TK Roxborogh - Bloodlines

Amazon Description: 'Do not feel guilty that you do not love me like her.  Our union will be another story, Fleance.  I will be a good wife and an excellent queen.' Fleance is the new king of Scotland, but he is the ruler of a divided nation. According to his advisors he must marry a woman from a royal bloodline to strengthen his position.  It seems that Rachel, sister of Fleance's dead friend King Duncan will be the next Queen of Scotland, although Fleance cannot forget Rosie, his first love. But when Rachel is abducted, Fleance's position becomes even more dangerous and a bloody civil war seems inevitable. Love and duty collide in this gripping tale of valour and betrayal. The epic story that began with Banquo's Son continues.

Tania Roxborogh’s an Otago-based English teacher and her premise for this series was – What happened when Shakespeare’s Macbeth finished? The first title of the trilogy was Banquo’s Son, has Fleance growing up far too fast – fleeing to England after the murder of his father, and learning both love and the necessary skills that will enable him to enact revenge. I absolutely loved it and was waiting with a lot of anticipation for this one. Bloodlines is still a teen read (late teens, if you please) and IMO, suffers a little from the trilogy bug, in that the second title is never quite as good as the first or the last.

But having said that, it’s still a good read. Plenty of action and romance, which any teen wants, along with attention to the historical details (crafty teacher – get them learning while they’re being entertained although I was looking for any reference to flagstones) – I liked the sneak peek of William of Normandy and wonder how much of a part he will play in Birthright and thought Aha! at the wedding in the last chapter. I can’t say too much as really anything would be a spoiler but things are set up very nicely for Birthright and I’m looking forward to that one too.