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A Royal Affair #1
A Royal Affair
A Royal Book One
Doctor Nikolai Hartmann represents himself as a learned man of science who believes wholly in the rational and scientific above all else. In reality, he is a man haunted by an unusual past and running from his own nature. While the Reformation transforms much of Europe, it has yet to touch Hesse-Davia; this is a land mired in superstition with cruel punishments for crimes such as witchcraft and sodomy.
While traveling to the dying king’s bedside to offer his medical expertise, Nikolai is set upon by a bandit. Reaching the king’s ancient stronghold, he discovers his mysterious brigand is the beautiful, arrogant Prince Aleksey. Aleksey is everything Nikolai is unguarded, passionate, and willful. Despite their differences, Nikolai feels an irresistible desire for the young royal that keeps him in Aleksey’s thrall.
But Hesse-Davia is a dangerous world for a newly crowned king who wants to reform his country—and for the man who loves him.
Doctor Nikolai Hartmann represents himself as a learned man of science who believes wholly in the rational and scientific above all else. In reality, he is a man haunted by an unusual past and running from his own nature. While the Reformation transforms much of Europe, it has yet to touch Hesse-Davia; this is a land mired in superstition with cruel punishments for crimes such as witchcraft and sodomy.
While traveling to the dying king’s bedside to offer his medical expertise, Nikolai is set upon by a bandit. Reaching the king’s ancient stronghold, he discovers his mysterious brigand is the beautiful, arrogant Prince Aleksey. Aleksey is everything Nikolai is unguarded, passionate, and willful. Despite their differences, Nikolai feels an irresistible desire for the young royal that keeps him in Aleksey’s thrall.
But Hesse-Davia is a dangerous world for a newly crowned king who wants to reform his country—and for the man who loves him.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2014
29 people are currently reading
2484 people want to read
About the author
John Wiltshire
29 books827 followersJohn Wiltshire is the fictional persona of the author of the More Heat Than The Sun series. After spending twenty-two years in the military perfecting the art
of looking busy whilst secretly writing, John left as a senior officer
when a hastily dug tunnel was ready for use. Now living in New
Zealand (at least until enough money can be raised to leave) John has no plans to return to the army. Unless the world situation gets considerably worse, that is.
of looking busy whilst secretly writing, John left as a senior officer
when a hastily dug tunnel was ready for use. Now living in New
Zealand (at least until enough money can be raised to leave) John has no plans to return to the army. Unless the world situation gets considerably worse, that is.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
January 9, 2016
Written March 1, 2015
5 Stars - Unforgettable! Cheers and big applause
A Royal Affair was a wonderful read. An epic saga that enchanted me in the best way. What to say? —Perhaps there are flaws, but who cares?— With love full marks from me.
Huge grateful stars to this adventurous novel. ~ A spellbinding FANTASTIC journey. I love, love, love...
***********************************************************
In many ways was this historical fairy tale about Doctor Nikolai Hartmann and the royal Prince Aleksey Christian of Hesse-Davia not like anything I have read in a long time. I was mesmerized from start.
I'm not sure how I could describe this book in a just and fair way, but I enjoyed every part. There was a lot of characters, happenings, plots, suspense, historical events, romantic moments and lovely "M/M' steam. The writer really gave me a heart wrenching nervous and anxious reading towards the end. I laughed, I cried and I was emotionally moved.
(This is just a lot of praise and repetitive tributes, but I can't stop just yet.)
A Royal Affair isn't just a 'romance' it is also a very good novel. I think we get a simply stunning beautiful storyline here. There is a very well made main plot, or actually plots, filled with exciting turns and surprises. Sometimes feels this as reading an old mythic (partly cruel) saga or an mystic fantasy tale. Then it's turnes, and I was reading an historical M/M romance once again.
***********************************************************
Any hot man-loving kisses?
Yes of course, and it was nicely done. ~ We meet two unique and for me really interesting, quite unpredictable, main characters in Nicolai and Aleksey. They both surprised me and I at least, loved them so very much even if they not always were the kind of heroes I wanted them to be. I felt their (hot) attraction and it was stunning heartbreaking at times.
Best of all, this is without doubt a grand unforgettable epic romance ...and also an amusing fun journey. ~ I don't need to say more...right? You all got it by now... I love this kind of books.
A great grand romantic fairy tale like novel is usually a PERFECT read for me. ~ Just give me more. I love it!
***********************************************************
Oh la la, highly recommended to lovers of beautiful stunning "princes" stories. John Wiltshire surprised me once again in a very good way. I'm a future fan.
I LIKE - Very much!
5 Stars - Unforgettable! Cheers and big applause
A Royal Affair was a wonderful read. An epic saga that enchanted me in the best way. What to say? —Perhaps there are flaws, but who cares?— With love full marks from me.
‘We had been so innocent, so naive in our belief that we were inviolate in our little affair, our royal affair.’
Huge grateful stars to this adventurous novel. ~ A spellbinding FANTASTIC journey. I love, love, love...
***********************************************************
In many ways was this historical fairy tale about Doctor Nikolai Hartmann and the royal Prince Aleksey Christian of Hesse-Davia not like anything I have read in a long time. I was mesmerized from start.
I'm not sure how I could describe this book in a just and fair way, but I enjoyed every part. There was a lot of characters, happenings, plots, suspense, historical events, romantic moments and lovely "M/M' steam. The writer really gave me a heart wrenching nervous and anxious reading towards the end. I laughed, I cried and I was emotionally moved.
‘I had lost my whole world then but gained another.
What world would I not sacrifice to keep this new one here and by my side?’
‘As fascinating as my body was, it could not apparently compete with the opportunity to ride at the head of his army, wearing his new shiny medals in front of his father, the king. I could hardly blame him. As fascinating as his body was, I too wanted to be at the parade, to watch him wearing his shiny new medals, riding at the head of his army. The king I could take or leave.’
(This is just a lot of praise and repetitive tributes, but I can't stop just yet.)
A Royal Affair isn't just a 'romance' it is also a very good novel. I think we get a simply stunning beautiful storyline here. There is a very well made main plot, or actually plots, filled with exciting turns and surprises. Sometimes feels this as reading an old mythic (partly cruel) saga or an mystic fantasy tale. Then it's turnes, and I was reading an historical M/M romance once again.
***********************************************************
Any hot man-loving kisses?
Yes of course, and it was nicely done. ~ We meet two unique and for me really interesting, quite unpredictable, main characters in Nicolai and Aleksey. They both surprised me and I at least, loved them so very much even if they not always were the kind of heroes I wanted them to be. I felt their (hot) attraction and it was stunning heartbreaking at times.
“I repent of nothing. I did everything I did deliberately and would do so again. Love is not love unless you hold fast even unto death, and I have loved that much.”
Best of all, this is without doubt a grand unforgettable epic romance ...and also an amusing fun journey. ~ I don't need to say more...right? You all got it by now... I love this kind of books.
A great grand romantic fairy tale like novel is usually a PERFECT read for me. ~ Just give me more. I love it!
***********************************************************
Oh la la, highly recommended to lovers of beautiful stunning "princes" stories. John Wiltshire surprised me once again in a very good way. I'm a future fan.
I LIKE - Very much!
January 4, 2015
*Deep breathing*
So this started out as a solid 4 stars for me. But sometime after 50%, that rating dropped. By 80%, I was skimming till the end.
The biggest issue I had with A Royal Affair was the fact that it was almost all telling, and very little showing. For instance, a climatic battle between rivaling nations would be over in a few minutes of reading since you don't necessarily experience it, so much as read the narrator's very brief summary of the events. Even intimacy between the main characters didn't feel very visceral.
Which brings to my second point. I couldn't understand Nikolai's fascination with Aleksey. Sure, we are *told* all of Aleksey's great facets. But the telling and not showing left me unconvinced of these traits. I couldn't bring myself to like Aleksey, because I couldn't get into Nikolai's head space. While the story is first person POV from Nikolai's perspective, I still couldn't get into his mindset and dissect his character.
Despite these downfalls, the author's writing is really good. I enjoyed reading Nikolai's thoughts and dialogue, up until a certain point when I felt more restless and uninterested with the plot and romance.
Overall, not what I was hoping for.
So this started out as a solid 4 stars for me. But sometime after 50%, that rating dropped. By 80%, I was skimming till the end.
The biggest issue I had with A Royal Affair was the fact that it was almost all telling, and very little showing. For instance, a climatic battle between rivaling nations would be over in a few minutes of reading since you don't necessarily experience it, so much as read the narrator's very brief summary of the events. Even intimacy between the main characters didn't feel very visceral.
Which brings to my second point. I couldn't understand Nikolai's fascination with Aleksey. Sure, we are *told* all of Aleksey's great facets. But the telling and not showing left me unconvinced of these traits. I couldn't bring myself to like Aleksey, because I couldn't get into Nikolai's head space. While the story is first person POV from Nikolai's perspective, I still couldn't get into his mindset and dissect his character.
Despite these downfalls, the author's writing is really good. I enjoyed reading Nikolai's thoughts and dialogue, up until a certain point when I felt more restless and uninterested with the plot and romance.
Overall, not what I was hoping for.
April 8, 2018
“Win or lose, I had the distinct feeling that playing with Aleksey was dangerous for my health.”
WELL I’M A SUCKER FOR GOOD, INTERESTING AND MEAN TO BE ROMANCE.
April 2, 2018
Fucking hell.
I'm fucking salty as shit right now because I have read 10 books this past week and DNF-ed 6 of them. So please note that the review down below will be laced with a lot of profanities.
This book hold my attention for approximately two pages, then all is lost.
The prologue had me interested, but then going it chapter one, it started droning on and on and on and on about how this guy was such a good doctor and how he became a doctor and who his patients were and just... Who the fuck cares man?
We weren't even one page into the book and already I have this characters who career story thrown at me like it's some kind of sacred shit. News flash baby, it's fucking not. I haven't even got to know the character yet and not even his personality, what makes you think I'd care or even want to know about his job or how he attained his degree or even about his patients?
And the writing. My fucking GOD. I think it's because I have had my fill of slow paced and flowery proses books this week that when I see the writing in this book, it literally makes me want to rip my hair out and fucking scream.
“His sister, Lady Caroline, who resided with him and his new young wife, listened to gossip. Her maid indulged her love of this harmless eccentricity and had told her about a doctor who was said to have knowledge of things he should not, who had studied his profession amongst heathens and had taken from them strange beliefs and even stranger ways. She was referring to me, of course, and to the years I had spent in the New World as a boy living with the Powponi. In England in those days, it was strange for a doctor to listen to his patient and consider how the world around him affected his health. But that is what I did. And so I was summoned by Lady Caroline to attend her brother.”
Please tell me you didn't start skimming after the first few sentence. Cause if you didn't, you're a better person than I will ever be.
And what is with the lack of dialogue? I mean, why make it into a sentence when you can quite literally smack a quotation mark on it and make it more interesting?
“I asked permission to sit alongside him, and it was granted. ”
“I asked if I could examine him. He nodded and closed his eyes, resigned to yet another failure from yet another doctor. Instead of touching him, I began to talk to him. I asked him simple questions, which he answered readily enough: what he feared, things he enjoyed doing. When I deemed him ready, I moved our conversation on to his more recent history.”
I don't know. This just doesn't work for me. I went in to the book wishing for something more like angsty romance and a lot of action, but what I got was this.
I guess if you enjoy reading. Yes, I mean it in the most literal way. And I mean reading lots of lots of lots of lengthy ass sentences with no context and those sentences that adds no value at all to the book, then maybe give this book a try. If not, don't even bother cause it's a waste of time.
Blog : Click here for more of my reviews.
January 18, 2015
Here I am writing a review for a book that I never had any intentions of reviewing. So why am I jumbling together some words in the hopes of expressing how I feel? Because this book was freakin' AMAZING and people should know that I thought it was AMAZING!
I was looking to discover something new and found this book on a list. I thought after skimming the blurb: "hmm, this looks different" and "good, it's long and should keep me busy for at least a few days". HA! I finished it in one day and have been in a reading funk ever since! It’s hard to find a good book to follow something this awesome.
Okay, okay. I know this book won’t be for everyone. It’s historical and it’s long and it may even seem a bit slow to most people…but a lot happens and, dammit, I didn’t want it to end!! If you aren’t hooked by the end of the sample, then this probably isn’t a book for you.
So, why did I think it was so amazing? Well, I don’t even know how to put it into words, but I’m trying!
I immediately connected with Nikolai and his way of telling his tale. I knew from the prologue that his journey would not be easy, but I never expected it to be so intense! There’s a scene in the very beginning, a torture killing, that affected me so powerfully I wasn’t sure if I could continue reading. After a short break and a few deep breaths, I forged on…then I met Aleksey and was immediately ensnared by his personality.
Yes, in the beginning Aleksey came across as an immature, spoiled brat; and Nikolai the grumpy and lonely healer…but the sexual tension between them did all the right things to me! I just couldn’t get enough of all their verbal sparring and dancing around their feelings for each other. And then when they were finally together…gah! They both went through so much growth and change throughout the story…to the point that I couldn’t imagine one of them accepting life without the other.
I think the biggest thing about this story that makes it stand out from any other book is predictability. A Royal Affair is so far from predictable that it had me catching my breathe with all the surprising and intense moments. OhMyGod! There were so many times I was TRULY worried for Nikolai and Aleksey that I was afraid to turn the page! So much was happening and not all of good…but I HAD to know what would happen next as soon as possible.
I’m not going to spoil ending, but it looks like there will be a sequel!!!! I want it NOW!
Reviewed for The Blogger Girls
I was looking to discover something new and found this book on a list. I thought after skimming the blurb: "hmm, this looks different" and "good, it's long and should keep me busy for at least a few days". HA! I finished it in one day and have been in a reading funk ever since! It’s hard to find a good book to follow something this awesome.
Okay, okay. I know this book won’t be for everyone. It’s historical and it’s long and it may even seem a bit slow to most people…but a lot happens and, dammit, I didn’t want it to end!! If you aren’t hooked by the end of the sample, then this probably isn’t a book for you.
So, why did I think it was so amazing? Well, I don’t even know how to put it into words, but I’m trying!
I immediately connected with Nikolai and his way of telling his tale. I knew from the prologue that his journey would not be easy, but I never expected it to be so intense! There’s a scene in the very beginning, a torture killing, that affected me so powerfully I wasn’t sure if I could continue reading. After a short break and a few deep breaths, I forged on…then I met Aleksey and was immediately ensnared by his personality.
Yes, in the beginning Aleksey came across as an immature, spoiled brat; and Nikolai the grumpy and lonely healer…but the sexual tension between them did all the right things to me! I just couldn’t get enough of all their verbal sparring and dancing around their feelings for each other. And then when they were finally together…gah! They both went through so much growth and change throughout the story…to the point that I couldn’t imagine one of them accepting life without the other.
I think the biggest thing about this story that makes it stand out from any other book is predictability. A Royal Affair is so far from predictable that it had me catching my breathe with all the surprising and intense moments. OhMyGod! There were so many times I was TRULY worried for Nikolai and Aleksey that I was afraid to turn the page! So much was happening and not all of good…but I HAD to know what would happen next as soon as possible.
I’m not going to spoil ending, but it looks like there will be a sequel!!!! I want it NOW!
Reviewed for The Blogger Girls
May 12, 2018
4.5 stars
I already know I won’t do this book justice with my review, because unfortunately I’m one of those readers who can write essays on a book they hated and find themselves unable to string two coherent sentences together about one they loved.
I wrote a much longer review and in the end deleted it, because I think that knowing too much (or even a little) before reading this book would’ve tarnished my enjoyment of it somehow and I don’t want to do that for other readers. The blurb itself gives too much away already, if you ask me.
Technically, this book shouldn’t have worked for me.
Technically, Nikolai and Aleksey have both traits and sometimes acted in ways I usually can’t stand to read about.
Technically, there’s a lot more telling than showing.
Technically, some plot choices were far-fetched.
Technically, technically, technically… but there are times when technicalities don’t count.
For me reading this book was like having a friend sit down and open his heart to me.
You don’t judge a friend’s actions and beliefs simply because he was born and raised with a different mind-set and different ways. You don’t judge how much he decides to share with you, you just feel grateful to be trusted with how much he chooses to disclose.
For me it wasn’t even an issue. Yes, there’s more telling than showing. Given this story’s own structure, it couldn’t be otherwise. But every defining moment was shown or at least told in a way that left no doubt of what all parties involved felt or thought.
I guess it all comes down to this: you either like the writing style or you don’t. You either get swept away by Nikolai’s tale or you don’t.
If you’re in doubt, my advice is to try the sample and trust your instinct.
The prologue hooked me and somewhere into the first chapter I came across this:
I knew then and there that I was in and I didn’t regret it.
I already know I won’t do this book justice with my review, because unfortunately I’m one of those readers who can write essays on a book they hated and find themselves unable to string two coherent sentences together about one they loved.
I wrote a much longer review and in the end deleted it, because I think that knowing too much (or even a little) before reading this book would’ve tarnished my enjoyment of it somehow and I don’t want to do that for other readers. The blurb itself gives too much away already, if you ask me.
Technically, this book shouldn’t have worked for me.
Technically, Nikolai and Aleksey have both traits and sometimes acted in ways I usually can’t stand to read about.
Technically, there’s a lot more telling than showing.
Technically, some plot choices were far-fetched.
Technically, technically, technically… but there are times when technicalities don’t count.
For me reading this book was like having a friend sit down and open his heart to me.
You don’t judge a friend’s actions and beliefs simply because he was born and raised with a different mind-set and different ways. You don’t judge how much he decides to share with you, you just feel grateful to be trusted with how much he chooses to disclose.
For me it wasn’t even an issue. Yes, there’s more telling than showing. Given this story’s own structure, it couldn’t be otherwise. But every defining moment was shown or at least told in a way that left no doubt of what all parties involved felt or thought.
I guess it all comes down to this: you either like the writing style or you don’t. You either get swept away by Nikolai’s tale or you don’t.
If you’re in doubt, my advice is to try the sample and trust your instinct.
The prologue hooked me and somewhere into the first chapter I came across this:
"Despite what happened, all the pain and all the horror, I would not unlive one moment of my time in that terrible place. I would not lose one moment of my time with him."
I knew then and there that I was in and I didn’t regret it.
December 2, 2018
Re-read: 02.12.18
I don't know why I started re-reading this book. I was going through my ‘M/M read’ shelf in the hopes that I'd find anything interesting to re-read and I came across this one; I didn't remember what it fully was about. Though the more I read, the more I remembered. The thing is, the book is not bad; it centers around two men falling in love in a world where you'd be killed (horribly) for being a sodomite. There's a war, deaths, religion and royalty. However, it feels really long simply because of the way it's written. It's almost like you're with the character; connected and all, and like you're on the outside at the same time, which can make things stressful and feel like it's taking forever to finish. It's still a interesting story that I'd recommend if you like some M/M in a historical world.
New Rating: 3 stars
Quotes From The Book (Contains Spoilers):
Other Characters:
→ Faelan, a Tamask dog from a land far to the north of here. Looks like a wolf? Is a wolf?
→ Lord Salisbury, a patient of Niko. Madame Costain (wife to one of Hesse-Davia’s ministers) and Lady Caroline, the Lord's sisters.
→ King Gregor Alexander Philip Mountberg of Hesse-Davia and Aleksey's father. His queen died giving birth to Aleksey, their youngest son. The heir, His Royal Highness Prince George Charles Willheim (33), Aleksey's brother. The brothers have a rocky relationship because George blamed, not unnaturally perhaps, for his mother’s death. The king blamed everyone but himself for her demise, and so the family, according to Niko's hostess (Madame Costain), limped along with no love lost between any of them.
→ Doctor Jules Lyons, French, a doctor who was summoned to try and save the king.
→ Stephen Eric Peter Mountberg (9, turns 10), Niko's page (servant) at the castle. He's the bastard child of Prince Peter. He was the king's oldest brother, but he’s dead now. The king had two living brothers: Harold, who was never to be called Hal, and John, who was a fool, according to Stephen.
→ Princess Anastasia (19?), Aleksey fiancée.
→ Gregory, a friend of Aleksey. Sebastian (4?), Gregory's son. Pia, Gregory's wife. Gregory was the cook. He was also the proprietor of the inn and headman of the small village.
→ Colonel Johan, a colonel in Aleksey’s army and a close ‘friend’ of Aleksey.
→ Xavier, Niko's warhorse.
→ Mark, a boy who hanged out with Aleksey when Aleksey first saw Niko.
Doctor Nikolai ‘Niko’ Hartmann (35, becomes 36 at the end of the book) and youngest son (General His Royal Highness the) Prince Christian Aleksey (23, becomes 24 at the end of the book) met after what Nikolai believes was a bandit. He didn't not expect to met the man again. Specially not while doctoring the King and the man is the prince. An arrogant but beautiful prince. A prince that is just as fascinated with the doctor as the doctor is in the prince. But just because Aleksey is a prince doesn't that mean that Nikolai treats him as one. Soon they find themselves riding for war, sharing a tent... Two men loving each other is a sin, are the two men ready to say 'screw the rules' and just love?
What a... strange, but quite interesting book this was. I must say I was pleasantly surprised at this. Though this wasn't the best book I've read - historical or M/M - it was still one of the better books I've read so far this year. Which is saying something. But as always, something was yet again missing. I believe that it might be because of the writing. Although some parts were written good, there was still some ‘annoyingness’ there. Perhaps it was the constant feeling of things being shortened or cut, like it could've been a bit deeper? I dunno. Anyway the ending felt a bit rushed. I dunno, I liked it, the ending that is, but I wanted a little bit more from it. I felt like the climax wasn't as high as it should've been. Overall, the story was fascinating. Some scenes were horrific; the war and the descriptions of them, yet Nikolai and Aleksey's love was adorable.
Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (A) Historical Fiction (M/M)
Series: - Series, Book One
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Favorite character? - Nikolai Hartmann.
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Yes.
Would I recommend this book/series? - Yes.
Will I read this again in the future? - Probably not.
Rating - 3.5/3 stars.
I don't know why I started re-reading this book. I was going through my ‘M/M read’ shelf in the hopes that I'd find anything interesting to re-read and I came across this one; I didn't remember what it fully was about. Though the more I read, the more I remembered. The thing is, the book is not bad; it centers around two men falling in love in a world where you'd be killed (horribly) for being a sodomite. There's a war, deaths, religion and royalty. However, it feels really long simply because of the way it's written. It's almost like you're with the character; connected and all, and like you're on the outside at the same time, which can make things stressful and feel like it's taking forever to finish. It's still a interesting story that I'd recommend if you like some M/M in a historical world.
New Rating: 3 stars
Quotes From The Book (Contains Spoilers):
Other Characters:
→ Faelan, a Tamask dog from a land far to the north of here. Looks like a wolf? Is a wolf?
→ Lord Salisbury, a patient of Niko. Madame Costain (wife to one of Hesse-Davia’s ministers) and Lady Caroline, the Lord's sisters.
→ King Gregor Alexander Philip Mountberg of Hesse-Davia and Aleksey's father. His queen died giving birth to Aleksey, their youngest son. The heir, His Royal Highness Prince George Charles Willheim (33), Aleksey's brother. The brothers have a rocky relationship because George blamed, not unnaturally perhaps, for his mother’s death. The king blamed everyone but himself for her demise, and so the family, according to Niko's hostess (Madame Costain), limped along with no love lost between any of them.
→ Doctor Jules Lyons, French, a doctor who was summoned to try and save the king.
→ Stephen Eric Peter Mountberg (9, turns 10), Niko's page (servant) at the castle. He's the bastard child of Prince Peter. He was the king's oldest brother, but he’s dead now. The king had two living brothers: Harold, who was never to be called Hal, and John, who was a fool, according to Stephen.
→ Princess Anastasia (19?), Aleksey fiancée.
→ Gregory, a friend of Aleksey. Sebastian (4?), Gregory's son. Pia, Gregory's wife. Gregory was the cook. He was also the proprietor of the inn and headman of the small village.
→ Colonel Johan, a colonel in Aleksey’s army and a close ‘friend’ of Aleksey.
→ Xavier, Niko's warhorse.
→ Mark, a boy who hanged out with Aleksey when Aleksey first saw Niko.
When we emerged from the tub, I asked Aleksey where I was to sleep, and he took my hand and led me to a large bedchamber with one huge bed hung with curtains. He looked at me and pouted a little. “I had thought that we would be more intimate by this stage—that you would be content to share a bed with me. I’m sorry. Perhaps you would—” I caught him around the waist, heaved him into the air, and, ignoring his furious objection to being so manhandled, dumped him on the bed, then straddled him.
“You are very masterful, sir.”
I groaned at his coquettish demeanor and tapped him disapprovingly on the nose. “That kind of language, sir, will get you into trouble. Be wary, or I will solve our problem for us by turning you over and showing you how masterful I can be.”
⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*A dangerous royal affair* ⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱
Doctor Nikolai ‘Niko’ Hartmann (35, becomes 36 at the end of the book) and youngest son (General His Royal Highness the) Prince Christian Aleksey (23, becomes 24 at the end of the book) met after what Nikolai believes was a bandit. He didn't not expect to met the man again. Specially not while doctoring the King and the man is the prince. An arrogant but beautiful prince. A prince that is just as fascinated with the doctor as the doctor is in the prince. But just because Aleksey is a prince doesn't that mean that Nikolai treats him as one. Soon they find themselves riding for war, sharing a tent... Two men loving each other is a sin, are the two men ready to say 'screw the rules' and just love?
I determined there and then not to underestimate this prince of mine again. He was not vacuous and flighty, as he liked to give the impression he was. And why was I calling him my prince? He was strong wine: something I thought about consuming but knew would be bad for me.
What a... strange, but quite interesting book this was. I must say I was pleasantly surprised at this. Though this wasn't the best book I've read - historical or M/M - it was still one of the better books I've read so far this year. Which is saying something. But as always, something was yet again missing. I believe that it might be because of the writing. Although some parts were written good, there was still some ‘annoyingness’ there. Perhaps it was the constant feeling of things being shortened or cut, like it could've been a bit deeper? I dunno. Anyway the ending felt a bit rushed. I dunno, I liked it, the ending that is, but I wanted a little bit more from it. I felt like the climax wasn't as high as it should've been. Overall, the story was fascinating. Some scenes were horrific; the war and the descriptions of them, yet Nikolai and Aleksey's love was adorable.
I had come a long way to forget, a long way for a new beginning. You cannot have one of those, I suppose, without an ending, and there had been no real ending. I had the horror inside still, carried all the way from that accursed country to this new one.
Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (A) Historical Fiction (M/M)
Series: - Series, Book One
Love triangle? -
Cheating? -
HEA? -
Favorite character? - Nikolai Hartmann.
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Yes.
Would I recommend this book/series? - Yes.
Will I read this again in the future? - Probably not.
Rating - 3.5/3 stars.
February 28, 2019
5 stars
Perhaps the finest historical romance in recent memory for me. There was war, strategy, intrigue, and political machinations in a reformation Europe, all without being predictable. The characters were multi-dimensional: there was the beautiful, blond Nikolai, a Popwani-trained medical-practitioner and there was the dark, green-eyed Aleksay, second-in-line to the throne of a fictional Northern Europe country, and, at 23, general of his country's military. Between them, there was instant attraction, insecurities, deep friendship, humour and a slow, slow, slow, slow burn.
Read and savour! I don't think you'll regret it.
Perhaps the finest historical romance in recent memory for me. There was war, strategy, intrigue, and political machinations in a reformation Europe, all without being predictable. The characters were multi-dimensional: there was the beautiful, blond Nikolai, a Popwani-trained medical-practitioner and there was the dark, green-eyed Aleksay, second-in-line to the throne of a fictional Northern Europe country, and, at 23, general of his country's military. Between them, there was instant attraction, insecurities, deep friendship, humour and a slow, slow, slow, slow burn.
Read and savour! I don't think you'll regret it.
June 7, 2025
4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this book! It's been sitting on my Kindle for 5 years waiting for me to get around to reading it, and I'm glad I finally did.
I really enjoyed this book! It's been sitting on my Kindle for 5 years waiting for me to get around to reading it, and I'm glad I finally did.
September 2, 2015
Four and One Half Blades on Prism Book Alliance
Nikolai Hartmann has a tale for us. As a doctor and someone who has spent time in many a location, he’s got a lot to tell, quite a tale to tell.
After a rough start, I was well and curious before leaving chapter two. I say rough because the tone in the beginning, the style, mixed with the first person telling of Niko by Niko, made me feel a bit detached from everything. Welp, that rough start didn’t last and I was officially baited.
Enter Aleksey and… friends. Gregory, Johan and Mark. *smirk* Just you wait. ;)
By chapter three, the alternating tones had me feeling off kilter, which I like. This absence of complete balance stayed with me through the entire read, which in turn kept me wondering, curious, questioning. In other words, an interactive read. This was by no means passive.
Self-aware humor offers jibs and jabs from both Nikolai and Aleksey. The stuff of life. That’s good writing, YO. Talk about a great conduit through which their personalities start to light up the pages, more and more as I read on. This is particularly difficult to do when one character is telling us about everything and everyone. Wiltshire succeeds in Aleksey shining just as brightly. I liked them both because of this, an equally divided burden to entertain that works.
Frustration and sweetness and mystery and darkness and intrigue and undulating sexual tension. I don’t know about you, but that’s a mighty tasty dish of literary alphabet soup. *licks fingers*
It’s an interesting choice, this: sometimes instead of dialogue, it’s Nikolai describing the conversation and resulting reactions. It took me a little while to get used to that. It felt like the weak link in the writing but it’s a unique artistic choice to make. It does add to the feel that this is a recounting as much as live action. The writing overall, no matter the style, is thickly layered and smooth. I burrowed down into it like it was mid-February, 30 below and three feet of snow was surrounding my house.
There’s a cool cultural mix, all by way of Nikolai and his travels: his lengthy time in the New World, returning to England, and then to Eastern Europe and Aleksey. It widens the lens, creating more breathing room, more possibilities for the story. Enlightenment, sometimes at a price. On the flip side, even in this sometimes very restrictive society, sexual fluidity is explored.
More beautiful writing and a turning point. My goodness, I was ALL. IN.
”… a role… I desperately wanted to play in Aleksey’s life.”
Flirting. Honest to goodness flirting, over a long period of time. Why isn’t there more of this realistic and delicious flirting in books these days? Talk about an irrefutable way to grab my attention and make a connection to these characters, their world, my feelings about it all.
I could feel the frost atop the mud, the cold. I could hear the horses whinny, their anxious or happy huffing. I could see Aleksey and his green eyes, his youth and confidence. I could see Nikolai and his broad shoulders, his intelligence and heart, his humor and pain. I could see the castle and the forests and the tent and the cots. I could see it all. And I did so contentedly.
The supporting characters are just as vivid. Even though sparsely used in some parts of the story, their presence as a whole is still felt, ruminated on and discussed between Nikolai and Aleksey. A few of them in particular made me curious to know more about their own stories.
This is how you build a relationship. The more I read, the deeper I fell into this world. One of the best things in life is to have both deep friendship and unconditional love in a partnership. All of the things I’ve mentioned are used in showing how this can all work.
There are twists and turns, both in plot and with characters. Brilliantly scrumptious fiction.
Niko and Aleksey, I won’t forget you.
Nikolai Hartmann has a tale for us. As a doctor and someone who has spent time in many a location, he’s got a lot to tell, quite a tale to tell.
After a rough start, I was well and curious before leaving chapter two. I say rough because the tone in the beginning, the style, mixed with the first person telling of Niko by Niko, made me feel a bit detached from everything. Welp, that rough start didn’t last and I was officially baited.
Enter Aleksey and… friends. Gregory, Johan and Mark. *smirk* Just you wait. ;)
By chapter three, the alternating tones had me feeling off kilter, which I like. This absence of complete balance stayed with me through the entire read, which in turn kept me wondering, curious, questioning. In other words, an interactive read. This was by no means passive.
Self-aware humor offers jibs and jabs from both Nikolai and Aleksey. The stuff of life. That’s good writing, YO. Talk about a great conduit through which their personalities start to light up the pages, more and more as I read on. This is particularly difficult to do when one character is telling us about everything and everyone. Wiltshire succeeds in Aleksey shining just as brightly. I liked them both because of this, an equally divided burden to entertain that works.
Frustration and sweetness and mystery and darkness and intrigue and undulating sexual tension. I don’t know about you, but that’s a mighty tasty dish of literary alphabet soup. *licks fingers*
It’s an interesting choice, this: sometimes instead of dialogue, it’s Nikolai describing the conversation and resulting reactions. It took me a little while to get used to that. It felt like the weak link in the writing but it’s a unique artistic choice to make. It does add to the feel that this is a recounting as much as live action. The writing overall, no matter the style, is thickly layered and smooth. I burrowed down into it like it was mid-February, 30 below and three feet of snow was surrounding my house.
There’s a cool cultural mix, all by way of Nikolai and his travels: his lengthy time in the New World, returning to England, and then to Eastern Europe and Aleksey. It widens the lens, creating more breathing room, more possibilities for the story. Enlightenment, sometimes at a price. On the flip side, even in this sometimes very restrictive society, sexual fluidity is explored.
More beautiful writing and a turning point. My goodness, I was ALL. IN.
”… a role… I desperately wanted to play in Aleksey’s life.”
Flirting. Honest to goodness flirting, over a long period of time. Why isn’t there more of this realistic and delicious flirting in books these days? Talk about an irrefutable way to grab my attention and make a connection to these characters, their world, my feelings about it all.
I could feel the frost atop the mud, the cold. I could hear the horses whinny, their anxious or happy huffing. I could see Aleksey and his green eyes, his youth and confidence. I could see Nikolai and his broad shoulders, his intelligence and heart, his humor and pain. I could see the castle and the forests and the tent and the cots. I could see it all. And I did so contentedly.
The supporting characters are just as vivid. Even though sparsely used in some parts of the story, their presence as a whole is still felt, ruminated on and discussed between Nikolai and Aleksey. A few of them in particular made me curious to know more about their own stories.
This is how you build a relationship. The more I read, the deeper I fell into this world. One of the best things in life is to have both deep friendship and unconditional love in a partnership. All of the things I’ve mentioned are used in showing how this can all work.
There are twists and turns, both in plot and with characters. Brilliantly scrumptious fiction.
Niko and Aleksey, I won’t forget you.
December 19, 2014
Fabulous! I loved loved this. I even loved the different writing style. I loved the rarely used time period. I LOVED Aleksey. My only draw back was it was unfortunately too long. I never say that about books, more words is usually good. But when you skim and find some things tedious. Otherwise, perfect story. I loved every moment that wasn't making me skim.
June 12, 2015
This book is all over the place. Kind of an unfocused love story between a savage physician and a unregal prince. There's a messy, meandering plot and some unrealized characters. But I loved it. I've read lots of criticism that there's more tell than show, and maybe that's true - but it's a first-person account, so the narrative is never hampered by this. I'll admit that it's imperfect, but it's very entertaining. I think it's just my love of forbidden romances that allowed me to enjoy it so. But it's long and satisfying, and I recommend it to lovers of historicals.
February 23, 2015
ok its official, I am John Wiltshire fan!! like totally guys! I loved A Royal Affair!! I can't get enough of John's writing!!! fab!
August 21, 2015
2.5 stars
Reading book not of my preference with high rating often had me wary.
Every so often I had different opi and experience with said phenomenon. This book was chosen as April book challenge for Indonesian MM Readers Group though so it's only fair I'd give it a try.
The story was the journal of Nikolai Hartmann. Not precisely a diary. But Niko's personal experience he took pain to wrote down; horrible and good things he encountered, his feeling and thoughts, as a way to share them to Aleksey after all they had been through. Oops! Should I put that under spoiler?? :p
As it's a somewhat journalish, it's written from Niko's POV as 1st person. The narration were long with very few dialogues in between, which I personally found sleep-induced and boring.
I also didn't like the main characters much. Niko was much self-centered and rather hypocrite, he also sulked to much! Aleksey was too volatile and often childish on top of being spoiled. Of course these two had redeeming qualities and **grudgingly admit** rather cute together. Still, if I had to choose I'd pick Colonel Johan and young bastard Stephen for my best characters. Why? They acted their age!
But to each their own, yeah. I'm among the minority here who got cross-eyed for trying to focus on book whose actions only picked up about the last 40% of the book.
Reading book not of my preference with high rating often had me wary.
Every so often I had different opi and experience with said phenomenon. This book was chosen as April book challenge for Indonesian MM Readers Group though so it's only fair I'd give it a try.
The story was the journal of Nikolai Hartmann. Not precisely a diary. But Niko's personal experience he took pain to wrote down; horrible and good things he encountered, his feeling and thoughts, as a way to share them to Aleksey after all they had been through. Oops! Should I put that under spoiler?? :p
As it's a somewhat journalish, it's written from Niko's POV as 1st person. The narration were long with very few dialogues in between, which I personally found sleep-induced and boring.
I also didn't like the main characters much. Niko was much self-centered and rather hypocrite, he also sulked to much! Aleksey was too volatile and often childish on top of being spoiled. Of course these two had redeeming qualities and **grudgingly admit** rather cute together. Still, if I had to choose I'd pick Colonel Johan and young bastard Stephen for my best characters. Why? They acted their age!
But to each their own, yeah. I'm among the minority here who got cross-eyed for trying to focus on book whose actions only picked up about the last 40% of the book.
September 17, 2016
0 Stars
Because this doesn't deserve any better.
Let me start by saying that I thought I would like it, since everyone seems to have loved it. Or at least a vast majority. At the very least, I expected to be entertained by a maybe shallow storyline.
Instead, I was tempted to rage-quit this book a million times and I only soldiered on because I did a buddy read with Eva, who also hated the book.
"A Royal Affair" has the most droning, irritating narration that goes on for the nearly 300 pages this book is long. There is absolutely NO showing in this book, it is 100% telling. And the telling isn't even attempting to be remotely interesting. This was, together with Levin from Anna Karenina the most insufferable narrator I've ever had the displeasure to encounter. There was very little dialogue, and the narrator even cut in then to explain the dialogue for those to stupid to read.
What really drove this book from one to zero stars though are these two beautiful passages:
"This had not even occurred to me - tha he would assume he would take the manly role in our joining."
Stilted wording aside - "manly role" for fuck's sake.
And this:
"Women think men think like them, and if they can only find the right button to press we will unleash all the emotion we carry around inside us. Men do feel things as deeply as women, but our first recourse is not to let this emotion out in speech, tears, or tantrums. We lock it down and let it fester inside us until it comes out in violence, bravado, anger and cruelty. If a woman had been treated as I was treated on board the whaler sailing to England, I do not believe she wuld have reacted as I did. She might have cried and begged for relief, as I did during the worst of it, but she would not have waited her opportunity [sic] and then murdered the entire crew, just in sight of land. These painful memories plagued me as I watched Aleksey suffer, powerless to help him. I knew he was feeling things very deeply but also knew he would not cry or rail against his fate."
You mean, unlike women?!
As you can see in the second part of the quote, there was absolutely no reason for the narrator to bash "women" (which is super overgeneralized anyway), as there are no women around in this scene, and as nothing similar to his tragic and dwamatic backstory experience had occured. Not only does this book only feature one female character (who never speaks), the narrator keeps waxing about his strength in comparison with the idea of "women" he has in his mind, for absolutely no reason.
The implication that "women" are whiny breeders is one that hasn't and will never be proven by science, unlike the fact that the narrator is a whiny, pretentious bitch. I could actually give you a hundred or so pieces of evidence for THAT, if the gems above weren't enough already.
Bitch STFU. This was a shocking read, demeaning women for no reason and even sprouting homophobic nonsense (sometimes that couldn't be explained away by "context" or "setting") and at the same time being a boring, dragging mess that wasn't worth the effort on ANY level.
I'm dropping this series and the author for life.
Because this doesn't deserve any better.
Let me start by saying that I thought I would like it, since everyone seems to have loved it. Or at least a vast majority. At the very least, I expected to be entertained by a maybe shallow storyline.
Instead, I was tempted to rage-quit this book a million times and I only soldiered on because I did a buddy read with Eva, who also hated the book.
"A Royal Affair" has the most droning, irritating narration that goes on for the nearly 300 pages this book is long. There is absolutely NO showing in this book, it is 100% telling. And the telling isn't even attempting to be remotely interesting. This was, together with Levin from Anna Karenina the most insufferable narrator I've ever had the displeasure to encounter. There was very little dialogue, and the narrator even cut in then to explain the dialogue for those to stupid to read.
What really drove this book from one to zero stars though are these two beautiful passages:
"This had not even occurred to me - tha he would assume he would take the manly role in our joining."
Stilted wording aside - "manly role" for fuck's sake.
And this:
"Women think men think like them, and if they can only find the right button to press we will unleash all the emotion we carry around inside us. Men do feel things as deeply as women, but our first recourse is not to let this emotion out in speech, tears, or tantrums. We lock it down and let it fester inside us until it comes out in violence, bravado, anger and cruelty. If a woman had been treated as I was treated on board the whaler sailing to England, I do not believe she wuld have reacted as I did. She might have cried and begged for relief, as I did during the worst of it, but she would not have waited her opportunity [sic] and then murdered the entire crew, just in sight of land. These painful memories plagued me as I watched Aleksey suffer, powerless to help him. I knew he was feeling things very deeply but also knew he would not cry or rail against his fate."
You mean, unlike women?!
As you can see in the second part of the quote, there was absolutely no reason for the narrator to bash "women" (which is super overgeneralized anyway), as there are no women around in this scene, and as nothing similar to his tragic and dwamatic backstory experience had occured. Not only does this book only feature one female character (who never speaks), the narrator keeps waxing about his strength in comparison with the idea of "women" he has in his mind, for absolutely no reason.
The implication that "women" are whiny breeders is one that hasn't and will never be proven by science, unlike the fact that the narrator is a whiny, pretentious bitch. I could actually give you a hundred or so pieces of evidence for THAT, if the gems above weren't enough already.
Bitch STFU. This was a shocking read, demeaning women for no reason and even sprouting homophobic nonsense (sometimes that couldn't be explained away by "context" or "setting") and at the same time being a boring, dragging mess that wasn't worth the effort on ANY level.
I'm dropping this series and the author for life.
February 17, 2015
One more book for my top favorite shelf!
I became a big fan of John Wiltshire's masterful storytelling while reading his amazing More Heat than the Sun series. To kill time while waiting for the 5th installment I decided to read A Royal Affair. History and Fantasy are not always my cup of tea but hey, it’s a John Wiltshire... then nothing can go wrong right? :)
Even though A Royal Affair is a historical romance it's an entertaining action read as well. I liked the setting in old Europe (it’s somewhere in Germany, maybe Prussia, at the Baltic Sea?), I liked the colorful desciption of the royal court... I even liked the vivid war scenes. And I loved Aleksey’s wonderful, loyal wolf Faelan and Nikolai’s brave and smart war horse Xavier.
The book has everything I want in an entertaining, thrilling and emotional read: Brilliant plot, incredible intense action, compelling characters, a beautiful romance, fucking hot sex... and some teary moments. The writing is sublime, the world building is colorful, the dialogue is great and the pace is perfect. All wrapped in a fresh, very unique and captivating narrative style. I just loved Nikolai's voice...
Nikolai
Aleksey
What I loved the most, though, are the interactions between Aleksey and Nikolai, they just made the book for me. Those two are just perfect together.
Can’t wait for Aleksey's Kingdom to come out. Is it April yet?
March 23, 2015
★★★★★
I had learned of this author from the past Christmas MLR freebie of Love is a Stranger
which I loved and oddly enough both MC's in each book have the same first names so it was a little weird to read them close together since the characters are completely different.
I happened to see Ingela's review and since I'm a sucker for historical stories, I picked it up.
The historical setting was authentic, the sexual tension was delicious it was just really good and
I thought it was very cool the relationship that Niko had with Xavier and Aleksey had with Faelan - spirit relationships.
Anyway, thanks Ingela and John for a great read this weekend!
p.s. no m/f relations - is m/m
I had learned of this author from the past Christmas MLR freebie of Love is a Stranger
which I loved and oddly enough both MC's in each book have the same first names so it was a little weird to read them close together since the characters are completely different.I happened to see Ingela's review and since I'm a sucker for historical stories, I picked it up.
The historical setting was authentic, the sexual tension was delicious it was just really good and
I thought it was very cool the relationship that Niko had with Xavier and Aleksey had with Faelan - spirit relationships.
Anyway, thanks Ingela and John for a great read this weekend!
p.s. no m/f relations - is m/m
March 21, 2015
I'm not sure what I was expecting with this book but after becoming a huge fan of John Wiltshire's recently after reading his More Heat Than the Sun series, I hoped it was going to be something special. I love historical fiction and this one didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed the story of Nikolai, a travelling physician and the very unconventional Prince Aleksey and I'm dying to find out where the story goes next!
December 10, 2019
4.5 stars
If you liked the More Heat Than the Sun series, this book has the same great writing and the dynamic between the MCs in this book has parallels to Nick and Ben.
The story begins with Nicolai, a progressive, unorthodox physician for his time, traveling to the kingdom of Hesse-Davia to treat its very ill King (who Nicolai quickly deduces is being poisoned).
There he meets and falls under the spell of the beautiful, green-eyed prince Aleksey, who has a big heart and seems to find great joy in provoking the moody doctor. Despite being engaged, Aleksey is similarly taken with the six foot tall, blonde physician and the two dance around each other endearingly for the first half of the book. Aleksey goes to great lengths to get close to Nicolai, which lands the pair smack in the middle of a war and then an even more treacherous peace, where they must navigate leading a country while hiding their love.
This book lacks some of the heat that was in the More Heat Than the Sun series, but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
If you liked the More Heat Than the Sun series, this book has the same great writing and the dynamic between the MCs in this book has parallels to Nick and Ben.
The story begins with Nicolai, a progressive, unorthodox physician for his time, traveling to the kingdom of Hesse-Davia to treat its very ill King (who Nicolai quickly deduces is being poisoned).
There he meets and falls under the spell of the beautiful, green-eyed prince Aleksey, who has a big heart and seems to find great joy in provoking the moody doctor. Despite being engaged, Aleksey is similarly taken with the six foot tall, blonde physician and the two dance around each other endearingly for the first half of the book. Aleksey goes to great lengths to get close to Nicolai, which lands the pair smack in the middle of a war and then an even more treacherous peace, where they must navigate leading a country while hiding their love.
This book lacks some of the heat that was in the More Heat Than the Sun series, but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
October 2, 2014
4 Stellar Kingly stars.
What can I say? I am totally in love with this book.
The story reminded me a lot of Captive Prince. But. It is definitely not the same. The similarities are there is a Prince, except there is only 1 prince. The sarcasm. The banter. The flirting. The sexual tension.
Is it me or is it that most historical's that I've read have way more sexual tension than a modern day romance? I'm assuming that there would be because back then it was such a sin. But. Sexual tension is such a rush with books. It keeps you on your toes and keeps you interested in reading the book. It makes you salivate with WANT till you get to that part. The build up. The connection. Because really it is and always will be about the connection for me when reading.
This book was neither meh or just ok. I loved it. Told in Nikolai's POV the whole time.
I fell in love with a Prince and a Doctor, a horse and a wolf.
I fell in love with the banter. The sarcasm. The innuendos. The touches. The glances.
Before I dived in, I checked the book on GR, and I saw that the author answered someone's question on whether this book was HEA or HFN. He responded to state " There is sequel with the same characters, so I will leave you to decide!"
I hate cliffies.They are the bane of my existence because then I have to wait. And wait. And I forget. But even with knowing this, and knowing that it probably wouldn't end well for me,,, (the waiting, the wanting...) I still jumped in both feet first. I'm so happy that I did! Because it did not end with a WTF moment. It ended superbly, with a smile on my face, and my heart squeezing with Love oh sweet love.
John Wiltshire wrote such a vivid tale of historical love. The supporting characters, the main characters. Love.
It is a slow build but for me it was worth it. The intrigue, the deaths, the magic.
Aleksey and Nikolai will stay with me forever.
Mare~Slitsread
September 18, 2015
I loved both characters, but I'm not getting over excited just yet. A slow burn romance, and I agree with Kade that it was a tad too long, but scene setting I can understand and I already have book 2 ready and waiting. 4 stars from me.
September 1, 2022
DNF @ 52%
For some reason, I thought this was a fantasy. It turns out that the only fantasy element is the fictional European kingdom it takes place in, but the lack of fantasy didn't bother me. I really enjoyed the idea of a Victorian-era gentleman visiting a part of Europe that was still stuck in medieval times and having to deal with the lack of knowledge/sophistication that he's used to. That was unique. Unfortunately, the execution of the story annoyed me to the point where I had to stop reading. I didn't like either MC, a lot of writing style choices weren't my cup of tea and there was very little plot.
Niko = An Annoying Gary Stu
While I liked Nikolai being a doctor and being more sophisticated and knowledgeable than the medieval-era individuals he interacted with, the author heavily pushed the idea that Niko was perfect. He was a better rider than everybody else. His knife fighting skills surpassed everybody else (including all the career soldiers). He was smarter than all the others. He was absolutely gorgeous (according to Niko and other characters). He was taller than almost everyone around him. He was way smarter and more knowledgeable than all the other doctors he's ever encountered. He would constantly talk about his superior skills and knowledge to others and act annoyed if others didn't believe him or didn't allow him to take charge of situations.
His attitude was annoying and it's what led to me DNFing. There's a part where Niko and Aleksey go to a neighboring kingdom to do some spying. Niko takes charge of the situation without consulting Aleksey (who is a prince and his military commander, since Niko has temporarily joined the army) and orders Aleksey to stay out of the way while Mr. Gary Stu gets things done. When Aleksey complains, Niko gets annoyed and internally laments that Aleksey doesn't know how Niko has been riding into battle and slaying foes since he was a small child and how he's spied lots of times in the past. In general, he was ridiculously full of himself, to the point where he became unbearable.
But there was something else about Niko that bothered me.
Niko's Past = Cultural Appropriation(?)
So Niko (who is white) grew up in a small village in the Americas (the exact location isn't specified) that was raided by a tribe of First Nations. The natives slaughtered the entire village, except Niko and his sister, who were taken and raised by the tribe. Niko has never held a grudge against the people who murdered his parents and then decided to kidnap him and his sister. Also, Niko wasn't only accepted and beloved by the entire tribe, but he became a top-notch warrior and of course, excelled at everything. I'm not clear on how/why he ended up back in England but of course, our Mr. Gary Stu had no problem re-integrating into western society, despite not having been part of it since he was 4 years old.
First - all of this was full of plot conveniences to make Niko even more of a special snowflake than he already was. It's really convenient that the tribe slaughtered the ENTIRE village (which supposedly contained other children) but spared Niko and his sister for no apparent reason. It's convenient that Niko seems to accept that the tribe murdered his parents and kidnapped him and his sister and he feels nothing but deep affection for the tribe. It's also convenient how the tribe decided to accept Niko (his sister died soon after the kidnapping) and raise him as if he were one of them with none of the tribe members ever having a problem with a white person in their midst. All of these things together were unrealistic.
Second - this entire arc also made me uncomfortable. Niko was basically given all the skills, abilities and knowledge of a tribal native and he constantly references that part of his life...but he's white. The author clearly wanted a character who had the background and knowledge of a First Nations individual living in the Americas during this time period, but his choice to make that representative character white felt weird, especially because he had to create such a convoluted backstory full of plot conveniences in order to make it work. The term cultural appropriation gets thrown around a lot these days and I don't feel it's applied correctly in most cases, but this situation felt like it would fit.
Aleksey = A Childish Prince/A Whiny General
I hated the way the author portrayed Aleksey. I loved the idea of a prince who socializes with all social classes and is very down to earth. Having Aleksey (the second son) be the military commander of the kingdom also fit really well because I liked that he loved his role and got along well with the soldiers. He was intelligent, hard working, responsible but he also liked to have fun and was a ray of sunshine who could become friends with anyone.
That's why I hated having this ruined by Aleksey randomly acting like a whiny, spoiled child. He would literally pout, whine and run off during times of high emotion, exactly like a child would. This man isn't just a prince but he's a General, the military commander of the kingdom's army and when Niko scolds him about something or demands he change the way he does something, this man responds like a toddler. Making this worse was that Niko reacted to Aleksey's childish behavior the way a real parent would - with patience and barely suppressed annoyance. That's not the dynamic I want between characters who will be having a romantic relationship. While I loved the glimpses of mature, fun-loving Aleksey that we got, the childish version was one I couldn't stand.
Lack Of Plot
I can't believe how little plot this story had in the part I read. Barely anything happened and the plotlines that were introduced were either abruptly dropped or weren't interesting. The story starts with Niko having to figure out who is poisoning Aleksey's father (the King). This was really interesting and I liked how Niko helped heal the King, and the process of trying to figure out who was poisoning him was intriguing. I thought this would turn into a mystery-type story where Aleksey and Niko would work together, but no. The plotline is abruptly finished when Niko comes to the ridiculous conclusion that the King was being poisoned by (maybe this is based on reality but it felt absurd) and that's the end of that. Then a neighboring kingdom attacks and we're going to war...except the next 25% of the story involves Aleksey, Niko and the rest of the army slowly marching towards the war, not fighting it.
I also hated that the story started out by introducing how poverty-stricken and uneducated many villages in the kingdom were because this was also abruptly abandoned and never referenced again. There was a but then we shift to life at the palace and Aleksey's friend's village, all of which are pretty idealic and clearly differ from the villages introduced earlier. The state of affairs that were introduced at the beginning were completely forgotten about, which was disappointing.
It was also irritating that most of the conflict between Aleksey and Niko was a result of miscommunication, gay angst and a romance progression that was confusing. Niko constantly angsts over being gay and there's page after page of internal monologuing from him where he whines about how terrible it is to be gay. This would be fine, if something else interesting were happening at the same time, but there wasn't. The majority of the romance progression between Niko and Aleksey was full of miscommunication, over the top dramatics and Niko shifting back and forth between thinking Aleksey is gay and flirting with him versus being sure that Aleksey is straight and isn't romantically interested in him.
Odd Writing Style Choices
The lack of plot wasn't the only thing that bored me. Because the story is basically Niko's retellings of his adventures in Aleksey's kingdom, there's tons of telling instead of showing. Unfortunately, many interesting conversations and bonding moments between characters were skipped over via telling instead of being shown. Niko spent a month alone with the king and we only get shown one conversation between them. Niko and Aleksey spend weeks sharing a tent every night while they're marching with the army and we only get shown a few scenes and many of them involve a portion being conveyed through telling. This was a puzzling choice to me because using lots of telling is fine if the plot is complex and there's a lot going on. But there was literally nothing happening for large chunks of the story so there was no reason to constantly skip things.
Conclusion
Overall, I wasn't as impressed with this story as I hoped I'd be. It was my first John Wiltshire book and now I'm not excited to pick up anything else he's written.
For some reason, I thought this was a fantasy. It turns out that the only fantasy element is the fictional European kingdom it takes place in, but the lack of fantasy didn't bother me. I really enjoyed the idea of a Victorian-era gentleman visiting a part of Europe that was still stuck in medieval times and having to deal with the lack of knowledge/sophistication that he's used to. That was unique. Unfortunately, the execution of the story annoyed me to the point where I had to stop reading. I didn't like either MC, a lot of writing style choices weren't my cup of tea and there was very little plot.
Niko = An Annoying Gary Stu
While I liked Nikolai being a doctor and being more sophisticated and knowledgeable than the medieval-era individuals he interacted with, the author heavily pushed the idea that Niko was perfect. He was a better rider than everybody else. His knife fighting skills surpassed everybody else (including all the career soldiers). He was smarter than all the others. He was absolutely gorgeous (according to Niko and other characters). He was taller than almost everyone around him. He was way smarter and more knowledgeable than all the other doctors he's ever encountered. He would constantly talk about his superior skills and knowledge to others and act annoyed if others didn't believe him or didn't allow him to take charge of situations.
His attitude was annoying and it's what led to me DNFing. There's a part where Niko and Aleksey go to a neighboring kingdom to do some spying. Niko takes charge of the situation without consulting Aleksey (who is a prince and his military commander, since Niko has temporarily joined the army) and orders Aleksey to stay out of the way while Mr. Gary Stu gets things done. When Aleksey complains, Niko gets annoyed and internally laments that Aleksey doesn't know how Niko has been riding into battle and slaying foes since he was a small child and how he's spied lots of times in the past. In general, he was ridiculously full of himself, to the point where he became unbearable.
But there was something else about Niko that bothered me.
Niko's Past = Cultural Appropriation(?)
So Niko (who is white) grew up in a small village in the Americas (the exact location isn't specified) that was raided by a tribe of First Nations. The natives slaughtered the entire village, except Niko and his sister, who were taken and raised by the tribe. Niko has never held a grudge against the people who murdered his parents and then decided to kidnap him and his sister. Also, Niko wasn't only accepted and beloved by the entire tribe, but he became a top-notch warrior and of course, excelled at everything. I'm not clear on how/why he ended up back in England but of course, our Mr. Gary Stu had no problem re-integrating into western society, despite not having been part of it since he was 4 years old.
First - all of this was full of plot conveniences to make Niko even more of a special snowflake than he already was. It's really convenient that the tribe slaughtered the ENTIRE village (which supposedly contained other children) but spared Niko and his sister for no apparent reason. It's convenient that Niko seems to accept that the tribe murdered his parents and kidnapped him and his sister and he feels nothing but deep affection for the tribe. It's also convenient how the tribe decided to accept Niko (his sister died soon after the kidnapping) and raise him as if he were one of them with none of the tribe members ever having a problem with a white person in their midst. All of these things together were unrealistic.
Second - this entire arc also made me uncomfortable. Niko was basically given all the skills, abilities and knowledge of a tribal native and he constantly references that part of his life...but he's white. The author clearly wanted a character who had the background and knowledge of a First Nations individual living in the Americas during this time period, but his choice to make that representative character white felt weird, especially because he had to create such a convoluted backstory full of plot conveniences in order to make it work. The term cultural appropriation gets thrown around a lot these days and I don't feel it's applied correctly in most cases, but this situation felt like it would fit.
Aleksey = A Childish Prince/A Whiny General
I hated the way the author portrayed Aleksey. I loved the idea of a prince who socializes with all social classes and is very down to earth. Having Aleksey (the second son) be the military commander of the kingdom also fit really well because I liked that he loved his role and got along well with the soldiers. He was intelligent, hard working, responsible but he also liked to have fun and was a ray of sunshine who could become friends with anyone.
That's why I hated having this ruined by Aleksey randomly acting like a whiny, spoiled child. He would literally pout, whine and run off during times of high emotion, exactly like a child would. This man isn't just a prince but he's a General, the military commander of the kingdom's army and when Niko scolds him about something or demands he change the way he does something, this man responds like a toddler. Making this worse was that Niko reacted to Aleksey's childish behavior the way a real parent would - with patience and barely suppressed annoyance. That's not the dynamic I want between characters who will be having a romantic relationship. While I loved the glimpses of mature, fun-loving Aleksey that we got, the childish version was one I couldn't stand.
Lack Of Plot
I can't believe how little plot this story had in the part I read. Barely anything happened and the plotlines that were introduced were either abruptly dropped or weren't interesting. The story starts with Niko having to figure out who is poisoning Aleksey's father (the King). This was really interesting and I liked how Niko helped heal the King, and the process of trying to figure out who was poisoning him was intriguing. I thought this would turn into a mystery-type story where Aleksey and Niko would work together, but no. The plotline is abruptly finished when Niko comes to the ridiculous conclusion that the King was being poisoned by (maybe this is based on reality but it felt absurd) and that's the end of that. Then a neighboring kingdom attacks and we're going to war...except the next 25% of the story involves Aleksey, Niko and the rest of the army slowly marching towards the war, not fighting it.
I also hated that the story started out by introducing how poverty-stricken and uneducated many villages in the kingdom were because this was also abruptly abandoned and never referenced again. There was a but then we shift to life at the palace and Aleksey's friend's village, all of which are pretty idealic and clearly differ from the villages introduced earlier. The state of affairs that were introduced at the beginning were completely forgotten about, which was disappointing.
It was also irritating that most of the conflict between Aleksey and Niko was a result of miscommunication, gay angst and a romance progression that was confusing. Niko constantly angsts over being gay and there's page after page of internal monologuing from him where he whines about how terrible it is to be gay. This would be fine, if something else interesting were happening at the same time, but there wasn't. The majority of the romance progression between Niko and Aleksey was full of miscommunication, over the top dramatics and Niko shifting back and forth between thinking Aleksey is gay and flirting with him versus being sure that Aleksey is straight and isn't romantically interested in him.
Odd Writing Style Choices
The lack of plot wasn't the only thing that bored me. Because the story is basically Niko's retellings of his adventures in Aleksey's kingdom, there's tons of telling instead of showing. Unfortunately, many interesting conversations and bonding moments between characters were skipped over via telling instead of being shown. Niko spent a month alone with the king and we only get shown one conversation between them. Niko and Aleksey spend weeks sharing a tent every night while they're marching with the army and we only get shown a few scenes and many of them involve a portion being conveyed through telling. This was a puzzling choice to me because using lots of telling is fine if the plot is complex and there's a lot going on. But there was literally nothing happening for large chunks of the story so there was no reason to constantly skip things.
Conclusion
Overall, I wasn't as impressed with this story as I hoped I'd be. It was my first John Wiltshire book and now I'm not excited to pick up anything else he's written.
March 29, 2015
4.5 stars
A rich, sweeping epic tale that felt a bit like something by Robin Hobb- but without the fantasy elements. As Eve mentioned in her review, I too felt but it really didn't spoil my overall enjoyment of the story.
And woot! a new author! Love John Wiltshire's writing and can't wait to dive into everything else he's written.
A rich, sweeping epic tale that felt a bit like something by Robin Hobb- but without the fantasy elements. As Eve mentioned in her review, I too felt but it really didn't spoil my overall enjoyment of the story.
And woot! a new author! Love John Wiltshire's writing and can't wait to dive into everything else he's written.
August 21, 2015
Another Good Read from John Wiltshire. Worth checking out.
Read
October 23, 2021DNF 50%
December 31, 2015
4.5 stars
Wonderful.
I have to admit that this was a little bumpy at the start. I’m not sure if it was because I’m very familiar with the writer’s work in another series, More Heat Than the Sun (Love is a Stranger), which had such a different feel to me, or whether was Nikolai’s first person narrative that I had to get used to, or whether it was the odd mix of historical/fantasy in a pseudo-European setting.
And yet, just a couple chapters in and I was hooked…
Our intrepid hero, Nikolai Hartmann, spent his childhood in the New World, raised by a Native American tribe to become a fearless warrior, horsemen, and healer. When we meet Nikolai, he’s in his mid-thirties and traveling the Old World. He’s a doctor, and his healing skills are well-known. He’s just been hired to diagnose a mysterious illness afflicting the King of Hesse-Davia, a backwards country somewhere near Russia. A made-up kingdom, Hesse-Davia has a name that sounds a little like… I’m thinking Estonia? Hesse-Davia/Estonia/Hesse-Davia/Esto… Maybe.
Nikolai’s backstory is cleverly disseminated, and my impression of him grew as the story progressed. He’s an enigma: a warrior who is also an educated, cultured, brilliant man who came from nothing and belongs nowhere. He is physically beautiful, yet shaped by his Powponi tribe into something hard and flinty. When Nikolai meets Crown Prince Christian (Aleksey), son of the ailing king, he finds himself softening, falling for the young man twelve years his junior. And it’s no surprise that the young prince is just as intrigued.
It didn't matter who my opponent was; I was just better. I had ridden wild stallions bareback into war. I had been raised by the people of the horse.
Aleksey has his own allure. Spoiled and brash, yet pragmatic, beautiful and vain, yet practical. Experienced, yet innocent. Daring, yet vulnerable. He’s almost as compelling a royal figure as… I’m thinking of Prince Laurent of Captive Prince: Volume One. In fact, the dynamic between Nikolai and Aleksey reminds me a little of Laurent and Damen. Like Damen, Nikolai is dependent upon Aleksey, yet he won’t bow to him. Like Laurent, Aleksey is fascinated by Nikolai, yet doesn’t know what to make of him. The master/servant thing is constantly being tested as these two tussle using posturing, sarcasm, wit, and innuendo to deal with an increasing attraction. The simmering slow burn is wonderful.
Add to this great pairing, a great plot full with palace intrigue, bloody war-mongering, secret trysts, and a land in desperate need of reformation.
Wonderful. I hope the next book is just as good.
Spoiler: Don’t read this if you haven’t read the story!
February 27, 2015
This was epic!! Loved every minute of reading this book - my first by John Wiltshire and certainly not my last as book two is due out in April 2015. YES!
The characters stole the show in this story and my heart. Nikolai is our narrator. and his background is losing his parents as a young boy and being raised by Native Americans. With this upbringing, he's got skills: can ride a horse as fast as the wind, knows war tactics from going on raids and is currently practicing as a trained doctor in London. Because of his excellent reputation as a healer, he's been summoned to treat a very ill King in the far off country of Hesse-Davia, a country much less civilized than the one he left behind. On arrival he meets Prince Aleksey, third son of the King and immediately is attracted to the beautiful and exuberant young man. It turns out, the feeling is mutual, but men coming together in this country meet a cruel death for sodomy. So it's hands off for much of the story, but the sexual tension sizzles and youth is not patient. It was such fun watching them dance around each other for quite some time. Wonderfully done!
There doesn't seem to be a dull minute in their story as we gradually learn about Nikolai's past which included a failed relationship that ending very badly and left it's scars. Aleksey matures as the story progresses, taking an army into battle and returning to take up his duties as a Prince of nobility. Just loved these two together, the push and pull of their relationship a bit like a battle itself, but so rewarding. Some reviewers have mentioned that this story wandered all over the place, but I say nay, this had a fantasy feel to it and all the twists and turns worked well for me. Did I mention the writing was excellent throughout!
I highly recommend this historical/fantasy for all lovers of good M/M romance.
The characters stole the show in this story and my heart. Nikolai is our narrator. and his background is losing his parents as a young boy and being raised by Native Americans. With this upbringing, he's got skills: can ride a horse as fast as the wind, knows war tactics from going on raids and is currently practicing as a trained doctor in London. Because of his excellent reputation as a healer, he's been summoned to treat a very ill King in the far off country of Hesse-Davia, a country much less civilized than the one he left behind. On arrival he meets Prince Aleksey, third son of the King and immediately is attracted to the beautiful and exuberant young man. It turns out, the feeling is mutual, but men coming together in this country meet a cruel death for sodomy. So it's hands off for much of the story, but the sexual tension sizzles and youth is not patient. It was such fun watching them dance around each other for quite some time. Wonderfully done!
There doesn't seem to be a dull minute in their story as we gradually learn about Nikolai's past which included a failed relationship that ending very badly and left it's scars. Aleksey matures as the story progresses, taking an army into battle and returning to take up his duties as a Prince of nobility. Just loved these two together, the push and pull of their relationship a bit like a battle itself, but so rewarding. Some reviewers have mentioned that this story wandered all over the place, but I say nay, this had a fantasy feel to it and all the twists and turns worked well for me. Did I mention the writing was excellent throughout!
I highly recommend this historical/fantasy for all lovers of good M/M romance.
April 20, 2015
Indonesian MM Reader group book challenge - April!
Ehmm... I was contemplating between 3 or 4 stars, and after some thoughts Im settled with 3 stars. Mostly because I did not enjoy the writing. It's 250 pages long but felt way more than that. The narration was tiring and boring. The dynamic between Nikolai & Aleksey would be much more interesting if put into dialog instead of one side narration.
And when I first saw the cover and read the blurb, I was expecting a bit of Game-of-Throne-ish story, but none. Sure there's war, betrayal, but just not convincing enough (The only thing that GOT-ish is Faelan ^^), the story was just too focus on Nikolai - Aleksey romance.
And the ending was just easy.
Sure Nikolai & Aleksey were cute together but when i saw sword and blood on the cover, naturally I'm expecting for tragedy hahaha
Ehmm... I was contemplating between 3 or 4 stars, and after some thoughts Im settled with 3 stars. Mostly because I did not enjoy the writing. It's 250 pages long but felt way more than that. The narration was tiring and boring. The dynamic between Nikolai & Aleksey would be much more interesting if put into dialog instead of one side narration.
And when I first saw the cover and read the blurb, I was expecting a bit of Game-of-Throne-ish story, but none. Sure there's war, betrayal, but just not convincing enough (The only thing that GOT-ish is Faelan ^^), the story was just too focus on Nikolai - Aleksey romance.
And the ending was just easy.
Sure Nikolai & Aleksey were cute together but when i saw sword and blood on the cover, naturally I'm expecting for tragedy hahaha
my-issues-not-yours
April 21, 2015April Challenge -- Indonesian M/M Reader Group
HUGE apology to my friends at Indonesian MM Readers group ... because I broke our rules of not DNF-ing. I will give myself a penalty for it.
This is me throughout the book...
It boils down to one thing: not my kind of book. Especially the writing style and I am a firm believer of writing chemistry (it's one of the most important thing for me when reading).
I can tell from the first 10% that it's not going to work, this book and I. And I have read enough MM books over the year to know which one works and which doesn't. I'm not going to rate or review this since it's not fair if I rate based on my choppy experience. Feel free to look elsewhere for review that helps you. Thanks.
HUGE apology to my friends at Indonesian MM Readers group ... because I broke our rules of not DNF-ing. I will give myself a penalty for it.
This is me throughout the book...
It boils down to one thing: not my kind of book. Especially the writing style and I am a firm believer of writing chemistry (it's one of the most important thing for me when reading).
I can tell from the first 10% that it's not going to work, this book and I. And I have read enough MM books over the year to know which one works and which doesn't. I'm not going to rate or review this since it's not fair if I rate based on my choppy experience. Feel free to look elsewhere for review that helps you. Thanks.
December 26, 2015
WOW! What an amazing story. I loved these boys so hard. I can't wait to read the rest of their story. Aleksey and Niko are both so special. This is a historical M/M story. It honestly didn't feel like a historical novel. I loved the slow build of their friendship. I love how determined Aleskey is to break down Niko and eventually win his heart. Niko is the voice of the story. But I never doubted how Aleksey was feeling. There is a lot of mystery and intrigue surrounding the boys. I loved the intensity they felt towards each other. I was worried they would never be free to be openly in love. I highly recommend giving this author a try. It's been a long time since I've been so immersed in a story.
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