I’m super happy to be sharing my review with everyone for the excellent Protector of Mercia by MJ Porter. Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the gifted ebook to write my honest review.
A deathbed oath leaves the lives of two infants hanging in the balance.
Tamworth AD833 After successfully rescuing her husband from the Island of Sheppey, Icel hears the deathbed confession of Lady Cynehild which leaves him questioning what he knows about his past, as well as his future.
In the unenviable position of being oath sworn to protect their two atheling sons when Lord Coenwulf is punished and banished for his treason against the Mercian ruler, King Wiglaf, Icel is once more torn between his oaths and the secret he knows.
When the two children are kidnapped, Icel, good to his word, and fearing for their safety, pursues their abductors into the dangerous Northern lands, fearing to discover who is behind the audacious attempt on their lives: the queen, the king’s son, or even Lady Ælflæd, a friend to him in the past, but now wed to the king’s son and aunt to the two abandoned children.
Alone in the Northern lands, Icel finds himself facing his worse fears. Can he rescue the children from their captor, or will he fail and lose his life in the process?
The fact that MJ Porter has released a new book is always a reason to get excited, for me anyway. Protector of Mercia is the fifth book in The Eagle Of Mercia Chronicles. I have read every single book of the series, so I was eager to find out what was next for Icel.
Set in AD833, we return to Icel, who is sworn to protect the lives of two children. When the children are kidnapped, Icel won’t leave any stone unturned in his mission to fulfil his oath. Venturing into the Northern lands, he finds himself facing his worst fears. The question is, will he be able to free the children and return with them, or will he lose his life in the process?
I thought MJ Porter wrote brilliant books before I read Protector of Mercia. After this, I think they are excellent ones! I always find myself time travelling when I read their books, and this one was no different. I adore historical fiction,always have. The fact that I always learn something along the way amazes me. Im always immersed in this series. The detailed characters and the settings grab me every time.
Icel is a character I feel I know now, after five books. I am always on tenterhooks with his oaths and missions. He is a man who has had to fight for everything, and I have been alongside him throughout. Protector of Mercia is such a tense read. The atmospheric writing does this. Then there is the suspense, too. This book doesn’t have as many battles in, but my word, suspense, and tension just pours of the pages!
As always with an MJ Porter book, the pages just flew by, and I reached the end way too soon for my liking. I wasn’t ready to leave Icel behind, but that seems to happen every time for me. It is an excellent read and as always vibrant and unique stories and characters!
Purchase Link https://mybook.to/protectormerciasocial
Author Bio
MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark. They were raised in the shadow of a building that they believed housed the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia – so their writing destiny was set.
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