The King’s Man by Elizabeth Kingston

The Kings Man audioNarrated by Nicholas Boulton

Laura Kinsale recently announced she was producing audiobooks, narrated by the fabulous Nicholas Boulton, for a select group of authors. (And we at AudioGals wept for joy.) The first “Laura Kinsale Presents” title is a medieval romance, The King’s Man by Elizabeth Kingston.

Ranulf Ombrier, Lord of Morency, is known to be King Edward I’s favourite murderer. Having had a crisis of the soul, he avoids the king’s latest summons and heads west, stumbling into Wales and into the path of Gwenllian of Ruardean and her band of soldiers. Ranulf is wounded in the fray and Gwenllian, despite recognising him by his heraldry, nurses him through the fever which follows.

When Gwenllian was 10 years old, she was betrothed to Aymer of Morency, Ranulf’s foster father. Shortly after, Ranulf killed Aymer in his bed; according to rumour, it was at the behest of the king. (There is, of course, more to the story than that.) Ranulf was subsequently awarded the lands of Morency. Gwenllian’s family have, for the 13 years since, been applying to the courts for the land to be awarded to her, as heir of Aymer. (I think we can all see where things are heading, no?)

After Gwenllian’s betrothal was, er, broken, she began to train with weapons and became a formidable swordswoman. She has bested all the men of Ruardean. She also trained with the castle healer and has skill with medieval doctoring. Mainly because of her skill with a sword, she is an unusual woman for her time and finds it difficult to fit in. With the men, she always has to prove herself, even though they are loyal. With the women, she is uncomfortable – she doesn’t really know much about running a household or embroidery. Gwenllian’s mother, Eluned, is a native Welshwoman and has a strong desire for Welsh independence. Gwenllian is named for a legendary Welshwoman fighter who was gloriously defeated in battle. Eluned hopes Gwenllian will eventually be a rallying point for the squabbling Welsh princes to come together to defeat England and gain (regain?) independence.

Gwenllian is half Norman; Ruardean is actually in England. She doesn’t have the same fealty as Eluned but she is not unsympathetic either.

While I thought the story would be much more political given the setup, the conflict was more to do with Gwenllian’s discomfort with being the lady of a castle instead of a soldier and her uncertainty about her place in the world. For his part, Ranulf was dealing with a kind of PTSD, haunted by the death of Aymer in particular. I found the conflict there very nuanced and understandable actually. Ranulf first saw Gwenllian when he was in a fever and he thought her an angel. He does regard her, in important ways, as a kind of redemption. There is more to their romance than that fortunately; he respects her fighting skills and likes her for who she is. Gwenllian, for her part, sees the heart of the man and not the monster of rumour. Plus, they share a strong sexual chemistry.

While I enjoyed the listen (and not just because of the narrator either), I did feel somewhat distanced from the characters and it was an audio I could interrupt without much stress. How much of that was to do with me expecting more about Welsh princes and not getting it, I cannot say.

Nicholas Boulton is such a good narrator. He delivered the various accents (Welsh and regional English) skilfully and had no trouble with some of the more tricksy Welsh names and phrases. (If I’d read the book, I’m sure in my head those bits would have sounded like *mumble mfffphn mumble*.) He also performed Ranulf’s vulnerability and fear well. There were times when I despaired a little because Ranulf was saying precisely not what he meant (my least favourite trope is the Big Misunderstanding). However, I could understand the why of it and I attribute much of that to the narration. I appreciated the nuance Mr. Boulton brought to the text.

I think Mr. Boulton also delivered when it came to Gwenllian and her uncertainty of her place in the world at large and her place at Morency in particular.

When it came, the finale was more of a whimper than a bang but at the same time, it was the only way, realistically, the pair could have their HEA. I’m told The King’s Man is Ms. Kingston’s debut and that she has another book (a Regency this time) coming out in December (in print/digital). There was certainly enough here to make me want to try the next book also. And it’s always a pleasure to listen to Nick Boulton.

Kaetrin


Narration: A

Book Content: B-

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence Rating: Fighting

Genre: Historical Romance (Medieval)

Publisher: Hedgehog Inc

The King's Man was provided to AudioGals by Hedgehog Inc for a review.

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