El caballero de mis sueños

de Piaget #7

by Lynn Kurland, Cristina Pages Boune (Translator)

Jessica Blakely ha tomado, una vez más, una decisión errónea y ha aceptado pasar un mes de sus vacaciones en la maravillosa casa victoriana de Lord Henry de Galtres, un anfitrión exquisito, pero a quien no soporta.

La vida de Jessica parece estar construida a partir de una sucesión de errores, tantos que ha acabado por ser una profesora universitaria respetada y una compositora de éxito, cuando lo único por lo que siempre ha suspirado es por la magia del amor verdadero. Algo que siempre parece escapársele.

UN CABALLERO MEDIEVAL…

Richard de Galtres no acaba de entender muy bien la forma de hablar de esa joven desconocida que se ha cruzado en su cacería. Pero sí advierte que es capaz de despertar en él sentimientos que nunca pensó albergar hacia nadie. Al menos no desde que la ira de su padre alejó de su corazón cualquier atisbo de ternura. Sin embargo, para un caballero al que la vida sólo ha deparado guerras y muerte, el amor podría ser un riesgo más que una bendición. Y algo le dice que el misterio que rodea a esa joven podría ser aún más peligroso que cualquiera de sus cruentas batallas.

UNA DAMA MODERNA…

Es cierto que Jessica Blakely lleva años soñando con la aparición de un caballero que la rescate de su monótona existencia, pero ese hombre con el rostro surcado por una gran cicatriz y de maneras bruscas que parece haberle tomado bajo su protección no coincide exactamente con sus sueños. ¿O tal vez sí? ¿No es verdad que su mera presencia basta para despertar en ella emociones hasta ahora desconocidas? ¿No irá a enamorarse ahora de un lord que vive en el año de gracia de 1260? Adaptarse a las reglas del siglo XIII no parece tarea fácil, pero si se deja arrastrar por la pasión que siente ante Richard de Galtres tal vez ya no pueda volver a recorrer la enorme distancia que le separa de su verdadero mundo.

Genres: Romance, Time Travel, Historical Romance, Historical, Medieval, Fantasy, Time Travel Romance

370 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

Lynn began her writing career at the tender age of five with a series of illustrated novellas entitled Clinton’s Troubles in which the compelling hero found himself in all sorts of . . . well, trouble. She was living in Hawaii at the time and the scope for her imagination (poisoned fish, tropical cliffs, large spiders) was great and poor Clinton bore the brunt of it. After returning to the mainland, her writing gave way to training in classical music and Clinton, who had been felled with arrows, eaten by fish and sent tumbling off cars, was put aside for operatic heroes in tights.

Somehow during high school, in between bouts of Verdi and Rossini, she managed to find time to submerge herself in equal parts Tolkien, Barbara Cartland and Mad Magazine. During college, a chance encounter with a large library stack of romances left her hooked, gave her the courage to put pen to paper herself, and finally satisfied that need for a little bit of fantasy with a whole lot of romance!

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler Alert!

This is the first book I've read by Lynn Kurland. I do enjoy romance novels especially when intertwined with time-travel. This is a cute love story of two people from two different worlds.

Jessica Blakely, travelling in England, wishes upon a star one night to meet her prince charming. She's then somehow transported to the year 1260 and meets up with Richard De Galtres, a knight who is feared by all. All except Jessica, who drives him nuts with her self-confidence and out-spoken thoughts. Over time, Richard starts falling in love with her as she slowly breaks down his tough and angry traits and replacing it with love and laughter, something he has never experienced before.

Even though I enjoyed reading this book giving it four stars, I thought the love between Richard and Jessica, lacked passion. Not to mention that it didn't have any sexy heart-pounding love scenes. I also had a very hard time believing that her mother accepted her daughter's adventure without batting an eye. I also have to question some of the items that Jessica took back with her to 1260. I know, I know. It's fiction but still.....

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is mainly set in the medieval period. The world-building in this book is excellent, and the characters are well-drawn. The pacing is good, and every scene serves a purpose. The focus is more on the romance than the history. The book will probably appeal most to women who have always wished to marry a knight in shining (or not so shining) armor. There are no explicit sex scenes, but the main characters do have sex after they're married. I'd rate this as "good, clean fun."

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-Read.

[Karra Iverson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first Lynn Kurland book that I ever read. I had to immediately go out and find more treasures and share them with my family. These are the books I won't have a problem sharing with my daughter. I love that they are rated PG. I read somewhere that the author gets a lot of criticism because she keeps her books PG rated. Hmmmm... isn't it interesting that she is criticized for having standards.
I loved the character development. love changes us all. it has been a few years since I read this book, but I can still remember when our heroine comes "home" and the feeling it gave me when they were reunited. It warmed my heart.

[Susan (susayq ~) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this one is going on my favorites shelf. Even though I thought it started off kind of slow, and I felt like it was taking forever, Lord Richard fixed that :) He was gruff and tough and such a teddy bear! He was a true romantic at heart and the way he showed his feelings for Jessica, and then, when he cried when he lost her and didn't care who saw him....won me over!

This is something I'll reread at some point in the future.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty and enjoyable read.

I was chuckling out loud several times during this book at witty or unexpected conversations. I enjoyed the romantic story of the gruff never smiling man whose heart was slowly being warmed by a woman from the future. His natural reaction to women was that they were not equal to men and could not do things that men did. He was incredulous that she could not sew or cook. Then he was in awe of her archtectural abilities toward the design and building of his castle. I don't want to give away the ending but I liked it and a question I will phrase related to the ending is what would one bring back from the future if they could? I expect that I'll continue to think about things from the book from time to time. Nice story.

Sexual content: mild. Setting: 1999 and 1260 England. Copyright: 1999. Genre: historical romance and time travel.

For a listing of my reviews of other Lynn Kurland books, see my 2 star review of "Dreams of Stardust" posted on 6/23/08.

[Lulu · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars!

I don't normally read time travel romance but since I'm all for the cold, brooding and grumpy type hero. I tried this one out. Boy, oh boy. I was not disappointed! I'm aware that this was a part of a series but can be read as a stand-alone. In fact, this was the first I've read from the series and now I'm committed to reading Lynn Kurland's other works. The writing was exquisite. The story was beautiful. The romance was superb! :)

"The more I see you," he said quietly, "the more I want you." ~Richard

I loved Richard from the start! I just want to hug him and keep him! Oh, the poor guy. He was just so hungry for affection. :( His backstory was so heartbreaking. It was the reason why he acted the way he was at the beginning of the story. He was part bossy, part jerk and part gallant if that made any sense. He tried to keep everybody out. He tried not to feel anything but deep inside, he was longing, he was pining, he wanted love. Aww. His life turned around when he met the heroine and their journey together, in falling in love with each other, was wonderful. As the story progressed, you'll see Richard's softer side. He was so sweet to the heroine and he can't believe at first that someone like her would love him despite his past. Loved those scenes where he was trying to woo Jessica. I liked her too and I think that she was perfect for Richard. I loved that he also wooed Richard and showered him with her affections unconditionally. But for me, it was Richard who ran the show. He was just so swoon-worthy. Sigh. And the scenes where he was soooo jealous! haha. It was so funny. He was so jealous when his friend Kendrick, who was good-looking, came to visit. He was so afraid that Jessica might fall for his charms.

The romance was clean. The sex scenes were fade to black and happened after they were married. The icing on top were the little sweet moments where you knew that they were so devoted to each other and that they were meant to be together.
1. Richard giving some of his wardrobe to Jessica with little alterations. Jessica can't sew a dress.
2. Richard giving his ring to Jessica so she can command him and the workers in the castle.
3. Richard thinking about where Jessica wants to go for their honeymoon.
4. Richard going to the blacksmith for Jessica's wedding ring.
5. Jessica letting Richard lay on his lap and petting him.
6. Jessica combing Richard's hair.
7. Jessica giving Richard a massage.

I very much enjoyed reading this one. :)

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

THANK YOU SHIN (aka Bespectacledreader), FOR RECOMMENDING THIS FANTASTIC BOOK TO ME!

This was my first ever Historical Romance and it exceeded all expectations. I didn't think I'd like it. At all. Boy, am I glad to say I was wrong.

I'm just so happy with that ending! 500000 points for that. I'm dead tired right now because I've stayed up all night reading it - but oh well! Absolutely worth it!

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The seventh book in the Lynn Kurland's De Piaget series. Twentieth century Jessica Blakely makes a wish on a star and ends up in the thirteenth century. There she encounters the knight of her desires, Richard de Galtres.

A fun and delightful trip via time travel to the 13th century.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally swoon-worthy! One of my favorites by this author so far.

[˗ˋˏ°• cee •°ˎˊ˗ · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/5 for vibes, but minus a point because ✨misogyny✨

[The Window Seat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my reviews at http://thewindowseat13.blogspot.com/


In The More I See You, the de Piaget family continues to spread beyond the children of Rhys and Gwen. Here, we meet Richard de Galtres. Richard was a young boy when he fled the merciless abuse of his father to the magical keep of Artane and became another foster son of Robin and Anne de Piaget. The abuse that he survived has hardened Richard's heart and all that he wants is to rebuild his keep, live in peace, and, maybe, one day marry a child heiress that he can raise to be a quiet and biddable wife so he can have an heir. The last thing he needs or wants is to have Jessica Blakely storm into his life and create a whirlwind of chaos.

Jessica finds herself in a medieval castle in England wishing on a star for a truly gallant knight. The next thing she knows, she is hurtled back in time to find herself in the arms of a truly grumpy knight. She is convinced that fate has truly goofed things up. But before long, Jessica starts to see through the armor that Richard keeps around his heart and she starts to touch the tender soul that is hiding within. The artist who can paint pictures that touch her heart, the man who has found the courage to be gallant despite the torments that he lives with, and the love of her life. Together, Richard and Jessica start to create a life together that can be a "claim to fame" for them both.

But fate isn't quite done with either of them. When Richard's foster brother, Kendrick of Artane, is brutally murdered by the woman he was supposed to marry, Richard and Jessica must travel to Artane so that Richard can help investigate. But Artane is a seat of medieval power and their visit there attracts the notice of the king. With Richard's lands and wealth at stake, Jessica must decide if she can take away from Richard all he holds dear while only offering herself in return.

This is another one of Kurland's books that show her true talent. Richard is beyond the sterotypical abused child. That Richard is less than a serial killer based on what he endured in his childhood is hard to imagine. But Kurland makes Richard not only believable, but lovable and endearing, as well. Jessica can, from time to time, be a bit annoying in her attempts to shove twentieth century ideals and values onto Richard, but these moments are few and far between. The love and passion between Richard and Jessica are clear and believable and the gentle love that unfolds between them is beautiful to read.

As part of the series, this is a turning point. As must be expected in a series, a beloved character meets his end. Since the beginning of the series, Kendrick is a lovable character. In this story, the arrogant and charming Kendrick works well as a foil to Richard's grumpiness, he brings humor into the story. His character also allows the reader to see that Richard can love. He clearly loves his foster brother and best friend and so it keeps there from being too much of a stretch when we see him falling for Jessica.

While this book can be harder than some of the others to get into at the beginning, the end result is worth it. The de Piaget crew continues to grow and to change and to keep the reader coming back for more. Since this book was actually published much earlier than it comes in the chronological timeline, and some books that are chronologically earlier are published after it, there are some characters that are "missing" and some that are there that shouldn't be. But due to the fact that the books were not published in chronological order, that is inevitable. This is the one book where that problem comes up if you are reading along with the order that I have given. But the problem comes up toward the end of the book and it is a minor one. Hopefully, a reader can look beyond that and appreciate The More I See You for the treasure that it is! :)

[Sunshyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am smitten.

I am infatuated.

I will now go and purchase every book Lynn Kurland ever wrote.

I picked this book up at a local thrift store because my TBR pile seemed to be heavy on the Fantasy Epics and light on the fun romance. I fully expected this to be a fun read once and donate to my local Little Free Library.

Oh, how I was mistaken.

This book has had me rolling in laughter, tearing up in shock and horror, clutching the paperback to my chest as I swoon along with the MC and as such has earned a place on my shelf to be reread over and over again and loaned out to friends for their own enjoyment.

What I expected by the title and fact that it HAS a stepback was a cheesy, somewhat smutty romance about a time traveling woman. I've never read outlander but I figured it would be along those lines.

It was not cheesy (imho) and it was CLEAN. Let me tell you how shocked I was that it was clean! Now I love good tension and angst. But I also keep in mind that I do not have an "off limits" shelf to my children and what I keep in my home I allow my children full access to. Therefore smut= no home on my shelf.

The More I See You has tension and angst. Enemies to Lovers banter. It has all the things that wind my heart up tight, but none of the smut other books have. There are references to kissing and bedding but no groping or graphic details. It's a kiss and fade to black.

I adored this book and am so pleased I found it at a thrift store. My husband will check our bank account tomorrow and wonder why I have spent a ridiculous amount of money on ThriftBooks because now I must have more of the authors books!

P.S.
The only con to the book to me was... well I can accept that she was wearing a cloak and such for a costume party.... but there were several times where her panties or bra would be brought up... and were ignored. Did she not have to hide it or Richard never find it? Oh and there was a mention to her period happening... and personally I would have appreciated a sentence or two on the struggles of dealing with a period in the year 1260. There were just some details I wish would have been added but I like the nitty gritty of books. It in no way takes away from the book itself.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fun to read when stressed over the holidays! The story of Jessica Blackley and Richard of Burwyck who is a foster son to Robin DePiaget and Kendrick's best friend. The bad guy was a little unbelievable tho? Not the best put together Kurland. It is silly and things are just too easy for this couple. But if you want a fun clean read that doesn't take too much effort this is your book.

[Mslvoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters were well developed and the storyline was great. As usual, I got totally swept up into this story.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Rosalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this the most out of all of the De Paiget/MacLeod series, but I still don’t think it is as good as the MacLeod books. I loved our heroine Jessica Blakely and our hero Richard de Galtres, they are both strong, determined people struggling to find comfort and happiness in their lives.
I liked the way that Lynn Kurland wove the plot together and allowed both Jessica and Richard to develop into more rounded people: Richard to soften from his abusive childhood; Jessica to be more accepting and trusting of people, especially Richard. I loved the way that Lynn Kurland brought: the de Paigets of Artane (especially Abby and Miles from “Spirits of Christmas Past”); King Richard and his court; as well as Richard’s brothers Warren and Hugh into the story. These didn’t distract from the main plot or Jessica and Richard.
It is well written, the action moves along steadily and the characters are well drawn. However, I did find the wish upon a star thing a bit of a stretch, it just didn’t fit well with the rest of the book. It was still a good read though.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite time travel romances!

Jessica, an American composer, has come to England for an historical sort of retreat that involves dressing in medieval clothing, so she's dressed appropriately when she suddenly travels through time to the 13th century. She ends up in a field, about to be attacked by hunting dogs, when she is rescued by the extremely grumpy knight (but secretly good-hearted), Richard De Galtres. I love their growing relationship, as Jessica adjusts to living in the 13th century and brings modern ideas of gender quality into Richard's keep.

There is some heavy backstory, as Richard was abused by his father, and he IS a knight, so has experienced warfare. There's also superstition (Richard's brother Hugh is extremely superstitious and mentally unstable), extreme poverty among the serfs, attempted murder, suspected assassination of Richard's best friend, interpersonal conflicts and a bard obsessed with courtly love.
The steam level is mild.

Highly reccomend

The character development is solid and there are good

[eevee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica accidentally goes on a spontaneous date trip with a loser. She’s bummed, because they’re all the way in England. Then Jessica magically goes back in time. Richard catches her right before his horse tramples her. He’s confused about who Jessica is and why she was loitering around his keep, but eventually she grows on him. They even get married. But this is an old medieval type of world, and Richard didn’t get the go-ahead to marry Jessica from the king. The king, in fact, wants Richard to marry some other girl. And someone keeps tryna kill Jessica. She fears she’ll have to leave her true love behind and go home… to the future, where everything still sucks.

It was okay. I was like 90% done and then I got bored reading and forgot about this. My bad. It was entertaining while I was reading though. Just hard to pick back up.

Not keeping on my shelf for now.

[Brutally Honest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the first romance novels I've ever read. It's a classic. Well written, well paced... The characters are all interesting and well rounded, and I was able to sympathise with them.

As this is a 1999 book, there's some silly stuff in it, which is a general pitfall of sci-fi romance as well: introducing the "alien" - in this case, the medieval lord - to "current" media. I couldn't stop rolling my eyes at the cd player. Luckily that was only a small portion of the book, so it didn't detract too much. Also, the added drama at the end, while it was enjoyable to see them pine for each other, was in my opinion badly executed. I require my main couple to have trust in each other, and while I understand she panicked, running off etc was just tstl. At least she took a guard...

[iStarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight…

This book follows This Is All I ask by about 20 or so years and several years after The Christmas Cat story of Miles and Abigail de Piaget.

It’s somewhat confusing in that Abigail was only a couple of years older than Jessica in the Future but by the time Jessica meets her, Abby he already lived 20 years in medieval England, is the mother of 6, and now in her fifties. Kinda mind blowing, with all this back and forth through time gates.

You get to see Robin of Artane as an elder lord, his son Kendrick as he was before his mishap in Stardust of Yesterday, but the real gem in this novel is Richard de Galtres.

This is perhaps one of the finest of Kurland’s time travel tales.

[Administraktör · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why does this even have such a high rating?
I could only read about 39% of this book before saying to myself "I'm not having fun, why torture myself? I need my time." and dropping it.

The characters are unlikeable, there's nearly no plot that makes you care. (I literally cared more about the ML's little brother bc he was so cute and pure)

Now I can take MLs of historical romance to be old fashioned, in fact I kind of expect it, but I draw the line of threating her with domestic violence?? Like there were several instances where he "had to stop himself from hitting her". Why?????? Do we ??? HAVE THIS??? IN A ROMANTIC LEAD....??

Like I said there's literally nothing happening in it. SKIP THIS ONE

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jessica Blakely is transported back to the 13th Century when she wishes for a knight in shining armor. She gets Richard de Gatres who has reluctantly inherited from his evil father who regularly abused him as a child. When Jessica is wounded by Richard's half crazed brother, they are betrothed, which is a good as married in that time period. When the king, without knowing of the betrothal, tries to match him up with an 8-year-old relative, Jessica finds herself in a pickle and returns to the 20th Century. However, she's pregnant and in love with Richard, so she figures out a way to get back several months later.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic example of be careful what you wish for. Lynn Kurland really knows how to write time travel novels. I will pick up hers anytime I see them (hence my duplicate copies). I have all of them. Having read them out of order, I suggest reading them in order if you can. The main characters wander in and out of most of the books. It is time travel after all. There is a certain order to them and you meet the characters and learn their back story, as the series develops. The series flows better if read in order, but each can be read and enjoyed separately

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started to read this a few years ago but didn't finish for some reason. Now I am currently reading or rereading all the books in the series and decided to try this one again. I am so glad I did. I loved the characters and also enjoyed seeing how things fit in wih the diPiaget family. I feel like I am visitng with family and fiends when I read and reread these books.
Time travel may not be everyone's taste but I do love it. I know you must suspend belief I am not reading these for "factual" stories. I enjoy getting into the stories and leaving the world behind for a while.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was definitely in the need of a historical romance...and I absolutely adore the reaching family sagas where all the characters keep showing up each others books.

Neither Jessica or Richard were my favorite characters of all time...but their romance was anything but instant, and her determination to steal his horse was incredibly entertaining. Plus who doesn't love Hamlet, Warren, and Kendrick!

Ms. Kurland isn't the most gifted author I've ever read, but I did order a few more of her books on Amazon if that counts for anything!

[Melan Choly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit slow in the beginning but started vibing about 1/3 of the way into the book. World building is mild, which I prefer in my romance novels- heavy focus on the romance and everything else should be secondary. "Clean romance" as it is described- did not mean it had to lack passion....any kind of passion.

Even though the "Hero" was a total asshole, he was written humorously. He made me chuckle a few good times. The heroine was loud and feisty, cheeky as hell! As a pair, they were well matched but lacked chemistry and flame.

Fiction as it is, the time traveling aspect was a bit cheesy. No thorough explanation on the how's, when's, why's. But oh well...

This is a new to me author and I enjoyed her writing style. Easy to get along with, a decent and enjoyable read.

[V SB · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best time travel romance books I've ever read.. I love Jessica Blakely.. I love her mouth, her sassy replies and how she isn't one of those push over heroines.. She's the type of lady you would want to be friends with and would be a riot to hang with too.. I especially loved the part wherein our broody hero Richard De Galtres tells her to "stay" and she answers Arff! - that was a real laugh out loud moment for me... Loved it!!!!!

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent well written time travel romance story! Jessica Blakely meets Richard deGaltres from the past. Love is not a smooth road and you have family, friends and some twists to the main story which makes it very interesting! Add to the mystery, action, romance and humor and mix well for the awesome story you will read! Lynn Kurland writes and excellent series of books which I highly recommend!

[Reza Aleeya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Among all those romance fictions..
I love this one

Berkley Romance
384 pages

A lady... Transported to the 13th century. Wondering of how she wishes she could just go back to her warm bed in Manhattan.

Meeting Richard De Galtres, mysteriously kept her in his castle. Over protective and yet the soft side of his heart mealt hers.

As she discovered a way to return home...she knew her decision might never been a choice she had to choose.