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    Duty to the Crown
    Duty to the Crown
    Duty to the Crown
    Audiobook12 hours

    Duty to the Crown

    Written by Aimie K. Runyan

    Narrated by Esther Wane

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Set amid the promise and challenge of the first Canadian colonies, Aimie K. Runyan's vividly rendered novel provides a fascinating portrait of the women who would become the founding mothers of New France.

    In 1677, an invisible wall separates settlers in New France from their Huron neighbors. Yet whether in the fledgling city of Quebec or within one of the native tribes, every woman's fate depends on the man she chooses-or is obligated-to marry.

    Although Claudine Deschamps and Gabrielle Giroux both live within the settlement, their prospects are very different. French-born Claudine has followed her older sister across the Atlantic hoping to attract a wealthy husband through her beauty and connections. Gabrielle, orphan daughter of the town drunkard, is forced into a loveless union by a cruel law that requires her to marry by her sixteenth birthday. And Manon Lefebvre, born in the Huron village and later adopted by settlers, has faced the prejudices of both societies and is convinced she can no longer be accepted in either. Drawn into unexpected friendship through their loves, losses, and dreams of home and family, all three women will have to call on their bravery and resilience to succeed in this new world . . .
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 12, 2018
    ISBN9781977382627
    Author

    Aimie K. Runyan

    Aimie K. Runyan is a multi-published and bestselling author of historical and contemporary fiction. She has been nominated for a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Writer of the Year Award, a Historical Novel Society’s Editor’s Choice selection, and a four-time finalist for the Colorado Book Awards. She is an adjunct instructor for the Drexel University MFA in Creative Writing program and endeavors to be active in the literary community in Colorado and beyond. She lives in the Rocky Mountains with her wonderful husband, two (usually) adorable children, two (always) adorable cats, and a dragon.

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    Reviews for Duty to the Crown

    4.5/5

    20 ratings4 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I loved the first book in this series, Promised to the Crown and was so very thrilled to be asked to read this second book. I picked it up and it didn’t take long to find myself back in New France immersed in the lives of the second generation of women to experience the highs and lows of life in the colony.Manon, the adopted daughter of Nicole Lefebvre is back in town with her adopted brother after being cast out by her tribe. Life has not been easy for her from the start. Not accepted by the French or the Huron she lives on a tightrope just trying to survive. Nicole loves her but most of the rest of the people in town see her as nothing more than a savage. Even Nicole’s sisters from France – until her skills show them that she is not something to be feared but rather someone to be respected.Gabrielle has been adopted and finally knows the love of family after being abused by her alcoholic father. She and her brother live with Elisabeth and Gilbert and work in their very successful bakery but she has talents that lie in other areas. Her skill with a needle is gaining her some notice and she longs to just sew but she owes her adoptive parents for saving her and her brother from the hell of their former life. And in the colony everyone works and works hard. There is also a law hanging over her head – she must marry by the age of 16 and her prospects for a husband are not good because of the scandal of her father being the town drunkard.Claudine left France with the rest of her family to join her sister thanks to the generosity of Nicole’s husband. She wants to find a husband and prospects were limited in the home country due to their circumstances. Hopefully now things will change.These three women who are so different become so important to each other and their lives are bound together through love and hardship and friendship.I loved this second book as much as I did the first. The writing just pulls you into the world created by Ms. Runyan. I’ve read other reviews about whether there is truth in this fiction but to me the book is more about the relationships than the history. I can admit to knowing absolutely nothing about Canada’s history. I probably should know more than I do but I really am more of a student of European history than anything else. I just know that once I started this book I really didn’t want to stop reading and I am hoping for further volumes but am not sure there will be more. I would love to continue on in New France. Ms. Runyan has opened up a whole new world for me to want to explore.
    • 4/5
      Duty to the Crown by Aimie K. Runyan is the follow up story to Promised to the Crown. This book follows the lives of three very different women as they struggle to make a life in New France, present day Quebec Canada, between 1677 and 1680. Several facts in this story are not historically correct but the lives of the women show what it was like to be a female during this time of history. I would suggest reading the first book first as we do meet many of the characters in that book, but it can be read as a standalone novel.

      Manon is a young Huron girl who was raised by a French family. She is struggling with her identity in this book as she feels she does not fit in with either the Huron or the French settlers. Gabrielle, the daughter of a drunk who went to work for a husband and wife who were bakers in the first book. They have taken her in as their ward, but due to laws and traditions, she must marry by her 16th birthday, and in desperation marries a man she barely knows. Claudine travelled to New France with her sister earlier, but now yearns to return to France. Unfortunately she does not have the money to do this so she is forced to use her beauty, talents and intellect to attract a rich husband. These are three girls who could not be more different, in temperament, upbringing, and ambition, yet they come together in this young colony, as friends.

      I am not sure if woman today could go through what they did. I can't imagine being forced into marriage or the way society treated them. We have come a long way in many areas such as safe pregnancies and births, the ability to get educated, dealing with abusive relationships, and being able to choose who we marry, specifically marrying for love. This was a very interesting read and I have become attached to these women. I hope there is a third book in this series coming. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via netgalley.
    • 5/5
      Duty to the Crown by Aimie K. Runyan is the second book in the Daughters of New France series. We join Manon, Claudine, Emmanuelle and Gabrielle in New France (Quebec settlement) in June 1677. Manon Lefebvre has been living with the Huron’s since she left Alexandre and Nicole Lefebvre’s home five years prior. Mother Onatah, sister to the chief, took in Manon. But then a deadly fever hits the village and despite Manon’s best efforts, Mother Onatah passes away. The chief of the Big Turtle clan immediately tells Manon to leave (talk about cruel). Nicole Lefebvre welcomes Manon and Tawendeh (Mother Onatah’s son) them into their home. Nicole is thrilled to have Manon back (she was so upset when Manon left). Manon feels like she does not fit into either world (French or Huron). Claudine Deschamps, Nicole’s younger sister, is hoping to make a prestigious match with an eligible bachelor. Claudine imagines a life of luxury, but one wrong move can lead her down a very different path. Emmanuelle Deschamps usually can be found with her nose in a book. She has a kind personality and Claudine looks down upon her. Gabrielle Giroux was taken in by Elisabeth and Gilbert Beaumont along with her brother, Pascal. Since Gabrielle was born in New France, an edict states she must marry by her sixteenth birthday or the Beaumont’s will be forced to pay a penalty. Not many men are willing to marry the daughter of the town drunk (her birth father). Join these young women in New France as they experience love, friendship, heartache, and loss. Duty to the Crown is not a stand-alone novel. You do need to read Promised to the Crown in order to understand the characters and their various relationships. Aimie Runyan does a superb job of capturing time and place (Quebec settlement in New France in the late 1600s). The novel has great characters, excellent writing, and is ripe with emotion. You will laugh, cry, sigh and smile as you work your way through Duty to the Crown. It was good to see how the characters grow over the course of the book. We also get to revisit the characters from the first novel (Nicole, Alexandre, Elisabeth, Gilbert) to see how they are faring. I give Duty to the Crown 5 out of 5 stars (I enjoyed it very much). I kept reading this page turner until I finished it (I did not want it to end, but I wanted to see how it ended). I give Duty to the Crown 5 out of 5 stars (I enjoyed it very much). I look forward to reading more novels by Aimie K. Runyan in the future.
    • 5/5
      I loved the first book in this series, Promised to the Crown and was so very thrilled to be asked to read this second book. I picked it up and it didn’t take long to find myself back in New France immersed in the lives of the second generation of women to experience the highs and lows of life in the colony.Manon, the adopted daughter of Nicole Lefebvre is back in town with her adopted brother after being cast out by her tribe. Life has not been easy for her from the start. Not accepted by the French or the Huron she lives on a tightrope just trying to survive. Nicole loves her but most of the rest of the people in town see her as nothing more than a savage. Even Nicole’s sisters from France – until her skills show them that she is not something to be feared but rather someone to be respected.Gabrielle has been adopted and finally knows the love of family after being abused by her alcoholic father. She and her brother live with Elisabeth and Gilbert and work in their very successful bakery but she has talents that lie in other areas. Her skill with a needle is gaining her some notice and she longs to just sew but she owes her adoptive parents for saving her and her brother from the hell of their former life. And in the colony everyone works and works hard. There is also a law hanging over her head – she must marry by the age of 16 and her prospects for a husband are not good because of the scandal of her father being the town drunkard.Claudine left France with the rest of her family to join her sister thanks to the generosity of Nicole’s husband. She wants to find a husband and prospects were limited in the home country due to their circumstances. Hopefully now things will change.These three women who are so different become so important to each other and their lives are bound together through love and hardship and friendship.I loved this second book as much as I did the first. The writing just pulls you into the world created by Ms. Runyan. I’ve read other reviews about whether there is truth in this fiction but to me the book is more about the relationships than the history. I can admit to knowing absolutely nothing about Canada’s history. I probably should know more than I do but I really am more of a student of European history than anything else. I just know that once I started this book I really didn’t want to stop reading and I am hoping for further volumes but am not sure there will be more. I would love to continue on in New France. Ms. Runyan has opened up a whole new world for me to want to explore.