Customer Reviews

A Knight's Captive

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A Knight's Captive is a rather misleading title, there was no fair maiden held captive by a Knight (unless it is her heart, which I questioned throughout the novel). There is also a lack of authenticity with most of the characters, the major players being too, too accommodating, or too villainous.

What does work well in this novel is the setting, right before William conquers England and on the road to a pilgrimage site. Breton Knight Marc de Sens is with his three young nieces on a pilgrimage to Northern England. It is uncertain as to why he needs to visit this site and quite frankly it is not revealed until much later in the novel, so late that I had forgotten there were reasons he was searching for the holy site. Marc is his niece's guardian and he is the perfect uncle, kind, caring, thoughtful, playful and loving.

Sunniva is traveling with her three hard headed brothers and mean father. She is an early Cinderella, taking care of her brothers, and receiving no thanks for her care but plenty of abusive comments and vicious shoves and an occasional smack for her efforts. She puts on her happy face to her family never complaining. Sunniva is very beautiful and a pawn for her father who is on the constant lookout for a rich husband for her.

Marc is quite taken with the beauty and notices the lack of regard she receives from her ungrateful family. He rescues her from would be slavers and tries to help her out as much as possible without getting too involved. This changes when he rescues her from an almost rape by her half brothers. Now he feels he must be her protector and for some reason Sunniva pushes him away believing her brother's words that Marc is a woman killer. I don't know why she even believed this when she has seen how devoted he is to his nieces and he has rescued her twice. She also lies and says she is betrothed.

Her brothers and father never reach the pilgrimage site because they are off to war. She is alone and Marc promises her he will escort her to her keep. She is uncertain of this and wants to run away on her own but Marc finally talks some sense into the woman. She has apparently forgotten her almost abduction just weeks earlier.

Sunniva genuinely likes Marc but she has lied and she still harbors some belief in the lies about him. They declare their love but she knows he is from across the channel and fears that her people will not accept him. She also has dreams about what her father would say about their union, as if that should matter after the way her father and brothers have treated her but it does.

By the end of this novel, Sunniva finally believes Marc is not a killer and she has to be rescued yet again, although her last escapade is not of her own doing. Marc seemed a reasonable guy but secretive and Sunniva was so passive with her family that she was a doormat yet she argues quite vehemently with Marc. Her character was just not believable because her behavior changed so drastically.

Townsend pens an intriguing historical romance with "A Knight's Captive." Set in England, 1066, as William the Conqueror takes the throne, "A Knight's Captive" gives a gritty account of the times. Deception, greed, and lust run rampart in the Middle ages, yet the power of love shines in Townsend's tale.

The novel starts with Sunniva accompanying her father, Cena, and her brothers on a pilgrimage to St. Cuthbert's grave. Her father and brothers treat her poorly and she's practically no better than a slave to them.

Also going on the pilgrimage to St. Cuthbert's grave is Marc de Sens. Marc is a Norman who is traveling with his three nieces. Marc is their guardian. As the pilgrimage progresses, Marc saves Sunniva from a near rape. The attraction between the couple simmers with longing glances as they continue to interact on the pilgrimage. Marc, however, maintains a respectful distance as he observes how disrespectful Sunniva's father and brother are to her.

As news of William the Conqueror spreads through England, Sunniva's father and brother reluctantly join Ethered's army and leave the pilgrimage putting Sunniva in Marc's care. Marc soon discovers Cena and his sons have died in battle, leaving Sunniva as his heir. Sunniva must now travel to her newly inherited lands, but can she trust Marc, or are his motives for helping her more darker than she suspects?

Marc and Sunniva are interesting characters. Marc's concern and care of his nieces are admirable, yet he seems to be followed by gossip that accuses him of being a woman killer. This gives his character a bit of an edge. Beneath the gossip, Marc is honest and loyal, traits any woman would admire in a man.

Sunniva is a more complicated character. She begrudgingly puts up with her father's bad behavior toward her and this hardens her. At the time of his death, Sunniva's trust has been destroyed, and while attracted to Marc, she doesn't know how to trust him. Sunniva lies to him about being engaged, and it's only as Marc earns her trust by his deeds, does she begin to lower her defenses.

Townsend's dialogue reflects the nature of the times while not weighing down the reader. Her love scenes are sophisticated for romance readers with passionate, yet tasteful scenes between Marc and Sunniva.

Overall, "A Knight's Captive" will take you into the past to discover a love that will last lifetime.

Marc de Sens is traveling on a pilgrimage to St. Cuthbert in Northern England with his three nieces. He has been given their guardianship and takes his responsibilities serious. He wants all three of the girls to be able to be safe and laugh and have joy in their lives. On the way to the shrine, Marc can't help but notice the beautiful girl accompanying her rude father and disrespectful brothers to the same place. His heart is instantly transfixed on the beauty of this woman and when he finds out she is betrothed, his sadness if real. However, her engagement is not. Sunniva made up an engagement after learning about Marc from her brothers.

Sunniva can't help but notice the knight that is so gentle and soft spoken with his three charges. Her experience with men has not left her thinking very highly of them. When her brothers and father leave her to go off to war and in turn get killed, Sunniva is now alone in the world. Marc promises her he will help her continue her journey and he does. He just wishes she didn't believe the worst in him.

Sunniva and Marc fall in love but the path to their happiness is paved with big huge boulders. Every single step forward almost certainty guarantees a step backwards. The biggest hurdle is Sunniva's belief that Marc is an abuser of women. I watched this loyal and trustworthy knight and my heart went out to him because I knew he was good and kind. However, Lindsay Townsend and her wonderful characters didn't let me down. The love that Marc and Sunniva had for each other finally culminated in a relationship that was almost blessed. A KNIGHT'S VOW by Lindsay Townsend is a keeper in my book. I can't wait to read it again.

Natalie S.

This pre William the conqueror romance is set in England where a Norman knight (sort of), Marc de Sens, is on a pilgrimage with his three nieces whose parents have died. He meets Sunniva, who is also traveling with the pilgrims. She is the beautiful daughter of an embittered and abusive man who treats her as a slave like her mother who is now dead and uses the girl as "man bait" to curry favors for himself and her half brothers. In a bit of a contradiction, she is at times quite brave--and good with knives--but at other times she comes across like a doormat. Not surprisingly, she plans to escape the father and half brothers who treat her so cruelly but she never quite gets around to it. Marc becomes protective of her but she doesn't trust him any more than she does any other man and so she lies to him and tells him she is betrothed when she isn't. Meanwhile, he has a past as well having been falsely accused of killing a woman which Sunniva cannot dismiss as possibly true.

The allegation that he was a woman killer never seemed to have enough details to really ring true and thus came across as contrived. I just didn't find it believable. Another oddity was that after she and Marc get together (emotionally and physically) she has a dream in which her now dead father tells her to leave Marc because he's a Norman. And she plans to do just that. Now why would she believe a dead father who abused her and leave the man who has been good to her, the man she loves, who she knows is a Norman? That just didn't seem realistic.

I found this story overloaded with narrative, though it was well written. The story was slow and boring in parts as they traveled endlessly. It did end well and the knife throwing was a nice add. The author is good with words, though at times it did not seem like it was the 11th century she was writing about. It was entertaining but I'm not giving it 4 or 5 stars.

I love a story with a truly heroic hero and a heroine strong enough to match him. I also like high stakes adventure interwoven with the romance, as well as a wealth of authentic details that transport me to another time. Ms. Townsend has succeeded on all counts.