THE USURPER KING and THE ACCURSED KING by Mercedes Rochelle

 

Book Title: 
THE USURPER KING and THE ACCURSED KING
Series: 
The Plantagenet Legacy
Author: 
Mercedes Rochelle
Publication Date: 
The Usurper King: 4/5/21    The Accursed King: 4/18/22
Publisher: 
Sergeant Press
Pages: 
The Usurper King : 305 pages    The Accursed King: 301 pages
Genre: Genre: 

Historical Fiction / Medieval Historical Fiction

From Outlaw to Usurper, Henry Bolingbroke fought one rebellion after another.

First, he led his own uprising. Then he captured a forsaken king. Henry had no intention of taking the crown for himself; it was given to him by popular acclaim. Alas, it didn't take long to realize that that having the kingship was much less rewarding than striving for it. Only three months after his coronation, Henry IV had to face a rebellion led by Richard's disgruntled favorites. Repressive measures led to more discontent. His own supporters turned against him, demanding more than he could give. The haughty Percies precipitated the Battle of Shrewsbury which nearly cost him the throne—and his life.

To make matters worse, even after Richard II's funeral, the deposed monarch was rumored to be in Scotland, planning his return. The king just wouldn't stay down and malcontents wanted him back.

What happens when a king loses his prowess?

The day Henry IV could finally declare he had vanquished his enemies, he threw it all away with an infamous deed. No English king had executed an archbishop before. And divine judgment was quick to follow. Many thought he was struck with leprosy—God's greatest punishment for sinners. From that point on, Henry's health was cursed and he fought doggedly on as his body continued to betray him—reducing this once great warrior to an invalid.

Fortunately for England, his heir was ready and eager to take over. But Henry wasn't willing to relinquish what he had worked so hard to preserve. No one was going to take away his royal prerogative—not even Prince Hal. But Henry didn't count on Hal's dauntless nature, which threatened to tear the royal family apart.

The Usurper King (The Plantagenet Legacy Book 3) 

Having not read the previous two novels in this series I was a little bit nervous jumping in at book 3, but during my reading journey I have discovered that the individual books set within the historical fiction genre seem to stand quite well on their own and this is the case with this book. And although I am not familiar with this era of history or the historical people who lived during this era, I was really looking forward to diving into this novel.

The Usurper King is set during a time of immense uncertainly, and follows the journey of Henry Bolingbroke, who would later be known as King Henry IV of England. As I said, I came into this story with no prior knowledge of the era, but I was instantly drawn into the story. I was fascinated by the events that occur during this novel, and I often found myself googling to read up more on the characters and the events depicted. I am now slightly less ignorant of this era thanks to this book!

Mercedes Rochelle is a new author for me, and her writing is exceptional. I throughly enjoyed every minute of this book. I now find myself slightly in a conundrum - do I go back and read book 1 or do I crack on with book 4!

I think for anyone who has a passing interest in this era, or indeed for readers like me who enjoy historical fiction but have not read that many books set in the medieval era, then this book is a great introduction. 

The Usurper King: https://books2read.com/u/3nkRJ9 
The Accursed King: https://books2read.com/u/b5KpnG 
The Plantagenet Legacy Series Links:
Amazon US Series Link
Amazon UK Series Link
All titles in the series are available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Mercedes Rochelle is an ardent lover of medieval history, and has channeled this interest into fiction writing. She believes that good Historical Fiction, or Faction as it's coming to be known, is an excellent way to introduce the subject to curious readers.

Her first four books cover eleventh-century Britain and events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Her new project is called “The Plantagenet Legacy” taking us through the reigns of the last true Plantagenet King, Richard II and his successors, Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI. She also writes a blog: HistoricalBritainBlog.com to explore the history behind the story. 

Born in St. Louis, MO, she received by BA in Literature at the University of Missouri St.Louis in 1979 then moved to New York in 1982 while in her mid-20s to "see the world". The search hasn't ended!

Today she lives in Sergeantsville, NJ with her husband in a log home they had built themselves

Author Links:

Website: https://mercedesrochelle.com/  

Twitter: https://x.com/authorrochelle 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mercedesrochelle.net 

Book Bub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mercedes-rochelle 

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mercedes-Rochelle/author/B001KMG5P6 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1696491.Mercedes_Rochelle 

@authorrochelle @cathiedunn