I have read several of Heather Grothaus' books, however this is the first book in this series I have read. It is a standalone story, but reading the first three books would give some background info on the characters. I do believe i need to catch up. This is a story of betrayal. It begins in Chastellet during the Crusades. Constantine names Glayer Felsteppe as a traitor by consorting with the Saracens. Glayer vows to destroy all and everyone Constantine loves. In the following years the villain is very busy taking his revenge, not just on Constantine and his friends, but also his wife, Theodora. Constantine returns to his ruined estate and finds Tbeodora, very ill, living in the ruins. They form an alliance with one goal, to see Glayer dead and Dori's son restored to her. What follows is a wonderful, action packed tale. If you enjoy medieval tales that include action, danger, romance, and a dastardly villain, this is for you. Very worthwhile reading.

Book: Constantine by Heather Grothaus

Series: The Brotherhood of Fallen Angels #4

Reviewed by: Barb Massabrook of Tartan Book Reviews, Purple Tulip Book Reviews, Celtic Barb’s Tartan Book Review Blog

Great Book from start to finish. This is about a darkness and or shadow falling over the Holy Land. Four strong, brave and courageous men seek out an enemy. Constantine is a born leader, but also has been tortured and has many mysteries and secrets that are unknown. For one he returns home to find his entire family murdered!

Theodora “Dori” Rosemont is a strong, brave woman who never gives up! Especially if she has a goal or revenge in her peripheral vision! She is a mother first and will do anything for her child. Even if that means killing or dying for her child, but don't dare steal him or take him from her!

Constantine plans on getting blood revenge for Chastellete and his immediate family, murder’s of his wife and son.Except there is confusion, muddle and complication when it comes to to the murderer and his wife.

When he finds Dori living in his former home, as she is the wife of his families murderer! The man he craces to destroy and kill! Stan does not realize Dori hates this man passionately! Except she despises her husband who took and stole her son from her. She only wants her son back!

Constantine’s wife hadn't been faithful while he was away on various missions. She was adulterous, and a cheat! As he was unaware of her extracurricular activities outside the marriage bed.

You see the attraction between Constantine (Stan) and Dori immediately. They have many issues and problems too. It is interesting how it all works out. No spoilers as you will have to read this amazing book to find out! The conclusion is absolutely magnificent!

Wonderful setting, brilliant dialogue and magnificent plotting! Readers can't help, but anticipate the outcome. As they won't be able to put this amazing book down either! All four books are great, but I think this was the best of the series. I love the historical accuracy which is my big attraction to historical romance novels.

I highly recommend this phenomenal book that will stay with you long after you have read it! It has all the elements romance readers love!

It is a riveting adventure, faced paced page turner, murder, suspense, mystery, betrayal, love and more. A book you definitely don't want to miss, that you will read in a day! I absolutely loved Constantine by Heather Grothaus, I know you will too!

I voluntarily left a review I was given by the publisher and through NetGalley. All words,thoughts and ideas are mine alone.

When it came to historical events Heather Grothaus went all out to make sure that the events were accurate. However, when it came to the romance that was another thing altogether lacking. Constantine was a hero of men, a loving husband, and father. But, when an enemy took all that away from him. Constantine became a man of vengeance.

Constantine is the 4th book in The Brotherhood of Fallen Angels. This story was very intriguing with a lot of twist and turns. With some reveals being a big shocker. Where Constantine lacked romance, it made up for it by having a well-developed plotline.

My recommendation would be to start this series from the beginning to get the full backstory of the Brotherhood of Fallen Angels and what made these men tick.

This was an exciting tale of adventure, intrigue, mystery and of course romance. I was in love with the characters and the story line was great. The author has another winner that kept me reading until the very end. It was all it could be but much more.
Constantine or Stan has returned to his home to find his home destroyed and his family murdered. He only wants revenge on the man who killed the ones he loved and his rage knows no bounds He vows to do whatever it takes to get his due. When he finds a lone woman who is living at his decimated home he knows her. She is Theodora Rosemont and she is the very man's wife who he wants to kill. She fled her home and wants everyone to believe that she is dead. Her vile husband took her baby away from her. Her only recourse is to get her son back, with Stan's help.
Stan loved his late wife but she wasn't very faithful to him while he was away in another land. I didn't like how tortured he felt for failing her, but he finally lets her go. He and Dori become close in their affections while dealing with the bad dude.
There is a lot of unexpected twists to this story that will include past characters from previous books. I really enjoyed this and hated for it to end.
I appreciate Net Galley for this ARC title in which I gave an honest review.

Constantine by Heather Grothaus
The Brotherhood of Fallen Angels #4

Great book, great characters, great series…loved it!

I have wanted to know about Constantine from the beginning. He is a leader of men, tormented and mysterious. My attention was caught in the first few pages and it did not wane till the end. Of the four books I do believe this one is my favorite.

Theodora “Dori” Rosemont is one of my favorite female characters – ever! She has true grit and a sense of purpose that I admire. I found her to be a person I would like to call a friend. She is not an easy person but she is gutsy, determined and never gives up. Her encounters with Constantine never let me down.

Constantine has a heavy burden to carry. He has lost everything and has made a vow to murder the man who has done him wrong. He wants blood vengeance for the betrayal of Chastellete and for the murder of his wife and son. When he discovers Dori in what remains of Bennington, his estate, he overpowers her, realizes who she is, begins to feed her and then begins to know her. His aversion to her husband is intense – and so is hers. Their story is intense and compelling and one I could not put down.

There is so much in this book that is wonderful that it is hard to synthesize it into a review. I loved the way the other three men and the women they ended up with made appearances in the book and how their lives will go forward in the future. I enjoyed the surprise for Constantine that happens just before he faces off with the villain. I will also say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book that kept me up reading into the wee hours of the morning because I HAD to know how the story ended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC. This is my honest review.

5 Stars

I liked this book, but as with Roman's book, I found the romance story lacking. If I was reading this book as straight up historical fiction, I would give it 4.5 stars, but as a romance novel, it's 3.5 stars.

Constantine aka Stan has returned home from Melk determined to kill the man who murdered his wife and son. When he finally reaches his castle, he is devastated to find it in ruins. The loss renews his rage towards Felsteppe.

Theodora Rosemont is the last person Stan expects to find in the ruins of his home, last he heard his neighbor's daughter had married the very man Stan plans on killing and was pregnant with his child. Theodora aka Dori is on death's door, her vile husband and everyone else believes her to be dead. She barely escaped Felsteppe's final attempt to kill her and she has survived the last two months by sheer will. She will do whatever is necessary to reclaim her son.

When Stan realizes how ill Dori is, he sets aside his plans and nurses her back to health, they form a tentative friendship and Stan promises to help Dori get her son back. At this point in the book, I was expecting to learn about the couples shared past, but there is none, Dori was a child when Stan married and neither of them gave the other a second thought. Stan clearly loved his late wife and continued to love her even after she betrayed him. There is a very touching scene where he asks his wife's forgivness for failing her - personally, I didn't think she deserved his devotion and this scene made it harder for me to believe he was falling in love with Dori - it seemed like he was still "in love" with Patrice and always would be.

Dori never loved Felsteppe, in fact she hated him, but she did marry him and doesn't explain her reasons to Stan (or the reader). It seems like her only desire is to reclaim her son and Stan is just a means to that end.

The book is well written and interesting, it held my attention throughout, it a lot of twists and turns (some of which seemed unnecessary and out of place), but when all the secrets are revealed, I was shocked. As I said before, if this was a historical fiction novel I would have given it 4.5 stars, but as romance it was lacking, there is only one love scene and it didn't feel sincere, I never really felt the love between Stan and Dori and I really wanted to. Maybe I am to blame, because I convinced myself that Stan stilled loved his faithless wife and couldn't believe he could fall in love with Dori. I really don't know, but I just didn't believe that these two had a love like Valentine and Mary did.

I did enjoy the book and it is a must read if you have been following the series, I wouldn't recommend trying to read this as a stand alone title because there is just too many things that you won't quite understand without having read the previous books.