Knight of Her Heart
Knight Of Her Heart is an unabashed romance from Alyssa James (who has also written under the name Alyssa J Montgomery) and is the author’s first foray into writing Historical Fiction. It is set in England in 1416 under the reign of Henry V, but the historical content is not onerous and does not distract from the plot.
Lisette must marry where her guardian tells her and takes drastic steps in the hopes of surviving the marriage. Meanwhile Sir Rowan is elevated to the rank of earl by King Henry and he gifts him, along with the earldom of Romsey, the hand in marriage of the same Lisette, with documents approving the annulment of any marriage that may already have taken place. What then develops is the subject of the novel.
As one reads one does want to know what happens to the characters. They are sympathetic and mostly likeable, and they are very much the main characters in the story. Other characters are very much peripheral, other than the ‘badies’ who are more of a continuous presence throughout, if not in person, then in the thoughts of Lisette and Rowan.
This is a perfectly well written novel, with a pleasing use of language and vocabulary, and a valiant attempt to conjure a sense of time and history through the use of language. Ms James is Australian, and lives there, so she is not writing about places she personally knows, but she sets the novel in a perfectly acceptable location which is entirely believable. She uses writer’s licence to create a new noble family in the Duke of Winchester, so she does not encroach on any existing family. There are inescapable errors, anachronisms that creep in, but they are not repetitive and do not spoil the enjoyment of the novel. She does say in her author’s note that she is not claiming to be an expert so we can forgive her. Once Ms James grows in the genre and gains a more confident feel for her new era she will certainly sit well alongside other, more established authors.
[e-book edition reviewed]
