Review: St. Briac
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2014
Book One:  Thomas and Aimee in the court of King Francois I, 1526. The story begins with the release of Francois after a year of imprisonment. His boyhood friend, Thomas, seigneur de St. Briac, accompanies him hunting before a welcome home celebration and they encounter Aimee in the forest, dressed as a peasant.  Upon her return home, Aimee learns that her father has agreed to a marriage between her and a much older man she has previously rejected.  But following the ball in his honor, Francois sends an invitation to Aimee' s sister to travel with his train to court.  Seizing the  opportunity to escape her fate, Aimee intercepts the note and secretly takes her sister's place. She recruits Thomas to help  her remain concealed from Francois until they reach court, when her true identity is revealed.  As with other Cynthia Wright books, this one is filled with romance and intrigue. It was a little slow starting, but then became impossible to put down. It gets 4.5 stars.Book Two:  Andrew and Micheline in the courts of Francois I and Henry VIII, 1532. Aimee and Thomas from book one take their friend Micheline to winter at King Francois' court in an attempt to cheer her following the death of her husband in a joust. Jealousy on the part of the king' s mistress toward Micheline leads her to write King Henry asking him to arrange a marriage for the beautiful widow with an Englishman.Andrew is awakened early one morning to be told by his father that he is to  marry to a Frenchwoman in April, or loose everything but his title.  He decides to visit the French court, secretly posing as an artist, and investigate his betrothed before making a decision to refuse his king' s mandate.  He is accepted into court and Micheline is assigned as his first subject. Micheline still grieves her husband and Andrew decides if she can't love him as he pretends to be, a lowly painter, she will never marry the titled man he really is.This book was slower moving than book one, but was every bit as gripping toward the end. I would recommend this set. It gets 4.5 stars.