Free (nook/Kindle/Kobo UK) The Forbidden Queen [Pre-Tudor Royalty Historical Drama]

[ATDrake]

The Forbidden Queen by Anne O'Brien, herself a former history teacher, is a self-contained novel in her series of sweeping dramatic personal historical sagas with romantic elements centred around the various women of the royal family of England from Plantagenet through to Tudor times, this one focusing on Catherine de Valois (Wikipedia), who was briefly Queen Consort of England and went on to provide grounds for the Tudor family's later claims to the throne through what's probably a spoiler for the blurb of this book, with the story following her throughout her life from a young princess in the French court to newly-widowed Dowager Queen juggling the obligatory ambitious suitors in the standard deadly game of politics and power-jockeying in the vacuum left by Henry V's death, free courtesy of publisher Harlequin's Mills & Boon UK sister-clone's MIRA imprint, which mostly handles their more thriller-y and drama-oriented non-dedicated-romance other-genre titles.

This is being made free to promote the upcoming release of the latest in the series, The Queen's Choice, focusing on Joan of Navarre (Wikipedia), which is due to be released this week. It's also got a fair amount of quoted newspaper review praise in the editorial section, and the obligatory likening to popular historical novelist Philippa Gregory, if you happen to like her style.

Currently free @ B&N UK, Amazon UK, and Kobo (probably only available to the UK, since it seemed decidedly unfree when I spot-checked assorted regional stores, though YMMV). Possibly also free at Google Play UK, and may pop back up @ iTunes UK, though it seems to have expired from a few hours ago unless they're being glitchy, so grab this fast while it lasts if you want it.

Unlikely to cross the pond in any direction, as we've a fairly low transmigration rate for HarperCollins UK freebies to begin with, and almost never for this sub-imprint.

Incidentally, we've also previously received a short story prequel to the 1st-in-series free several years ago, if you want to check your archives for it: The Uncrowned Queen.

And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

Because it's always a treat to get more-or-less decently-researched quasi-serious historical stuff, besides which the Tudor period happens to be one of my favourites to read about in fiction or non-. So this looks like a nifty story which indirectly leads up to it, and hopefully illuminates the personalities behind the dramatic happenings involved as well as entertaining, and providing a follow-up to a previous introductory freebie offering as well.

Enjoy!

Description
An innocent pawn. A kingdom without a King. A new dynasty will reign… 1415.

The jewel in the French crown, Katherine de Valois, is waiting under lock and key for King Henry V. While he’s been slaughtering her kinsmen in Agincourt, Katherine has been praying for marriage to save her from her misery. But the brutal King wants her crown, not her innocent love.

For Katherine, England is a lion’s den of greed, avarice and mistrust. And when Katherine is widowed at twenty-one she is a prize ripe for the taking. Her young son the future monarch, her hand in marriage worth a kingdom. This is a deadly political game; one the Dowager Queen must learn fast.

The players – Duke of Gloucester, Edmund Beaufort and Owen Tudor – are circling. Who will have her? Who will ruin her?

This is the story of Katherine de Valois. The forbidden queen who launched the most famous dynasty of all time…