*** "Knights" are Dane St. Gregory, large of body and spirit, back from the Turks, and the men of his family and time, 1254 in Britain. Dane wed feisty Gloriana by proxy, as children. Now twenty, she barely recalls taking her name from the beloved Queen Elizabeth I doll clutched in her tiny 5-year old hands, and carried from 1996, when Linda Mael Miller penned this time travel romance. The couple spar and eventually, love, repeatedly and explicitly, a Miller trademark. Historical details are mostly painlessly seamless, part of the story, though some of Glory's memories seem clumsy and jarring. Would they be so? Or is Miller excusing how easily the heroine adapts when thrust forward in time? How do time travellers always meet such helpful strangers? The characterization is smoothest in medieval times, but plausible in minor 1996 characters, such as Doctor Lyn and his sister, who welcome, feed, clothe, even employ and love our courageous overwrought girl [spoiler - twice]. Newly knighted younger brother Edward, almost mistress Mariette, magical aunt Elaina, older brother [spoiler - father] Gareth, and even apparently wicked neighbor [spoiler - uncle] Merrymont are all drawn complexly with love, inspiring our curiousity (rather than the impatient annoyance I often feel for authors milking series as purely money-makers) for more of their individual stories. I have enjoyed current romance tales by Miller. I will look for more fantasy.
This is an "oldie" but "goody," and I thoroughly enjoyed the reading. It is a story which really touches the heart. A young child who is left abandoned by her wealthy parents at a boarding school across the ocean in England unknowingly summons a rescuer thru the ages and is transported back into medieval England where she is surrounded by a loving family and grows to be happy and whole. Of course, life does not always turn out as we plan or expect. No one knows this better than this child herself who has grown into a lovely woman. She has become a woman scorned by the only man she has ever loved and one to whom she has long been engaged to. However, with perseverance and a little magic all might still be well. This story epitomizes the strength and adaptability of the human heart. It had my own heart plummeting with one breath, and then exhilarating in the next. I loved the heroine. I liked the hero, but he really took a backseat in the story. So although the quality of his character did not reach the same level as the heroine, it really did not detract from the story itself. There was just too much wonderful story going on around him. Truly a magical, heart-lifting story. Please read it!
What do You think about Knights (1996)?
I love time travels, and I loved Pirates, but not so much on this one. The romance was great and the characterizations were too, but didn't understand why the popping back and forth between time periods, which caused all the problems, and then once she was back, solved all the problems, and why all of a sudden the heroine could never go back.
—Terry Spear
First off, I'm not a big fan of this author. Not because she's not a decent writer, because she is, but because what she writes normally doesn't appeal to my tastes. However, Knights is one of four of her books that I own, and tend to reread once every couple of years or so.In a lot of ways, this is a typical 'historical' romance novel. What I like about it that sets it apart, for me, is that there's an actual plot involving time travel, which I'm sort of a sucker for. Sometimes the heroine is a little Too feisty for believability in the 12th century and the hero is a little too amazingly masculine, but it all works for the most part and the supporting characters are likable and charming. It's not going to be deep, philosophical reading by any means, but for what it is it's more entertaining than most and a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
—Susan
