An illegitimate knight born of royal blood meets an Irish lady also of royal birth. Chivalry hasn't died when he becomes her protector from the Irish who want to use her for their own gain. It gets even more complicated when the Welsh attack the castle the knight is defending. A love story of terrible poetry and sacrifice. Mild descriptive sex and violence.
I voluntarily read reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

This is the 13th novel of the series. I am sure the previous novels might help explain a few bits and pieces, it can be read as a standalone novel.
Tristan de Royans, or Pat to his friends, has quite the royal bloodline, and caused him to be hidden for most of his life. He was not told of his parentage until he was in his late 30's.
A few years later, given command of Wrexham castle, taken from the Welsh, having had help from other armies of other Executioner Knights, he is finally able to call it his home. However, he is still restless, and keeps himself occupied by working along side his men, even on patrol. On a normal patrol, he and his men stop in a tavern to eat, and they come across a woman working as a tavern wrench being treated poorly by other men. They rescue her, and take her back to the castle. Little did they know, Andromeda/Andie was the granddaughter of an Irish king who had been slain. Hidden in safety for most of her life, she is forced to flee for the safety of her father in the middle of the night, and ends up working in the tavern after her escort deserts her. At the castle, she is reunited with her father, who detests her, feels she shamed her family by working in the tavern and wants her gone. However, Tristan, is instantly smitten, and refuses to let her leave. He knows there are enemies after her. He wants to keep her safe as well as not let her go, so he offers her a position to manage the castle, a high ranking normally held by the wife. Intrigue, traitors, battles, and other things ensue once Andie arrives.
I enjoyed the novel, and it was a sweet love story between the two. While it was a slow growing love, the time was glossed over by skipping weeks at a time to further the story. I consider it sweet because they were shy with each other, telling each other of their growing feelings, and how he wrote poems for her. The poems are horrible, and explained in the beginning of the novel that he writes poems often, but that they are always bad ones. I also really like that the villain is introduced early, and I could see how his story is woven into everything.
I did get confused as to all of the knights who were with Tristan, but I could tell they were characters from previous novels, and knew they weren't vital to the book. It did not detract from the novel. I wish Addax had been given more of a backstory, and had more interactions with Tristan and Andie since he was Tristan's best friend.
I thought the relationship Tristan had with the knight, William de Wolfe, a young and strong knight, who is a bit immature, and hard to handle. Tristan is given the task of becoming a more mature role. He helps William by giving him the security of knowing he will not give up on him and send him away as long as he didn't do anything stupid.
I did not feel this is a medieval romance novel. The H and h did not even meet until half way into the novel. You knew their paths were going to collide, but it took a long time before it happened.
There was one passionate kissing scene, but he would not let her touch him in an intimate way because they were not married or betrothed.
There was also one intimate scene. While mature, the heat level was maybe a 3/5. Maybe? There were no passionate kissing scenes after that.
I would definitely describe this more as a novel filled with intrigue and secrets to unfold, and the main couple happen to fall in love...and marry quickly trying to stop the villains. There is no angst in this. They're happy they need to marry quickly.
I would read this again. This time, I would like to read the previous novels in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"The Crimson Shield" is a book that I found incredibly enjoyable and captivating. The story is set in one of my favorite places, The Pox, which is a world filled with magic and wonder. The book features a courageous and strong-willed heroine who is not afraid to love without hesitation, making her a truly inspiring character.

The hero, Phillip Alexander Tristan (PAT), is another character that I found incredibly endearing. He is kind, humble, and loyal, traits that he developed through his foster family rather than his lineage, which is a refreshing take on character development.

As the story progresses, Andie and Pat become close friends, and their friendship blossoms into something more. However, they didn't initially consider marriage, as they were both hesitant to take that step. Unfortunately, others had devious plans for them, which threatens to tear them apart.

Overall, "The Crimson Shield" is one of my favorite books because of its well-developed characters and compelling storyline. I look forward to revisiting their love story and immersing myself once again in the magical world of The Pox.

Two Royals without a Kingdom

Tristan and Andie were both of royal blood, but this lineage was dangerous. There were those who would see Tristan dead because of it; There were those who would use Andie as a bargaining chip in a very dangerous game. Andie and Tristan met by chance while she was acting as a servant in a tavern; some would call it destiny. She was escaping danger to find her father, but when she did find him, he wanted nothing to do with her. However, at the same castle resided Tristan. He asked her to be his chatelain. The two fell in love, but their path would not be an easy one. There would be those who plot against them.

Action, adventure, and romance will keep you turning the pages. Those who enjoy this author’s medieval romances will see beloved characters such as William de Wolfe and friends in their youth. I look forward to reading what this author writes next.

Apart from the amazing love story between strong characters, I have found that by reading this author's novels, I have learned so much about the history of the era especially given that it is only briefly glossed over in history class at school. The Crimson Shield does not disappoint. Chancing upon a woman in distress, Tristan is amazed to realize that he knew more about her than he originally thought, but once she is cleaned up, he is totally bowled over by her striking beauty. Unfortunately, her father is not as excited about her appearance in the keep. With strong factions pulling in different directions, one can never be too careful about whom one can trust as both Tristan and Andromeda discover, but in each other, they have the makings of a new dynasty. The novel is suspenseful and the closing chapters are dramatic, but the plot comes to an exciting although somewhat disturbing conclusion, and Tristan and Andromeda find their lives taking a new direction. I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written book and although part of a series, it is a standalone and comes to a beautiful conclusion. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Kathryn Le Veque has given us another outstanding book that pulls you into her story from the first page. I loved Tristin and Andie's love story. Tristin was such an amazing character.
What a treat to see a young William de Wolfe and how he changes with Tristin's guidance, and how William then influences his pals Paris de Norville and Kieran Hage.
I received a free e-ARC from Dragonblade through Netgalley.

This was a very well-written, entertaining medieval romance. It was sweet,fun, fast-paced and action packed. I enjoyed this medieval romance and will look for more books by this fantastic author.

The author has outdone herself in this book. I've read a lot of this authors books, and I love the de Wolfe's, but this book of Tristan was outstanding. He and Andie made a great pair indeed. Both he and Andie found out things about themselves they didn't know, but one thing was kept from Andie. There was plenty of danger to go around, bantering between the couple, and 3 legendary knights' from respectable households come to Wrexham for Tristan. Get ready for a great battle and the love of a life time. HEA.

Tristan and Andromeda are both very unique, they are descendants of kings. This one fact has led both down paths they normally wouldn't have traveled. And when Tristan meets Andi for the first time, it's when she's a tavern maid struggling to stay safe and fed. He brings her to her father, only to have her father openly reject her. He hires her to run his castle and they fall in love. Their love is pure and strong, a true loyal love. But not everything is easy just because they found each other, they have to fight for not only their love, but their lives.

Plus, we have a young William and his cohorts, winner!

I highly recommend and it's easily a 6⭐/5⭐ read.

I just reviewed The Crimson Shield by Kathryn Le Veque. #TheCrimsonShield #NetGalley

There are books that are such a pleasure to read that you wish you could read it again for the first time. “The Crimson Shield” is one for me. I enjoyed the brave, strong heroine, who loved without hesitation.
The book begins in one of my favorite places: The Pox. Phillip Alexander Tristan, aka PAT, is a heroine beyond any other-with the exception of William de Wolfe. He was kind, humble and loyal. These were traits that came to him through his foster family, not through his lineage.
The meeting of Andie and Pat was the beginning of their friendship, as neither had any thoughts of marriage. However, others had individual, devious plans for them.
This really was one of my favorite books and I can’t wait to revisit their love story.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
💋💋

Medieval Historical Romance at its very best!
Kathryn has written about Prince John and his family quite a few times, but now we have the illegitimate brother.
One who was secreted away, hidden, adopted, and raised by a family who loved, nurtured and Knighted him.
Meet Tristan de Royans son of Henry II and Alys of France.

This is an epic story one that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Angst, sieges, battles, passion and intrigue are all contained within, don’t allow this one to pass with immersing yourself in this world.
Stunning adventure!

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

The Crimson Shield by Katheryn Le Veque is one of her many masterpieces, and takes us back to when William Wolfe was a minor character, young and thoughtless. The main characters are Sir Phillip Alexander Tristan de Royans (Pat), who is a man of noble blood. After the successful recapture of Wrexham Castle from the Welsh, Christopher de Lohr declared that he would be the marshal of the castle. As he was a bachelor as were most of his men, it is difficult to imagine a bachelor pad castle, but that is what it was. But he and his men successfully held it against the Welsh. The Marshal had declared it to be the case and at the same time sent him William Wolfe, a gambler and a ne’er-do-well, but an excellent knight. The arrival of Andromeda Ni Murder de Coucy (Andie) looking for her father, who was a member of his company managed to upend the life of the castle. After a cold welcome from her father, Pat hired her to be the chatelaine of the castle. The change was immediately noticeable as she set a crew to cleaning the old place. Before long, it shown.

Tristan was nearly forty years old and had never been married. He hadn’t seen the need. He was beyond courageous, was an excellent leader, and was very good looking. Andie had run for her life from Ireland and had worked for a year in an inn, waiting on tables and fending off too-friendly men. She could take care of herself. She had been robbed by the men who had been sent to protect her and then again by a man who was to carry a letter to her father. She never gave up and was working again to make her way to him. She say she was stubborn would not come close to being accurate. Le Veque has created wonderful characters, indeed and an entire world, partially peopled by characters we’ve met before. It was an excellent read, coming up to the standard set in many of her earlier novels. A most intriguing read. I loved it!

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Crimson Shield by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #KatherynLeVeque #TheCrimsonShield

Deception, Destiny, Desire:
In this beautiful love story where after meeting each other in a most unusual way fate will now take over Tristin and Andie's lives. We follow their budding romance through many situations that had me completely engrossed in this interesting, and charming story that is filled with excitement, humous banter, swordfights, hunky knights, old and new friends, desire, rejection, gruesome battles, and so much more.
This author knows how to capture the essences of the times with amazing characters and engrossing plot.
I can't say enough about this deeply emotional story with so many heartfelt and surprising confessions and "Oh My" the ending was extremely rewarding for all of the characters, along with a surprise guest and me.
This story in my opinion is excellent and I would give it more stars than 5 if possible.

Amazing man, amazing story!

I have decided that, in my mind anyway, Kathryn Le Veque's historical romances are what constitutes history for me. Wikipedia says there "were widespread rumors" about Henry II having an illegitimate child with France's Princess Alys, so this author gives that child a name and a fascinating story, and as far as I'm concerned, it's historical gospel. This author's historical research is astounding in its depth and breadth, laying a solidly accurate foundation that makes it so very easy to envision her characters as having been real life historical figures.

This story has all the elements of a truly epic romance - a castle on the marches, Welsh invaders, Irish spies, English heroes, and even a touch of the delicate politics of the time period from the last years of King John to the first years of his son, Henry III. And, as an especially satisfying bonus, we see Tristan mentoring a teenage William de Wolfe, along with his friends Paris de Norville and Kieran Hage. These three are presented at a pivotal time in their own lives, and I adored reading about these legends when they were still headstrong young men.

Tristan - Pat to his friends - is just the right combination of humble knight and conquering king, and he's absolutely perfect for Andie, who herself is descended from a royal lineage. There is a lot of action, as expected, but there are also a lot of tender, sweet moments, not the least of which is Tristan's adorable attempts at poetry. Andie is fearless, determined, and more than capable of rising to meet all the challenges thrown her way.

I've never read a Kathryn Le Veque book that I didn't think was the best one I've ever read, and this one still manages to top them all. It's everything I could hope for in a romance, in an epic adventure, and in a history text. The HEA and epilogue should be their own Wikipedia page. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed The Crimson Shield by Kathryn LeVeque. .Andromeda & Tristan are a lovely couple. The medieval story they are part of is engaging. The couple have great chemistry. There are characters from other books by Kathryn that we get more background on in this book.
I look forward to more of your works Kathryn. Thank you.

Tristan was adopted into the family of De Royans because his true heritage is too dangerous for even him to know. At the start of this story he is working as an Executioner knight for The Marshall.

William Marshall holds more secrets than most. The welfare of the realm is in his hands.

Andromeda was also a hidden child this time adopted into the de Coursey family in Ireland.

This medieval romance is a grand adventure and proves that family and bloodlines are not always the same.

We get a sweet and gentle romance alongside viscous battles, eager young knights and more experienced ones with harsh lessons to teach.

Everyone has ways of making the best of their lives by digging deep into our inner strength and listening to people we know we can trust.

As usual our author grabs us from the very first page and keeps the surprises coming right to the last one. I never even read the blurbs of her books. I just buy anything with her name on. They have never disappointed me.

Awesome.

Another enjoyable medieval read by Ms. Le Veque, who introduces new characters, but also brings back the ones from previous novels. Weaving a tale of what ifs, Ms. Le Veque introduces a child born of royalty from 2 countries, but cannot claim either. Tristan is a warrior, strong and noble, but does not know of his true lineage until recently. Life has not been easy for Tristan, for his worth has been in his fighting abilities and strategies. Andie has been on the run because of her own heritage, a pawn to be used, but no longer. She chooses to take control of her own destiny. When they meet, Andie needs a place to stay and Tristan needs someone to run the keep. Neither have any desire for a throne, but are hunted because of their heritage. They must find a way to keep what they have without causing suspicion to those in power. They have a fight on their hands, but have the strength of kings on their side. I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Crimson Shield
by Kathryn Le Veque

I have read many series, many books by Kathryn Le veque, The executioner Kights had been my favorite.. This book of Tristan was outstanding. He and Andie made a great pair, they both he found out things about themselves they didn't know, There was plenty of danger to go around, bantering between the couple, and 3 legendary knights'from respectable households come to Wrexham for Tristan. Get ready for a great battle and the love of a life time. A can't put down read.
I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.

The Crimson Shield, Kathryn le Veque

As a fan of historical romance I am so honored to be part of the ARC crew of the books by Kathryn le Veque!
I finished Crimson Shield, her 152nd publication (!), in 2 days and I have to say it would be lovely if this was another starting novel of one of her “houses” she had built in the Medieval period..
The introduction set the tone of the story. It is the 13th in the (Unholy Trinity) Executioner Knights series and that means blood and gore. But it is also a step back in time to the stories of Juston de Royans, Ajax de Velt etc. The little boy we saw glimpses of him growing in the background into a knight of himself in those stories has finally got his own story.l And what a tale it is. Juston gets to know his true family and background..
The first words in the book are He’s an Executioner Knight with a royal secret that could blow England apart.
She’s the last of the bloodlines from the High Kings of Ireland.. This is a fast paced story.
The love between Tristan and Andromeda (Andi) is almost instant and believable. Tristan a hardcore knight and Andi a spunky lady with a mind of her own and ingenuity.
There is a big surprise for the fans of William de Wolfe, Paris and Kieran! They are back, and 17 and 18 years old…
It is marvelous to see these guys becoming men in this book. A lot of the characters in the KlV books make a cameo appearance.
Just sit back, sip your favorite drink and nibble your favorite snack and read and enjoy the surprise in the end.
Key words: love, war, struggle, history (fictional and real), cameo’s, laughter, cheering, and a great epilogue!
Love and laughter,
Carin

A riveting plot, compelling characters and a heart wrenching and suspenseful historical romance. A can't-put-down read!