The Christmas Knight by Michele Sinclair

The Christmas Knight
by Michele Sinclair

Genre: Historical Romance

Her Only Hope For The Season

With their father gone this Christmastide, Bronwyn de Breton and her two younger sisters are utterly vulnerable at unprotected Hunswick Castle. And their troubles are compounded when a fearsome knight arrives on the king's orders to take Hunswick as his own—and the youngest de Breton daughter as his wife.

Is A Man She's Never Met

Bronwyn would never let her little sister be forced to marry a man as rough and wild as the new lord is whispered to be. Yet someone must form an alliance with him, or all of Hunswick will be at risk. So she steps forward, pretending to be her own sister.

And A Love She Never Expected

But the new lord is not so easily fooled. He knows Bronwyn is not the woman he has promised to marry. And yet, no matter how duty-bound he may be, there is no resisting the golden-haired beauty who so fearlessly gives herself to him...and awakens a passion unlike any he's ever known.

I got into a seasonal mood lately and wanted to read something related! How happy I was to find this new historical release, The Christmas Knight. Ranulf "Deadeye" de Gunnar was located abroad & unwillingly dragged back to England by Sir Laon de Brenton on a mission from the King. Yet, upon a tragic accident, Ranulf makes a life promise to Laon to marry his youngest and most innocent daughter, Lily, and to rule as the new Lord of his land. Thus the beginning of our tale.

Bronwyn de Brenton is the oldest of her sisters. In her father's absence she has taken on the duties of running the castle and keeping her rowdy sisters in line. Upon hearing from a messenger that her father is dead and the King has granted a new Lord in his place to marry Lily, Bronwyn comes up with a scheme to trade places with her sister in hopes of saving her from a unhappy future. Her sisterly sacrifice unfortunately doesn't fool Renulf who knows in detail the description of all three de Brenton girls, but he doesn't let on that he is aware of the switch since he has now developed feelings for the oldest sister. Does he stay loyal to the King & his promise to Laon or, for once, follow his own heart?

There's lots of Christmas spirit in this book and other great holiday tales that are no longer shared or celebrated, which was fun and enjoyable to read about. The sister connection was nice as well since they were all complete opposites of each other but truly shared a bond that was evident while reading. I adored the bickering relationship between Renulf's best friend, Tyr Dequhar and Bronwyn's middle sister, Edythe de Brenton - can't wait for their story! Lots of adventure and mischief sprinkled throughout as well that kept the overall tale exciting.

P.S. Yes! There are future books planned for Bronwyn's sisters. YAYYYY!!!!

Likes: The beginning of each chapter broke down the historical significance of each day around Christmas; from village traditions, to what food was eaten or who was being celebrated. LOVED IT! (says the historical fanatic!)

Dislikes: The first third of the book annoyed me a bit since every other page had Renulf wondering if Brownyn would "indulge him in a kiss from her sweet lips" and after one too many similar thoughts ( why not just cup her face already and do it instead of thinking about it for the 20th time already!!!! Maybe think about something other than her lips for once...mix it up!!! ) . . . I got rather bored with their dull budding relationship . . . but it got better near the end.

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