Friends:

For those of you anxiously awaiting the release of the RUMORS AT COURT, it's finally here! Whether you prefer the print or electronic version, both are now available.  (See purchase links to the right.)

I'm thrilled to announce that RUMORS AT COURT ranked #15 on Amazon's Best Seller Rank for Harlequin Historicals on its electronic release date May 1.

Here's just one review for RUMORS AT COURT from Caitlyn Lynch. She says: “I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading Blythe Gifford's other works. She really knows her history and she weaves a compellingly realistic tale of love in the Middle Ages.” Caitlyn gave it five-stars! Read the full review here.

This is an addition to a wonderful, 4-Star review, from RTBookreviews, who said RUMORS AT COURT  “delights on every level, from the sumptuous settings to the whispered…rumors spinning through the royal court. As her fans know, Gifford’s characters are always well developed and, based on their previous life experiences, deeply resistant to a new passion…until, of course, love gets its way…”

Here’s a bit more about RUMORS AT COURT. It is the third book in my Royal Wedding Series, and is set in England, late in the Fourteenth Century. At this time, England’s earlier success against France in the Hundred Years War has slipped away and the once extensive English holdings on the continent are in danger. There is unease in the country and rumors abound about the royal family and the intentions of the enemy.

The story includes a number of real historical figures, as has been the case with the other two Royal Wedding Stories and you’ll also see some familiar characters from WHISPERS AT COURT, though the stories are independent.

As the book begins, the English king’s son has assumed the title of King of Castile, now part of Spain, by virtue of his marriage to the previous king’s daughter. Soon, he plans to seize the throne from the current ruler and establish his own court there.

My hero, Sir Gil Wolford, who appeared in WHISPERS AT COURT, plans to go with him. But before they sail, Castile’s “king” insists Gil marry Lady Valerie Florham, a widow.

Valerie, who as a widow finally has a chance at a life beyond the reach of a man, does not want to wed. Freed from her abusive husband, she only wants to live in peace, enjoying the garden she has created on English land that her family has held in for generations.

Gil is no more eager to marry than she, but he has no desire to remain on English soil. He has spent his life trying to prove himself worthy, despite his scandalous family background. Before he marries and sires a son, he wants to sit at the right hand of the King of Castile, in the palace of Alcazar, as far away from his past as possible.

When the two first meet. Gil, whose company included Lady Valerie’s late husband, has a final commander’s duty to perform. One he wants completed quickly.

Click here for an excerpt from Chapter One.

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All my best,