Once a Knight

Knight #1

by Christina Dodd

Only desperation can make strong-willed Lady Alisoun hire Sir David of Radcliffe to protect her castle. He had once been a hero renowned for his brave daring and knightly skills. But few know what he has been doing these past years.

At George's Cross estate, Sir David does indeed discover danger afoot. But the danger that surprises him most is how quickly his own well-protected heart is falling to a fiery damsel who brings him to his knees. When put to the test, he must make a sacrifice. But will he lose his heart...or his life?

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Medieval, Medieval Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Upcoming:
— 6/30/26 TEACH THE TORCHES TO BURN: Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction #3 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

New and Now!
—MUCH ADO ABOUT MISTLETOE: Daughter of Montague Christmas novella https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— THUS WITH A KISS I DIE Daughter of Montague Historical Fiction #2
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA Historical Fiction Trade Paperback Once upon a time a young couple met and fell in love. You probably know that story, and how it ended (hint: badly). Only here’s the thing: That’s not how it ended at all…
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
— WELCOME TO GOTHIC: A Gothic novella in ebook (at last!) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— WHAT DREAMS MAY COME Daughter of Montague novella 1.5 "I’m the daughter of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, that Romeo and Juliet. No, they didn’t die in the tomb…" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
— GIRL ANONYMOUS “Crackling sexual chemistry and a few love scenes guaranteed to scorch readers’ fingers as they turn the pages." — ⭐️ Booklist
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Readers become writers, and Christina has always been a reader. Ultimately she discovered she liked to read romance best because the relationship between a man and a woman is always humorous. A woman wants world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants a Craftsman router, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will make his bald spot disappear.
When Christina’s first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?
Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before she was published. Now her suspense, paranormal, historical, and mystery novels have been translated into 30 languages and sold more than 15 million copies in print. Praised for her “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd” (Booklist), her award-winning books have landed on numerous Best of the Year lists and, much to her mother's delight, Dodd was once a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest, where her 700 lavender plants share the yard with her husband’s various “Big Projects,” including a treehouse, zipline, and their very own Stonehenge.
Enter Christina’s worlds and join her mailing list for humor, book news and entertainment (yes, she’s the proud author with the infamous three-armed cover) at christinadodd.com. For more information on A DAUGHTER OF FAIR VERONA, visit daughterofmontague.com. Her legions of fans know that when they pick up a Christina Dodd book, they'll find the story, "Wildly entertaining, wickedly witty!"
Christina is married to a man with all his hair and no Corvette, but many Craftsman tools.

(Source: http://www.christinadodd.com )

Reviews

[♥ Vonda M. Reid ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall Rating: 4.40
Action: 3.5 / Emotion: 5.0 / Romance: 4.5 / Sensuous: 1.0 / Suspense: 3.5 // Historical Flavor: 4.7 // Laughter: 12 / Giggle: 2 // Tears: 3 / Teary: 0

Once A Knight: 4.40:
Medieval Romances are a favorite. This book turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining book that takes readers back in time. It took a bit of time to get deeply immersed into this story because Dodd took readers on a slow, but steady path towards plotting developments and character introductions. Walking that path with Dodd was well worth the journey. Dodd wrote about complex people whose layers were peeled away so they could worm their way into the cockles of your heart.

Hero: 4.50:
Sir David of Radcliffe: a wonderfully original hero, in that he was not portrayed as the ultra handsome, incredibly roguish, suave and debonair, ultimate fighting machine that authors usually draw from the standard pool of heros. David was past his prime, had gray at his temples and on the morning that Alisoun found him he was laying hungover in an alehouse after drinking away his sorrows at losing his title as the King's Champion. The one thing that stood out the most about David, as Dodd pealed back the layers to reveal his willingness to acknowledge who he was, to accept that he had faults as well as strengths, was his ability to look at the bright side of life in spite of all the hard knocks dealt out to him.

Heroine: 3.50:
Lady Alisoun, countess of George's Cross: Dodd did such a fantastic job of developing the layers of Lady Alisoun's personality that if you looked closer, just as David did, Lady Alisoun was consumed with emotions . . . but she had so successfully learned how to suppress those emotions that nobody could even tell she had them. Alisoun fought back against the men ruling her world in the only way she knew how -- with a superior intellect, a sharp tongue (even though every word that issued from her mouth came out in the most even of tones), and a judicious use of her wealth.

Story Line: 4.00:
A unique twist on the Brave Knight saving the Damsel In Distress. This damsel was so accomplished that she was, basically, the CEO of her demesne. A master at suppressing her feelings, Lady Alisoun managed her estates and people with a firm hand, keeping things on an even keel, and performing her responsibilities without fail. Because she had a heightened sense of right and wrong, she agreed to protect her best friend and was, therefore, suffering the consequences. Enter the aged, but legendary knight. Who, rather than saving her people from the villain, decided to save them from the lack on joy permeating their lives.

Action: 3.50:
The story was slowly paced because daily medieval activities were featured instead of exciting actions scenes. Dodd included enough action to keep the characters enlivened.

Emotion: 5.00:
Dodd successfully developed an emotional connection between the reader and these complex protagonists and their supporting cast members to bring forth lots of laughter and moments of tears.

Romance: 4.50:
There was plenty of romance featured in the book, but it was incredibly subtle. Dodd forced the reader to look beneath Alisoun's cold, emotionless mask to find the woman that was yearning for love -- just as was her young charge, Lady Edlyn. David looked hard and found that love.

Suspense: 3.50:
Dodd left bold blatant hints about why Lady Alisoun and her villagers were endangered so that isn't want generated an aura of suspense in this story. Rather one kept reading to see if Alisoun was ever going to trust David with her secrets and her heart and how the entire scenario was going to play out. Because, naturally, eventually David and Alisoun were going to have to prove themselves strong and capable to defeat the bad guy.

Sensuous: 1.00:
An older romance (published in 1996). Thus, the sensuality and heat was minimal during the rare scenes when David and Alisoun made love.

Historical Flavor: 4.70:
Dodd did a great job taking the reader back in time. She included plenty of historical details about the villagers and their lifestyles and painted a realistic picture of how the men and women of 1252 England comported themselves. No glaring errors of modernistic language or actions invaded the story.

Secondary Characters: 3.50:
Although the secondary characters were vital to the telling of this story, they were not as richly developed as one could have hoped. The secondary characters that were the most entertaining and memorable were: {1} Eudo, the eleven year old page assigned to be David's squire while at George's Cross; {2} Bertrade "Bert" of Radcliffe, David's beloved daughter; and {3} King Louis, David's incredibly astute and strong-willed warhorse. Additional secondary characters included: {1} Sir Walter, the steward of George's Cross; {2} Lady Edlyn, the young lady Alisoun was fostering; {3} Philippa, Alisoun's ladies maid; {4} Hugh de Florisoun, a squire training for knighthood; {5} Ivo, Alisoun's man-at-arms; {6} Gunnewatte, Alisoun's man-at-arms; {7} Sir Guy of Archers, David's comrade; and {8j} Osbern, duke of Framlingford, the king's cousin.

A more in-depth, detailed, spoiler-ridden review of Once A Knight appears at Wolf Bear Does Books.

[Christa Schönmann Abbühl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that made me into a romance reader all those years ago.
I enjoyed the first two thirds slowly, in bits and pieces, but when I reached the last part, I could not stop myself from reading until I was through.

[Lucija · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bljuv.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure I'd like this book after reading the reviews and though I understand some of the criticism I have a different take on it.

Sir David is a real hero. A man with flaws but a true heart. He is honest with himself. He is not pretty boy handsome and wears many scars, a ruggedly handsome man. Lady Alisoun has learned to control her behavior, her reflexes and emotions. She's almost robotic. It is not explained, or I missed it, how she became this way although there were some hints about receiving affirmation from her parents when she behaved stoically. It was also not explained, or I missed it, how it is she's a widowed virgin. She was a difficult character to love but she was a steadfast friend to many. I felt she did not value herself except as a person fulfilling a duty. I was disappointed in her for not trusting David with her secrets. It was out of character since in every other way she seemed to be courageous at facing difficult situations.

The ending was mellow instead of climatic. He teaches her that love is accepting both the things you like about someone and the things you don't. Love is also about forgiveness.

I liked the journal type writings of the page/squire. He added detail to the story in an entertaining way. King Louis, Sir David's destrier, also supplied much needed humor.

I will remember the characters for quite awhile though I don't know if I'll ever reread it.

[Liliflaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

prelepo

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Setting: Medieval England, Northumbria, 1252; Sybil’s alehouse; George’s Cross; great hall of Lancaster Castle; Radcliffe Castle;

Theme: redemption

Characters:
Legendary Sir David of Radcliffe: legendary, brave knight, intelligent, thoughtful man; king’s first knight for jumping in when king attacked and defending the king – and defended his position for many years; was married as a reward, gained a castle and a wife who wanted nothing to do with him – and invested all he was into the castle and his daughter; but wife died, and 2 years of drought left the castle in great need; and though not a practiced knight, he returned to court – where he trounced the young ones, but was defeated by the experienced; after 1st loss, drowned his sorrows in the local tavern;

Louis: David’s legendary war horse; David talks to him like a person, and he seems to understand;

Bertrade ‘Bert’: David’s daughter; loved; independent; indulged; a bit spoiled; loves a challenge;

Alisoun, countess of George’s Cross: though a widow, husband died before consummating marriage – so a virgin widow; trained to run a lord’s lands – her lands – without emotion, but with kindness and firmness; she does an excellent job of caring for her lands, and is quite wealthy; independent, and does not want to marry; takes in fosters – both boys to one day be squire and knight, and young ladies to be ladies;

Sir Walter: head of defense of George’s Cross; like a father to Alisoun, but disagrees with the taking in of Heath, and somewhat undermining of her;

Heath: chief ladies’ maid; she and Alisoun fostered together as children, and are like sisters; she is married to a brute, and ran to Alisoun when she found herself pregnant and almost beat to death… Alisoun made a grave for her friend and baby, and a month later has a new ladies’ maid; she is raising her daughter while under Alisoun’s care;

Eudo: David’s squire assigned by Alisoun, who realizes Eudo needs David’s insight and guidance; he tells some of the story, and takes on the task of educating David on how to woo Alisoun (do the right thing, take a bath once a week without being told, etc);

Osbern, duke of Framlingford: Heath’s cruel husband; he knows Alisoun is hiding her, and is determined to take her down; defeated David and is 1st knight;

King Henry: selfish, looking for political expediency; can’t find a man to marry Alisoun, though wants better access to her wealth;

Summary:
Alisoun is in control… she decides she needs legendary Sir David to scare away threats to Heath… and it works; Sir David sees her wealth, sees her management and decides they must marry; and though he does not have the knightly skills any longer, nor the youth, he works to be worthy of her… and he sees she is divorced from her emotions, and reveals them to her… bit by bit, kiss by kiss;

She withholds her dearest secret about Heath, though she tells him all else – and they get to be friends, and then to be lovers… He manages her into marriage, and takes her to his home to keep her safe…and to meet his daughter some funny scenes as two strong willed females face off… and like Opie and Aunt Bea, daughter gives in first, realizing Alisoun needs her…

But then Framlingford shows up… threatens his daughter, and Heath turns herself over to him… and Alisoun leaves, as David did not (could not) defend her friend… and after a month, both decide they must confront Framlingford… and David fights him honorably, and defeats him, with Alisoun looking on… and they ride off into the sunset (with Heath and infant) to live happily ever after.

Memorable scenes:
When faced with young Eudo as his squire: “He also knew Alisoun had sent the lad tohim for a reason, and he had faith in her judgment. He just needed to discover that reason.”

“I just thought that since I had to tell you you were with child, I might also have to tell you you were in love with me.”

[Natasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book upholds the wonderful writing style of the author, Christina Dodd. Touching beautiful well written, humorous, everything all rolled into one.

[Estarianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I really didn't like the heroine, I enjoyed this book well enough up to the climax scene. For me, the whole book fell apart and I lost interest in reading it at that point.

First, it was hardly a great reveal... the "secret" was beyond obvious from the first chapter.

Second, the plot conveniently forgets that the hero has a daughter, that the villain has threatened her, and makes out that his reason for not facing up against the villain is purely material. Basically, because the hero's wife, the aforementioned unlikeable heroine, originally hired him to protect her from unknown foes, he is without honor if he doesn't throw himself into the ring with all comers... even if he perceives his chances of losing his life and leaving his children orphaned is high. Oh, this to protect a woman and child that are not his.

So when the threatened woman decides on her own to accept the danger and return to the villain rather than risk her friends, and the hero accepts this, the cranky heroine walks out on him because he is "no longer of any use to her." And still, HE is the one lacking honor. Plus she broke a little girl's heart.

Yeah, I gave up at that point. I wasn't interested in seeing him grovel to that bitch. Seriously.

[_inbetween_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my favourite of Dodd's heroes. Although hers were all appealing so far, this one is missing a finger, a toe and an earlobe and has seriously disfigured skin on his thin frame. He's an older knight and in the cups since he just lost his title as champion. She's a wealthy noble castle + land owner. He's so well written that when he does something at the end that goes against what she fought for (rightly so), there are so many intricate, logical motives and excellent reasons that one cannot help but understand and feel with him. Actually it's the heroine whose relation to children were slightly annoying (only to me, very tame and sensible in Dodd compared to others) and whose action at the very end seems a bit dumb to me, and I wished we'd have seen her demonstrate something to him. I actually am too fond of this David - and have the version with the ugliest cover ever, consisting only of a close-up of a male face I tried hard not to picture while reading of the old shambling errant knight that I heart.

[Elektragedia · Rating 4 out of 5]

soy mala con las historia medievales, pero este gusto, aquí hay aseo, y las normas se pierden un poco por culpa de Bert ame a esa chiquita.

a pesar de ser un libro tan viejo, está bien hecho, no hay vacíos y está súper bien traducido

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally enjoy Christina Dodd's books, but this one took me a really long time to finish. I had trouble getting invested in the characters, especially David. I liked Alisoun, her quiet calm and organization. I liked how she was able to defy the king by running off all of the suitors he picked out for her. I even liked her loyalty, even though it almost got her killed. I knew Phillipa was part of the reason why she needed protection, I just didn't know who she needed protection from. And I understood her desire to keep the secret, even from David. I had a hard time getting invested in their love story. We only got bits of the Phillipa and Guy love story, but I liked it better than Alisoun and Davids. I was glad when she decided to go get Phillipa back after her abusive husband found her and was glad that she didn't have to because David got out of his drunken stupor long enough to go do it. I was also glad that Alisoun got to see David save Phillipa, even though at the time we though she was dead. While I was not super enjoying this book I plan to read more from this series; I'm counting this as an aberration.

[Sue Gosland]

I started reading this on Friday, finished it yesterday, and the more I read, the more I began to understand Sir David and Lady Alisoun. They were both keeping secrets, they were both not who the other thought, but they both were able to reach something in the other that was missing in themselves. They were, in the end, a perfect match. I loved it, the way they both appeared so unlovable and cold on her part, and such a lush and wastrel on his part. She was the virgin widow, he was a legendary mercenary. She held everything together with sheer will, he was adjusting to his first loss in years. But he had what she needed, and she gave him something he knew he was missing. It was wonderful.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished the book but I’m still thinking “What did I just read?” Lady Alisoun was so stiff, unbending, cold, contained, showed NO emotion, and was highly unlikeable or relatable. Sir David was crude and lacking refinement when we first met him but he evolved and got better. You grew to like and appreciate David, NOT Alisoun. Then the secret she kept thoughtlessly put David and his DAUGHTER at extreme risk and the way Alisoun used him for her benefit was awful. I don’t like that David gave Osborn what he wanted but at the same time I hated how quickly Alisoun would throw David and his daughter into the fire; how disposable she found him. And in the end David had to TELL Alisoun how she felt because she still didn’t know … yeah, NO THANKS!

[20012206 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es malo, no sé si es la traduccion o que el libro en si es malo, pero porque esta mal escrito, porque la idea y las cosas que pasan son interesantes, sino que esta pesado y pasa de un tema a otro sin ninguna conexion que yo personalmente quede loca

Davidl es un guerrero que no quiere serlo pero Alisoun necesita uno que lo ayude para proteger a su pueblo. Poco a poco él se va enamorando, al principio guiado por el interes y después no sabemos como pero se enamora, y ella nos se enamora porque él le diga

No sé, hubo algo con estos personajes con los que sencillamente no hice click, unas lastima

[Cathy Coyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christina Dodd never fails to give hours of reading pleasure. Raves for Once a Knight!
our Hero Knight is hired by the straight Lace no nonsense Lady Alisoun to protect her. The once Kings champion Sir David of Radcliffe see through the hard exterior of the beautiful lady her wants to tame. His quirky nature and her need to control make this novel a delightful read. The rolls are reversed when it comes to who is the harden warrior in this lovely story. The hero and heroin are complete opposites but are attracted by a force of nature called love! Oh how I love a good Book 💖

[Morena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved David. I think this author had him fleshed out down to his missing pinkie. Perfect. He and his horse and squire deserve another book, or a rewrite where the plot makes sense and the rest of the characters feel real like David.
We were told the heroine was wise but good God several times she acted like a barby doll on shrooms because the author needed things to happen in certain ill conceived way. The ending was ridiculous. But I won't go into that or the stupid plotting and the ditzy characters, I'll just say that David was wasted on this book.

[Susan Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story about Lady Alisoun, who is risks her life to protect her friend. She soon realizes she needs the help of a superior knight to help keep her castle, herself and her loved ones safe.
Sir David, suffering financially due to drought and emotionally due to being beaten in a tournament for the first time in his life, does not feel he's the ideal choice but Lady Alisoun's promice of gold convinces him to come to her aid.
I deleted one star because Alisoun kept the identity of the villain from David, which made no sense to me.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this book dragged for me. I wanted to like it. I love the genre, I love the concept, but it just dragged trying to get through the will they/won't they. While I understand the romance tropes, this book just seemed to get lost in the mire. The conflict between the hero and heroine was frustrating - there didn't seem to be a strong reason for WHY they wouldn't get together, other than being obstinate. Not the best romance novel I've ever read.

[Marina Albaladejo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historia de amor de ‘haters to lovers’ con una intriga en el castillo. Toque erótico clásico de C. Dodd siempre muy bien planteado y explicado. Está entretenido, empieza desde el punto de vista del escudero y luego va cambiando entre el caballero y la dama del castillo, que es una mujer de armas tomar. Sus personalidades fuera de lo normal en esa época es algo a denotar positivo. Un buen pasatiempo amoroso de romance clásico para el verano.

[Jimena Bermolen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un caballero legendario, que ya había pasado sus mejores años, sucio borracho y derrotado es contratado por un viuda rica y fría para que la proteja de un paciente enemigo que la acechaba en sombras.
La historia de un romance de esos que narraban los trovadores. El antihéroe perfecto, que a pesar de caer, siempre se levanta, y no se rinde ante ningún desafío.
Esta muy bien escrito, tiene partes y diálogos muy graciosos. La recomiendo.

[TinaMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

David is a legendary knight, who's struggling to keep his people alive due to drought and he lost a skirmish. He's lost faith in himself until Lady Alisoun comes to hire him to protect her people. She's very self contained and hard to connect with, but David decides he wants to see what's under her calm façade.

[Linda George · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Christina Dodd historical romance has been sitting on my to read shelf for over twenty years and I finally picked it up. It was a fun, poignant read about a knight who was once the champion of the country. He is hired to protect a Lady and her lands and people. Their attraction is unexpected and faces many obstacles.

[Haru.ka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo compré porque tenía curiosidad por el tipo de libros en los que aparece la pareja abrazandose apasionadamente y me ha gustado más de lo que esperaba. Es muy entretenido, divertido, y me he emocionado en más de una ocasión por los momentos que comparten los protagonistas. El inicio es un poco pesado pero según avanza la trama van pasando más cosas y se pone más interesante.

[Cornelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es ist schon eine Weile her, seit ich das Buch las. Ich kann mich aber erinnern, dass es mehr versprach als halten konnte. Vor allem in der Mitte zieht es sich in die Länge und mein Interesse ließ nach.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book at a second hand store some years ago but only now read it. It touched my heart and it is the book I needed to read at this time in my life. It is a truly wonderful story about great love.

[Linda Winner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

Once a knight is enough! I read this years ago and when I came across the paper back I had to buy the ebook and re-read it. Definitely worth the $’s and the effort. I still love this story!

[Cathleen Bunnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words of praise!

In other words, this is a very good and much interesting story. It was well written and comes with a different light for telling a story of love and acknowledgement. First time reading this author and ready to read book 2.

[Graciela Rizo · Rating 3 out of 5]

primer libro de una saga, está bastante bien, es romántico pero no pasteloso, la época en la que se desarrollan los hechos me gusta bastante,considero que es una historia que abre los caminos a la siguiente.

[Carroll McQuerrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful read

Completely enjoyed this book. I recommend it to and if you are looking for something to binge read. Good read.

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started so bad that I contemplated not finishing it. But I pushed through and found out that the rest is decent. Not great, amazing or fantastic it is just decent. I expected more.