Love's Orphan

by John Wilson

A forsaken duchess and the disgraced knight who is willing to sacrifice everything to save her…When Duke Frederick of the medieval duchy of Austria is killed in combat without a male heir, the House of Babenberg is plunged into disarray. In the desperate hope of maintaining possession of their ancestral lands, the Austrian nobles name Frederick’s only daughter as the new duchess. Doubly cursed by a father who gave her neither his love nor his discipline, the proud and stubborn Elsea Babenberg finds herself at the center of dangerous political intrigue she never wanted any part of. Used and manipulated by her self-seeking council, she soon despairs of finding happiness, much less love. That changes when she meets Prince John of Bavaria whose kindness breaks down the icy walls of her heart. For the first time in her life, the cynical Elsea sees a future with a glimmer of hope. But when Elsea discovers the truth about Prince John, will love be able to overcome his lies?

433 pages, Paperback

Published March 5, 2019

About the author

John Wilson, an ex-geologist and frustrated historian, is the award-winning author of fifty novels and non-fiction books for adults and teens. His passion for history informs everything he writes, from the recreated journal of an officer on Sir John Franklin’s doomed Arctic expedition to young soldiers experiencing the horrors of the First and Second World Wars and a memoir of his own history. John researches and writes in Lantzville on Vancouver Island. There are many more details in his memoir, Lands of Lost Content, https://www.amazon.com/Lands-Lost-Con...

Reviews

[Cath Holden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read. A nice piece of historical fiction that contains romance, drama and character development. Once you get into it, the pages just turn and making this enjoyable. The pace is fast and strongly recommend it!

[Jenny Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a school teacher, it has been years since I picked up a book solely to read for pleasure. However, after finishing this book (took me about 10 days in total to read- after work, parenting my children, cleaning the house, grading papers and the like), I have a renewed motivation to get back to this past-time I once enjoyed so much.

The book begins with a hook that immediately engrosses the reader into the story. I really appreciated the short chapters where I could budget my time and read through a meaningful section of the story without overly committing myself. The book never bores; the plot is interesting and moves quickly, and is neither overly simple or complex. In particular, the battle scenes were described so well, I could truly imagine myself there. To further understand the plot, I actually did a little research on the histories of these duchies of Medieval Germany and the political geography of the time; this author did his homework! The characters are well-rounded and believable; I saw a lot of myself in Elsea, whether I wanted to admit it or not!

I truly hope that this author is working on a sequel!!! I am a big fan of this first book, and am hoping for more to come!

[Mark Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book. Historical fiction that has it all - action, adventure, humor, and romance. The character’s individual personalities come to life on the pages as the plot unfolds. This book will not disappoint, whether or not historical fiction is your genre. It is so well written and compelling, you find yourself lost in the story, daydreaming about it throughout the day in anticipation of your next opportunity to pick it back up.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a beautiful story. I have never read any historical fiction before but absolutely loved this book. I very rarely find books where the young teenage girl is written so perfectly, and Elsea is written just as that. Since I’m used to young adult and fantasy this book really did a great job taking some of my favorite tropes and bringing them into a new light. I loved how while this was a love story it also had a lot of focus on the wars themselves and other key points in the book.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept my attention. I love stories of the lifetime. Very well written, highly recommend.