Former presidential aide Ryan Belvedere has been drifting in a fog of misery ever since his president was killed, but he reluctantly agrees to do a favor for a friend–fetching a rare book from a crumbling manor house in England. There he meets Sidney Blount–a cold, sophisticated, Dominant–who’s at the same house to appraise the family art. It doesn’t take Sidney long to appraise Ryan too, and … and decide exactly what Ryan needs. Which just so happens to be the one thing Sidney wants to give…
American Squire is a short novella of 14,000 words. It takes place during the events of American King and is best read after the New Camelot trilogy. It is not necessary to have read any of the Thornchapel series to enjoy American Squire.
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Oh LAWD…finally got to read this little gem and it was smoking HAWT as all of Sierra Simone’ s books are. What a way to start my Saturday morning..so yummy and left me pinning for more lol
This is a fabulous quick read and also the perfect introduction to the Thornchapel series. I love that it reminded me of how Merlin can influence situations, which we witnessed throughout the New Camelot series.
I would have loved this to be a longer novella actually. I would have loved more time with Ryan and Sidney!
American Squire is a short but sweet bridge from Sierra Simone’s New Camelot to Thornchapel. It involves a bereaved Ryan Belvedere, formerly the Aide of assassinated President Colchester, who we met in Simone’s New Camelot series. Ryan carries out a favor for former Presidential advisor, Merlin Rhys, by traveling to the moors of Wales to retrieve an ancient and valuable book from a crumbling manor house, Thornchapel. Ryan, mourning the loss of his President, feels unmoored and out of control. He cannot see his path forward through the fog; until he meets the compelling, irresistible force that is Mr. Sidney Blount, who is there to appraise the Estate’s art. Sierra’s writing always blows me away. Her prose is bewitching, she so easily conjures up the most satisfying descriptions and scenes. The characters she fashions are dynamic and charismatic, unforgettable people that we care about. I felt that way about Ryan when I read of his service to the President in New Camelot, and I wondered where he might end up. Now I know. This was a wonderful short story. Five stars.
Sierra Simone, you are a fabulous writer. All you touch, turns to masterpieces. I’m do glad I found you as a reader. This novella is a nice preclude to Thornchapel!
Free on Read Me Romance podcast. This novella is a “bridge” between Sierra Simone’s New Camelot Trilogy (American Queen/American Prince/American Queen) and her new Thornchapel series (at this time A Lesson In Thorns is the only one released).
It’s not like you have to have read New Camelot to enjoy this, but I think if I hadn’t something would be missing and I wouldn’t relate as well to Ryan. (Ryan was a fairly minor character in Camelot, but still important.). Merlin sends Ryan to Thornchapel in search of a book and he meets Sydney Blount. Since the death of Ryan’s previous employer and sort of dominant (not exactly sexual, it’s weird and here’s where it probably makes more sense if you’re familiar with New Camelot), Ryan is at loose ends. Sydney steps in and their relationship develops from there.
This is a short novella so there’s not a whole lot of development going on. Frankly, I wonder if they’ll appear in Thornchapel in any meaningful way, because it would be a treat to get more about their HEA.
Personal issue I tried not to reflect in rating: I like Guy Locke as a narrator. A lot. However, he speaks a little too slow for me and I have to bump up the speed whenever he’s narrating. With iTunes, my only option was .5x, 1x, 1.5x, or 2x. 1 was too slow and 1.5 was too fast. I left it at 1 and it felt kind of sluggish to me.
This crossover brought All.The.Heat.
“I melt. I die. I want.”
An absolutely perfect bridge novella between my favorite kinky Sierra Worlds. Ryan Belvedere is Devotion set adrift – a squire in service to a ghostly king. He travels to Thornchapel to find his moorings in the hands of a taciturn, strict art historian. Mysticism. Eroticism. Romanticism. all my favorite isms in on place. Goddess, I adore Sierra Simone.
And Merlin pops in!