Lord Of The Manor is a fantastic historical romance by Elizabeth Keysian. Ms. Keysian has delivered another well-written book populated with spectacular characters but...the thing I enjoy the most about Ms. Keysian's books is I always learn something historical while enjoyed a wonderful story. Cecily and her uncles hide the fact that they are Catholic from strangers even though the townspeople know. Allan Smythe and his brother-in-law have bought the property Cecily and her uncles used to call home. Cecily and Allan clash over her peregrine at their first meeting. Their story is loaded with drama, humor, spice, action and suspense. I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and look forward to my next book by Elizabeth Keysian. Lord Of The Manor is book 5 of the Trysts and Treachery Series but can easily be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cecily Neville was raised in the manor until Henry the 8th decided to end the Catholic influence. She was an orphan and she owned a Peregrine Falcon. After Henry, she and her uncles lived in the village, close by. Benedict, Anselm, and Martin were displaced Catholics in hiding sort of. When she spoke to Allan she would say things to him about the commandry, such as how did she know the brick was worn away and still Charlemagne could not get into his dovecote. He and his brother-in-law bought the old Hospitaller commandery, Temple Roding, as a joint venture. Allan Smythe and Kennett Clark were the new owners but no one had met them yet.
I loved the feistiness of Cecily, she is always fighting with him. He does try to beat her at her own game but it never seems to work. The characters were marvelous, fun but willing to do anything for their friends. There are a bunch of things happening, for the three uncles and even Kennett Clark.
Allan and Cecily try to stay on even footing but even they are affected by what is going on. I enjoyed the storyline and was amused by some of the doings, I highly recommend this wonderful novel.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

4 Solid Stars!

I've not read any Elizabeth Keysian until now, and I have to say I think, despite the fact I don't tend to read this period much, I will probably read the rest of these books after Lord of the Manor. I'm a sucker for broken heroes and dynamic heroines who go from aversion to total synchopation...and so this book ticked all my boxes perfectly. Add in the historical backdrop, which I found well researched and characterized, and this is angsty, fast-paced and a little adventurous... and it was brilliant.

One thing I liked is that the story never feels outlandish because the turbulence of the period was extremely well captured, even with the short length. Keysian sure packs alot in! Most of all, I genuinely enjoyed the mid-16th century setting--and that is rare. I always find historical romances set in this period are trite (sorry, I know that's harsh) and I really did NOT feel this way when I read this. Hence the high rating! Also to reiterate, I loved Smythe. He was a very interesting hero with all sorts of nooks and crannies to his character.

My only criticism is that this needed a little breathing room in terms of pages. As I understand the other installments in the series vary in length from 400-200 (ish) pages, and since I am greedy I would have liked this to be longer. I think it would have allowed for more romantic feels.

I think I will definitely read more from Keysian as I like her character developement, prose, and evident research tack and I feel like I can trust her to write some good pre-19th century HR. I think this would tickle any historical romance reader that graviates away from Regency and likes a twists and intrigue!

Thanks to Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley for this ARC. I read and reviewed this of my own volition and all opinions are honest and my own.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Lord of the Manor is the fifth in the Trysts and Treachery series, although it completely stands alone. In fact, it’s set earlier than the prior books (which, upon going back to check, I realized aren’t even in strict chronological order), during the reign of Edward VI. However, this just presents unique challenges for the protagonists to face, what with the boy king and the concern of preventing the succession of the Catholic Mary as a backdrop.

In terms of the romance, it’s not my favorite in the series, but it is an intriguing one. I was drawn in by Cecily, especially as there were some secrets from her past that could rear its head. I could see why the grief-stricken Smythe warmed to her in spite of their initial enmity.

And like in the previous books, there are some twists and turns, although it didn’t feel as epic in scope as some of the escapades in prior books. I don’t hold it against the book too much, as it was still fairly exciting.

While I believe this is the last book (according to everything I’ve seen), I would be happy to read more books from Keysian in the future, especially set in the Tudor period. And I think other fans of historical romance will enjoy this.