Lion Hearts by Dan Jones

Author : Dan Jones

Book : Lion Hearts

/ Historical Fiction /

/Essex Dogs Book 3/

Publication date : July 31, 2025

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Blurb:

The thrilling, unmissable follow-up to Wolves of Winter by Sunday Times bestselling historian, Dan Jones, following the fortunes of ordinary soldiers in the early years of the Hundred Years' War.

Three years after the Essex Dogs battled through the Siege of Calais, the Black Death has torn through Europe.

Romford, basking in his new riches, now finds himself living as a squire in the glamorous court of King Edward III. Loveday, whose businesses have been destroyed by the plague, is desperate to avoid returning to the life he vowed to fighting. And Millstone and Thorp enlist themselves on a deadly mission to escort a princess to Castille.

Each Dog has scattered in a radically different direction. But something is about to bring them back together...

My thoughts:

I love the fact that all the books in the Essex Dogs trilogy had a different vibe and feeling.

Lion Hearts is the perfect conclusion to this eventful and thrilling story of the gang we grew to love so much.

Impeccable writing and details, and I'm no history geek, but even I enjoyed the masterfully interwoven historical details brought to life in all the books, and Lion Hearts was no exception to that wonderful work.

Scattered all over the world, our beloved crew found each other for a final adventure filled with danger, smuggling and bloodshed.

Safe to say, Loveday's plans for retirement and leading a peaceful life as an inn owner aren’t going as expected. Owing debts, the inn in such a bad shape, it's crumbling and a not so wise offer accepted sets the pace for this page—turning story, and I definitely couldn't put it down.

It's challenging to describe without getting into spoilers, but it's a perfect wrap-up for all the characters, and I enjoyed every gritty, emotional moment of it even more than the second book.