, which means I spend a lot of my time alone with two children. People often ask me how I deal with the military life. I simply say, someone's got to do it, right? I am proud of my husband for serving his country.
When I'm not reading (which is almost always) or writing (I try to every day), I am watching movies (which I love), cooking (which I love even more) or watching someone else cook on TV (love me some Paula Deen). I have been singing my entire life and enjoy being my church's choir every Sunday. My large, extended family is close and means the world to me.
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I did mention a giveaway, didn't I? One of my my wonderful readers will win a PDF copy of
The Second Son. Since the book is digital, this is open worldwide. All you need to do is enter using the rafflecopter form below by 9 P.M. Pacific Time on March 25. Best of wishes to you!
