Customer Reviews

Once a Knight

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you're looking for the typical gut-wrenching medieval romance where the protagonists hate each other at first sight, look elsewhere. This is an extraordinary tale of love blossoming between a knight who has seen better days and a strong-willed "widowed virgin" who doesn't think she needs a man at all. How refreshing it is to see a medieval hero who is not arrogant and all-powerful, but turns out to be a true "Renaissance man" who demonstrates his love by his kindness and integrity until the heroine realizes in surprise that she returns his feelings. What a shame there aren't more light, entertaining, and comical romances such as this one! I salute the author for her talent and originality.

Lady Alisoun is the cool, levelheaded, and all too proper mistress of the castle at Georges Cross. A recent attempt has been made on her life, and she continues to be stalked by the assailant. She decides to hire the legendary mercenary, Sir David of Radcliffe, the king's own champion, for protection. But when she locates him, he's not quite what she's expecting. He's obviously in a drunken stupor, one resulting from his recent humiliating defeat, by a knight who challenged his status as the king's champion.

Alisoun decides to hire him anyway, since just his mere presence could keep further danger at bay. She soon discovers David's knightly skills are a little on the rusty side. And David makes a discovery of his own. Alisoun knows who her assailant is, and the motive behind the attacks, but she refuses to divulge this information.

They have another problem as well, for David desires the straight-laced Alisoun, and begins pursuing her, and using every opportunity to seduce her into marriage. Alisoun, who is rumored to be the oldest living widowed virgin in the kingdom, tries to resist his advances, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to do so. Will David be able to do what so many others before him have tried and failed to accomplish, by melting the icy wall around Alisoun's well-fortified heart?

This is the first installment in a two-book medieval series by Ms. Dodd. A delightfully humorous, and rather unique story of two less than perfect people who succumb to love. David is no longer the highly skilled, invincible knight of the legend. He's older now, his skills are rusty, and even with practice, will never be what they were. I found this very realistic. Isn't this what happens to everyone eventually as we age?

In some ways Alisoun is like other Dodd heroines, sensible, pragmatic, and intelligent. But she's far from the perfect romantic heroine. She's much too prim, proper, and devoid of a sense of humor and fun. This extreme in personality is what sets her apart from the typical Dodd female lead. While I basically liked Alisoun, I was disappointed she didn't seem to thaw out too much as the book progressed. However, I especially liked the hero, David, and the supporting characters all added quite a lot to the story as well. Definitely a worthwhile read. The sequel to this book is A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER.

I won't bore you with a description of the book's plot since its been done already in previous reviews. This book has its good and bad points. I have to admit I almost didn't finish it because the first half took me a week to get through. It was extremely boring with very little action. I just couldn't get interested in the characters. But I hate to give up on a book so I kept going, albeit very slowly. Things did pick up in the second half of the book and it became much more interesting with the overall mystery surrounding the story and the developing love between the main characters.

This book had a very unique storyline and that was refreshing. There was never any major misunderstandings between the main characters and no great adventures but it was a heartwarming read. I did grow to care about the people and really enjoyed the childrens role in the book. The mystery of the book was very easy to guess in the second half but I enjoyed reading the conclusion anyway.

The romance between Alisoun and David was nice but the sex scenes lacked something... and their relationship sure didn't sizzle like those in Judith McNaught's or Johanna Lindsey's books. Maybe this was because the characters were different from the usual stereotypical hero and heroine. Alisoun was cold and seemingly emotionless and David was past his prime and aging. Oh, he was still handsome and full of honor, etc., but I like my heroes strong, able, and too hot for words. David seemed to fall short of the mark and Alisoun just never really seemed to open up and let her love for him show.

All in all, its a relaxing read for a cold winter's day. I wouldn't advise you to go out and spend a lot on it but rather borrow it from the library since its not really one of those books you want to read over and over again.

A slow and often difficult read. But don't mistake that to mean I didn't enjoy this book. It had all the elements of a great medieval epic; descriptive setting, action, a hero who works his way into your heart, and interesting minor characters such as Edlyn, Phillipa, Eudo and Sir Walter whom you grow to care about too. It was the heroine I couldn't warm up to, quite frankly because she was so icy and never seemed to truly thaw out, not even in the passioante scenes with the hero.

This was a pretty decent story in that both of the main antagonists were not the usual perfect people. Sir David of Radcliffe, legendary knight and once the King's champion had been beaten. Not your typical hero - yet having her life threatened, Lady ALisoun hires him to protect her castle and herself - gambling that the legend alone would form a barrier of protection around her. Rusty and out of shape, David is broke and sees a way to provide for his properties and especially his motherless daughter. Neither one is real happy with the other but - they will make do.

Lady Alisoun is reported to be the oldest living virgin widow in the kingdom. - If I had any complaints about the storyline here this would be one of them as it never does fully explain how this fact occurred! She is the very proper 'cold fish' chatelaine of a very wealthy demense of which she manages very efficiently. The one thing she was taught from birth was how to manage and provide for the people under her. What was missed in her training and her life, was the ability to really enjoy, laugh, and to love someone. This was a challenge that Sir David felt he could handle!

The inclusion of the minor characters, especially the younger children, give the story so much more feeling and charm. It is through their eyes and conversations that the older folks seem to realize and learn. It is also through them that you get most of the humour, although Sir David initiating Lady Alisoun to the finer points of making love is a comedic effort in itself.

I think if one wants to give this a one word review, I would say - CHARMING! I really enjoyed this.

I loved the character David in this book. He is just so real. This book is very different than the usual romance where the hero is so perfect. This man is a normal guy who was the kings champion and now that he's older he has to deal with the fact that he can't beat everyone anymore and he has to use his wits along with his strength. I also very much enjoyed the relationship between him and Alisoun and how he fell in love with her.

I liked it because the primary characters were very human. He was a beaten up warrior who had aches and pains and vices. He didn't know it all and definetly didn't want to be it all...he wasn't on a power trip like most heros in this type of book. Very refreshing. I especially like the part where she accidently killed the goose. What a hoot!

Well this was the first book I've ever read by Christina Dodd. It won't be the last because I did enjoy it but it didn't thrill me. I found it to be humorous in some spots and down right boring in others. I liked the hero and the author really developed him well. The heroine left a lot to be desired. She was a cold fish and even during the love scenes I didn't think she thawed any. I also found this story a bit hard to follow at times. It seemed like the conversation would start and stop at the weirdest times and lines seemed to be out of place. I did like the secondary characters in this book and would be interested in reading future books with their stories. Like I said I enjoyed it but it could have been a lot better

I thoroughly enjoyed this story; there was none of the anochronistic internal dialogue that so often occurs in historical romances. The heroine was not the ridiculous, pouty (ineffectual)"little hellcat" that permeates the genre. She is a powerful woman who has lived her life in a society where women are afforded little protection and fewer rights. Some readers may be disappointed that there are no heated exchanges of bombastic, empty threats and no quasi-rape a la Kathleen Woodwiss. Too bad. I liked the slow, deep development of intimacy, the gradual unveiling of tenderness and comittment that bespeaks true romance whatever the time period. An excellent, fun story that (a real shock to me) my husband read and enjoyed!

Let's just keep this between you and me, all right? But I couldn't find a book to read this past weekend, except for Christina Dodd's medieval girly book romance, ONCE A KNIGHT, that was sitting on some dusty shelf. I flipped thru it, then began reading it, and then finished it. And while I didn't sigh or swoon or gaze longingly at the moon, I did enjoy it. And, in a little while, to compensate, I'll sling on my bag of tools and sit down to a manly Bob Vila home improvement episode.

ONCE A KNIGHT is set in 13th century England and presents a young, headstrong lady of nobility and a tarnished knight, and this is all so Harlequin romance I'm not sure why I pressed on. Nevertheless, ever since she was thirteen, the highly organized and most prim and proper Lady Alisoun has been running her bountiful estate of George's Cross. Alisoun is loved and revered by her people, never mind that there are murmurings about her status as the oldest virgin lady in the land. At 26 years old, Alisoun had rejected all suitors deployed by the king, and the king - one of them matchmaking sorts - is getting frustrated.

Lady Alisoun has been getting away with it, being an unwed lass of quality and the head of her thriving demesne. But when an attempt is made on her very life, Alisoun decides to seek out and hire England's mightiest mercenary, Sir David of Radcliffe, for protection. But here comes that old saw: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." (C'mon, where else but here can you get a quote from THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE in reference to a medieval romance?)

Time has not been good to Sir David of Radcliffe; the years have kind of slapped him around. The recent drought has impoverished him and threatens to ruin Radcliffe, his humble but beloved stretch of land. And another calamity, Sir David has just been ousted as the King's Champion (he basically got whupped and embarassed by a superior knight in some recent tournament). Lady Alisoun comes upon him as he lay prone and hung over and in a mood. Sheer desperation compels her to hire him anyway.

From the get-go, Lady Alisoun and Sir David get along like a castle on fire, thus laying the seeds for a tempestuous courtship, and if you close your eyes, you can kind of sense this Middle Ages Dave and Maddy Moonlighting vibe going on. Credit author Christina Dodd for breathing life into another typical historical romance. It's mostly her characterization of Sir David that kept me turning pages. Sir David is a cool customer, well aware that he's past his prime and anguished by his inability to provide for those he's responsible for back in Radcliffe. Sir David is arrogant and entitled and often swayed by the prejudices of his time. Except he's savvy enough to apply the occasional kindness to get his way. Hailed as a legend, Sir David has no illusions about himself; he knows his best years are behind him. He actually demonstrates vulnerability and gets his you know what handed to him several times. But he dusts himself off and carries on.

I also liked Lady Alisoun, willful and unwilling to have truck with an inferior man. It's unfortunate that, even after Sir David has - and I can't believe I'm using this phrase - kindled the flames of passion within her, Alisoun remains a fairly cold fish. I guess that sense of propriety is just strong in her DNA. It's a good supporting cast, from Sir David's delightful tomboy daughter, Bert, to his fumbly but fiercely loyal squire, Eudo, to Lady Alisoun's initially insufferable steward, Sir Walter, to the central villain of the piece, that malevolent asshat, Sir Osbern. Besides the core love story, Dodd also fills in the day-to-day minutiae of life in 13th century England, and, while I'm not sure of how true to account these details are, I sure enjoyed the reading. Not to mention, there's enough action peppered in to gratify even a manly reader like me.

Apparently, there's a sequel titled A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER. I'll have to check that out, maybe after an arduous day of chopping wood for the fire. Right now, though, I'm off for my bubble bath.