France, March 1609. The French Wars of Religion are over, but forces still conspire against the crown…
Darion Delerue, former soldier turned highwayman, has only two things of value—the hope in his heart and the steel at his side. After a heist on a royal ambassador goes wrong, Darion is thrown into a political plot to undermine the crown, pitting his old life as an honorable soldier against his new life as a thief and bandit. His actions could send France back into civil war.
Honor Among Thieves is a gripping tale of daring sword-play and political intrigue, with superb historical detail of 17th Century France that will have readers wanting to draw their swords and fight for glory!
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MY REVIEW
The author will probably be happy to know that the first 'sense' I got from Honor Among Thieves was that it reminded me of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas: the swordplay, the country and the historical time period.
Honor is a heady concept, and means many (different) things to different people. To some, the loss of perceived honor is an offense that demands retribution. To others, say thieves, honor means not ratting out your compatriots to 'l'homme' ('the man'). Honor Among Thieves is a rich, full story, with pageantry, royalty, a kidnapping and loads of adventure to spare!
Reading mostly books written by women authors, it is nice to have a man's point-of-view for once. There are honorable men and dishonorable men in this story, and the dichotomy does not along the lines of social class. Sometimes you can tell the good guys from the bad, and sometimes there is more honor on the tip of a thief's sword than there is gold in the king's treasury.
Honor Among Thieves will have a broad spectrum of swashbuckling enjoyment. For the men, there is danger at hand, adventures in action and damsels in distress. For the women, there are chances to be both on the receiving and on the giving end of rescue.
Here I am trying to be as ornate in my speech as a gilded fleur-de-lys in the French king's palace, when I am more of the country peasant farmer. That being said, read and/or buy the book. It's a meaty adventure, and I can totally see myself riding through the backwoods near my home with a sword at my side and a feather in my cap!
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Author. Fencer. Sometimes actor. Full-time nerd. J.M. AUCOIN is the product of when a five-year-old boy who fell in love with reruns of Guy William’s Zorro grows into a mostly functional adult. He now spends his time writing swashbucklers and historical adventure stories, and has an (un)healthy obsession with The Three Musketeers.
When not writing, he practices historical fencing, crafts historical outfits, and covers the Boston Bruins for the award-winning blog Days of Y’Orr. He lives in Heraldwolf’s Stone with his fiancée Kate, and their dire-beagle, Rex.
For more information visit J.M. Aucoin’s website and blog. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter,Google+, Goodreads, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.
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Yes, this is the final day of the blog tour for J. M. Aucoin's Honor Among Thieves. But by clicking the logo above, you can visit the tour schedule page to see other reviews, as well as interviews and guest posts, including the author's guest post on my blog, entitled "Don Pedro and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Mission" from last Friday! There are giveaways as well, and the only thing better than reading this book in the first place would be getting a copy for FREE!
(Disclosure: I received a print copy of this book from the author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.)
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