Spirit of the Highway (Highway Trilogy, Book II) by Deborah Swift

England 1651.

England has been engaged in a bitter Civil War for nearly ten years. Ralph Chaplin, a farmerís son, has fallen for beautiful copper-haired Kate. There is only one problem ñ he is a Roundhead soldier and she is a Royalist lady.

Tired of bloodshed, Ralph volunteers to fight, sensing that the Battle at Worcester will be a chance to finish the fighting for good. He longs for peace, so he can forge a secure future and find a different, more equal way of life for himself and Kate.

But war is not what he imagined, and soon he has made a deadly enemy; one who will pursue Ralph and those he loves, and wreak vengeance. Whatís more, Ralph finds he has just as many enemies at home, as on the battlefield.

Told by Ralphís ghost, Spirit of the Highway is the stand-alone second part of the Highway Trilogy based on the real life and legend of Lady Katherine Fanshawe, highwaywoman and heiress.

The event take place soon after book 1 and is told by Ralph Chaplin’s ghost. Ralph has finally joined the army and when he comes back home learns that things have changed around Markyate Manor.

Since the story is told by a ghost you know he will die but it didn’t ruin the story in any way. I liked the first book more but that doesn’t mean this was bad either. I didn’t really care for Ralph in book 1 and he didn’t grow much for me in this one either. I liked his friend Cutch whom he met at the army and Cutch tried to act like voice of reason without much success. I wanted to shake Ralph so many times to get some sense into him because he seems to find himself always in trouble.

We see more about the life on the battlefield and I could have read more about that. Ralph makes an enemy on the battlefield where he meets a man who seeks vengeance for the killing of his family. Ralph’s father didn’t give good impression n the last book and even worse in this one.

I’m looking forward reading the next book in the series which will focus on Katherine Fanshawe.

3,5/5

Published: Endeavor Press (September 30, 2015)
Format: paperback
Pages: 292
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

About the Author

Deborah Swift is the author of three previous historical novels for adults, The Ladyís Slipper, The Gilded Lily, and A Divided Inheritance, all published by Macmillan/St Martinís Press, as well as the Highway Trilogy for teens (and anyone young at heart!). Her first novel was shortlisted for the Impress prize for new novelists.

She lives on the edge of the beautiful and literary English Lake District – a place made famous by the poets Wordsworth and Coleridge.

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Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, October 26
Guest Post at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, October 27
Review at Book Nerd
Spotlight & Excerpt at Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, October 28
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Thursday, October 29
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Monday, November 2
Review at The Maiden’s Court

Tuesday, November 3
Spotlight & Excerpt at Brooke Blogs

Thursday, November 5
Review at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

Friday, November 6
Review at Bookramblings
Review at Just One More Chapter
Guest Post at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

Giveaway

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Spirit of the Highway