Knight
Most Wicked
by Joanne
Rock
Passion, secrets, and divided loyalties: a
medieval romance that delights the heart on many levels
Publisher:
Harlequin Historical (March 2008)
Arabella Rowan cannot understand why she was chosen as a lady in
waiting for the large retinue of women to accompany Princess Anne of
Bohemia to England. Arabella prefers open air and freedom, not the
closed-in spaces of courts and intricate social customs. After all, her
father never acknowledged her and rumors of sorcery haunt her
grandmother Zaharia's reputation. How can she bring honor to her
countrymen and family? She flees to the woods for one last moment of
freedom and to cry out her frustration, only to be seen in this one
private moment, by a handsome knight! Tristan Carlisle, a warrior who
has spent years in service to England's kings, is none too pleased to
have been assigned the duty of a courtier. When war rages with France,
accompanying a nuptial entourage of ladies chafes and irritates this
ambitious knight. Nevertheless, Tristan realizes that the key to
gaining land and power rest on keeping the princess and her ladies
safe. When he discovers that the gypsy who had captured his heart in
the forest is now masquerading around as a lady in waiting, Tristan
must uncover the secrets behind the lady impostor if only he can resist
the powerful attraction between them. Innocent, unaccustomed to talking
to men, and forewarned of their danger, Arabella knows she must keep
her secrets from the this handsome knight and an English court that
frowns on the healing arts of women, but how long can she hide the
passion that Tristan inspires within her?
Joanne Rock's A KNIGHT MOST WICKED
combines a lesser explored historical setting, a play on the medieval
classic Tristan romance tale and a fascinatingly rich hero and heroine
in a romance full of passion and intrigue. Arabella is a wildcat, a
woman who prefers freedom and acting on her own will rather than bowing
to others. A healer, medicine for her is an inner calling, one that
drives her to help even in the face of danger. Although the court
setting with its intrigue, rumors and power plays chafes at her most
inner sense of her self, the unfamiliar setting also allows the reader
a glimpse into the depths of her character, a woman whose loyalty and
honor emerges as she protects the secrets and those she loves and yet
as a woman who takes risks. Joanne Rock places Tristan, a knight set on
winning favor and protecting England's interests, in the precarious
position of protecting a woman from danger while he determines the risk
she herself poses---not only to England, but to his heart. Tristan is
not a man to easily accept betrayal of any kind!
Joanne Rock's plot challenges her characters, placing them in the midst
of a danger unknown. In A KNIGHT
MOST WICKED, Joanne Rock creates dynamic characters who grow not
only in their passion for each other but within themselves as conflicts
test their loyalties and indeed their most inner selves. A perfect
balance between rich characterization and a plot full of perilous and
sometimes delightfully subtle twists from within and without the
guarded entourage keeps the reader glued to the pages, never quite
knowing from where the next danger will arrive. As shadowy figures
following the entourage create an ominous backdrop, the greatest
dangers yet might still be to the heart as both Arabella and Tristan
come face to face with the past. To the sheer delight of medieval fans,
Joanne Rock interweaves the tragic medieval tale of Tristan and Isolde
within her story, creating a playful and romantic contrast between it
and Arabella and Tristan's story of love and divided loyalty. Joanne
Rock's Tristan story is not a tragedy, but a romance that moves the
heart. Indeed, A KNIGHT MOST WICKED
captures the very essence of the medieval period on multiple levels.
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