Book Review: Royal Blood: A HWA Short Story Collection by Various Authors

Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Sharpe Books
Pub date: 8 July 2020
Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Immerse yourself in the Tudor period through a diverse collection of informed and entertaining short stories narratives.

Read about some of your favourite characters from established series, or be introduced to new writers in the genre.

The stories in Royal Blood bring the Tudor era richly to life, presenting suspense, rivalry, espionage and historical drama.

This stunning new collection, brought to you by the Historical Writers’ Association, also includes interviews with each author.

Find out more about their writing processes and what attracts them to the Tudor world.

Royal Blood is a must read for all fans of historical fiction.

Authors & Stories Featured in Royal Blood:

Judith Arnopp – ‘No Other Will Than His’ Katherine Howard

David Field – One for the Road

EC Fremantle – The Sum of Me

Philip Gooden – Exit Ghost

Michael Jecks – The Earl’s Purse

John Pilkington – A False Hawksman

Peter Tonkin – A Palpable Hit

Steven Veerapen – Lantern and Light

Michael Ward – The North-East Passage

The first book I read in the series was actually the second book, By the Sword which looks at the crusades.

Royal Blood is the third in the HWA Short Story Collection and this time the stories are focused on one of my eras, the Tudors!

I was so excited to read these, I couldn’t wait to see if John Pilkington’s story was about my favourite Falconer, Thomas Finbow. I was of course delighted that it was indeed a short story about Thomas, I literally can’t get enough of that character!

The other authors I have previously read were Judith Arnopp, Steven Veerapen and David Field, all of whom have provided great short stories for this collection.

I haven’t read the work of the others before now but thoroughly enjoyed each story and have noted the authors names so I can read more.

This is the perfect book for Tudor fans who want to enjoy some light, quick reading from exceptional authors.

Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

I know I haven’t read these short story collections in order but I will be reading the other two books in the series starting with Rubicon which features 10 short stories in the Roman era.

Royal Blood is available here