What do you think?
Rate this book
Knights Errant
Blush sensuality level: This is a sweet romance (kisses only, no sexual content). Guy Blackwater has never forgotten his first wife, even though the marriage was annulled very quickly. His second wife, now deceased, gave him one child, Alison-who causes him endless problems by imagining herself in love with a different man each week. When his daughter encourages a man to "rescue" her from imagined persecution, the plot goes awry and Guy finds himself face-to-face with his beloved first wife. Much has happened over the intervening years, in both their lives, but perhaps no hurdles are too much to overcome when love is in the offing.
64 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 28, 2011
5 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Miller
105 books26 followersBarbara J. Miller started writing romances because she was running out of reading material and all her copies of her Georgette Heyer novels were becoming dog-eared. By day she works as a business analyst; by night she runs a retirement home for aged horses, dogs and cats. On the week-ends she spends a lot of time in Regency England, creating heroes and heroines to fight the Napoleonic Wars, shock London society, and set the countryside in an uproar. Her accomplice is her computer-expert husband Don, who is one of her biggest fans.
Barb admits to enjoying the research as much as the writing, and has the books to prove it. France used to be in the dining room and England in the living room. Now that she has taken over the upper story of their old farmhouse as an office at least all the books are one floor. This saves a tremendous amount of time when she is trying to confirm an obscure fact in the middle of the night. Under the name Laurel Ames she produced eight Regency-era historicals for Harlequin, one of which was nominated for a Rita in 1994. Now, she writes as Barbara Miller. She is a member of the Western PA Chapter of Romance Writers of America and also edits The Laurel Wreath newsletter for them. You may email her at scribe@cvzoom.net.
Barb admits to enjoying the research as much as the writing, and has the books to prove it. France used to be in the dining room and England in the living room. Now that she has taken over the upper story of their old farmhouse as an office at least all the books are one floor. This saves a tremendous amount of time when she is trying to confirm an obscure fact in the middle of the night. Under the name Laurel Ames she produced eight Regency-era historicals for Harlequin, one of which was nominated for a Rita in 1994. Now, she writes as Barbara Miller. She is a member of the Western PA Chapter of Romance Writers of America and also edits The Laurel Wreath newsletter for them. You may email her at scribe@cvzoom.net.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 2, 2012
Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
The knights are truly front and center in Barbara Miller’s sweet historical romance, Knights Errant. So much so that I began to wonder where the heroine was? She is there, but you have to wait for her. Not always an easy or desirable thing for the reader to do.
The two “knights errant,” Guy Blackwater, an older nobleman with a difficult daughter, and Barton Strong, the young man whose misguided attempt to rescue Alison (the difficult daughter) draws them all into the tangled web, are both well developed, extremely likeable characters. We sympathize with Guy for having a shrewish daughter, who seems to have taken lessons from Shakespeare’s Kate. We also must applaud Barton’s instinct to protect a “damsel in distress,” though she turns out to be a conniving, self-centered girl who dupes him. We also come to understand why these men might be considered erring knights in need of atonement and how history has a regrettable way of repeating itself.
The plot moved well, I certainly didn’t lack impetus to turn the page, but I found myself more interested in the interaction between the two knights—the old hero and the young hero, rather than between the hero and heroine.
It is unfortunate that Ms. Miller’s female characters are not as sympathetically drawn in this book as are the male characters. Alison, as mentioned above, is shrewish and certainly hard to like throughout most of the book. But she represents a large portion of the conflict and her character arc eventually resolves itself agreeably.
But the book’s heroine, Diana Strong does not appear until almost halfway through the book (she is mentioned by Guy and we learn some information about their past, but she is not present in the story per se, until Chapter 3). This device creates the problem of distancing the heroine from the reader and may intensify the reader’s reaction to a character who is less clearly drawn than either Guy or Barton. Diana is not as likeable as either Guy or Barton and the motivation for her actions at the end of the story is unclear. She does not seem to care as much for Guy as he does for her, so that the end is very abrupt. I believe that Diana could have become a better rounded character had she been allowed to develop via scenes throughout the book, to both introduce her earlier and to keep her in the forefront of the reader’s mind.
The sweet romance of chivalry is well portrayed in Knights Errant, though it cautions that chivalry can sometimes cause as many problems as it solves. Happily, Ms. Miller’s characters reach the realization that doing the right thing may result in unexpected consequences, but in the end, love will find a way to make even errant knights into a damsel’s true hero.
The knights are truly front and center in Barbara Miller’s sweet historical romance, Knights Errant. So much so that I began to wonder where the heroine was? She is there, but you have to wait for her. Not always an easy or desirable thing for the reader to do.
The two “knights errant,” Guy Blackwater, an older nobleman with a difficult daughter, and Barton Strong, the young man whose misguided attempt to rescue Alison (the difficult daughter) draws them all into the tangled web, are both well developed, extremely likeable characters. We sympathize with Guy for having a shrewish daughter, who seems to have taken lessons from Shakespeare’s Kate. We also must applaud Barton’s instinct to protect a “damsel in distress,” though she turns out to be a conniving, self-centered girl who dupes him. We also come to understand why these men might be considered erring knights in need of atonement and how history has a regrettable way of repeating itself.
The plot moved well, I certainly didn’t lack impetus to turn the page, but I found myself more interested in the interaction between the two knights—the old hero and the young hero, rather than between the hero and heroine.
It is unfortunate that Ms. Miller’s female characters are not as sympathetically drawn in this book as are the male characters. Alison, as mentioned above, is shrewish and certainly hard to like throughout most of the book. But she represents a large portion of the conflict and her character arc eventually resolves itself agreeably.
But the book’s heroine, Diana Strong does not appear until almost halfway through the book (she is mentioned by Guy and we learn some information about their past, but she is not present in the story per se, until Chapter 3). This device creates the problem of distancing the heroine from the reader and may intensify the reader’s reaction to a character who is less clearly drawn than either Guy or Barton. Diana is not as likeable as either Guy or Barton and the motivation for her actions at the end of the story is unclear. She does not seem to care as much for Guy as he does for her, so that the end is very abrupt. I believe that Diana could have become a better rounded character had she been allowed to develop via scenes throughout the book, to both introduce her earlier and to keep her in the forefront of the reader’s mind.
The sweet romance of chivalry is well portrayed in Knights Errant, though it cautions that chivalry can sometimes cause as many problems as it solves. Happily, Ms. Miller’s characters reach the realization that doing the right thing may result in unexpected consequences, but in the end, love will find a way to make even errant knights into a damsel’s true hero.
May 15, 2012
Posted on Romancing the Book's blog
Reviewed by~Angieleigh
Review Provided by~the publisher
At first I didn’t much care for Alison, but as the story progressed I started to really admire her cunning manipulation. Guy was a likable character as well, and there were times I wondered why he DIDN’T beat his daughter as she was such a spoiled brat.
I will say that this novella is pretty predictable. You can pretty much figure out what’s going to happen before it happens, such as when Diana shows up, but don’t let that deter you – it’s a very enjoyable read! I bet this would have made an even more enjoyable full-length novel or part of a series. I would have loved to see what happens to Alison and the other girls.
This would be a great read while you’re in the tub or if you have an hour or two with no kids or husband around and want some light-hearted reading.
Reviewed by~Angieleigh
Review Provided by~the publisher
At first I didn’t much care for Alison, but as the story progressed I started to really admire her cunning manipulation. Guy was a likable character as well, and there were times I wondered why he DIDN’T beat his daughter as she was such a spoiled brat.
I will say that this novella is pretty predictable. You can pretty much figure out what’s going to happen before it happens, such as when Diana shows up, but don’t let that deter you – it’s a very enjoyable read! I bet this would have made an even more enjoyable full-length novel or part of a series. I would have loved to see what happens to Alison and the other girls.
This would be a great read while you’re in the tub or if you have an hour or two with no kids or husband around and want some light-hearted reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews