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Fulk the Reluctant
Fulk de Galliard was sore dismayed. A man of dark secrets and dangerous prowess, he was unfit to be any noblewoman's spouse, even such a one as Jehanne of Windermere, who lived by her own knightly code. But now that the ambitions of a duplicitous earl had forced them into a betrothal, would this Iron Maiden be tempered by his touch?
Sir Fulk had been the subject of many a fearsome rumor, Jehanne recalled. Now this enigmatic, overwhelming knight would be master of her keep by strength of royal command...and keeper of her heart by virtue of her own unchecked desire!
Sir Fulk had been the subject of many a fearsome rumor, Jehanne recalled. Now this enigmatic, overwhelming knight would be master of her keep by strength of royal command...and keeper of her heart by virtue of her own unchecked desire!
299 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
1 person is currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Knighton
5 books4 followersElaine Knighton grew up in California, riding her horse over the windswept hills and reading everything she could get her hands on. Her desire for spiritual wisdom fuels her every endeavor. In addition to writing, she paints, plays Celtic fiddle, and rides her Triumph Bonneville all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Her award-winning books have 6 foreign editions and have been translated into Japanese, French, Italian, and Portuguese.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 14, 2020
during my looong loong indentured servitude at the book factory, i have witnessed the discovery of many ridiculous and shudder-fun books.
connor discovered frinkles.
and frinkles 2.
i discovered zombonauts and a hand in the bush
who remembers who discovered big spankable asses??
and greg. well, years ago greg found this.
and we all had a laugh over it. we naturally assumed the title was a reference to what the male lead character did, he would um.. fulk reluctant ladies. (yes, we were essentially laughing at a rape joke - we are not good people). and i refused to return it, even though it wasn't selling, and eventually it went down to a dollar (LGM), and i just bought it as a souvenir of bookstore laughter.
and when this fine bodice ripper group asked for suggestions for what to read next, i offered this one up, only half-seriously.
so guys, i am sorry. i truly am.
this is not a good book.
it is not even a successful romance novel. women read romance novels for the titillating descriptions of love and intercourse. in this book, the first act of vaginal penetration is on page 270.that is a lot of book to get through for some underwhelming sexitude.
but is it at least full of closeness and restrained passions and longing looks, like the sexy bits of twilight? nah, not really. mostly just boring but plenty of double entendre passages that may or may not be intentional.
Gripping her lance, she put her horse into a gallop. She leveled the shaft at the proper angle over her mount's withers and aimed for the small disc at the end of the quintain's arm. A squeeze of her legs brought a final burst of speed from her horse as she approached impact.
*******
"She must be put to bed straightaway. She needs rest and some good red meat in her."
*******
"On the morrow you will get to know my sheep. All three hundred and twelve of them."
i think those things are funny, but the overall tone of the book is not very funny, which makes me think i am seeing funny where there is not intended to be funny...
so rbrs, go and thank greg. and forget i was even involved, kay?
basically, i am on elizabeth's side: fulk this!
come to my blog!
connor discovered frinkles.
and frinkles 2.
i discovered zombonauts and a hand in the bush
who remembers who discovered big spankable asses??
and greg. well, years ago greg found this.
and we all had a laugh over it. we naturally assumed the title was a reference to what the male lead character did, he would um.. fulk reluctant ladies. (yes, we were essentially laughing at a rape joke - we are not good people). and i refused to return it, even though it wasn't selling, and eventually it went down to a dollar (LGM), and i just bought it as a souvenir of bookstore laughter.
and when this fine bodice ripper group asked for suggestions for what to read next, i offered this one up, only half-seriously.
so guys, i am sorry. i truly am.
this is not a good book.
it is not even a successful romance novel. women read romance novels for the titillating descriptions of love and intercourse. in this book, the first act of vaginal penetration is on page 270.that is a lot of book to get through for some underwhelming sexitude.
but is it at least full of closeness and restrained passions and longing looks, like the sexy bits of twilight? nah, not really. mostly just boring but plenty of double entendre passages that may or may not be intentional.
Gripping her lance, she put her horse into a gallop. She leveled the shaft at the proper angle over her mount's withers and aimed for the small disc at the end of the quintain's arm. A squeeze of her legs brought a final burst of speed from her horse as she approached impact.
*******
"She must be put to bed straightaway. She needs rest and some good red meat in her."
*******
"On the morrow you will get to know my sheep. All three hundred and twelve of them."
i think those things are funny, but the overall tone of the book is not very funny, which makes me think i am seeing funny where there is not intended to be funny...
so rbrs, go and thank greg. and forget i was even involved, kay?
basically, i am on elizabeth's side: fulk this!
come to my blog!
September 20, 2010
Did you hear about how Pac Man was almost named Puck Man, but they decided not to because Puck can so easily be mistaken for another word? Yeah, I think something like that was happening with Fu*k the Reluctant. Elaine Knighton was trying to bring back the laughter that the video game gods had taken away. For teh children. The story itself isn’t really a knee slapper, but it’s about characters named Fu*k, the Iron Maiden, and the Hurler, so that makes up for a lot. Ironically, the Hurler doesn’t hurl, the Iron Maiden is not the band (I know, bogus), and Fu*k . . . well, he gets it on less than his name would suggest. He’s reluctant, you see. They all are.
I had to do a senior project in high school, so my friend and I decided to make ours a theater project. We taught script-writing classes at the local middle school, and then had the kiddos act out their plays after they had written them. It was fun. This one girl wrote a play that was probably pretty ahead of her time. She didn’t have a sense of . . . time continuity? The story was about a girl who had to go out in the woods and fight these wizards to earn some kind of prize (I forget what). It was basically a video game. My favorite part, though, was that at one point a stage direction had the girl sitting down in front of a tree to eat seven apples. Take that, Samuel Beckett! Seven apples! Try doing that for a matinee and evening show. You’d have to cast Nicole Kidman, or something.
There were a lot of awesome moments in this book that kind of remind me of that. It gave me that feeling like, well, I’m happy for you, characters, that you were conveniently able to eat seven apples, but did I need to be part of that experience? No. It’s boring. A reader must skim.
Having said that, I’m pretty sure that this book is what so many people wished Mockingjay had turned out to be. Fu*k is about a feisty young woman, abused by the world, who wants to protect her kingdom with a quiver of arrows. She meets a man who she thinks is her enemy, but who is actually her friend, and then she can’t make up her mind how she feels about him. DON’T WORRY, I won’t spoil for you what she ultimately decides. But the book is about these two people deciding whether or not to fu*k, and how their deciding to fu*k brings political peace to the realm. oh, cr*p, spoiler. I think that’s what some people wanted Mockingjay to be about. It’s not gut wrenching, and with every twist, you know you’ll get back on the path to a happy end.
This is actually one of the best bodice rippers that I’ve read in my limited foray into the genre. It has a lot of the good ol’ anti-feminist propaganda, like when the Iron Maiden says, “no,” she really means, “yes.” She's not genuinely confused, she just can't express desire. And through all of her psychological trauma and misery, it turns out that what she really needs in order to heal is Fu*k’s penis. Sexual healing. This is the opposite of the wikimagvag, but it’s more familiar, right? We were all like, “WTFu*k?” when we started coming across this phenomenon of mystically healing lady parts, but when I read this, it was immediately familiar. Women who are good at stuff just need to have sex in order to remember how to be women again (aka, not good at stuff). Duh. We all know that. So, then, was Judy Blume actually being consciously subversive to this rhetoric in Wifey? I still refuse to give her credit, but I find myself more perplexed. Is it subversive to say that men need women, instead of saying that women need men? It seems more like a playground shouting match where everyone ends up saying, “no YOU are!” Which is totally respectable. None of us really know who is more needy than the rest. If you start pointing fingers it might not end up being you.
This week, three different women, whose lives I don’t particularly envy, but don’t despise by any means, asked me when I’m going to start having bab*es. Maybe because they know that I’m hating my second year of law school as much as I loved the first. And if you are unhappy, pregnancy is probably the answer. That’s the basic moral of this story, too. It’s a classic. It makes my soul die a little bit, but it’s a classic. And it’s not that I’m against children, other than their being evil little no-neck monsters. But I am as bad at relationships and people as I have been good at law school, so it’s probably not good to sic me on helpless innocents. And I can’t ask these women, in return, “When are you going to start going to graduate school?” It’s strident, and if I’m strident, I’ll have to have even more bab*es later to make up for it. Fu*k.
I don’t know if I’d say I generally like this book. I can’t give it the three stars I’d like to (to put it above Pleasuring the Pirate) because it’s not fair to other three-star books. It was totally not awful to me. At worst it was boring. At best it was silly. And there’s one kind of dashing part of galloping away on a horse to go camping, and I liked that. And some nuns. They were cool. Everyone talked like Yoda. Oh, and a weird part with a mystical shepherd. That was pretty nice and Monty Python-esque. Fu*k is pretty disapproving of me, but I can take it. It would like to see me off having bab*es, but for now it will have to settle for reviews.
Also, btw:
Yeah, that's how I roll.
I had to do a senior project in high school, so my friend and I decided to make ours a theater project. We taught script-writing classes at the local middle school, and then had the kiddos act out their plays after they had written them. It was fun. This one girl wrote a play that was probably pretty ahead of her time. She didn’t have a sense of . . . time continuity? The story was about a girl who had to go out in the woods and fight these wizards to earn some kind of prize (I forget what). It was basically a video game. My favorite part, though, was that at one point a stage direction had the girl sitting down in front of a tree to eat seven apples. Take that, Samuel Beckett! Seven apples! Try doing that for a matinee and evening show. You’d have to cast Nicole Kidman, or something.
There were a lot of awesome moments in this book that kind of remind me of that. It gave me that feeling like, well, I’m happy for you, characters, that you were conveniently able to eat seven apples, but did I need to be part of that experience? No. It’s boring. A reader must skim.
Having said that, I’m pretty sure that this book is what so many people wished Mockingjay had turned out to be. Fu*k is about a feisty young woman, abused by the world, who wants to protect her kingdom with a quiver of arrows. She meets a man who she thinks is her enemy, but who is actually her friend, and then she can’t make up her mind how she feels about him. DON’T WORRY, I won’t spoil for you what she ultimately decides. But the book is about these two people deciding whether or not to fu*k, and how their deciding to fu*k brings political peace to the realm. oh, cr*p, spoiler. I think that’s what some people wanted Mockingjay to be about. It’s not gut wrenching, and with every twist, you know you’ll get back on the path to a happy end.
This is actually one of the best bodice rippers that I’ve read in my limited foray into the genre. It has a lot of the good ol’ anti-feminist propaganda, like when the Iron Maiden says, “no,” she really means, “yes.” She's not genuinely confused, she just can't express desire. And through all of her psychological trauma and misery, it turns out that what she really needs in order to heal is Fu*k’s penis. Sexual healing. This is the opposite of the wikimagvag, but it’s more familiar, right? We were all like, “WTFu*k?” when we started coming across this phenomenon of mystically healing lady parts, but when I read this, it was immediately familiar. Women who are good at stuff just need to have sex in order to remember how to be women again (aka, not good at stuff). Duh. We all know that. So, then, was Judy Blume actually being consciously subversive to this rhetoric in Wifey? I still refuse to give her credit, but I find myself more perplexed. Is it subversive to say that men need women, instead of saying that women need men? It seems more like a playground shouting match where everyone ends up saying, “no YOU are!” Which is totally respectable. None of us really know who is more needy than the rest. If you start pointing fingers it might not end up being you.
This week, three different women, whose lives I don’t particularly envy, but don’t despise by any means, asked me when I’m going to start having bab*es. Maybe because they know that I’m hating my second year of law school as much as I loved the first. And if you are unhappy, pregnancy is probably the answer. That’s the basic moral of this story, too. It’s a classic. It makes my soul die a little bit, but it’s a classic. And it’s not that I’m against children, other than their being evil little no-neck monsters. But I am as bad at relationships and people as I have been good at law school, so it’s probably not good to sic me on helpless innocents. And I can’t ask these women, in return, “When are you going to start going to graduate school?” It’s strident, and if I’m strident, I’ll have to have even more bab*es later to make up for it. Fu*k.
I don’t know if I’d say I generally like this book. I can’t give it the three stars I’d like to (to put it above Pleasuring the Pirate) because it’s not fair to other three-star books. It was totally not awful to me. At worst it was boring. At best it was silly. And there’s one kind of dashing part of galloping away on a horse to go camping, and I liked that. And some nuns. They were cool. Everyone talked like Yoda. Oh, and a weird part with a mystical shepherd. That was pretty nice and Monty Python-esque. Fu*k is pretty disapproving of me, but I can take it. It would like to see me off having bab*es, but for now it will have to settle for reviews.
Also, btw:
Yeah, that's how I roll.
September 21, 2010
So my GRF Elizabeth writes in her review (see here) about problems with reading with feeling.
It doesn't work with this book. It really doesn't. There are soooo many questions that one has to ask. So many important questions that reading with feeling goes out the window.
Like, would you really want to temper an Iron maiden with your touch? Wouldn't it be rather painful? Wouldn't it have a vagina dentia? Wouldn't that be like getting gelded? Wouldn't it be simpler to take a big ole fire and shove the stupid Iron Maiden into it?
If you're French, why in the bloody hell would you go to England? For a blasted tourney so you can get money for sister to get married? Why is long hair that is never cut and hardly washed considered too die for by the ladies? If you're named Fulk, why don't you Fulk something (and sheep don't count)? If you were named Lioba, wouldn't you change your name?
If you're a high ranking whatisit, why do you need to marry Miss Thingie? If Miss Thingie's land is so precious, why don't more men come knocking? Why doesn't daddy marry again to father a son if a son was so blasted precious? And why does Miss Thingie get all willy nilly at the sight of blood when she wishes to hit people with her lance, sword, or arrow (and why aren't those phallic symbols)?
And how can a woman be strong enough to left one of those heavy lances, but pretty and soft in all the right places?
But it's not all bad; I've read worse.
It doesn't work with this book. It really doesn't. There are soooo many questions that one has to ask. So many important questions that reading with feeling goes out the window.
Like, would you really want to temper an Iron maiden with your touch? Wouldn't it be rather painful? Wouldn't it have a vagina dentia? Wouldn't that be like getting gelded? Wouldn't it be simpler to take a big ole fire and shove the stupid Iron Maiden into it?
If you're French, why in the bloody hell would you go to England? For a blasted tourney so you can get money for sister to get married? Why is long hair that is never cut and hardly washed considered too die for by the ladies? If you're named Fulk, why don't you Fulk something (and sheep don't count)? If you were named Lioba, wouldn't you change your name?
If you're a high ranking whatisit, why do you need to marry Miss Thingie? If Miss Thingie's land is so precious, why don't more men come knocking? Why doesn't daddy marry again to father a son if a son was so blasted precious? And why does Miss Thingie get all willy nilly at the sight of blood when she wishes to hit people with her lance, sword, or arrow (and why aren't those phallic symbols)?
And how can a woman be strong enough to left one of those heavy lances, but pretty and soft in all the right places?
But it's not all bad; I've read worse.
Want to read
November 19, 2011I don't know whether I will ever get the chance to read this book, but I'd be prepared to spend good money on a t-shirt with "Fulk the Reluctant" on it around election time.
As a political slogan, it's a bit snappier than "Fry the Lily-Livered" or "Loathe the Loath" or "Why Defer to the Hesitant?".
As a political slogan, it's a bit snappier than "Fry the Lily-Livered" or "Loathe the Loath" or "Why Defer to the Hesitant?".
Want to read
October 9, 2014This book was recommended to you by Kat: “I can't even get through the blurb without bursting out laughing and then going cross-eyed. ”
Sounds like a wonderfully romantic buddy read.:)
Fuck the Reluctant!
Sounds like a wonderfully romantic buddy read.:)
Fuck the Reluctant!
Read
March 17, 2018Fulk de Gallliard and his brother, Rabel, had grown up in court with Henry, now the King of England. Fulk was know for his skill in battle. He lost himself when fighting till he didn't stop until the battle was over and he survived. His brother was closer to Henry. Fulk drew the attention of women due to his good looks.
There came a time when he and his brother attended a tournament and there was a particular woman that Fulk knew his brother was attracted too. Fulk set up a time for the woman to meet with her but she spoke a different language and she misunderstood and thought she was to meet with Fulk. When they all were at the meeting place, Rabel opened his mouth to ridicule Fulk and Fulk hit him. The blow was harder than he intended and his blow killed Rabel. Fulk was extremely upset and disowned by their father. His lands went to his sister Celine. One of the men who was with him at the time, Malcolm Mac Neill, stayed with him and tried to convince Fulk that it was an accident and that his brother had gotten what he deserved for speaking as he did to Fulk. Fulk couldn't forgive himself.
During the next 7 years, Fulk had refused to be knighted by King Henry and was dubbed as Fulk the Reluctant because he refused to take up arms after the death of his brother. He still entered tournaments but with the intention of raising money for Celine's dowry. His father had died and Celine had been taken to live with an lady in the mountains for her safety. Another man, Grimald, who grew up with Fulk had taken control of their fief and become a man who did the kings bidding. Grimald fought and did various things for Henry. He was and always had been jealous of Fulk for the attention he got from women.
Fulk and Grimald were at the same tournament and one of Grimald's men had cut the strip under Grimald's horse trying to cause his fall. Grimald started to lose his seat and blamed Fulk for the cutting. Grimald threw such a fit that the herald's declared him the winner and Fulk was taken to be Grimald's prisoner and had taken away all Fulk had gained for Celine's dowry.
Fulk had found out that Lady Jehanne had been promised to Grimald to become his wife. Lady Jehanne hated Grimald and had turned down his request for something of hers to carry into the tournament. Grimald was embarrassed and determined to get revenge. He made up a story to Henry and got approval to take the fief of Jehanne's father, Alun of Windermere. Grimald ordered Fulk to kill Alun and take the Lady Jehanne as his wife.
Jehanne was raised by her father to become a warrior. She fought as well, or better than a man. Her father had abused her and had the scars to prove it, including one from her right eyebrow across to her left cheek. She had other scars on her body that were hidden by her clothes. As a result, she hated all men and refused to let a man get too close.
Fulk was forced to do as Grimald ordered and headed to Windermere. He had determined that he wouldn't kill Alun nor marry a woman by force. He headed toward Windermere and laid siege to the castle. Inside, Alun had taken ill and died. There was a sickness spreading across the land and many others died. Jehanne was starving due to the siege and because she was taking so much time helping others so they wouldn't leave. She had finally decided to call an end to the siege at the same time Fulk had bribed one of her men to let him into the castle. Fulk gave the people of the fief food and began helping them restore their castle to what it was before the illness had arrived. Jehanne was surprised at his attitude. She had expected him to come in and take possession of the lands and she herself.
Fulk found himself attracted to her and he became determined to show her that all men weren't bad and that she could trust him. They grew closer and he began to gain her trust. She was determined to fight it though.
With the help of Fulk and Malcolm, the lands were restored and became fruitful again. Fulk was determined to make the castle profitable enough for Celine to be brought to him. Grimald showed up one day and killed quite a few of Jehanne's sheep as a show of strength. She blamed Fulk for the loss and this was a setback in their relationship. She promised to get revenge.
Malcolm told Fulk that he was in love with his sister, Celine. Fulk was determined to find someone for his sister that wasn't a warrior and told Malcolm so. He set off to get Celine from her mountain home to bring her to Windermere. He stopped by a monastery to see his mother and discovered that Jehanne had followed him. He was stopped by a severe beating and was taken back to his mother for healing. He ended up sending Malcolm to get Celine and bring her to him. They fell in love against the wishes of Fulk. Fulk had no choice but to accept this.
Jehanne was still determined to to persuade the king to give her the castle as he own rather than give them to Fulk. She and Fulk headed to see the king but he was persuaded to try and gain his own lands back. Jehanne was determined to help him and went to confront Grimald's man at Fulk's fief. Celine followed her even after Jehanne thought she had convinced her not too. Malcolm traveled with her and was severely beaten when Grimald found him and Celine traveling. Grimald arrived to tell them all that Malcolm had been killed and he had raped Celine. Jehanne had sent one of the men traveling with her back home to tell Fulk of the trouble they were in.
Fulk got the message and headed toward his former lands. He arrived and fought with Grimald and killed him. The king arrived as they were leaving and Henry found out what he had done. He sent Fulk back to Windermere and told him that he would soon be arriving at Windermere to see how things were there. Fulk told Henry that he had married Jehanne but he had not killed Alun. The king had been told that Fulk had killed Alun and taken Jehanne to wife as ordered. Fulk told Henry that Alun had died of illness, not by Fulk's hand.
They went back to Windermere and stopped to see Fulk's mother for help in healing from his fight with Grimald. They found Malcolm there. They stayed for a few days and then headed home after the two couples were married by a priest.
Jehanne finally admitted to loving Fulk as he did her. She submitted to his making love and was surprised at his not being repelled by her scars. Fulk told Jehanne that he felt that her father had treated her as he did because he was given no choice in her husband. She had made her a hard woman so that she could survive the abuse she would suffer as Grimald's wife. Jehanne began to see her father in another light. She accepted her fate and was a loving husband to Fulk. She knew that he was good for her and her lands.
Fulk had talked with Celine and found out that Grimald hadn't raped Celine. He had tried but couldn't get his body to cooperate. Celine had gone along with the story to prevent more problems with Grimald. Celine was hoping to save herself from being killed by agreeing to his lies. Malcolm and Celine were happily married and expecting their first child. Fulk hoped to be expecting his own child with Jehanne soon.
Henry forgave Fulk for not becoming his knight and for what he saw as disobedience in his not killing Alun as ordered and forcing Jehanne to become his wife. Things ended in a satisfactory manner for the king.
There came a time when he and his brother attended a tournament and there was a particular woman that Fulk knew his brother was attracted too. Fulk set up a time for the woman to meet with her but she spoke a different language and she misunderstood and thought she was to meet with Fulk. When they all were at the meeting place, Rabel opened his mouth to ridicule Fulk and Fulk hit him. The blow was harder than he intended and his blow killed Rabel. Fulk was extremely upset and disowned by their father. His lands went to his sister Celine. One of the men who was with him at the time, Malcolm Mac Neill, stayed with him and tried to convince Fulk that it was an accident and that his brother had gotten what he deserved for speaking as he did to Fulk. Fulk couldn't forgive himself.
During the next 7 years, Fulk had refused to be knighted by King Henry and was dubbed as Fulk the Reluctant because he refused to take up arms after the death of his brother. He still entered tournaments but with the intention of raising money for Celine's dowry. His father had died and Celine had been taken to live with an lady in the mountains for her safety. Another man, Grimald, who grew up with Fulk had taken control of their fief and become a man who did the kings bidding. Grimald fought and did various things for Henry. He was and always had been jealous of Fulk for the attention he got from women.
Fulk and Grimald were at the same tournament and one of Grimald's men had cut the strip under Grimald's horse trying to cause his fall. Grimald started to lose his seat and blamed Fulk for the cutting. Grimald threw such a fit that the herald's declared him the winner and Fulk was taken to be Grimald's prisoner and had taken away all Fulk had gained for Celine's dowry.
Fulk had found out that Lady Jehanne had been promised to Grimald to become his wife. Lady Jehanne hated Grimald and had turned down his request for something of hers to carry into the tournament. Grimald was embarrassed and determined to get revenge. He made up a story to Henry and got approval to take the fief of Jehanne's father, Alun of Windermere. Grimald ordered Fulk to kill Alun and take the Lady Jehanne as his wife.
Jehanne was raised by her father to become a warrior. She fought as well, or better than a man. Her father had abused her and had the scars to prove it, including one from her right eyebrow across to her left cheek. She had other scars on her body that were hidden by her clothes. As a result, she hated all men and refused to let a man get too close.
Fulk was forced to do as Grimald ordered and headed to Windermere. He had determined that he wouldn't kill Alun nor marry a woman by force. He headed toward Windermere and laid siege to the castle. Inside, Alun had taken ill and died. There was a sickness spreading across the land and many others died. Jehanne was starving due to the siege and because she was taking so much time helping others so they wouldn't leave. She had finally decided to call an end to the siege at the same time Fulk had bribed one of her men to let him into the castle. Fulk gave the people of the fief food and began helping them restore their castle to what it was before the illness had arrived. Jehanne was surprised at his attitude. She had expected him to come in and take possession of the lands and she herself.
Fulk found himself attracted to her and he became determined to show her that all men weren't bad and that she could trust him. They grew closer and he began to gain her trust. She was determined to fight it though.
With the help of Fulk and Malcolm, the lands were restored and became fruitful again. Fulk was determined to make the castle profitable enough for Celine to be brought to him. Grimald showed up one day and killed quite a few of Jehanne's sheep as a show of strength. She blamed Fulk for the loss and this was a setback in their relationship. She promised to get revenge.
Malcolm told Fulk that he was in love with his sister, Celine. Fulk was determined to find someone for his sister that wasn't a warrior and told Malcolm so. He set off to get Celine from her mountain home to bring her to Windermere. He stopped by a monastery to see his mother and discovered that Jehanne had followed him. He was stopped by a severe beating and was taken back to his mother for healing. He ended up sending Malcolm to get Celine and bring her to him. They fell in love against the wishes of Fulk. Fulk had no choice but to accept this.
Jehanne was still determined to to persuade the king to give her the castle as he own rather than give them to Fulk. She and Fulk headed to see the king but he was persuaded to try and gain his own lands back. Jehanne was determined to help him and went to confront Grimald's man at Fulk's fief. Celine followed her even after Jehanne thought she had convinced her not too. Malcolm traveled with her and was severely beaten when Grimald found him and Celine traveling. Grimald arrived to tell them all that Malcolm had been killed and he had raped Celine. Jehanne had sent one of the men traveling with her back home to tell Fulk of the trouble they were in.
Fulk got the message and headed toward his former lands. He arrived and fought with Grimald and killed him. The king arrived as they were leaving and Henry found out what he had done. He sent Fulk back to Windermere and told him that he would soon be arriving at Windermere to see how things were there. Fulk told Henry that he had married Jehanne but he had not killed Alun. The king had been told that Fulk had killed Alun and taken Jehanne to wife as ordered. Fulk told Henry that Alun had died of illness, not by Fulk's hand.
They went back to Windermere and stopped to see Fulk's mother for help in healing from his fight with Grimald. They found Malcolm there. They stayed for a few days and then headed home after the two couples were married by a priest.
Jehanne finally admitted to loving Fulk as he did her. She submitted to his making love and was surprised at his not being repelled by her scars. Fulk told Jehanne that he felt that her father had treated her as he did because he was given no choice in her husband. She had made her a hard woman so that she could survive the abuse she would suffer as Grimald's wife. Jehanne began to see her father in another light. She accepted her fate and was a loving husband to Fulk. She knew that he was good for her and her lands.
Fulk had talked with Celine and found out that Grimald hadn't raped Celine. He had tried but couldn't get his body to cooperate. Celine had gone along with the story to prevent more problems with Grimald. Celine was hoping to save herself from being killed by agreeing to his lies. Malcolm and Celine were happily married and expecting their first child. Fulk hoped to be expecting his own child with Jehanne soon.
Henry forgave Fulk for not becoming his knight and for what he saw as disobedience in his not killing Alun as ordered and forcing Jehanne to become his wife. Things ended in a satisfactory manner for the king.
September 27, 2025
September Readathon
2+
There's a good story in here with complicated characters, but I struggled to find and then get through it. The prose is both thick and relies heavily on "historical voice" and vernacular, and we move through time in leaps of days or a week without much to ease us there or explain how it happened.
The leads are sympathetic and a good match, and I get why they didn't immediately fall for each other. It's a literal forced marriage, and she puts up an understandable resistance (even fight). He isn't cruel or masterful about it. Over the days (weeks) they soften, but then they spar for far too long as the plot grinds along. They're really stuck on some things, and bash each other with that, rather than grow together because of them.
Then there's a rush of catalyst nearing the end -- caused by the heroine doing something inexplicable and kind of dumb, as well as out of character to how she'd been thus far -- and yes all the pieces fall into place and I like where they landed, but I couldn't make best sense of all of it.
I don't know how better to describe it than I felt vaguely confused, like I'd accidentally skipped pages here and there, the entire length. Also, there were passages that took too long to get a point across, while bigger things were skated past. That of course takes away some of the satisfaction in the read, although I didn't dislike it either.
It's not a forgiving time period and Knighton is forthright about that. There's no cartoonish cruelty, but more their lives hang in the balance of the King's mood, and so on, as events play out.
The secondary romance was sweet, as was the hero's best friend. The heroine deserved a bit more, hm, support and reward as the story went along, rather than always fighting (to a good cause) and not getting anywhere with it even when it eventually wins the hero over. This sensibility is because she fights him for so long it gets grating, and you gotta know she has other tactics and wiles, but she's left to be somewhat two-dimensional as "not a knight, not a maid."
She is who gives in; or in her mind braves falling/consummation/something more. It's a sweet moment--that is then broken yet again due to their fixed ideas and some stubbornness. In the end, they've definitely earned it and their HEA, and in it is some of that reward I looked for, but it was a bit of a muddle making it.
2+
There's a good story in here with complicated characters, but I struggled to find and then get through it. The prose is both thick and relies heavily on "historical voice" and vernacular, and we move through time in leaps of days or a week without much to ease us there or explain how it happened.
The leads are sympathetic and a good match, and I get why they didn't immediately fall for each other. It's a literal forced marriage, and she puts up an understandable resistance (even fight). He isn't cruel or masterful about it. Over the days (weeks) they soften, but then they spar for far too long as the plot grinds along. They're really stuck on some things, and bash each other with that, rather than grow together because of them.
Then there's a rush of catalyst nearing the end -- caused by the heroine doing something inexplicable and kind of dumb, as well as out of character to how she'd been thus far -- and yes all the pieces fall into place and I like where they landed, but I couldn't make best sense of all of it.
I don't know how better to describe it than I felt vaguely confused, like I'd accidentally skipped pages here and there, the entire length. Also, there were passages that took too long to get a point across, while bigger things were skated past. That of course takes away some of the satisfaction in the read, although I didn't dislike it either.
It's not a forgiving time period and Knighton is forthright about that. There's no cartoonish cruelty, but more their lives hang in the balance of the King's mood, and so on, as events play out.
The secondary romance was sweet, as was the hero's best friend. The heroine deserved a bit more, hm, support and reward as the story went along, rather than always fighting (to a good cause) and not getting anywhere with it even when it eventually wins the hero over. This sensibility is because she fights him for so long it gets grating, and you gotta know she has other tactics and wiles, but she's left to be somewhat two-dimensional as "not a knight, not a maid."
She is who gives in; or in her mind braves falling/consummation/something more. It's a sweet moment--that is then broken yet again due to their fixed ideas and some stubbornness. In the end, they've definitely earned it and their HEA, and in it is some of that reward I looked for, but it was a bit of a muddle making it.
March 16, 2011
Jehanne would have been the perfect knight, had she been born male. She did all she could to be the son her father had wanted her to be.
Fulk de Galliard was loved by all the woman who met him. After he unfairly lost a contest he lost all to Grimald. The Earl had been rejected by Jehanne so he sent Fulk to kill her father and marry her so he could be the owner of her lands. Fulk had seen her once before and although beautiful he thought her to be out of her mind.
Through many trials to win the one lady who had not fallen at his feet the two go through many dangerous adventures.
Fulk de Galliard was loved by all the woman who met him. After he unfairly lost a contest he lost all to Grimald. The Earl had been rejected by Jehanne so he sent Fulk to kill her father and marry her so he could be the owner of her lands. Fulk had seen her once before and although beautiful he thought her to be out of her mind.
Through many trials to win the one lady who had not fallen at his feet the two go through many dangerous adventures.
September 16, 2012
First impressions: Yes, four stars. I KNOW. The only snark-worthy thing about this book was the title. It may be that I'm just reacting to the two underwhelming medievals I read before this one, but this one worked for me.
Want to read
April 22, 2011Rbrs #6
Want to read
April 20, 2012Review coming soon; it's a definite must-read, if I can stop laughing at the fit of vapors slithering across this book's reviews. :]
July 20, 2012
the title alone should merit an extra star
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