Sun Ascendant continues the story of Isobel Fenton, only child of Sir Geoffrey Fenton, a woman who upon her father’s death inherited his lands and castle, making her a much desired asset to any man who had an eye to expand his lands and holdings.
Sent to live in the household of Earl Langdon she is raped by him, and made his mistress, her life being one of misfortune, followed by more misfortune and detested by his wife. Almost managing to escape the Dukes clutches, his brother Robert falls in love with her and she becomes pregnant, which adds another layer of difficulty to her situation as the Earl believes the child to be his.
Meanwhile Thomas Lacey, the man she was betrothed to by her father, now desires her, her lands and her wealth and is prepared to overlook the fact that she has lain with other men and delivered a child; he will stop a very little to get her.
Set during the bloody War of the Roses, family was pitted against family, no one was trusted and Thomas Lacey was certainly a man not to be trusted. After the death of the Earl, Isobel returns to her beloved Beaumancote, where Thomas propositions her.
Unfortunately for Isobel, her life takes a further turn for the worse as Lacey is not about to walk away from what he considers should rightfully be his. She rejects him and by doing so puts Beaumancote and all the villager’s in a dire situation.
Amongst all the bloodshed a love story is threaded carefully throughout the storyline, that of brother for brother and woman for man, mother for son, laced with hatred, treachery and jealousy.
CF Dunn has taken a challenging time in the history Britain, where England was defeated in France after many years of conflict for European dominance. Returning to England they find that politically everything is in conflict; family pitted against family with King Edward and Richard, Earl of Warwick at serious odds with one another.
The Tarnished Crown series set during the 15th century is an excellent read for anyone who enjoys historic fiction, which is gripping, intense and very well researched.
