A KNIGHT'S REWARD

Author: Catherine Kean ISBN: 9781932815993 4/2008 HISTORICAL Publisher: MEDALLION PRESS
Time Period: Medieval

Assaulted and injured by her abusive husband Ryle, Gisela Anne Balewyne flees with her small son, Ewan. Hiding from Ryle, and working as a tailor in the town of Clovebury, Gisela struggles to save enough money to move north and start a new life. With her latest commission from rich French merchant Crenardieu—sewing garments from luxurious blue silk—she will finally be able to leave and be free of Ryle forever. All goes well until Dominic de Terre, back several years from the Crusade, accepts his lord de Lanceau's mission to find out who has stolen de Lanceau's cloth shipment, worth a fortune. For Dominic is the father of her son, although he does not know it. And although they discover neither her love, nor his, has ever died, she still cannot tell him the truth. Not yet. Tragically, however, Gisela waits too long. Dominic discovers not only that Gisela has lied to him about the stolen silks, and has concealed them in her shop, he learns Ewan is his illegitimate son. She has betrayed his trust not once, but twice, and Gisela expects him to arrest her and take Ewan away. Crenardieu's thugs, however, reach Dominic first, and Gisela realizes there is only one way to save his life. She must go to de Lanceau, admit her crimes, and convince him to let her help him save Dominic. And then she must confront Ryle, the dragon of her nightmares ...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

There's one thing that Catherine Kean possesses that shines whenever she pens her stories—a written voice that's just perfect for medieval romance. She proved it in all the previous works that she's written, and in this long awaited sequel to A KNIGHT'S VENGEANCE that voice is still strong, no different. Why then, can't I give this book a rating of at least a Four Rose award, you wonder?

Well... it's because despite that storytelling voice, the good storyline of a woman harboring secrets and stolen merchandize, trying to escape an abusive husband and then finding herself suddenly confronting the man she's loved all her life but thought was beyond her reach, is somewhat disappointing.

I had two major problems when reading A KNIGHT'S REWARD. The first, of course, is Dominic himself. This couldn't be the same Dominic from the first book, could it be? Because while Gisela is another one of Kean's strong, well written intelligent heroines, Dominic has taken a dunderhead pill. He gets himself into situations that you wouldn't think a seasoned, well trained knight should find himself, and he comes off as being more than a bit thick in the noodle. Something must have happened on his way to the joust.

The second is the constant endearment that Dominic uses for Gisela. It wasn't endearing, it was annoying. To have this huge, burly, macho, sexy knight constantly calling his long-lost love "Sweet Daisy" gave me visions of Jerry Van Dyke in a 1920's racoon coat playing a ukulele and... whining. That's not quite what I want to envision when reading of castles, gleaming swords and chauvinistic knights, nor did it bode well as an indicator of Dominic's IQ.

However, the one truly joyful, shining spot in this book is Ewan, Gisela's little boy. What a cutie! Fixated on knights, dragons and daring do, his puppy-dog-tails-and-snails portrayal brought a smile to my face every time he entered the picture. Very believable, and a perfectly lovable character if ever there was one.

There is still a lot to recommend A KNIGHT'S REWARD, such as the historical backdrop, the secondary characters and a good plot. It just wasn't what I'd expected to read, especially coming from an author who can do, and has done, so much better.

Nancy Davis