The Best of Men

A very good read about political conspiracies, friendships, and love interests taking place in England during the 17th century. The characters are well developed and noteworthy individuals. As the plot unfolds you are whisked along on a first-class journey.

This could have been an outstanding history book, but as fiction it doesn't work. The going is too slow, and the characters not real enough. The writing is bland and flat, and there is too much talking and too little action taking place. The background and period are fascinating, and I love historical fiction, so I was convinced I was going to love this book, but I couldn't.

This was a reasonable read that had the potential to be far stronger than it actually ended up being. The political plot was really very interesting and had enough twists and turns to keep you engaged, but the lead characters insistence on sleeping with anything that moves was a distraction from the main and slowed things down ridiculously.

I received this book as a giveaway through Goodreads first reads.<br />Laurence Beaumont is a man who no longer wishes to live. He was betrayed by a woman, this sort of thing frequently happens to heroes they really should do something about it. In return for saving a fellow traveller he is told a prophecy about his love life and exhorted to go home. Upon returning home he meets up with a friend Ingram and through disastrous consequences an acquaintance turns out to be the man who Juana (the treacherous woman) stole from and whose treasonous letters he now carries. Having never met this man and being unaware of how and who was informed of the letters Beaumont is plunged into a plot, and thrown back into a world of intrigue that he wanted no part of. Throughout his present struggles it is revealed to us what happen to Beaumont in the past to make him despair at life.<br />The story is told from multiple view points, which under normal circumstance I would find quite confusing, but hearing the view points of Beaumont, Ingram, Thomas (Beaumont's brother), the traitors and Seward (the man who helps Beaumont decipher the coded letter), made the whole situation clearer to me as I could see what both sides of the plot were plotting. That said I lost track of who Robert was and what exactly he was supposed to be doing very early on, probably because I only have space in my head for a certain number of characters.

642 pages. Historial fiction. Usually, that means a hard slog, but Letemendia has a good hand when it comes to dialogue with the result being that it reads like a much lighter tome.<br /><br />The eldest son of the Beaumont family returns home from fighting in the Lowlands and Spain, carrying some emotional baggage, a sort of prophecy from a Nubian slave, and some secret papers. His return is at the beginning of the English Civil War during the reign of King Charles I. I liked that Beaumont is reluctant, not over-the-top romantic hero, but he's intelligent and courageous when he needs to be.<br /><br />

Hi, just started this a few days ago after a Twitter recommendation. <br /><br />It's set in 1642 and is about an adventurer who returns to England at the start of the war between Charles I and the English parlimantarians and puritans, which culminated in the English Civil War and Charles' execution.<br /><br />So far the war hasn't started and the protagonist, Laurence, has returned to his family near Oxford with a blighted past.<br /><br />I like losing myself in a good story and I look forward to reading more.

I really enjoyed this book. A period piece with an excellent story line which showed clearly how allegiances and loyalties are divided during civil war. Nothing is what it seems initially. This one would be worth re-reading after a while.

set in the Civil War, intrigue and counter plot

This wasn't what I expected and I didn't learn much about the English Civil War . As an adventure story set in the 17th Century , it was fine. The hero is a mix of Roger Brook , Sir Percy Blakeney and James Bond with the 3 Musketeers thrown in . Obsessed with wine ,women and cards , he tries to avoid commitment to everything but duty forces him to save the life of the king from an assassination plot . At nearly 700 pages , the book is a longish read but never dragged with lots of dialogue and action . I'll try another sometime.

Fantastic book. Fast moving, intricate and full of twists and turns I wasn't expecting. The main character is lovable but doesn't fall into the 'superman' trap of being perfect at everything. I love the political intrigue and the voices of strong but underprivileged women. Can't wait to read the next book.