Customer Reviews

One Snowy Knight (Dragons of Challon, Book 3)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So I see all the 5-star reviews and wonder what's wrong with me. I did not like ONE SNOWY KNIGHT, although I did like the first two books in the "Dragons of Challon" series. The heroine's "If wishes were..." got to me after the third one and I did not wish to hear it again. The romance was a been-there, done-that one, the villain was a bore, the hero's obviously insincere threats to beat up the heroine were not cute, and just in general I found reading the book to be like watching paint dry and I could not finish it. Maybe I'm too old to enjoy such lovely love expressed all over the place with such a lovely and sweet heroine (i.e., insipid). My apologies to Deborah MacGillivray, because usually I enjoy reading her books.

I enjoyed this book immensely. One Snowy Knight is everything I love in a story--riveting adventure, clever humor, and sensual romance.

The laird and all the warrior-age men of Craigendan were killed in battle, so Lady Skena has to single-handedly protect her keep and feed her people. It hasn't been an easy job. Her two children wish for a knight to protect them, and one snowy night, they find one snowy knight, nearly frozen and wounded.

The love story that unfolds is heartwarming and at the same time Ms. Macgillivray injects comic relief with kissing lessons, terror with a wolf pack attack, and suspense when Skena's life is in peril.

You won't want to miss this one. I can hardly wait for the next book in the Dragon of Challons series!

Ms. MacGillivray weaves this tale with a deft hand. Her style is poetic prose. One scene flows effortlessly to another and another.

Here we read the story of Lady Skena MacIain, a widow, with two small children, who is trying to do the very best she can with what little the keep has in storage.The battle at Dunbar had left many alone at her Scottish keep.

Enter a mysterious warrior who is found in the snow by her two small children. They had prayed for a knight strong enough to protect them, and they instantly come to the conclusion that he is their knight.

This was a wonderful read, and I could not have enjoyed it more! Bravo, Ms. MacGillivray!

In 1296 most of the Craigendan men of fighting age fell in battle at Dunbar to the English Dragons of Challon to include the keep's laird. His widow Lady Skena MacIain takes charge of protecting their tiny surviving clan, which is too tiny for any outsider to come in the frozen winter. Still she knows her keep is strategically a prize for King Edward even though he will ignore it until the spring thaw. She needs a new biddable spouse who will not harm her children or her people before the monarch sends one of his bloody dragons to wed her.

Once a squire to the king, Noel de Servian fails to heed his royale advice to wait until spring to come to the keep he now owns. As a blizzard leaves him near death he regrets his foolishness until he is rescued by an angel. Skena saves the idiot from himself and the weather. As they fall in love, she hides her feelings that her husband is either still alive or a ghost haunting the castle while also hoping the newcomer brings joy and safety to her keep; he conceals his affinity to the king as one of his dreaded Dragons.

The latest Dragons of Challons medieval romance (see RESTLESS KNIGHT) is a wonderful enjoyable tale due to the lead couple as each hides something critical from the other. With the mystery of whether the Laird lives as a mortal in hiding or a spirit, fans will enjoy this fine late thirteenth century Scottish romance as the resolute duet prefer making love not war.

Harriet Klausner

I thought this story was the best of the three written so far. I liked the characters much better. If you have not read any of the previous books don't worry this one can stand alone. Simply put, it has everything...hope, love, adventure, mysteries, etc. Very good read especially at Christmas time. It makes you feel good and believe that wishes do come true. I am looking forward to Guillaume and Rowenna's story.

Set in Scotland, December of 1296. Noel de Servian's parents had died when he was but five-years-old. He was raised by the Earl Michael and grew up as a brother to the Challon siblings. Now the Challon brothers, including Noel, are known as the "Dragons of Challon". After long years of battles, the war weary dragons yearn to settle down and create their own families. Noel has been granted the title of baron and a small holding called Craigendan located in the rugged Northland. Eager to see his new home, Noel sets out during a massive snow blizzard. He ends up lost and face down in the snow. He is found by two children who go for help. The next thing he recalls is a beautiful woman shielding him from a wolf attack.

Lady Skena MacIain of Craigendan has seen too much of life's harsh realities to ever believe in wishes coming true. Her young twins, Andrew and Annis, insist the knight they found in the snow storm is the answer to their Yuletide wish. Though supplies are dwindling, Skena uses them to help save the knight. Unlike with her late husband, Skena finds herself drawn to Noel. The bond between them is so strong that it makes Skena nervous. Before Noel is fully healed, Sir Guillaume Challon arrives. Skena is shocked to learn Noel is the foster brother of Craigendan's overlord, not to mention he has come to take control of Craigendan.

As Noel heals, the bond between him and Skena continues to grow. The attraction is almost magical. But as the two begin to explore their feelings for each other, danger rears its ugly head. Someone is trying to kill Skena! When Skena informs Noel that she has been seeing glimpses of her first husband and that perhaps he was not really dead, Noel sets out to learn who is acting as the late baron's ghost. Noel knows for a fact that Skena's first husband is dead, because Noel's hand is the one that felled him. And though Skena claims she and her late husband never loved each other, how will she react when she told that her soon-to-be-husband is the man that killed her children's father?

***** FIVE STARS! Though this is the third book in the "Dragons of Challon" series, you do not have to read the previous titles to fully enjoy the story. The previous titles (A Restless Knight (The Dragons of Challon, Book 1) and In Her Bed (The Dragons of Challon, Book 2)) are about Skena's cousins. Each title is a stand-alone story. Those who have read the first two stories will feel as though they already know a bit about the main characters' personalities. The author made Noel and Skena even more real to me by giving the couple their own private jokes. (After all, every close couple I know have their own humorous quotes that makes them grin at each other or laugh, yet no one around them knows what is so funny.) These little touches endear the characters to me.

As with any good book, there is at least one villain so sneaky and vile that I could not help but love to hate. For me, this makes a book more interesting. I love it when I see the villain do horrible things to the heroine, because it makes me enjoy their capture so much more. This is a terrific addition to the "Dragons of Challon" series and I am happy to recommend it to fans of historical romances! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Scotland, 1296
Following the unfortunate deaths of his parents when he was just a young boy Noel de Servian was taken into Earl Michael's loving home and raised alongside Julian, his brothers and their cousins at Castle Challon. As a group the boys were sent to be squires to King Edwards and later served as his knights - and earned their reputation as the Dragons of Challon. After years of fighting in the name of the king, Noel is ready for peace and when King Edwards gifts him with Craigendan Keep he thinks the serenity he seeks is finally within reach.

Lady Skena MacIain of Craigendan Keep was not heartbroken when her husband failed to return from warring at Dunbar. Their marriage had never been a love match but their children made their union worth the disappointments. Skena struggles with caring for the people of Craigendan especially since all the men left are old, feeble or too young to protect or hunt. Food and supplies are scarce and Skena worries over the fate of her people.

With her children, Andrew and Annis, missing, Skena sets out from the safety of Craigendan Keep to find them before the snow and darkness make this endeavor too difficult. The last thing she expects is to find them in the company of a magnificent steed and insisting that the horse is a kelpie and it brought Andrew's Yuletide wish - a knight to protect them. Or Annis's wish for a knight to care and love them - something she'd never received from her father. Skena doesn't believe in wishes - none of hers have ever come true but once she sees the unconscious knight laying in the snow she knows that she cannot leave him to an icy fate. Thus begins the wholly unexpected romance between Skena and Noel. As she tirelessly works to save his life after he takes ill thanks to the weather, there can be no denying that he's a beautiful man and she's attracted to him as she's never been to any other man but how will she feel when she learns that he's the new Lord of Craigendan? And there's the little issue of Noel's involvement in her husband's death - or is Angus truly dead? Skena swears she's seen him on several occasions and each sighting is coupled with something sinister so what is really happening and why?

ONE SNOWY KNIGHT is the third book in Deborah Macgillivray's DRAGONS OF CHALLON series. Noel's a knight who takes his responsibilities seriously first and foremost but he's got a gentle nature that comes to the forefront especially when it comes to Skena or her children. The bond he shares with his foster brothers really says a lot about him as a man and gives the impression that anytime he needs assistance or they need it of him then they would be there for each other. The relationship between Skena and Noel is fun, passionate and endearing and I really loved the playfulness between them. Deborah Macgillivray always adds a dramatic flair to her storylines that captures the imagination and keeps you smiling through each page of her books.

While it's certainly not necessary to read all the DRAGONS OF CHALLON books in order to enjoy ONE SNOWY KNIGHT, the other stories are just as delightful so I'd recommend picking them up as well.
The other stories available are:
A RESTLESS KNIGHT
and
IN HER BED

REDEMPTION is the upcoming DRAGONS OF CHALLON book and it's due to be released in September 2010.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

Widow Lady Skena MacIain struggles to protect her own. The battle at Dunbar has left her without a husband and her keep without a force to defend them against the English. In the midst of war, providing for the basic needs and welfare of the community becomes even more urgent and equally difficult. Skena has seen much hardship. Intelligent and inventive, she thinks up ingenious ways to protect those around her but even someone as noble of heart as Skena needs sustenance for body and soul. Anxious to reach his new home at Craigendan Keep, Noel de Servian journeys across a relentless snow-blinding landscape. Weather and temperature bring him to the point of death. When her two children find a lifeless warrior freezing in the snowstorm, they speak of a magical gift. Skena has lived through too much to believe in wishes and easy answers, but as Skena nurses him back to health, she and Noel begin to know one another. This handsome knight kindles a warmth in her heart. Skena touches a place in Noel's heart but will fate deprive him again of his deepest longings? Or will Cailleach, the Queen of Winter, work magic? This Christmas, will Noel bring Skena her deepest wish?

Third in the Dragons of Challon series, the medieval Scottish romance ONE SNOWY KNIGHT is set in 1296, shortly after the Battle of Dunbar and the sack of Beriwick. Deborah MacGillivray gives readers an inside look at these historical events, not only in the heart of her hero Noel, a man tortured by the bloodshed he has witnessed, but also in the poverty experienced by Skena and her keep. Deborah MacGillivray does an exceptional job at integrating Celtic knowledge into the heart of this Christmas romance. Darker than her previous romances, ONE SNOWY KNIGHT brings alive an aspect of medieval history not often seen in medieval romances, an aspect that medieval lovers will cherish for its authenticity. Deborah MacGillivray does an exceptional job in combining historical setting and artistic vision in her creation of the landscape of her romances. From the first scene of the snow-stranded knight and throughout the romance, Deborah MacGillivray creates stunning imagery that makes the physical and emotional landscape come alive in the reader's imagination. Not only can a reader easily visualize the landscape, but one also hears it in the very language of the dialogue and narration. Here, as in her previous medieval romances, the reader is not so much given a history lesson but taken straight into the heart of the medieval times through the imagery, the conflicts, the characters, the landscape and above all by the artistry of language itself.

As Deborah MacGillivray turns her vision to the darker aspects of medieval Scottish history, the romance itself has a deeper emotional impact. From the darkness and deprivation emerges a love that resonates in the heart with its realness and substance. A light superficial Christmas romance, ONE SNOWY KNIGHT is not. Rather, ONE SNOWY KNIGHT is a romance that resonates deeply precisely because Deborah MacGillivray dares to look at the less often seen corners of history and of the soul. Despite the darker tenor of this romance, Deborah MacGillivray brings relief with these wonderful precisely-placed magical moments, from the innocent belief of children to the wonderful cadence of Skena's dialogue to joyous intimate moments experienced between Skena and Noel. ONE SNOWY KNIGHT is also a romance touched by magic, love and even a delightful sense of humor. As a sequel to the previous two books, A RESTLESS KNIGHT and IN HER BED, this third romance expands the scope and breadth of the series --- and makes this reader anxiously await what this author has in store for the series as it develops. Readers of the series will enjoy seeing characters from the previous romances as well as the author's ability to expand her vision to new areas, but ONE SNOWY KNIGHT also works as a stand-alone for those readers new to the series.

If you are a medieval junkie, like myself, Deborah MacGillivray's romances, and ONE SNOWY KNIGHT in particular, are not to be missed. With language and every multi-layered detail, she takes a reader right in the period. Artistry of writing accompanies the romance, making ONE SNOWY KNIGHT a romance that will appeal to those readers who want more from their romances, to those readers who want history beyond what one can get from a history book and a moving romance coupled with beautiful writing itself. A true delight for all medieval lovers!

COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS

Fans of Deborah MacGillivray have waited a long time for the third book in the Dragons of Challon series, but the wait has been worth it. As usual, MacGillvray delivers a historical romance that is both authentic and accurate in historical fact and geography.
After the massacre at Berwick and the total defeat at Dunbar, Skena MacIain is left a widow with two small children and no means of providing for her keep. When Noel de Servian is found near death in a white-out blizzard, Skena nurses him back to health, only to find that the Englishman has been granted title to her home by Edward I. Luckily, Skena and Noel are attracted to each other and he wants her by his side to rule together. But Fate has a way of intervening. Just when Skena begins to hope that wishes can come true, her supposedly dead husband returns.
One Snowy Knight is filled with delightful twists and turns that give the story depth. I hightly recommend this book.
Cynthia Breeding, author

I wasn't sure if I was going to like Skena in the beginning. Her attitude with wishes and actions in general were hard to warm up to. Noel was every bit the Dragon Knight we have come to expect of Michael Challon's Legacy.


I have not been disapointed yet.....waiting for Redemption in 2010!