Today, I’m delighted to host Leonor by Catherine Mathis. The book is on a blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2026/09/blog-tour-leonor-by-catherine-mathis.html
About the Book
Leonor
Queens of Portugal Trilogy
by Catherine Mathis
A queen’s ambition. A kingdom on the edge. One woman’s hunger for power will set Portugal ablaze—unless she’s devoured first.
Portugal, 1367. The court is a powder keg, and Leonor Teles de Meneses is the spark. Born noble, married off for duty, Leonor aches for more—freedom, passion, a place at the heart of power. Her wit is sharp, her enemies sharper. Her king? He’s both lover and battleground.
As the crown changes heads and alliances shift like sand, Leonor fights for a voice in a world that wants her silent. She’s hemmed in by jealous sisters, a mother-in-law from hell, and a husband who’d rather write poetry than rule. But when the king’s eye lands on her, the stakes soar. Now, every whispered rumor, every stolen glance, every calculated risk could mean everything—or nothing.
Palace intrigue, forbidden love, and betrayal pulse through every corridor. In this world, trust is a luxury, and secrets are currency. Leonor’s choices will tip the scales of dynastic conflict and decide the fate of a kingdom hungry for an heir.
If you crave the courtly drama and rich detail, get ready to lose yourself in a tale of ambition, desire, and survival—where every move could be your last.
Buy Links
https://books2read.com/u/4E5RKA
The Book Details
Book Title: Leonor
Series: Queens of Portugal Trilogy
Author Name: Catherine Mathis
Publication Date: 27 OCT 2026
Publisher: Histria Fiction / Histria Books, LLC
Pages: 356
Genre: Historical Fiction – LATE MEDIEVAL
Any Triggers: Babies die young; two people are stabbed to death
Excerpt
February 1367, Alcobaça Abbey Church, Portugal. The opening lines of the novel.
Though she comes from one of the kingdom’s highest-ranking families, she is but a woman shunted to an abbey side aisle with her sister. Stretching to see around those in front of her, Leonor rocks side to side. After three weeks in the dull off-white clothes of mourning, nobles and their families are bedecked in elaborate fabrics and jewels. Blocking her view are horned hats adorned with ribbons and silk scarves. She yearns to push out her elbows, for never in her life had she been jammed into a space with so many people.
Her husband, Lord Pombeiro, has brought her to court from their lands in the north to celebrate a coronation. After eighteen months of marriage spent in the home of her frowning mother-in-law, Leonor’s pent-up desire to dance and laugh is bursting to escape. Her husband is a sweet man who prefers writing poetry, while her brothers always reveled in the hunt. She misses home, where her mother treated rambunctious behavior with amused tolerance. Daily, Leonor sits in the solar, stitching away as her husband reads out phrases, seeking the right word. She would prefer to ride, feeling the freedom to move across the land. He fears for her health because their first child, a daughter, died in less than a moon’s time. His mother agrees: Leonor jostled the babe ere she was born with regular riding forays across their fields, which weakened the child. Her own mother had ridden while pregnant, losing two of her eight children before the age of two. She misses the guidance of her practical mother. She sighs, for one cannot gainsay a mother-in-law.
She is here, bored at the moment, excited at the prospect of the week to come.
The Pombeiro entourage arrived in Alcobaça yesterday as the sun faded away. Today, as she entered the church, she held her sister’s hand. She came to a full stop to stare. The side aisles’ vault matches the nave’s height, with each side supported by twelve smooth granite columns with modest capstones marching to the chancel. If it were not so crowded, she would feel lost in the immensity of the building. Leonor cannot compare its sheer height and length to any building she has ever entered. She imagines this church would hold ten or twelve of the chapels at her home or in the Pombeiro compound. To think, nine hundred monks live on the grounds of Alcobaça, more than in the villages near her home. She is grateful that the quiet religious men are camped in tents as the guests take over the monastery’s rooms.
Last month, two days after his father’s death in Estremoz, Ferdinand arrived there with dozens of nobles. He was raised up and acclaimed king. Funeral rites were held, following which, King Pedro was translated here for interment next to his beloved Inês. It was a private affair.
Now it is the time to celebrate Ferdinand the king.
“Your most faithful majesty, we come before you swearing this pledge,” intones the archbishop as he leads the nobles in their oaths.
“Ferdinand, son of Pedro, grandson of Afonso, ninth of your line, we acclaim your ascension as King of Portugal and the Algarve.” Noblemen roar as they repeat the phrase. The women stay silent.
“You are chosen of God to care for and lead your people, protect your lands, and create a never-failing succession of heirs. We hereby pledge and swear not to receive nor obey any other as king. We vest you here with sword and spurs to lead us to victory in securing the realm.” And so, it continues. Daydreaming, Leonor ponders the evening celebrations to come. She sneezes as the wafting incense tickles her nose.
A great shuffling of feet begins. Leonor pokes her sister Maria, “What is going on?”
“Each lord is kissing King Ferdinand’s hand and swearing fealty.”
Leonor sighs and rolls her eyes. “Will we get to speak to the king?”
“Perhaps tomorrow. Come with me early to help the Infanta Beatriz dress.”
“Why? This night will be late, and I will sleep in. Besides, Beatriz does not like me.”
Maria frowns at Leonor. “Beatriz hardly knows you. Because your lord husband Pombeiro does not bring you south, you are little known at court. He wants a son, I warrant.”
About the Author
Catherine Mathis writes stories set in medieval Portugal, bringing legends to life by sharing Iberian Tales.
Mathis was born in Berlin, the daughter of an American spy. She grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. She self-funded her degree from Sewanee, majoring in history with a medieval focus, and she had a career in finance.
Travel brought her the opportunity to return to an earlier love of all things Middle Ages, both as a writer and a reader.
Connect with Catherine:
Amazon Author Page • GoodReads
Simon & Schuster Distribution Link
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