The French Orphan (Book One) by Michael Stolle Book Tour and Giveaway!

Publication Date: June 12, 2012 
eBook & Paperback; 
388 Pages 
Genre: Historical Fiction 

    
The year is 1640, and Louis XIII is on the French throne. However, as far as you’re concerned, this is all pretty meaningless. After all, as a teenage orphan living in a monastery school in Reims, all you have to worry about is dodging the unpleasant advances of a few unsavoury monks and looking forward to a life of penniless and celibate servitude in a religious order. After a childhood and adolescence plagued by a constant longing to know who he really is, orphan Pierre has not the slightest idea that his questions are about to be answered. But you know what they say – be careful what you wish for… Suddenly finding out who you are can bring with it not only happiness and fortune, but danger, friendship and the sort of swift education that the monastery could never have provided! The discovery of who Pierre really is affects not only Pierre and his friends, but has ramifications for the French nobility, the English crown, and most dangerous of all, the machinations of Cardinal Richelieu and his fierce ambition for the Church and for himself.

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The Secrets of Montrésor (Book Two) by Michael Stolle

Publication Date: November 12, 2012 
eBook & Paperback; 
298 Pages 
Genre: Historical Fiction 
    
The Secrets of Montrésor is the eagerly awaited sequel to The French Orphan, and continues the story of young Pierre de Beauvoir… Coming into a fortune at any age brings huge responsibility, but when you’re an inexperienced teenager, it seems that surprises are waiting for you around every corner. Pierre, former orphan and now Marquis de Beauvoir, may have claimed his inheritance, but life is never that simple. For a start, he needs to learn pretty quickly exactly who to trust and who to keep at arm’s length. For example, how do you work out (and survive….) the changing motives of the most powerful man in seventeenth-century France, Cardinal Richelieu? And then what do you do when the people you should be able to trust try to deliver you into the hands of your worst enemy? And then there’s the small matter of a sacred quest to Italy… Fortunately for Pierre he has his best friend Armand to support him as he gets to know his chateau at Montrésor, its people and… its secrets. (Armand, of course, has his own agendas to pursue, usually involving a pretty face and a willing smile.) Far from being certain, Pierre’s future has yet to be settled and Pierre will have to draw on his own innate talents as well as those of the people around him to ensure he survives, as his enemies are just waiting to seize their opportunity.

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Under the Spell of The Serenissima (Book Three) by Michael Stolle

Publication Date: December 15, 2013 
eBook & Paperback; 
302 Pages 
Genre: Historical Fiction
      
The third in the French Orphan series follows the exploits of Pierre, former penniless orphan who discovers he is heir to the de Beauvoir inheritance. So far, Pierre has found friends in unexpected places, been surprised by love, learned the true meaning of friendship, discovered the extent of human cunning and depravity and dodged numerous attempts by his closest family member to despatch him to the next world. In Under the Spell of the Serenissima Pierre’s search for the third Templar ring continues, but as ever, his path is not a smooth one. Pierre and Armand, along with Jean and Edoardo, are making for Venice, unaware that others too are racing towards the beautiful city, some intending to help, others with far more sinister motives. As the various characters are drawn inexorably towards Venice, a conclusion will be played out that must decide Pierre’s fate, one way or another…

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The Queen's Maid of Honour (Book Four) by Michael Stolle

Publication Date: March 31, 2016 
eBook & Paperback; 
300 Pages 
Genre: Historical Fiction 
    
The year is 1643. The scheming Cardinal Mazarin is now Prime Minister of France, but on the other side of the Channel, unrest in England grows daily, as civil war is erupting. As the political situation in England deteriorates, the royal court flees London for Oxford, and King Charles is desperate to secure both funding and troops to come to his aid. Mazarin, every bit as devious as his predecessor, Richelieu, engages the services of François de Toucy to save the Queen of England, a former royal princess of France. François and his friends will set sail for England, in a quest to ensure the safety of the queen. Whilst François is walking a diplomatic tightrope across the political cauldron of the royal court, his friend Armand falls desperately in love with the Queen’s Maid of Honour, a lady as beautiful as she is cunning. Soon the friends find themselves deeply entangled in a deadly combination of cut-throat politics, disasters on the battlefield and bitter machinations at court over love and war and the struggle between Protestants and Catholics that threaten to spell only death and disaster.

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About the Author

Born and educated in Europe, Michael has always been intrigued by the historical setting and the fact that what makes us human was as true in the 17th century as it is now. He has been reading and writing about history for longer than he cares to recall...

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, January 23
Blog Tour Kick Off at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, January 24
Review at Books, Dreams, Life (The French Orphan)

Wednesday, January 25
Spotlight at Just One More Chapter
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views (The French Orphan)

Thursday, January 26
Review at Book Nerd (The Queen’s Maid of Honour)

Friday, January 27
Spotlight at What Is That Book About
Review at Clarissa Reads It All (The French Orphan)

Monday, January 30
Review at Books, Dreams, Life (The Secrets of Montrésor)
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views (The Secrets of Montrésor)

Tuesday, January 31
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation
Review at Clarissa Reads It All (The Secrets of Montrésor)

Wednesday, February 1
Review at 100 Pages a Day (The French Orphan)

Thursday, February 2
Spotlight at Broken Teepee
Review at Turning The Pages (The French Orphan)

Friday, February 3
Spotlight at A Bookaholic Swede
Review at Turning The Pages (The Secrets of Montrésor)

Sunday, February 5
Review at Books, Dreams, Life (Under the Spell of The Serenissima)
Review at Clarissa Reads It All (Under the Spell of The Serenissima)
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views (Under the Spell of The Serenissima)

Monday, February 6
Review at 100 Pages a Day (The Secrets of Montrésor)

Tuesday, February 7
Spotlight at Kinx’s Book Nook

Wednesday, February 8
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review at Clarissa Reads It All (The Queen’s Maid of Honour)

Thursday, February 9
Review at Turning The Pages (Under the Spell of The Serenissima)

Friday, February 10
Review at Turning The Pages (The Queen’s Maid of Honour)
Review at Historical Fiction Obsession (The French Orphan)
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views (The Queen’s Maid of Honour)

Saturday, February 11
Review at Yelena Casale’s Blog (The French Orphan)
Review at Books, Dreams, Life (The Queen’s Maid of Honour)

Giveaway

To win a paperback copy of The French Orphan (Book One) by Michael Stolle, please enter via the Gleam form below. Three copies are up for grabs! Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on February 11th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open to residents in the US, UK, and CANADA only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen. French Orphan 

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