I’ve had a copy of Sarah McKerrigan’s (aka Glynnis Campbell) Knight’s Prize on my shelf for a while. I’m fairly sure I won it, since it is signed.
THE WARRIOR MAIDS OF RIVENLOCH…
Damsels in shining armor…riding to the rescue!
Deirdre, Helena, and Miriel, three kick-arse Scots wenches, aren’t about to become any man’s chattel, until they meet heroes who are strong enough to tame their wild ways and worthy enough to win their wayward hearts.
Miriel of Rivenloch may not have the killer instincts of her older sisters, but she’s keeping a dangerous secret. She knows more than she’s letting on about the mysterious Shadow, the forest outlaw who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. And when devil-may-care mercenary Sir Rand la Nuit, hot on the trail of The Shadow, claims to be in love with Miriel, she knows he’s hiding something, too. It’s a battle of wits as they race to uncover each other’s secrets before their make-believe romance takes on a life of its own.
This was a pretty big “meh” for me. The writing is fine, though all the words like ” twas ” got on my nerves. It felt like a gimmick that got old fast. And I thought that if I had to read the word “varlet” one more time, I might scream. Mostly, I was basically bored the whole time. There simply isn’t enough to the plot/story for me. I didn’t even really care about Miriel and Rand’s romance. I found them each individually tolerable, but together they were milquetoast to the extreme. Worse, milquetoast with ‘banter’ that just felt slightly skeevy. But I think my biggest complaint was that the reader is repeatedly told how capable and skilled Miriel is, yet shown almost none of it. In fact, she came across as incredibly inept, giving herself away in stupid ways over and over and over again. Thus, I had to wonder how stupid Rand was not to figure it out…or just how sexist, since that’s basically what it came down to. So, all in all, probably a winner for other readers, but not for me.
Side note: I wonder if the author realizes that the sentence in the blurb that says, “Deirdre, Helena, and Miriel, three kick-arse Scots wenches, aren’t about to become any man’s chattel, until they meet heroes who are strong enough to tame their wild ways and worthy enough to win their wayward hearts,” implies pretty strongly that the women do become chattel. I mean, it’s not all that inaccurate, but it’s sure not what I’m looking for in a romance.
Other Review:
All About Romance: Knight’s Prize