When her elderly husband dies, Lady Katherine fakes her own death and disappears into the forest with others escaping the brutish new lord. Determined to protect her people, she knocks the wrong man senseless. But Lord Henry isn’t an enemy, he’s the brother of her childhood friend. Although his tender confidence tempts her, she’s bound by duty.
Henry of Chauvere has found the one lady he wants for his own, never mind she’s tied him hand and foot. When he learns the king has ordered her to wed Stonehill’s ruthless new master, he insists Kate seek haven with his sister. But she won’t desert her friends. Henry vows to solve her problem, provided he catches a traitor before the threat from Kate’s past catches her.
When a daring rescue compels Henry and Kate to join forces, their attraction grows into love. If only duty didn’t drive them apart.
A wonderful, romantic adventure from beginning to end! Author Barbara Bettis has a gift for transporting readers to another time and place – in this case, a medieval forest! I could see, smell, feel the trees all around me as the story unfolded.
Lady Katherine and Sir Henry have one of the sweetest relationships I’ve ever read. Although they’ve known each other since childhood, they haven’t seen each other in years. Initially, they don’t even recognize each other, but once they do, their mutual respect and gentle familiarity, born of childhood memories, is striking. It doesn’t take long for their feelings to grow into mutual trust and love.
But now's not the time for romance. They have real problems to deal with. Lady Katherine, a widow, is believed to be dead. She’s gone into hiding to save her people from the cruel tyrant who would wed her for her estate.
Meanwhile, Sir Henry, home from the crusades, searches for a traitor who has stolen his identity.
No one is safe. It’s a good thing they have Kate’s friends, her “merry men”, to help them. Although Kate and Henry love each other, they are too noble to put their own wants and needs above duty. They have hard choices to make and villains to conquer before they can think of their own happy ending.
With beautiful, evocative descriptions and wonderful, loveable characters, The Lady of the Forest is a satisfying, absorbing, romantic read. Five stars!
This book was entertaining I thoroughly enjoyed it I thoroughly recommend this to other people I love that I had a happy ending I hope to read more by this author
Kate is forced to flee to the forest to protect herself from another marriage and her people. Lord Henry bears the brunt of her attack on the wrong person as she discovers an old friend. He sweeps in to find the answer to her dilemma and find a true love. This is from the Knights of Destiny series and really enjoyed this cast of characters. From the first page was swept back to medieval times immersed in this tale of right and wrong. Find a comfortable seat since you won't want to put this one down.
Ebook from Netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.
I loved The Lady in the Forest! If you've read other books by Ms. Bettis you'll already be familiar with the names of Katherine and Henry...but to actually get to read their story was a real treat! Katherine is brave and fearless (just the way I like my heroines to be) and Henry is the yummy type of hero I've grown to love in Ms. Bettis' stories!
This one shouldn't be missed! And if you've looking to give Ms. Bettis' writing a try, this could be a great starting point! You won't be disappointed!
I highly recommend this book. It had me at the edge of my seat, I couldn't put the book down. Great characters, well written story line. It's a must read.
A great story of children growing up together and meeting again years later. Kate of Glenmore Manor has lost her parents and her husband. But Sir Mortimer is an evil and cruel man. He has come to claim her and her land. But she was not home and he thinks she is dead. So she dresses like a boy to help protect her people. Lord Henry of Chauvere has fought with Richard when he was set upon just after his release Lord Henry was there to protect him. He is jumped upon by Kate because she did not outright recognize him. The characters are just as you would imagine the hero's and heroine's, would be portrayed. The plot was well written and kept your attention. It is a lovely story and would love to read her next one. I received this ARC free and voluntarily reviewed it.
"He was a fine specimen of a knight. Pity he had to die." - From the moment I read that opening line, I knew I was in for a fun ride. THE LADY OF THE FOREST is the love story of Lady Katherine of Stonehill Castle and Henry, Baron of Chauvere. Theirs is a perfect match, but the evil Sir Mortimer stands in their way. If you like medieval romance, you'll enjoy the twists and turns in this one. A good read!
Here is a wonderful story by Barbara Bettie. You will never know what may happen in a forest. Lady Katerine thought Lord Henry was someone else. She realized she made a mistake and how they fell in love. The story seemed like it was too short because I hated the story to end. I hope you will enjoy reading this story as much as I did.
A quick, entertaining read! Enough historical touches to ground the reader alongside engaging characters. I really enjoyed the secondary characters as well.
A satisfying and nicely-written medieval romance. I read it in one sitting--had to see what happened :) Elegant description, well-drawn characters, and engaging plot. Ms Bettis clearly knows what she's doing. She demonstrates her historical acumen without being dull--not dull at all, in fact--and creates an independent female protagonist while remaining true to the time period. Excellent tone, pace, dialogue--just a great read all the way 'round.
With a female Robin Hood running from the Sheriff of Nottingham type feel/dialect, this was a quick, entertaining read for the most part. I did start to drift away towards the end impatient to have the whole evil villain theme brought to a close. The main couple are not intimate until almost the end, and their smexy union is brief and done in a rather proper English sounding way. In fact, the writing pretty much stayed consistently overly English, with just a little brogue here and there, mostly by the locals. For me personally, that made the writing felt stilted at times.
Overall, you pretty much get what the synopsis promises. A dashing knight hero determined to save his lady love from a distressful situation, whom he has only known for a few days. A selfless woman who can pretty much take care of herself but longs to be cared for. If you want a sweet, uncomplicated, not overly steamy romantic read during this particular time period where chasing one bad guy and avoiding another is the central plot, you might want to consider this one.
Title: The Lady of the Forest, Series: Knights of Destiny (Book 1), Author: Barbara Bettis, Pages: 138, standalone, no cheating, no OW/OM drama, no love triangle, some violence, widow heroine was married to much older man, romance safe.
(This review is based on a free advanced reader copy provided via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased, fair review. No type of compensation was given to the reviewer. There is no relationship/affiliation between the reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)
Two Types of Knights. The new master at Stonehill Castle believes Lady Katherine dead. That suits the widow just fine. She prefers living as the boy Cade in the forest and offering small comforts to her people over marriage to the stranger. Lord Henry seeks a traitor. His plans go awry as he follows his prey toward Stonehill. He’s ambushed, by Cade/Katherine. Freed by her, he’s imprisoned by the unhonorable knight in charge at Stonehill as an imposter. Cade and her small, loyal band enable Lord Henry’s escape. Then they struggle to stay one step ahead of the traitor and his allies. Ms. Bettis demonstrates her skill weaving a plot full of twists and turns. From the very first scene I was cheering for the triumph of honor and love.