Owl Always Be Reading: Blog Tour + Guest Post + Giveaway: The King Slayer (The Witch Hunter #2) by Virginia Boecker

Welcome to our stop on A Rockstar Book Tour for THE KING SLAYER by Virginia Boecker! Thank you Virginia for stopping by and sharing your favorite historical novels with us!

Make sure you check them out below and let us know if any are your favorites too! Oh, and don't forget the pretty badass giveaway!

Also, make sure you follow THE KING SLAYER blog tour to read review, experts, and more guest posts!

Title: The King Slayer

Series: The Witch Hunter #2

Author: Virginia Boecker

Publication Date: June 14, 2016

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 368

Age Group: Young Adult

Genre: Paranormal/Historical

An action-packed and suspenseful sequel to The Witch Hunter, perfect for fans of Graceling and the Grisha Trilogy.

"I think, in time, you'll either be my greatest mistake or my greatest victory."

Former witch hunter Elizabeth Grey is hiding within the magically protected village of Harrow, evading the price put on her head by Lord Blackwell, the usurper king of Anglia. Their last encounter left Blackwell ruined, but his thirst for power grows stronger every day. He's readying for a war against those who would resist his rule--namely Elizabeth and the witches and wizards she now calls her allies.

Having lost her stigma, a magical source of protection and healing, Elizabeth's strength is tested both physically and emotionally. War always means sacrifice, and as the lines between good and evil blur once more, Elizabeth must decide just how far she'll go to save those she loves.

My favorite historical novels! What a treat. Here they are, in no particular order:

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL

It’s the story of Mary Boleyn, younger sister to the more famous Anne Boleyn, how she because Henry VIII’s mistress at the age of fifteen until Anne stepped in and, over the course of eight years, persuaded Henry to divorce his first wife (which also resulted in an English divorce from Catholicism and the creation of the Church of England) and become the Queen of England. We know how the story ends—she has one child, the future Elizabeth I, but cannot give Henry the son he wants so he orchestrates her downfall, which results in her execution. The voice in this book is everything: it’s contemporary and emotional and it’s what made me realize I could write this way and still stay true to a period. I’ve read this book a few dozen times and it never gets old.

THE QUIET AMERICAN

Oh, my God. I love this book so much. I was a little obsessed with the Vietnam War in college, which is what initially drew me to it. It’s set in the 1950s and through three characters—American, English, Vietnamese—it covers everything from French and British colonialism, American over-involvement in Vietnam, and the compelling (and enduring) topic of Americentrism—the naïve idea that the “American” way of doing things is the best way. It also prophesized the outcome of the Vietnam War—ten years early—which to me is chilling.

NORTH AND SOUTH

I get a little misty when I talk about this series. It’s a trilogy that takes place before, during, and after the US Civil War, and chronicles the lives of two families: the Mains (who are from the North) and the Hazards (from the South), which originates when the sons of each family meet at West Point. The families become inextricably connected through their friendship and the subsequent marriage of a Main boy to a Hazard girl, and this, plus the war of course, all spells drama. I read it when I was a teenager, and got my friends to read it, and when the miniseries hit TV it became an event. It’s dramatic and over the top and there are so many oh that did not just happen moments and it’s just awesome. I can’t recommend it enough.

PILLARS OF THE EARTH

This whole book (and it is a whole book—it’s huge) centers around the building of a cathedral in a fictional town in England. It’s set in the 1100s and spans the lives of all the characters involved with the building—it takes at least thirty years to construct a cathedral—and you feel as if you live in the village yourself and know all the characters. I read it probably twenty years ago so the details are a little fuzzy now (it might be time for a reread), but the story and the feel of it all really stuck with me.

Virginia Boecker recently spent four years in London obsessing over English medieval history, which formed the basis of The Witch Hunter. She now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and spends her days writing, reading, running, and chasing around her two children and a dog named George.

In addition to English kings, nine-day queens, and Protestant princesses, her other obsessions include The Smiths, art museums, champagne, and Chapstick. She is represented by the incomparable Kathleen Ortiz at New Leaf Literary & Media.

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