MY LADY KNIGHT

Author: Jocelyn Kelley ISBN: 0451220099 1/2007 HISTORICAL Publisher: NAL/SIGNET
Time Period: Medieval - 1100's

In twelfth-century England, St. Jude’s Abbey is no ordinary sanctuary of prayer and ritual. Established by Eleanor of Aquitaine, it trains young women in the knightly arts. In times of trouble, these formidable women are called upon to protect the royal family and England.... Isabella de Montfort’s talents lie not in the knightly arts, but in science and alchemy. So she’s surprised when Queen Eleanor assigns her the task of retrieving some incriminating papers that could destroy the prince and start a brutal war. To help Isabella on her journey, the abbess sends along her nephew, Jordan le Courtenay, a knight who lost his lust for battle when his best friend was killed in a joust. But soon Isabella inspires in Jordan a passion for the world around him—and a dangerous longing for her…

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

MY LADY KNIGHT is a very interesting medieval romance featuring a kick-butt Sister who dabbles in chemistry and herbal medicines, and who ends up saving her hunky partner-in-quest through martial arts moves more times than he saves her using his knightly ways. What a refreshing turn-of-the-tables MY LADY KNIGHT turned out to be.

I use the term "interesting medieval romance" because Jocelyn Kelley, a.k.a Jo Ann Ferguson, has put so much detail into MY LADY KNIGHT about herbal remedies, martial arts techniques and the historical backdrop the story takes place in, that when the action lulls a bit there's always something to keep you focused. This is one author who really has done her homework—and it shows. It also makes the quest that Isabella and Jordan undertake more believable, especially when Isabella uses her knowledge of chemistry and herb mixing to get them both out of rough spots more than once. This is one dark-age heroine who really knows her stuff and isn't afraid to make use of it.

While the action, characters and plot (which is a bit formulaic, but it didn't really bother me too much) all stand up to muster on their own, it is helpful if you read the preceding books before this one—A KNIGHT LIKE NO OTHER, ONE KNIGHT STANDS, and A MOONLIT KNIGHT—as I found myself at a loss sometimes, such as just who some of the reappearing characters like Zuki were. Knowing more about the background of the Abbey and exactly what kind of "Sisters" resided there would have helped, too, since obviously the term "Sisters" isn't meant to mean exactly nuns. While there's much I can imagine and guess at from what I read in MY LADY KNIGHT, I still have many questions left unanswered that probably wouldn't have been an issue if I'd read the previous books in this series first.

To sum up, MY LADY KNIGHT is an action-packed, fast-paced suspensful romance featuring some sexy and sensual love scenes, but most of all showcasing an intelligent heroine that really knows how to use her brains—and her physical prowess—whenever the need for it arises.

Nancy Davis