Julia Latham, Thrill of the Knight

Thrill of the Knight

Julia Latham

Avon, Mar 2007, $5.99

ISBN: 0061235156

In 1486 in Gloucestershire, England, Lady Elizabeth Hutton rejects the courtship of Viscount Bannaster. However, her persistent neighbor refuses to go away even when she insists she is betrothed to another; though she knows being betrothed did not stop her from marrying another man. Bannaster's knights take over her estate and lock her inside her bedroom.

Sir John Russell has returned from Normandy as a Baron to wed his betrothed Elizabeth to keep her safe from fortune hunters and to use her wealth to rebuild his family's neglected lands as he only recently learned of the demises of his older brothers. However, instead of Elizabeth he finds himself attracted to her fiery maid. Still, he may be halfway in love with Anne Kendall, but duty comes before the heart so it is the lady he must "steal" from Bannaster. Meanwhile, the maid begins to fall in love with the knight, but wonders how to explain to the intruder that she is actually Lady Elizabeth ,having switched places with her loyal Annie to thwart the ambition of King Henry's cousin Bannaster.

This is an exciting, fifteenth-century romance due to the antics of the lead duo struggling to prevent the efforts of the arrogant royal cousin and other gold-diggers from abducting the widowed heiress. Sir John is a fascinating protagonist who has come home to see his estate in trouble, his betrothed incarcerated, and his prospects of retuning to the tournament circuit nil. Elizabeth is an intrepid person who knows her wealth makes her a male magnet and plots accordingly to elude these greedy suitors. Though Bannaster is so egotistical that he seems genuine and worthy of reader scorn, fans of the King Henry-era novels will appreciate Julia Latham's fun-filled historical intrigue.

Harriet Klausner