Yet when the Lady Melissande looked upon the rugged face and form of the knight she'd been forced to marry, her resolve melted. For Quinn de Sayerne stirred her in the most unexpected ways, and therein lay the danger—for succumbing to desire meant losing everything she held so dear!
New York Times bestselling author Claire Delacroix sold her first book in 1992, an historical romance called ROMANCE OF THE ROSE. Since then, she has published over sixty romance novels and novellas, and has also been published under the names Claire Cross and Deborah Cooke. She has an honours degree in history, with a focus on medieval studies. She is an avid reader of medieval vernacular literature, fairy tales and fantasy novels.
In October and November 2009, she was the writer in residence for the Toronto Public Library, the first time that the library has hosted a residency focused on the romance genre.
Reviewed for THC Reviews "3.5 stars" I’ve had My Lady's Champion on my TBR pile for a really long time, since I belonged to the Harlequin Historicals subscription service over two decades ago. I’m glad to finally be reading some of these books and getting them off the pile. This one started out great. The first two-thirds of the book was awesome and definitely on track to make it a keeper. The heroine was a little prickly, but I felt like I understood why and she seemed to be softening as the story went along. That being the case, I couldn’t quite figure out why the book has such a low rating on GoodReads. Well, I found out when I hit the final third or so of the book, because that’s when it all started to fall apart for me. From that point on, the story was nothing but a series of misunderstandings, miscommunications, TSTL moments, and sheer stubbornness on the part of both the hero and heroine, as well as a couple of secondary characters. So, while My Lady's Champion started off with a great deal of promise, it ended on a very frustrating note for me.
Melissande is a fiery beauty who has been administering her ancestral seat of Annossy ever since her parents died. She has worked hard to make the estate prosperous and she hopes that one day her liege lord will see fit to invest the seal of the estate upon her, even though she’s a woman. That’s why when he instead makes a demand that she immediately wed the recently returned son of her former mortal enemy, she’s spitting mad. Melissande doesn’t want to like the knight, thinking he’ll be just like his cruel father, but she can’t deny his attractiveness and as he shows her some unexpected consideration, she begins to soften toward him. But ultimately, she doesn’t trust him, and runs back to Annossy to make sure her legacy is protected.
Initially I wondered if Melissande would be too much of a spitfire for my taste, as she has a very sharp tongue and isn’t afraid to use it. However, I was surprised to find that I understood her independent spirit and how hard it would be for a woman in her position. She was hoping for full control of her family’s estate only to have it yanked away from her and then be forced into marriage with a man she’d barely met. Consequently my opinion started to change somewhat as the story went along, especially as she seemed to be coming around to the idea of being married to Quinn. But then she completely lost my respect when she stole away in the middle of the night, after deciding that Quinn’s estate of Sayerne was a lost cause and that she didn’t want to be a part of helping him rebuild it. Not only was it a TSTL move for a lady to be traveling alone at night, but she cruelly left right after Quinn had opened himself up and made himself vulnerable by telling her about his time in the Crusades, a story he’d never shared with anyone else. I felt like Melissande had absolutely no trust in her husband at all, even though he’d been nothing but kind and patient with her up to that point. I couldn’t help feeling like she was acting rather spoiled and entitled. And to make matters worse, she never apologized for her actions even after she and Quinn reunited. Then in yet another TSTL move, she ran off into the night again after a misunderstanding, leaving herself open to the machinations of the villain. I just never developed much respect for Melissande and what little I did was pretty much destroyed and never recovered after her actions late in the story.
In contrast, I was actually very invested in Quinn’s character. He’s a knight who’d just returned from the Crusades upon hearing that his father had passed. He and his father had never seen eye-to-eye, which is why Quinn left in the first place, but he’s very excited to finally be coming home to his family’s estate. Even though Sayerne is run down, Quinn is a dreamer and a fighter who is ready to rebuild it even if he has to do it stone-by-stone with his own hands. Unfortunately his liege lord doesn’t see fit to invest him with the seal of what should be his inheritance, unless he marries Melissande. Wanting Sayerne badly and seeing no other option, he reluctantly agrees. After being the recipient of several of her tongue-lashings, Quinn thinks it’s going to be a hellish marriage, but as the lady slowly begins to soften toward him, he has hope that it will be a real marriage that blossoms into a love match. That all changes when Melissande sneaks away in the middle of the night. At that point Quinn feels understandably betrayed and isn’t inclined to go after her until he hears that Annossy has been attacked by marauders again. Then he goes to pledge his sword as her champion, but circumstances change when he learns information that makes him distrust her motives.
I really liked Quinn for most of the story. He has the patience of a saint in dealing with Melissande’s fears and distrust. He’s kind and considerate of her feelings, never forces himself into her bed, and even when she’s being something of a shrew, he always takes the high road. He’s also a brave and skilled knight who isn’t afraid to defend what’s his. Quinn would have had a place among my all-time favorite heroes if not for him getting a personality transplant during the last fifty pages or so. At that point, he and Melissande suddenly and inexplicably switch roles with him believing things about her that aren’t true and refusing to let her explain her side of the story. He also did a runner in the middle of the night just like she did. At that point, I basically lost respect for both of them, because they were acting so childish.
I’m giving My Lady's Champion 3.5 stars, because I genuinely enjoyed the first two-thirds of the story. I just couldn’t help feeling like the contrived misunderstandings got way out of control during the home stretch of the book when it really should have been gearing up for a tense, engaging climax that never really materialized. During that time, the characters’ twisted way of thinking was tying my brain up in knots, and I got to the point where I wasn’t really rooting for their HEA anymore. Even when they finally reconciled, it didn’t leave me with great amounts of confidence that they were going to make it for the long haul. They’d simply spent far too much page time arguing, mistrusting, and believing things about each other that weren’t true, as well as communicating very badly. I just couldn’t see how they could be happy when they couldn’t trust one another. I also felt like the villain’s role should have been drawn into the story more to give it a greater sense of suspense. Instead, he doesn’t show up until near the end, is dispatched pretty easily, and his confession of all his evil plans to the heroine as though he honesty things she’s going to go along with it felt unnatural. If the author had come up with a more organic and engaging ending rather than one that was weak and artificial, My Lady's Champion would have been a great read. It’s the first in her Sayerne series that was first published by Harlequin, although it appears that she’s now reworking and reprinting many of her older medieval titles (possibly including these) into a new series called Rogues & Angels. It appears that the heroine of Enchanted, the next book in the original Sayerne trilogy is somehow related to Quinn, although I’m not entirely certain how as she didn’t appear in this book. Since I have the other two books of this trilogy on my TBR pile, I’m sure I’ll give Claire Delacroix another chance. I just hope that she finds a different way to build conflict and reader engagement in her other stories.
Masterful crafting of a complex story of a medieval knight and a very capable woman managing her father's holding after his death. This was not a love match but a union by the overload to protect and grow two holdings within his realm. These two people do manage to fall in love and find each completes the other to create a very effective whole to govern their lands.
Melissande has been managing Annossy since her father's death five years ago. She was raised to do this job being an only child. She doesn't need a husband even if she's been betrothed to Amaud de Privas since childhood by their fathers. The only thing that plagues her is brigands at her borders raiding. She's breathing easier now that her cruel and scheming neighbor Jerome de Sayerne has died. He always coveted Annossy and tried to unite them.
She's called to her overload Tully's keep she finds he has other plans. Tully has called Sayerne's heir Quinn home, a crusading knight in the holy lands. When he arrives he finds Tully is requiring him to marry Melissande and defeat the brigands if he wants to earn Sayene. They have little choice but to obey, even though neither one is happy about it. Quinn goes about trying to unravel the mystery of the brigands while trying to win Melissande's trust. There are mysteries to solve and counterplots exposed as well as a delightfully drawn love story. Quinn learns how to run a keep from Melissande and Melissande learns Quinn is not his father's son. I'm so impressed with this author's voice.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A medieval romance? Sign me up. We follow our couple, Quinn and Melissande. They are set up in a marriage of convenience after Quinn returns from a crusade. This marriage is to provide a unity of their two lands, allowing them to flourish without the danger of marauders and bandits. But, there is a catch; they must conceive a child within a year of their marriage. Of course, things go far from the plan. They are both in complete denial of the feelings blossoming for one another and apparently have an aversion to communicating, Melissande was also promised to another man years ago so that is looming over their heads, Sayerne is totally disheveled and in need of major repairs, etc. A lot. The majority of the conflict between the two could have been an email, but whatever. I’ll give it to them because I like them together. They’re both headstrong, intelligent, and apparently hot as hell. (Who isn’t in these historical romances, though?) A quick and mildly steamy read with only one injured horse that will probably pull through - which is a plus. Long live Lady Melissande in all of her womanly woes and overthinking. Honestly, me.
This was a well-written, fantastic medieval romance. Melissande has been ordered to wed a mercenary, even though she was already betrothed to someone else. Quinn has been called back home to claim his family holding, but his overlord commands that he marry Melissande, the heiress of a neighboring property. Quinn is determined to win his bride's heart - but can he trust her? And Melissande is unsure whether to trust Quinn, knowing his father and his father's many misdeeds as she does. I enjoyed this book so much and it can be read as a standalone story, though it is #2 in the Rogues and Angels series. I can't recommend this author more highly and I would read anything by the author.
I loved Quinn and Melissande's story! I caught a glimpse of Quinn de Sayerne in the first Rogues & Angels book, One Knight Enchanted, and was glad to see his story fleshed out. When Quinn meets Melissande de Annossy he has traveled for several months to reach his overlord from the Crusades. Melissande is disenchanted with Quinn because of his parentage and his appearance.
Their overlord has demanded they marry and produce a son within a year. Quinn takes the challenge to win his Lady's heart and rid Annossy of the bandits who have been plaguing the land for months. Together, Quinn and Melissande solve the puzzle of the bandits and come to love each other.
One Knight's Return is book #2 of Rogues & Angels series. Where book 1 was full of magical djinns, book 2 is full of enchanting, robust characters that work magically. This superbly written tale is an engaging read that just won’t quit. Or maybe that was me, I just couldn’t put it down. The plot lines ebb and flow with brilliance. The chemistry between Quinn and Mel sizzles! Whether in battle or in bed, these two create sparks. Even the characters that have lesser roles are developed to a tee. I look forward to reading their tales as the series unfolds. This is a must read!
I liked this book but not nearly as much as the first one.
I really loved Quinn! What a perfect hero. Melissande took me a long time to warm up to. She wasn't a bad character, but she kept going back and forth on whether she could trust him or not and it was tiring. He had to prove himself quite a few times.
I really loved the Brotherhood of Knights that came to Annossy to stay with and help Quinn, and also Melissande's maid Berthe.
It was a great story, I do recommend it, but I also highly recommend the first one in the series too. That one was just magical!
I really enjoyed this book. Both Melisandre and Quinn are brilliantly drawn characters each as stubborn as the other. I like how their two pasts are entwined with one another as are their two properties. It was nice to get to know some of the other rogues better. Only a tiny disappointment was the fact that Quinn’s gift from Marcus is only mentioned at the end whereas in the first book the gift dominates the whole story. Delightful!
Livrinho clichê sobre o cavaleiro (Quinn) que tem que seduzir a relutante noiva (Melissande).
O relacionamento deles dá pra ser reduzido a falta de confiança misturada com atração sexual. Então, quando eles começam a se acertar, acontece algo no fim que eu não vou revelar para não dar spoiler, que devolve o relacionamento a estaca zero.
Pra quem gosta do estilo ou não se importa em ler páginas e páginas de coisas que poderiam ser resolvidas numa conversa, é um prato cheio.
This was a very average romance that repeated itself a lot and did more telling than showing. The characters were stuck in an endless loop of ‘I can’t trust him/her but I feel myself so drawn to them.’ Towards the end when it seemed like they were starting to come to an understanding it just fell back into that loop, undermining all the development that had previously happened.
An optimistic hero and the skeptical lady he is forced to marry make for an interesting romance. Trust issues and underlying treachery keep them from forging an awesome partnership. This part of an interesting series, but works well as a stand-alone story.
This is a great read, as you would expect from this author but also has a good twist that I didn't see coming. Highly recommended. Either as second in the series or as a stand alone book
I have just doscovered this author and am absolute thrilled with her work. Her plots are great and the writing is spot on. I just want to sit and read the entire book in one sitting.
Melissande is horrid!! She’s a liar and a snob. Moreover, the fact that she think she can be so obstinate and then slap him. She is digusting. I’m over her crap. 👎🏽👎🏽
SETTING: February 1102 Quinn de Sayerne has returned home. It has been 20 years since he left his home, being taken by his leige Lord de Tulley to be trained as a knight, then serving in the Crusades. Several of his men accompany him, willing to serve him for a while as reclaims his home. What he finds—rubble. Turning back to Lord de Tulley’s castle for respite from the winter, he finds himself the ‘victim’ of de Tulley’s plans to strengthen the defense of de Tulley’s borders— wedding Melissande, the young female ruling over a neighboring holding! Both Quinn and Melissande are displeased by having their hand forced in this way. However each so wants to rule over their own inheritance, that they give in rather than abandon their holding. Under such inauspicious beginnings, Melissande and Quinn marry, and thus begins the adventure! CRITIQUE: This is a delightful story, written with the richness I have come to expect of Ms. Delacroix. Quinn is the quintessential knight, honorable, strong, able to give his heart fully to one woman. He is humble enough to recognize areas Melisssande surpasses him and is willing to let her use her skills, rather than usurp her place. He takes control of her soldiers and quickly discerns wherein the problems might lie, and then takes action to root out the traitors. Melissande is the classic heroine, beautiful, but strong of mind. When faced with danger, she takes action and fights back! The storylines are intriguing and the reader keeps turning the page to see: will our couple come to an understanding? will they make peace with each other and trust each other? will the source of the raiders be uncovered and have peace restored to the good people of the land? Another excellent story from a beloved author who has perfected her craft.