"When the fearsome knight called Hugh the Relentless swept into Lingwood Manor like a storm, everyone cowered--except Lady Alice. Sharp-tongued and unrepentant, the flame-haired beauty believed Sir Hug was not someone to dread but the answer to her dreams. She knew he had come for the dazzling green crystal, knew he would be displeased to find that it was no longer in her possession. Yet Alice had a proposition for the dark and forbidding knight: In return for a dowry that would free Alice and her brother from their uncle's grasp, she would lend her powers of detection to his warrior's skills and together they would receive his treasured stone. But even as High accepted her terms, he added a condition of his own: Lady Alice must agree to a temporary betrothal--one that would soon draw her deep into Hugh's great stone fortress, and into a battle that could threaten their lives...and their only chance at love."
This is yet another Amanda Quick novel which has sat upon my shelves unread for many years. I really enjoyed another of her novels just prior to this one and enjoyed it so much that I thought I'd grab another of her stories from my shelf (or, rather, the floor of my office because my husband has yet to finish hanging shelves for me...).
I finished reading this book rather quickly. The pacing was good and it kept me interested. I wouldn't call it quite the page-turner "Dangerous" was, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I enjoyed the premise of a bastard knight seeking to bring honor to his family's history and finally have his own place in the world, yet he drags along with him an intelligent, whip-tongued young woman on a mission of her own. Hugh brought a new facet to the knightly archetype. He was neither entirely "black knight," but nor was he a straightforward "white knight." He was known for his ruthless, relentless drive and skills on the battlefield; his dark coloring and penchant for wearing only black; and everyone knew of the venomous feud between Hugh and his father's family. However, he was also intelligent (not just braun over brains), unfailingly true to his word, and honorable. Alice was also a play on the typical headstrong, outspoken woman. If anything, she was almost more outspoken than a great many of the other "headstrong" female leads I've encountered. She seemed to suffer from a severe lack of manners or filter. I can see how her struggles in life could have created this attitude, but it even made me cringe on several occasions. I think this may be the reason why I didn't enjoy her as much as I could have. By all accounts, Alice was extremely intelligent, capable, strong, and brave...but she also sometimes came across as crass or even petty -- especially once Hugh frees her from her uncle's care.
I did also notice a very definite trend in Quick's writing (maybe because I just so happened to read this one immediately after "Dangerous"). Both female leads were considered "odd," they were older sisters to younger brothers, orphans who felt they were in charge of finding their brothers better lots in life, and they fall in love with their male leads rather easily despite being so strong and seemingly content to be without a romantic relationship. The male leads are both dark in coloring of their hair and clothing, as well as their attitudes and reputations, they're both bastards (or, at least, they're presumed to be) after their fathers become attracted to seemingly-unsuitable women who put them at odds with their families and their plans, their fathers have scorned fiancees, they each have a male first-cousin with whom they have a great amount of enmity, and they both have amber-colored eyes. As you can see, there were a great many similarities in these plots and the development of these characters -- almost too many where it felt a bit "recycled." To be fair, I think Quick found a formula which worked; I cannot really blame her for reusing it. The different layers of history and current conflict create an interesting plot. The strong personalities and opinions of her characters make for amusing and entertaining action. What might have helped some differentiation between these stories (besides the very different eras in which they're set) would probably have been some better identifying characteristics of the male leads. The female leads are fairly well-described; I felt like I could picture them. The male leads...not so much. Other than the color of his eyes, hair, and clothing, I got almost no sense of what Hugh looked like. Did he have bold, stormy brows? Was his nose slightly crooked from having been broken so many times in battle? I longed to know more about Hugh's appearance and I think we missed out a lot on his characterization because of this.
I do feel like, overall, the plot was interesting. Alice sometimes came off a bit unlikable, but I think she was a brave female lead. I loved how she stuck up for her brother and for women in general (you'll have to read to find out what I mean -- I promise it's worth it). I liked Hugh's multifaceted personality; however, I wanted a bit more of a description of him. That left a bit of an unfortunate gap in a novel of this genre. I liked the blend of realism and legend in this story. I don't often read books set so far back in history (and I haven't often enjoyed all of them) mainly because I sometimes struggle with the living conditions and mentalities of these ages (even just a few centuries make a world of difference, believe it or not), but I did find this one enjoyable. It was a quick read with pleasant pacing that kept the story moving along. I liked the conflict and found the dialogue to be very in-character. I do recommend this book, though not as much as I did my other recent Amanda Quick read.
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