Knight of Desire (All the King's Men) [Mass Market Paperback]

Margaret Mallory (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2009 | Series: All the King's Men (Book 1)

FEARLESS IN BATTLE

His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn.

TENDER IN BED

Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she's keeping secrets, and dare not give him her heart. As passion ignites and danger closes in, Catherine and William must learn to trust in each other to save their marriage, their land, and their very lives.

KNIGHT OF DESIRE

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mallory's debut is impressive. She breathes life into major historical characters...in a dramatic romance." (4 Stars, Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine)

"With the perfect attention to detail, Margaret Mallory instantly pulls you into the midst of medieval life..." (FreshFiction.com)

"An impressive debut...Margaret Mallory is a star in the making." (Mary Balogh, New York Times bestselling author of At Last Comes Love)

"Knight of Desire is a fast-paced tale of romance and intrigue that will sweep you along and have you rooting for William and his fair Catherine to fight their way to love at last." (Candace Camp, New York Times bestselling author of The Courtship Dance)

"A wonderful new voice in the tradition of Gellis and Woodiwiss." (Bertrice Small, New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Queen)

"Spellbinding! Few writers share Margaret Mallory's talent for bringing history to vivid, pulsing life." (Virginia Henley, New York Times bestselling author of The Decadent Duke)

"A lavish historical romance, evocative and emotionally rich. KNIGHT OF DESIRE will transport you." (Sophie Jordan, USA Today bestselling author of Sins of a Wicked Duke)

"KNIGHT OF DESIRE is akin to stepping into another century; Mallory has a grasp of history reminiscent of reading the great Roberta Gellis." (Jackie Ivie, author of A Knight Well Spent)

"Stunning! Margaret Mallory writes with a freshness that dazzles." (Gerri Russell, author of Warrior's Lady)

"Medieval romance has a refreshing new voice in Margaret Mallory!" (Paula Quinn, author of A Highlander Never Surrenders)

"Mallory spins a masterful tale, blending history and passion into a sensuous delight." (Sue-Ellen Welfonder, bestselling author of Seducing a Scottish Bride)

"Margaret Mallory writes with intense passion and beautiful, believable emotion." (Lucy Monroe, bestselling author of Annabelle's Courtship)

About the Author

MARGARET MALLORY recently surprised her friends and family by abandoning her legal career-and her steady job-to write tales of romance and adventure. At long last, she can satisfy her passion for justice by punishing the bad and rewarding the worthy-in the pages of her novels, of course. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two college-age children. KNIGHT OF DESIRE is her first book so she would dearly love to hear from readers. You can contact her via her Web site at www.MargaretMallory.com.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forever; Reissue edition (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446553395
• ISBN-13: 978-0446553391
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Mallory is the author of the Scottish historical romance series, THE RETURN OF THE HIGHLANDERS, and the medieval series, ALL THE KING'S MEN. Her historical romances have won numerous honors, including the National Readers' Choice Award and two Maggie Awards. Margaret's second novel was a RITA© finalist, and her last four books have all received 4 ½ stars--three of them Top Picks--from RT Book Reviews.

Margaret lives with her husband in the beautiful, damp Pacific Northwest. Now that her children are off on their own adventures, she spends most of her time with her Highland warriors, but she also loves to read, watch movies, hike, and travel. You can find reviews, blurbs, historical tidbits, book group questions, photos of Scotland, and her links to Facebook & Twitter on her website, www.MargaretMallory.com. Margaret loves to hear from readers!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart Pounding Romance Worth the Desire! July 10, 2009

By Theresa M. Studer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory is sizzling must have summer read. Delicious from page one to the very end, this is one love story you won't soon forget. A Debut book by this author that will leave you hungering for more.

William FitzAlan is a Knight of renown and high on the King's list of best of the best. A man with no title, lands nor wife, he is surprised when the King hands him all this on a platter for being who he is, a devoted Kings man to the death.

Catherine is Lady of Ross Castle and a close friend of the Prince. She is also the battered wife of a sniveling coward who rules this Castle and a man that has little to no scruples. When Catherine is trust into a plot to overthrow the King and Prince she knows where her allegiance falls and betrays her husband.

The story starts really quickly with the death of Catherine's husband and William's acquirement of lands, title and wife if he will have her. The king has given William two choices as to what he may do with the Lady of Ross Castle and he wonders if he will regret his choice for quite some time.

This is a delicious romance that flows smoothly from beginning to end, action packed throughout and sit on the edge of your seat fascinating that you won't be able to put it down. Even now with having finished this book I am craving more, ever so much more that I read the excerpt for the next book which is due out in December and wonder if I can indeed wait that long without going stark raving mad.

Our Author is new and this is a Debut book and one that surely make you come back for more. She has included all the best of deceit, love, pain, doubt, intrigue and so many more emotions that you will constantly be driven to go from one page to the next and wish you could read this in all one day. It will be very hard to put this one down even for the must have potty break.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning Romantic Tale July 6, 2009

By Cinnamon Brown

Format:Mass Market Paperback

A beautiful cover coupled with an emotional story creates the wonder that is KNIGHT OF DESIRE by Margaret Mallory. I recently fell into the world of Historical Romance and have thus far been fortunate to encounter some great works. KNIGHT OF DESIRE falls firmly within this category. The romance was tender, the passion hot and the suspense surrounding our main characters was enough to get even the toughest of hearts pumping with adrenaline. This was a fantastic book and one that I am thrilled to have read.

Lady Catherine Rayburn has done the unthinkable; she has betrayed her husband. In doing so, she has aided King Henry, but will anyone care about her reasons? When a man betrays the King as her husband did, his family usually is forced to suffer the consequences right along with him. Will King Henry show Catherine mercy or will he doom her to a life in prison?

William FitzAlan has always wanted land of his own; his desire for a family and a stable life that he can hold on to is overwhelming. When the king graces this warrior with all that was Rayburn's, FitzAlan is suddenly closer to achieving his dream. The only problem is that the king has also given FitzAlan the power to decide Catherine's fate. Will he take her as his wife, or will he send her to the tower? With a body made of steel, but a heart made for love, FitzAlan agrees to marry Catherine and save her from a dark future. With conflict rising inside and outside of the castle walls, FitzAlan must fight to protect his new family and attempt to claim his new wife's body and her heart.

Mallory did a beautiful job of creating this tale. Her research went a long way toward creating a feel of authenticity in the book. Many of the characters and historical elements of the book are accurate. There are, of course, instances where Mallory took creative license, but it all helped in making the story a wonderfully cohesive work of art.

The main characters, Lady Catherine and Lord William are highly complex individuals. Both come with their own set of desires, fears and a fair amount of history. The back-story of both characters unfold slowly. Mallory gives us a look into the pasts of Catherine and William inch by inch, pulling us in closer and making the story completely addictive. Not only do we want to know what happens next, but she leaves us wanting to know what happened before. What events helped developed the two people that now find themselves standing in front of each other, surrounded by strife? I absolutely loved how Mallory did this. It gave the reader something to look forward to on different fronts. Her ability to keep us interested in both the past and the present was amazing and really helped to make KNIGHT OF DESIRE a fantastic read.

In addition to the characters, Mallory did a great job of imbuing depth and complexity to other aspects of the book. The political atmosphere of the time was explained wonderfully, adding a note of suspense and intrigue to an already wonderful story. Sometimes we would find ourselves face to face with a highly romantic page and the next page we would find ourselves tossed into the politics of English as they battle the Welsh. This is part of where Mallory's research comes in to play. She does a really great job of bringing life to this aspect of history and helping us to feel the tension in the air.

Speaking of tension - wow! Tension is what pulls a reader through a book, making him or her unwilling to set the book down. It is what makes us say, "Oh, just one more page. Just one more chapter." The tension that Mallory graced the pages with really brought the story to life. On my second day of reading this, it was like I blinked and all of a sudden was five chapters ahead in the book. Her words flow so beautifully, the tension rising and falling throughout the pages that this becomes less of a book one is reading and more of a story that we get to experience.

If I had to pick one thing that made this book really memorable for me, it would be the descriptions that Mallory uses. From the way she creates the landscape to the way we get to feel the textures and colors of the clothing, Mallory's words create a sense of realism. She does a wonderful job of engaging our senses, ensuring that we can taste, tough, smell, hear and even see the story come to life. I'm not joking when I say that I can close my eyes and picture some of the landscapes that Mallory paints for us. KNIGHT OF DESIRE is truly a colorful story - a treat for the eyes.

KNIGHT OF DESIRE was a beautiful book with a memorable and compelling story line. Mallory's characters are complex and realistic, making them easy to relate to. The scenery was gorgeous was were Mallory's descriptions. There were a few occasions where I would have loved for the pace to pick up just a smidge, but in all honesty this lasted for maybe a paragraph or two. To top it all off, the cover of this book is just incredible. The artist has done an amazing job of creating the luminescence that Mallory instills Lady Catherine with.

I highly recommend that fans of Historical Romance give KNIGHT OF DESIRE a try. I honestly don't see how someone could not love this story and I think that your brain and heart will thank you for it later. If you're looking for something to curl up with on a rainy day, this might be a choice to consider. Even if you're looking for something to get your blood going, you may think of picking this one up. It has something for everyone to fall in love with, just as I did.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good writing but story had issues for me October 5, 2010

By Regan

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is Margaret Mallory's first romance, I believe, and was followed by Knight of Pleasure. I found Knight of Desire to be well written though I didn't like the story at times and found Lady Catherine Rayburn, the heroine, to be inconsistent and sometimes her actions (and hence the story) a bit unbelievable.

Set in the early 15th century, it's the story of a knight who is rewarded service to the king by a castle and lands forfeited by a traitor who was killed. In the bargain the knight gets the young widow. I wasn't fond of the fact Catherine had been in a fairly long abusive marriage that left her scarred. It took away from my enjoyment of the romance and affected the relationship with the hero. It was a bit unbelievable that she would put off her savior knight husband for two weeks because she was so frightened of the idea of sex, while she took a total stranger to her bed while still married to the abuser. It was difficult to see her as the victim and at the same time the courageous feisty gal. I had difficulty keeping who she was in focus. Like another reviewer, I did not like the continual use of "for sooth" as it seemed a bit forced. The hero, Sir William FitzAlan was another contradiction. He got angry when it seemed he should be more understanding, and at other times was so understanding he looked like a wimp.

All this to say while her writing is good and well paced, I didn't like the story that much. Knight of Pleasure and Knight of Passion follow in the trilogy.