Xenia Navarre Historical Romance

Greetings to all my dear readers!

My blog has relocated to my new website at www.LauraNavarre.com In addition to new blog entries, you’ll also find there chapters and excerpts from my coming releases, and even an early draft chapter from my work-in-progress. Please stop by and take a peek!

XOXOXOXO,
Laura Navarre
LauraNavarreAuthor@yahoo.com

Coming from Samhain in June 2010

Living breath-to-breath beneath the shadow of violence, Italian perfumer and apothecary Allegra Grimaldi was forced to learn the killing arts from the Hand of God—a religious assassin. She has sworn never to use her deadly skills, but now a blackmailer has her by the proverbial throat.

To save her family from an ugly death, she must do the unthinkable. Infiltrate the court of King Henry VIII, poison the heretic Anne Boleyn before she becomes queen—and frame Anne’s bastard brother for the crime. Honest and principled, Sir Joscelin is the perfect pawn.

Allegra is clever, captivating…and her warning to Anne of the plot immediately rouses Joscelin’s suspicion. Sworn to protect his sister, and striving for recognition from the powerful father who disdains him, Joscelin has no choice but to put aside his attraction to the mysterious lady and gather evidence to see her burn for witchcraft.

To avert a disaster that will change the face of Europe, this stalwart soldier of incorruptible integrity and the fallen woman who breathes deception must learn to trust each other—and discover the one truth that could save them all.

Coming from Dorchester in November 2010

THE BEAUTY
In the glittering, sumptuous court of Eleanor of Aquitaine, betrayal lurks around every corner. The queen is at odds with her king, and to obey one could mean treason against the other. Even Alienore, considered the most virtuous lady at court, holds secrets: whether masquerading as a knight on the tourney field to defend those without a champion or desperately trying to save her lands—-and her maidenhead—-from the Duke of Ormonde.

THE BLACK KNIGHT
He is called the Raven—-his face scarred by a Saracen blade, his voice raspy with the effects of Greek fire. His parentage is unknown, his prowess legendary. And he’ll sell his sword to the highest bidder. As his piercing eyes track her every move, Alienore wonders who he’s working for now: finding a spy for King Henry? sent by the duke to fetch her home? Or is each heated touch, each whispered promise of pleasure part of a much more personal mission?

This action-adventure urban fantasy is set in the jungles of India. Archeologist and TV celebrity Annja Creed is working on a dig in India when a freak tsunami floods the site and nearly kills her. As the waters recede, Annja finds several unique relics that hint at the existence of a hidden city whose denizens worship the naga, a race of fierce and beautiful women whose bodies merge human with serpent. The quest to find this lost city drives Annja deep into the unexplored heart of India. But another seeks the hidden city, a descendent of the cult’s lethal ancestors, and this ruthless Indian pirate will stop at nothing to prevent Annja from reaching the ruins alive.

I found this an extremely unusual and entertaining story, a sort of urban fantasy without the urban—which makes it a jungle fantasy, I suppose. The heroine is strong, smart, sexy, resourceful, and the master of Joan of Arc’s magical sword, which Annja can pull from the otherwhere at will. The setting and storyline are both fascinating, while the action crackles on the page and never lets up. Although the book stands alone, both the story of the sword and Annja’s love-hate relationship with two mysterious men hint at the broader storylines that drive the series. A thoroughly entertaining and fully accessible read!

This literary historical/time-travel novel is set in medieval and modern-day France. Amateur archeologist Alice Tanner is working on a dig in the Pyrenees when she unearths a hidden cave containing an altar, human remains, and a mysterious ring that may hide the key to the Holy Grail. The quest draws her back to the bloody Crusades of twelfth-century France and another young scholar, an herbalist named Alais, whose pursuit of the truth oddly mirrors her successor’s. But Alice is not the only historian who seeks the Grail, and her rivals will kill to obtain it.

I’ve been eyeing this one on the bookstore shelves for a while, and now I wish I’d read it sooner! As a general rule, I sometimes don’t enjoy parallel narratives with chronological breaks that skip backward and forward in time. In addition, I’m often not a huge fan of first person point of view, nor—gasp!—the occasional present tense narration. But, despite all these factors, I lost myself in this book. The relatively unknown historical setting, featuring the horrific Crusade against the Albigensian heresy in France, is bloody but fascinating, and the contemporary villains pursuing the Grail are brilliant and complex. The narrative thread is strong and easy to follow despite the breaks in chronology, while Alice/Alais is a highly likable and resourceful heroine. A powerful romantic subplot gave me another reason to love the story. For you romance readers out there, never fear—a happily-ever-after ending is guaranteed.

I recommend this beautiful, complicated, and unconventional story to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, religious mysteries like those featured in Dan Brown’s THE DA VINCI CODE, and a certain literary lyricism in their prose. Let me know what you think about this one.