1066 A.D. – Discover the origins of the original de Wolfe pack, led by the man known as WARWOLFE. Before the Duke of Normandy conquered England, a legend arose. A man so fierce, so brave, and so noble, that the mere whisper of his name could strike both fear and admiration into the hearts of all men. That name is Warwolfe.Gaetan de Wolfe is this man. A legend from a family of legends, the … legends, the greatest de Wolfe warrior arises as William the Conqueror sets foot in England to claim what he believes is his birthright. Gaetan brings with him eleven of the fiercest knights the realm has ever seen, plowing their way into the English countryside, forging their legacies at the Battle of Hastings. But when one of Gaetan’s men is kidnapped by the rogue brother of the Earl of Mercia, Gaetan refuses to let his man go. His loyalty to his men is above all.
A rescue mission of epic proportions begins.
Guiding the original de Wolfe Pack on this task into deadly enemy territory is a lady warrior known as Ghislaine of Mercia. The sister of the man who kidnapped Gaetan’s knight, her loyalties are torn. Sent to betray Gaetan, Ghislaine is not sure she can go through with those plans because her attraction to Gaetan is undeniable. There is a spark between them that refuses to die. Together, Gaetan and Ghislaine embark on a dangerous adventure where myths are revealed, loyalties are tested, and where a growing passion between them becomes all-consuming.
Live the legend.
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I’m typically a regency reader in addition being a regency writer. But I used to read a wider range of books (vikings, highlanders, medieval, victorian, etc.). I hadn’t read a medieval romance in decades when I picked this one up at around midnight. I read it al in one sitting.
There is so much to love in this book! The details and the history, the epic quest element, but above all, the relationships between the characters (not just the hero and heroine). All too often secondary characters get short changed, they’re filler or cardboard until it’s time for their book to roll around and then they get a little meat to them. That is not how this book was at all. Each of the characters is distinctive and well developed and it’s 3:10 in the morning and I’m trying to convince myself to go to bed and not read another one. Holy crap.
This is a book to be savoured, like a fine wine. 5 stars ++
Kathryn Le Veque delivers again an action-packed, fast paced historical romance worth savouring slowly moments by moments! I found myself quickly absorbed in the story, staying up and reading until late in the night. WARWOLFE is a real page turner! A very complex story that will sweep you off your feet and take a hold of you. Medieval romance lovers, will adore the prequel of The Wolfe. I highly recommend it!
It tells the story of Gaetan de Wolfe, the leader of a team of the most powerful Norman knights the world had ever seen, knowned as the Anges de Guerre – Angels of War. During of the battle of Hastings, when the Duke of Normandy conquered England, Gaetan met a brave Saxon warrior princess, named Ghislaine of Mercia. Their adventure started when one of his knights, named Kristoph de Lohr, was captured by Ghislaine’s demon brother Alary. Did Ghislaine betray her brothers? Did Kristoph betray Gaetan and his fellow knights? Both will question their loyalties! So Warwolfe is the journey, filled with twists and turns, of Gaetan de Wolfe and his men, gone on a quest to rescue their friend! During their mission, Gaetan and Ghislaine will make sparks flare and ignite a powerful passion!
If you can’t remember all the characters in this story, get the Reader’s Guide, THE MEDIEVAL WORLD OF KATHRYN LE VEQUE, on Amazon. It contains all of the great houses and family groupings, and is invaluable when navigating her novels.
Epic Medieval Military Romance, loved Gate and Ghislaine story
A PhD student researching the Battle of Hastings for her thesis, is directed to an elderly man with a book, a.first hand telling of a group of elite Knights who were instrumental in winning the war and putting William of Normandy on the English throne. The story is their quest to rescue one of their brothers from the hands of a Saxon lord.
Gaeton Dr Wolfe, Gate to his brothers, is the leader of Williams “Angels of War”. He is know as the “Warwolf”. He spares the life of a female Saxon warrior at the Battle of Hastings.
Ghislaine of Mercia, is of noble birth, younger sister to two Earls and to the wife of King Harold. Raised as a warrior as her mother and grandmother before her. Her life spared by a Norman Knight, she returns the favor to another Norman Knight captured by her men. Her mad older brother, with no lands of his own, take him from her.
Ghislaine risks her life to find Gaetan de Wolfe, his leader to save him and put an end to her evil brother.
Ghislaine, becomes their guide and slowly earns the knights trust and admiration in her skills as a warrior. Ghislaine, finds comfort in their attention. She has eyes only for Gate.
Gate finds himself falling in love with his little mouse. He never.thought to.marry, now he has found a lady who is a not only a warrior but is intelligent and possesses a kind heart. To save his brother knight, his sister’s husband, he may have pay A price that will cost him his lady.
A fast paced Medieval Military Romance. Loved Gate and Ghislaine. Will be reading more in the series.
Live this aurthor
This was the first book of Kathryn LeVeque’s that I read and I was hooked. It had me laughing, crying and at times on the edge of my seat. The characters come alive. I have read all of Kathryn’s books since and I’m now going back and reading them in chronological order…they are that good. The Warwolfe is at the top of my favorites list. A must read for all who love reading medevil romance books.
Great characters, lots of emotion and plenty of action adds up to an engaging read
This is only my second book by this author so I still wasn’t quite sure what to expect (I’d read The Wolfe first). Note this time period (the Battle of Hastings and the weeks following) is not one I’m very familiar with, so if you’re looking for comments on historical accuracy, you’re out of luck, lol.
The main story of Gaetan de Wolfe and Ghislaine of Mercia is bookended by scenes set in the current day. While I’m not usually much of a fan of flash backward/flash forward, the author did a great job making it work for this book. The characters in the bookends came alive for me every bit as much as the characters in the main story, and scenes that could have all too easily turned into just an info dump were entertaining and engaging.
I really enjoyed the setup here, where two people who were literally enemies to start off with, grow to admire and eventually love each other. Gaetan was the perfect noble hero, a fierce warrior but capable of mercy when appropriate. As a warrior in her own right, Ghislaine was no shrinking violet, but was clever and skilled. As for secondary characters, I loved the brotherhood and the occasional teasing between the knights while Alary made the perfect villain, sadistic and a little crazy and therefore a little unpredictable.
I admit I had a little trouble keeping all the knights straight, especially at first (there were nine knights in Gaetan’s group, plus the priest) but that’s probably more on me than the author as I’m horrible with names. I thought she actually did a pretty good job of giving each of her characters traits to help distinguish them. Certainly by the time I got to the end of the book, Aramis de Russe in particular had a place in my heart.
My one caveat for the story is that for a warrior woman, well trained in the warfare of her people, and who, from all accounts, is used to running things and getting her way, Ghislaine seemed at times oddly tentative and timid. Then in other situations she would react more like I expected, getting angry, fighting back and/or doing what she had to in order to achieve her goals. I guess I haven’t quite been able to decide if that makes her character complex and human or just inconsistent, lol.
Great characters evoking lots of emotion (there were some gut-twisting, heart-wrenching moments along with some nice laughs) plus plenty of action and a couple of plot twists all added up to a highly enjoyable, engaging read for me. The hard part is deciding whether I should continue reading the de Wolfe books or try another line (I’m looking at you, de Russe!). 5 stars
I loved the book and have now read the 12 book series. If you like medieval romances, you will love these books.
WarWolfe was my “Maiden” novel read from author Kathryn Le Veque. My thoughts…I was worried when I started reading and it was about a college student doing research for her historical thesis. My first thought was this was going to be a time travel novel which are not my favorite choice of books. But, I kept going and I’m so glad I did!!! It is NOT a time travel! Happy dance! Then the Medieval storyline came alive with attractive and complex characters at the start of the Norman occupation of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain. The storyline is well written rich with history, adventure, danger, intrigue, brotherhood connections, and sacrifice, with an unlikely romance between enemies. There was one mild sex scene and no rough language. I recommend this book and look forward to the next story in this series including other novels from this author.
Undeniably Captivating!!! This book was the beginning start of my love for Ms. LeVeque’s stories. It is fast-paced, easy to read with wonderful characters and a hot romance in store! Great read indeed!!!
Loved it
I didn’t like this book, I loved it. I have to admit, I wasn’t too fond of Gatean at first. But one of the reasons is this is not a normal romance book from this author. But what this book does do is to give the reader a better background on many of the names that will come up in later books. De Russe, de Lohr, du Reims, de Lara and even gives you the background on how de Shera began. These names will be linked in future novels and the ancestry that this author has developed over her series of medieval novels and how they are all interconnected is mind boggling. So even though there is some romance here, it is a smaller part of this book. This book is more about the amazing Knights and their true loyalty to each other – a true band of brothers not seen in modern times. As I said, Gatean took time to grow on me, but he did, with Ghislaine’s help. A great origin story that will give the readers of this author a better background and understanding on many books that follow.
Leveque’s passion for writing is only eclipsed by her passion for history. It isn’t watered down, sanitized history either. Set amongst the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, she writes gripping descriptions of battles that put the reader right in the thick of things. Typically I gloss over battle scenes because I find them boring or too gruesome. Leveque manages to make the combatants characters you engage with and care about; celebrating their victories as well as mourning their losses.
Amid all this she also manages to put in a good dose of romance that is neither out of place or textbook examples of Stockholm Syndrome. Her female characters are just as strong, if not stronger, as their male counterparts and you never find them at a loss for solutions because some hunky alpha male isn’t around.
Unlike some other historical fiction I’ve read, I never have to question if Leveque’s story lines are researched and authentic. She is one of the most knowledgeable authors of medieval fiction around.
All of this combined makes Leveque an author whose books I will always pick up, because I know I’ll be entertained and captivated.
This was a great book. I understand where all where all the great houses came from.Boy to have a 11 children and they all survive, that’s a feat back in those days. And the warring in this book was no exception to the others. Brotherhood was everything.
This was the first book I read by Ms. Le Veque. I love the book and characters. You get pulled into the Le Veque medieval world and are happy to remain. I’m now following her on Bookbub and Amazon so i don’t miss new publications.
Liked it alot
I loved the premise of the story, the camaraderie between the knights was what bound this story together.
Where it fell short for me was the contradiction in the characters…the mighty knight in charge, gets queasy at a severed finger, meanwhile he’s beheading enemies, and the heroine is strong and feisty and trained as a warrior, but in the next minute she’s weeping … GAH! Drives me crazy.
Unfortunately I’m not anxious to dive into a 14 book series based on book 1.
Easy read. Knights in mail armor. Heroine was very capable on the battlefield. Only part that was not very STEAMY was the big romantic encounter between H&H. It was actually laughable and eye rolling! The position of the pair was NOT ROMANTIC. The description of their love making seemed ridiculous. Every other physical encounter was like a 1950’s movie, I.e. Robin Hood, etc. still I was entertained. If you are looking for an old fashioned romance this is perfect for you. If you want more intense lovemaking and romance (e.g. BecMcMaster’s Blue Blood Conspiracy) this is not it! But enjoyable nevertheless.
Gaeton de Wolfe and Ghislaine of Mercia make a fantastic read. It’s true LeVeque!!
If I could give zero stars I would. Horrible writing, ridiculous plot, awful characters. It’s as if the author transported a team of Navy Seals and made them medieval warriors.
Leaves you wanting more