Crimson Secret

by Janet Lane

Master bridge builder Lord Penry is a traitor, committed to destroying Joya's beloved queen so York can rule. Joya, like her family, is deeply committed to keeping King Henry VI on the throne. They're both right, both wrong, both lost in the heat of unbridled passion and growing uncertainties. It's a dance of imperiled love amid the War of the Roses, and time is running out to reveal their true loyalties.

Crimson Secret is set during the War of the Roses. Margaret of Anjou, one of the strongest, most fascinating of England's queens, holds the reins of power firmly in her French-born hands. The country is bleeding from the turmoil caused by a king suffering from unpredictable bouts of insanity, and the Duke of York, who strives to take the throne and restore order.

During England's staggering number of battles and wars, transportation played a strategic part in determining which man would emerge victorious and claim the throne. Many battles were fought near and on bridges. Crimson Secret is a story about one of them.

Genres: Medieval, Historical Romance

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

To my Goodreads friends, a hearty hello!

I'm Janet Lane, and I'm excited to have just written THE END to my fifth novel in my Coin Forest series. Now come the revisions as I polish it. :-)

I have coined my books,
"History, made passionate in medieval England."

When writing my stories, I never forget this mission statement. I always fall in love with my heroes and heroines, and I always enjoy heart-stopping adventures.

The spark for this series started with my first novel, a time travel, in which my heroine traveled to 15th century England, just as the War of the Roses was simmering into conflicts.

I visited that century with my protagonist, and couldn't leave. It's chock-full of fascinating characters, royalty and nobility.

The Coin forest novels have won five national and international awards--the IPPY, INDIE, HOLT, and EVVY. Each story is filled with love, honor and much adventure. The stories are character-connected, but can be read in any order.

Please drop into my medieval world. It's populated with passionate men and women with vitality, sensuality and wondrous dreams. They have the vision and the courage to suffer through many adversities and challenges to make their dreams come true.

Reviews

[Seon Ji (Dawn) · Rating 4 out of 5]

++Spoilers++

This is the 4th book in the Coin Forrest series.

This can be a stand alone, but I suggest reading the others beforehand. There are numerous references to other characters and events with little elaboration. The characters and events referenced are not essential to the reader, but knowing about them does help to get a clearer picture of Sharai, Tabor and other beloved secondary characters whose re-appearances brought a smile to my face at seeing them again.

I hate to say it since Janet Lane is one of my favorite authors, ( so much so that I will read her books regardless of my trigger issues. For those who know me... this says ALOT) but this one was just not as good as the others in the series. I liked it very much but I just missed (and maybe expected) the ethnic gypsy flavor that has been a central theme in the previous ones.

The story takes place in the 1400's during the rein of Henry the VI during the time when England was divided and there was a struggle for the throne between Henry and the Yorkists.

Joya is now a woman, and it is her story we get in this book.

The characters, as always. are loveable and 3 dimensional. My only wish is that we got more of Luke's POV. I think if we did, it would have made me feel the romance between him and Joya more.
I wanted to feel more of his pain and understand more of his reason for his solitary life. The author DID show us his past memories but something was still lacking. I can't quite put my finger on it. I can only say I think there was too much time spent on the heroine and not enough on the hero.. or better yet too much concentration on the history, plots and strategies.. Something took away from the romance. Maybe it was because it felt so one sided since we mainly got Joya's POV. IDK.

The author did pull through near the end and we do finally get the sweetness and romance I was craving, but then it ended, and I was left wanting more...feeling a bit unsatisfied.

Pace...The beginning was great. It pulled me right in and hooked me, but it lost momentum after they freed Luke and brought him to Kadryia's. The pace picked back up around 75% and kept steady to the end.

Conflict: We get plenty. Lot's of great stuff to keep one reading, and none so easily resolvable.

What I liked:

I liked Joya's character. I guess because I saw a lot of myself in her. Joya is not the sharpest tool in the shed.. and she knows it! But she has a great understanding of people and her instincts about them are usually right. She can sense when someone is good, or untrustworthy..she goes with her gut... and always goes with her heart... even if it means defying her parents, friends and King! Loved it! I also liked that she wasn't the typical innocent virgin. She was a few days short of marrying her fiancee Giles when they decided to pre-connsumate the marriage. Unfortunately Giles died before the wedding in a battle.

I liked the hero Luke even though he was stubborn about his loyalties. He's a loner, afraid of crowds. He had some bad childhood experiences that caused him to be this way.. nothing too horrible, mainly a bullying type thing with his brothers. I liked how he enjoyed his work and that he was educated and passionate about his country. What I LOVED is that there was little to no mention of his past with women. THANK YOU JESUS! There was just one small sentence saying how he would on occasion enjoy a romp with a tavern maid. That's it. Nothing more said before or after this one sentence. And IMHO nothing more was needed. So he deftly skirted my "manwhore" tag, but didn't quite make my "heros I love tag."

I also like the history. The author did a fantastic job of making me feel like I was in this time period. The atmosphere was well detailed as well as the clothing and culture.

What I wished for:

Joya is half gypsy. To a reader who hasn't read the previous books, they would hardly get a feel of what this truly means. It was only slightly touched upon via her appearance, the mention of some spells and a short conversation with Luke on the boat where he insults her hertiage. But maybe, at this point, gypsy culture and acceptance isn't as strongly opposed as it was in Sharai's time. Still I liked the whole gypsy thing and wanted more of it.

Here's a biggie for me:

I was disappointed at the lack of an emotional response whatsoever from Luke when Joya first says that she loves him. There was literally nothing. It was as if she was talking about the weather. There was also no response from Joya at his lack of response. It was truly odd to me as an avid romance reader. In fact now I think on it, there were a few times I felt the characters emotional responses were lacking..unnatural. Missing that UMPF!

The ending:

I wanted more. It ended with me wanting to see what comes next. I wanted to see how Luke and Joya deal with his spying on York. I want to see where they live, if she's pregnant, if he overcomes his people issues. I felt like the end was borderline cliffhanger, and felt sad that their story wasn't going to continue.

Overall I liked the book very much. I plan to read everything by this author. I would recommend this book to friends, but would highly recommend reading the others first.

Safety/trigger issues

Hero-experienced - past not mentioned except for what I wrote above.
Heroine-experienced - see above for details
OW-No
Cheating-No
Violence-Yes a little above mild
Cursing-No
Adultry-No
Sex-Yes - done with detail and very nice- nothing crazy
Rape-No
HEA/ILY-Yes to both
Marriage-Yes
baby- no

[Regan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Amid the Wars of the Roses

This story is set in the 15th century during what later came to be known as the Wars of the Roses, fought between supporters of two rival branches of the House of Plantagenet, Lancaster and York. While Lane has done considerable research for her story, I had to look up the wars to remind myself of the players.

Bridge builder Luke Penry (“Lord Penry” in the story, though he is a younger son) is on a mission for the Duke of York when he is discovered by Joya, the half gypsy daughter of a nobleman loyal to King Henry who, because of his mental issues, is dominated by his ambitious queen, Margaret.

Joya considers Luke a traitor, but once he is taken prisoner, she repeatedly disobeys her father to see “the Yorkist”… and she keeps kissing him. (At that point, we do not have Luke’s point of view and so we do not know why he is interested in kissing her except possibly he won’t turn an anxious woman down.) She also convinces her father to allow Luke the run of a part of their castle.

I did find Luke a more compelling hero than Joya was a heroine. He is an introvert, a loner and she is a social butterfly. While he has reservations about how they suit, he still pursues an intimate relationship with her.

Lane has an unusual writing style that was very clipped at the beginning but smoothed out as the story proceeded. Along the way, she introduced numerous characters that were just names to me. (I had no feel for who they were or what they looked like.) This is the 4th book in a series and it may be necessary to read the others in the series first to follow all of the characters. I do recommend that.

A few modern words threw me (fiancé, meaning a betrothed person, dates from the Victorian era; smoke-screen from the 20th century, etc.). And, regrettably, the map is too small in the Kindle version to see. But for those who love well-researched historicals that include real history, and who read the series from the beginning, this is a great find.

[Janet Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my fourth book in the Coin Forest series, set for release on July 15, 2016.

This novel will appear on the Goodreads Giveaway July 7-July 29! Sign up to win one of the ten signed books offered!

Crimson Secret will be available in both ebook and paperback formats.

This novel features Joya Ellingham, Stephen's sister. It's a romance plagued with the treachery of medieval battle—colorful with the forgotten charms of a living bridge—and perilous when young lovers dare to pursue the forbidden.

Master bridge builder Lord Penry is a known traitor, committed to destroying Joya’s beloved Queen Margaret so the Duke of York can rule. Like her noble family, Joya is deeply devoted to saving her and keeping King Henry VI on the throne. They’re both right, both wrong, both lost in the heat of unbridled passion and growing uncertainties. It’s a dance of imperiled love amid the War of the Roses, and time is running out to reveal their true loyalties.

[flightyinagoodway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heart pounding

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. It was riveting and transported you to a whole new world. I would recommend it for mature adults.

[Kevin Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lane breathes life into yet another sweeping adventure laced with heartbreak, prejudice, labyrinthine political intrigues, secrets, lies, hopes, and fears. It is as epic in scope as it is loving and intricate in detail. Lane transports us to another time, a very specific period in the history of ancient England’s real-life game of thrones. Her writing is crisp and refreshing, laced with the vernacular of the day and yet relatable to the present. I knew next to nothing about this period and I didn’t need to – the author relates all you need to know to understand the social and economic issues of these people while not getting bogged down in history lessons.

While Joya is a beautiful woman reeling from the untimely death of her fiancé at the hands of the enemies of the throne, Luke is an emotionally reclusive man dealing with issues of self-worth but fiercely loyal to those same opponents to the current power structure. Thrown together by circumstance, unable trust each other, it’s a wonder these two survive one another.

I entirely enjoyed this beautifully told romance, knitted with the delicate finesse of fine lace, told with verve and sensitivity by one of our most talented and skilled writers. A book like this, which rises above the tide of template-stamped romances churned out like endless sheets of sugar-buttons, deserves your time and special attention.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

FTC Disclosure: I received this book free from Goodreads hoping I would review it.

[ron lane]

My story

Very good story,it started to get a little boring and then it picked up and moved on.thank you so much.