The Splendid Hour – pre order now! – Kathryn Le Veque Novels

Wow, this has turned out to be such a great story! It’s very different from any other story I’ve written because in this one, we’re hitting on a very delicate subject – Jews in the Middle Ages. It’s a complex issue with no easy answers, and Peter finds himself in the middle of a dicey situation because of it. But you have to love Peter – and all of the de Lohrs – because they’re always willing to stand up for what’s morally right. And, of course, love rules!

It’s ironic, because I never intended to write Peter’s story way back in the day when I wrote Rise of the Defender. Peter was just a minor character, but once I added him to the Executioner Knights, I knew I couldn’t ‘not’ write his story – and he’s got a whopper!

Here’s the blurb:

When religion and politics don’t meet, it’s an explosion that could tear the Executioner Knights – and England – apart forever…

Peter de Lohr is the illegitimate son of the greatest knight in the realm, though he has been accepted by his father. Not only accepted – embraced. Peter is well-loved by everyone, an enormous and powerful knight in the image of his famous sire.

He is also an Executioner Knight, and one of the very best. A great marriage is expected of him, it is presumed, to the daughter of a high-placed warlord. Everything is planned.

Until he meets Liora ben Thad.

Petite, raven-haired and blue-eyed, Liora is the exquisite and glamorous daughter of a very prosperous goldsmith. She is also a Jewess, her father being a jeweler to the king. It is a time of great prosperity for the Jews of London, with King John being surprisingly fair to them, far more equitable than to some of his own barons.

When Peter sees Liora, all other women – and quite possibly his plans for the future – cease to exist.

But that comes at a price.

The high-placed warlord and his daughter will not go quietly and they certainly will not relinquish a prize like Peter de Lohr to a woman of lesser social status. So begins a plot to separate Peter from Liora, a sinister plan that will threaten the House of de Lohr and the Executioner Knights… and everything they believe in.

One that puts Peter right in the line of fire.

Will two cultures, and two religions, and a royal order keep Peter and Liora apart?

Or will their love find a way?

Watch the Executioner Knights take sides in this delicious – and unusual – love story.