Kind of what I was expecting to read. I thought it was a biography, and it is, but it is also historical fiction. It's from a time period I enjoy reading about, too, so not a total waste for me. There are a few individuals, powerful individuals, who have helped get kings on to thrones in history. I would guess an armchair historian who enjoys early Anglo-Saxon history will enjoy this book more so than the general reader. Good book!

Godwin is a young Anglo-Saxon man who comes from humble beginnings but a chance meeting with a Dane in the woods brings him to great heights. He is a Saxon with a rare understanding of his people and a respect for the Danes at a time when England is torn apart by conflicts between the two peoples. Although not perfect, he has integrity and serves under many Kings of England. I didn't know much about him until I read this book. All I really knew was that he was the father Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England. A really interesting interpretation of a complicated figure in history. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Ok, this is a historical fiction books that is my favorite type. Though I do admit this one was long & a bit boring in places it still kept your attention & made you want to read it. I am looking forward to the next book in the series if there will be one.

The author is a bit long winded in my opinion but she still makes it a very interesting read. If you like historical fiction set in this time period I do recommend reading this book.

Godwine has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful men in England, but with power comes jealousy.
Godwine finds a wandering Dane in the woods and taking him back to his house, they feed the man. Come to find out he is a Jarl for the Danes. Godwine ends up leaving with the Jarl, taking him back to his own ships, and then sailing away with them. As he watches England fade into the distance he wonders where his future will lead.
Coming into manhood in the service of the Danish king, he grows into positions of power. Serving through the kingdoms of FOUR kings, he incurs the wrath of Edward. Fleeing England, he waits for the correct timing to return, and make his position clear. He is hoping to regain his lost earldom, correct the wrongdoings in the nation, and rid the nation of the unwanted Norman advisors which are turning the king down the wrong path.

I really enjoyed this read, it was fantastic and kept me hooked from start to finish. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

This book is well written and well researched. It could be a very good book but some elements are lacking in the characters that seemed to be more a historical book description that coming alive on the page.
Many thanks to Top Hat Books and Netgalley

Godwine Godwineson. First Earl of Wessex. Possibly from humble beginnings. Rose from the ranks. Served four kings. Powerful and influential. Husband to a Danish noble. Father to three earls, one queen, and England’s last Anglo-Saxon king. Champion of the English. Known as the Kingmaker. A force to reckon with.

To some, he was sly, manipulative, and unscrupulous. A schemer that will not stop at anything to ensure he always had the upper hand.

This was also the impression I’ve had of Earl Godwine when I first read about him in previous historical books. That a man of modest pedigree who had risen to the top and become the king’s confidant is remarkable, but I thought his motivations for serving the crown bordered on vested interests and not loyalty. In a chaotic era he’d lived in, he was an important figure of the realm, but reviled, too, by those he’d sidestepped grievously to stay in power.

But before Godwine was the Kingmaker, he is young, innocent, and honest; a youthful shepherd yearning for some adventure, for some significant change to come into his life. That life-changing moment suddenly comes when he meets Ulf, the brother-in-law of England’s future king. This is how the author Mercedes Rochelle introduced Godwine to us, and for me, it gave a fascinating glimpse into his life and what kind of a person he had become. And as the story maneuvers to show more of his reflective side, and is obviously partial to his cause, it helped us understand the difficult choices he had to make.

I just felt the book is too short to cover so much of Godwine’s history. There were so many things that happened in his time, but a lot of times I had to contend with the book’s fast-paced narration, and since it’s been a while since I last read about the Godwinesons and his contemporaries, frequent side trips to Wikipedia was necessary to refresh my memory. And I’m a bit sad too that the author did not include my favorite Historical Note / Author’s Note for any clarification or useful add-on.

On the whole, I enjoyed this incursion again to pre-Norman England, and am eager to read the rest of the books from the series.

This is very much in line with the minor league press historical novels I've been encountering--someone clearly loves the period and does research to offer a plausible novelization of real events, but absolutely lacks the flair to make it sing. There's a lot of telling rather than showing, some hammering characters into what they need to do to fit historical events, flat romances and a couple of just inexplicable boring things that should have been left out for not meeting any part of the narrative arc.