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Medieval Brides #4
Todo un caballero
Lucy estaba dispuesta a cualquier cosa con tal de escapar del convento en el que vivía desde hacía años. Pero jamás habría imaginado que el mundo le reservase tantos peligros... y tanto deseo. Sir Alexander Breton la había ayudado cientos de veces y había despertado en ella unas ansias que su honor nunca le permitiría saciar.
El viudo Alexander Breton había elegido las cruzadas para huir del dolor. De hecho, en cuanto cumpliera con aquella misión, tenía planeado tomar los votos monásticos. Pero el destino quiso que encontrara a Lucy, una valiente y bella inocente que lo necesitaba...
El viudo Alexander Breton había elegido las cruzadas para huir del dolor. De hecho, en cuanto cumpliera con aquella misión, tenía planeado tomar los votos monásticos. Pero el destino quiso que encontrara a Lucy, una valiente y bella inocente que lo necesitaba...
Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2003
21 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Margo Maguire
63 books146 followersAs a nice, sane break from the drama and fast pace of working as a registered nurse in an intensive care unit, Margo Maguire returned to college to study history, and fell in love. Writing about the historical characters she encountered in her classes was a good way to unwind from a crazy day in the unit. She soon started creating her own fictional characters and putting them into historical settings.
Margo is the author of twenty historical romance novels. Her books have been published in numerous languages, and have even come out in Japan as manga—animated books. She is the mother of three grown children and lives with her scientist husband in southern Michigan.
Margo is the author of twenty historical romance novels. Her books have been published in numerous languages, and have even come out in Japan as manga—animated books. She is the mother of three grown children and lives with her scientist husband in southern Michigan.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 31, 2022
Really enjoyed this. A knight ready to take his vows as a monk but meets a girl raised by nuns and protects her. He is on the run with a Mandylion, a shroud of Turin like relic and is being chased by black knights. He lost his wife and sun three years prior and never thought to love again but she makes him want again. She has a limp and I loved her spunk. He pushed her away alot because he didn't want to love another woman. The ending and epilogue were truly miraculous. it just ended quite abruptly and a little rushed. Very sweet story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. It's a great story about a knight who is mourning the death of his wife and child, and a young woman who has been left alone in the world, subsequent to the death of her family. This is the third book I've read by this author, and IMO, it's just about as good as the others I've read...although, Bride Of The Isle (Mills & Boon Historical) still remains my favorite. The story that unfolds in THE VIRTUOUS KNIGHT is romantic, intriguing, and touchingly sweet. The protagonists, Sir Alexander and Lady Lucy Kendal, are so well drawn that they seemed almost like real people. I connected with them, and felt empathy for both as they each struggled with their difficulties.
Sir Alexander Breton has been wracked with grief for three years, ever since the premature death of his wife and young son. In his sorrow, he decides to dedicate his life to God and become a monk. But, before he can take his vows, Alex must fulfill a promise he made to a dying friend, to deliver a valuable, sacred relic into the care of his friend's brother for safekeeping. Lucy Kendal, on the other hand, has been living in an abbey for thirteen years, and although she has no other real options, she has no interest in taking her vows to become a nun. After the death of her parents, and then her brothers, the sickly twelve year old was relegated to an abbey by her guardian, where she was expected to die. Now thirteen years later, Lucy is hearty, hale, and lonely, living the restrictive life of a novice. Her days are filled with hard work, silence, and prayer, all while she is constantly reminded by the Abbess that her prospects for marriage are nill as no man would deign to take a "cripple" to wife.
Despite her lame leg and lack of dowry, Lucy still harbors dreams of being a wife and mother--although she realizes the impossibility of her dream ever being realized. While traveling with a group of nuns to a new abbey, Lucy is involved in a wagon accident, which leaves her the sole survivor. Sir Alex, traveling to deliver the sacred relic to his friend's brother, witnesses the accident and comes to Lucy's aid. The sexual attraction Alex feels for Lucy is instant, strong, and completely unwelcome! Alex is set on his path to become a monk and attraction to women has no place in his life. Try as he might, however, he can't seem to let Lucy go, even while he thinks that he wants nothing more than to be rid of her. He wants to see Lucy safely to the abbey, but Lucy is having none of it. She is determined to grab her freedom and go out into "The World." The sweet darling; however, has absolutely no idea how to survive in the cold, harsh world and Alex finds himself rescuing her from one disaster after another. Lucy senses, what she believes to be, Alex's dislike for her, and tries to go her separate way. But Alex is resolved to see her safely settled, as he is deeply concerned for her safety.
Soon Lucy is caught up in the danger that plagues Alex, as there are men who are after the sacred relic. Eventually, the couple get married, to keep Lucy safe--so Alex tells himself. How the couple outwit the men who pursue them and achieve their HEA makes for a riveting story. As wonderful as the story was, I do have one complaint (or maybe observation would be a better description.) I think Alex's determination to follow through on his plan to become a monk went on for a bit too long. It's not until around 90% into the story that he realizes his love for Lucy and the fact that leaving her is out of the question. Right up until then, despite the fact that they were married, and engaging in marital relations, Alex was indecisive about what he was going to do with Lucy...was he going to buy her a house and leave funds to take care of her, or maybe leave her in the care of his brother?
IMO, once Alex married Lucy he should've put aside his plans to become a monk, even if only reluctantly. This is especially true in light of the fact that the two were having sex. I mean what was he going to do, abandon her to his brother's care even if she was with child? I could understand his still mourning his family--the entire story takes place over a two to three week period after all, and that isn't that long of a period to go from `I'm going to devote my life to God in memory of my late family, to I'm so in love with this new woman.' But, IMO, the story would have played better had he put aside his plan to become a monk, even while he felt guilty about remarrying and possibly starting a new family. His constant veering between the different options of what to do with Lucy was starting to become tiresome, when, thankfully, he finally realized that he loved her and could not leave her. I have to say though, that if prolonged mourning of a dead spouse was a pet peeve of mine, I probably would have been pulling out my hair by the time I got to that part of the story! LOL
This one tiny flaw aside, I thought this was a fantastic story. If I could I would give it 4 ½ stars. As it is, I rated up because, IMO, it is closer to a 5 star read than a 4 star one. FYI, this is not a clean romance. There are a couple of loves scenes that are descriptive, although they are not overly graphic, nor do they include the use of any crude language. Happy reading!
Sir Alexander Breton has been wracked with grief for three years, ever since the premature death of his wife and young son. In his sorrow, he decides to dedicate his life to God and become a monk. But, before he can take his vows, Alex must fulfill a promise he made to a dying friend, to deliver a valuable, sacred relic into the care of his friend's brother for safekeeping. Lucy Kendal, on the other hand, has been living in an abbey for thirteen years, and although she has no other real options, she has no interest in taking her vows to become a nun. After the death of her parents, and then her brothers, the sickly twelve year old was relegated to an abbey by her guardian, where she was expected to die. Now thirteen years later, Lucy is hearty, hale, and lonely, living the restrictive life of a novice. Her days are filled with hard work, silence, and prayer, all while she is constantly reminded by the Abbess that her prospects for marriage are nill as no man would deign to take a "cripple" to wife.
Despite her lame leg and lack of dowry, Lucy still harbors dreams of being a wife and mother--although she realizes the impossibility of her dream ever being realized. While traveling with a group of nuns to a new abbey, Lucy is involved in a wagon accident, which leaves her the sole survivor. Sir Alex, traveling to deliver the sacred relic to his friend's brother, witnesses the accident and comes to Lucy's aid. The sexual attraction Alex feels for Lucy is instant, strong, and completely unwelcome! Alex is set on his path to become a monk and attraction to women has no place in his life. Try as he might, however, he can't seem to let Lucy go, even while he thinks that he wants nothing more than to be rid of her. He wants to see Lucy safely to the abbey, but Lucy is having none of it. She is determined to grab her freedom and go out into "The World." The sweet darling; however, has absolutely no idea how to survive in the cold, harsh world and Alex finds himself rescuing her from one disaster after another. Lucy senses, what she believes to be, Alex's dislike for her, and tries to go her separate way. But Alex is resolved to see her safely settled, as he is deeply concerned for her safety.
Soon Lucy is caught up in the danger that plagues Alex, as there are men who are after the sacred relic. Eventually, the couple get married, to keep Lucy safe--so Alex tells himself. How the couple outwit the men who pursue them and achieve their HEA makes for a riveting story. As wonderful as the story was, I do have one complaint (or maybe observation would be a better description.) I think Alex's determination to follow through on his plan to become a monk went on for a bit too long. It's not until around 90% into the story that he realizes his love for Lucy and the fact that leaving her is out of the question. Right up until then, despite the fact that they were married, and engaging in marital relations, Alex was indecisive about what he was going to do with Lucy...was he going to buy her a house and leave funds to take care of her, or maybe leave her in the care of his brother?
IMO, once Alex married Lucy he should've put aside his plans to become a monk, even if only reluctantly. This is especially true in light of the fact that the two were having sex. I mean what was he going to do, abandon her to his brother's care even if she was with child? I could understand his still mourning his family--the entire story takes place over a two to three week period after all, and that isn't that long of a period to go from `I'm going to devote my life to God in memory of my late family, to I'm so in love with this new woman.' But, IMO, the story would have played better had he put aside his plan to become a monk, even while he felt guilty about remarrying and possibly starting a new family. His constant veering between the different options of what to do with Lucy was starting to become tiresome, when, thankfully, he finally realized that he loved her and could not leave her. I have to say though, that if prolonged mourning of a dead spouse was a pet peeve of mine, I probably would have been pulling out my hair by the time I got to that part of the story! LOL
This one tiny flaw aside, I thought this was a fantastic story. If I could I would give it 4 ½ stars. As it is, I rated up because, IMO, it is closer to a 5 star read than a 4 star one. FYI, this is not a clean romance. There are a couple of loves scenes that are descriptive, although they are not overly graphic, nor do they include the use of any crude language. Happy reading!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2011
This story read as a modern writer writing about a historic time but had none of the feel for the time period. Her overuse of the words 'twas and 'twould was driving me crazy. The hero was interesting but his repetition of his situation was mentioned throughout the book and got old really fast. The heroine's lame leg was mentioned over and over again as well. I got it, move on.
Some of the story was pretty interesting but, I don't know, just felt 'simple' to me. Hard to explain. Like the author didn't go into enough depth or something. I did finish it so obviously it kept my interest enough but I felt this could have had and been more. Not sure I'll pick up another by this author.
Some of the story was pretty interesting but, I don't know, just felt 'simple' to me. Hard to explain. Like the author didn't go into enough depth or something. I did finish it so obviously it kept my interest enough but I felt this could have had and been more. Not sure I'll pick up another by this author.
August 1, 2012
Definitely one of my favorite historical novels so far. Maybe it was because of how long it took to get hot and steamy and when it finally happened, the scenes were well written, believable and incredibly hot ;) Lucy's total innocence was believable, right up to believing that lying next to a man gave her a chance of having his child. The danger seemed real too, and I wondered when they would get their happy ending. I hope to read more of this genre in the future, but I wonder if any Harlequin novel could be as good as this one!
October 4, 2020
What a HORRIBLE book!
The massacre of the nuns at the hands of two bloodthirsty men, the only brother she has abandons her for his religious beliefs, her cousin leaves her to die in a convent and the man who marries her and has sex with her for her first time he does everything moved by pity or lust while he still thinking about his plans to become a friar and his late wife and son ...
Poor Lucy, that poor woman is nothing more than a hindrance to others !!!
Sorry but I wouldn't recommend this book neither my enemy!!!
Inclusive... I love using emoticons to graph my words, but this short novel has taken away even my desire to use them.
PS: When Alexander thinks Lucy could be pregnant... No words to describe that... Jesus... That scene.
The massacre of the nuns at the hands of two bloodthirsty men, the only brother she has abandons her for his religious beliefs, her cousin leaves her to die in a convent and the man who marries her and has sex with her for her first time he does everything moved by pity or lust while he still thinking about his plans to become a friar and his late wife and son ...
Poor Lucy, that poor woman is nothing more than a hindrance to others !!!
Sorry but I wouldn't recommend this book neither my enemy!!!
Inclusive... I love using emoticons to graph my words, but this short novel has taken away even my desire to use them.
PS: When Alexander thinks Lucy could be pregnant... No words to describe that... Jesus... That scene.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2018
Steamy little book with the usual miscommunications and doubt that make a romance like this explosive and satisfying in the end. Great atmosphere and characterization, the historical context works, and a secret that was under the reader’s nose all the time is fantastically revealed in the final pages.
September 14, 2019
I love this book. Very sweet and romantic.
September 11, 2021
enjoyed this but I am certain that I had read it before many years ago or perhaps saw a movie of it
February 25, 2025
3.5 Easy Harlequin novel to relaxing read in the middle of winter.
August 25, 2024
not a very virtuous knight
March 20, 2008
This was an enjoyable read. I could not help but root for Lucy to win Sir Alexander's heart.
May 16, 2010
I enjoyed this book.
December 26, 2011
Enjoyed the book and the writer's other books
February 12, 2014
3.5 estrelas.
January 15, 2015
una hermosa historia
May 22, 2011
This is one of my all time favorite harlequin books.
February 21, 2012
i liked it but it was kind of slow
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews