A Knight's Vow

MacLeod #2.6

by Lynn Kurland, Patricia Potter, Deborah Simmons

Set during the misty Middle Ages, when brave knights in shining armor rescued fair maidens and chivalry and honor were prized above all things, this quartet of novellas from some of the genre's best-known writers takes the concept of the vow and spins it into four very different yet thematically linked medieval tales.

Lynn Kurland - The Traveller (MacLeod #2.6)(de Piaget/MacLeod #7.5)

A bedraggled knight makes a solemn vow to protect, defend, and rescue any and all maidens in distress - even those from Manhattan...

Patricia Potter - The Minstrel

A vow to marry for love transforms a marquis into a minstrel who must sing for his supper - and for a woman whose heart is true...

Deborah Simmons - The Bachelor Knight

A forgotten vow comes back to haunt the greatest knight in all the land,when a fair maiden asks for hand in marriage...

Glynnis Campbell - The Siege

Trapped underground with his unwilling betrothed, a determined knight vows to free her - body and soul...

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

342 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

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

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually just read the first story only (Lynn Kurland), because I knew I was safe with the author. This story is of William DiPiaget and Julianna and how he is true to his knight's vow. I love the romance--you really don't need those "scenes" to have a true, sweet romance.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are cute medieval romance short stories.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ordered this book because of the Lynn Kurland story that goes with her time-travel books. This was supposed to be book 4 of the MacLeods story but it was actually the story of William DePiaget. However it was good but I don't think the best in the book.

This book contained 4 stories:

The Traveller by Lynn Kurland
The Minstrel by Patricia Potter
The Bachelor Knight by Deborah Simmons
The Siege by Glynnis Campbell

Only The Traveller had any time-travel aspects, all the others were historical romances.

I felt that the stories got better the farther into the book you got. I had not read any by the last 3 authors but look forward to reading more of their work.

[July · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lynn Kurland's story in this book is follow by three other stories. I only read the first by Lynn. It is about Sir William de Piaget in 1299 the great grandson of the Robin of Artane and Julianna Nelson a very glum un-employed New Yorker in 2001 with degrees in ancient languages. She finds a letter from her friend Elizabeth who writes of her romantic marriage to Jamie a scotish laird and invites her to visit encloses a map with time travel spots and warnings. Julianna doesn't quite take the warning. She goes to the closest spot and ends up in 1299 with Sir William and so starts the tale...

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novella that loosely follows the Time travel theme in the rest of her books. This one was short but ok. Just not what I have come to expect from Kurland.

"The Traveller" by Lynn Kurland 2.5

"the Minstrel" by Patricia Potter 2

"The Bachelor Knight" by Deborah Simmons typical novella. 2.5

"The Siege" by Glynnis Campbell the last story in the book is one of the best novellas I have read 5 and I don't usually like novellas. Well done!

[Kathy Davie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glynnis Campbell's "The Siege", Patricia Potter's "The Minstrel", and Deborah Simmons' "The Bachelor Knight" were all nice.

Lynn Kurland's "The Traveller" (McLeod, 4).

[Lisa Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of short stories about Knights who have made sacred vows, some of them were good but a couple were average. Would I read this book again? No. There are some really fantastic time travel novels that are well researched and history comes alive, the nature of short stories precludes that from happening but was still a little disappointed.

[Taylor Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Every story is short and sweet and I had a hard time putting it down ❤

[Eleme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating for The Traveller byLynn Kurland

[R King · Rating 3 out of 5]

6

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book to read. Enjoyed all the stories!

[LilaBird · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read the Lynn Kurland story in this anthology. Perhaps I'll go back at another time and read the other short stories, but for now, I just want to continue on with the MacLeod series. :)

This was the story of William DePiaget and Julianna, a modern day girl from Manhattan. It takes place a few generations after all of my favorite DePiagets, so that sort of made this story useless to me. It was cute, but short romances drive me crazy. Rushed romance is never romantic. They meet and then all of a sudden they're kissing. Hmmm....why?? Do you even KNOW each other yet?? Ugh.

Also, I feel like I missed a huge chunk. When did she tell William that she was from the future? And when did he not believe her? It seems like one minute he was looking through her bag and "coming to a conclusion" and then the next minute, he was accepting that she came from the future. She never had to TELL him?? Huh? And why did he later say that he should have believed her from the beginning?

And how does he just easy as pie, decide to go live in the future with her? He's not scared, uncertain, freaked out, in disbelief??? Really?? This is why I'm getting tired of short stories.

Nice to see Zach again, and to hear about Elizabeth and Jamie. Wish they would have come home at the end!!

[Diane Wachter · Rating 3 out of 5]

PB-B @ 9/2001, 1/02. Anthology. MacLeod/McKinnon, Book 4. Lynn Kurland, The Traveler, When Juliana Nelson sits on the same park bench her friend Elizabeth Smith MacLeod did, she travels back to the Scottish border in 1299 and Sir William DePiaget. Fun. Patricia Potter, The Minstrel, After Duncan vows to his mother on her deathbed that he will only marry for love, he decides he must play the minstrel to be sure his bride is not marrying for wealth or title. He meets Lady Leynet who is dressed as a commoner and the problems begin. Okay. Deborah Simmons, The Bachelor Knight, When Guenivere St. Leger summons Beren Brewere to Brandeth, asks him to wed her so that she doesn't lose her lands, and reminds him of his vow, he must marry her, he loves her but does not feel worthy. Okay. Glynnis Campbell, The Siege, As Hilarie attempts to flee the castle from a betrothal to Ryance, the Black Gryphon, he is undermining the wall to breach it, the wall collapses and they find themselves trapped in the tunnel and know they will die. Okay.

[Patsyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

first story - DNF
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Story #2 DNF
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Third story – DNF
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Fourth story – 5 stars
This story had the sex scene the others did not!!
Forget the “ick” factor (she was 17 he was 30) and this was a beautiful story about love – love of the person and love = sex
Loved the trapped in a tunnel feeling and that they fell in love without even seeing one another. So sexy....
The book is a keeper if just for this story only!!
Loved the hero and heroine!!
BEST USE OF: Dirt and falling in love with the person because you can't see them in the dark!!
ALPHA MALE 10
SPUNKY HEROINE 10
HOT SEX 10
HEA(HAPPILY EVER AFTER) yes
PROLOGUE/EPILOGUE a very satisfying epilogue The. Best. Epilogue. Ever.
Rating System
10 - Perfect!
Heat Level
5 – Scorching – Explicit lovemaking scenes
COVER: Generic cover, reflects nothing.

[Netanella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read "The Bachelor Knight" by Deborah Simmons only - Loved it enought that I think I'll start another Simmons book next. The story is one of childhood love between the lord's daughter, Guenivere, and the young squire, Beren, who is adoped by the lord from the local village after he raises the alarm during a raid on the keep. All of his life, Beren believes he is not good enough for Guenivere due to his low birth, and despite his eventual elevation to knighthood and the winning of his own lands, he still feels a lack of confidence. Guenivere believes that Beren left her and pines for his return as she fantasizes about tales of chivalry and compares Beren to the literary Percival.

After years of separation, Guenivere summons Beren back and offers herself in marriage if he would protect her lands. Misunderstands follow, of course. But are nicely righted in the end. Simmons writes good clean romance, here, and I look forward to more.

[penelopewanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Of Duchesses, Princesses & Other Ladies of Quality: HISTORICAL ROMANCE BOOKBOX
Reading this quickly before sending on.
This is an anthology, but the stories are long enough to my taste - often I find short stories irritating because they end just when you're really into them. These four tales are not so short. The one I liked least was perhaps the first, about the time travelling - here the short story format didn't allow us to feel enough empathy for the heroine's modern day situation - she complains about the lack of indoor plumbing when she time travels, but with that attitude it's not clear why she wouldn't do all possible to return...
Anyway, hadn't read stories set in the middle ages for a while, so this was fun. It goes back into the box to continue its journey though.

[Penelope West · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting story in another anthology. I was unfamiliar with the characters as they have not been mentioned in others of Lynn Kurland's stories. It is amusing how she generally had either the hero or the heroine experience some really yukky experience near the beginning of the story. She is very good at putting her people in awkward situations and showing their humanity in dealing with it. Her humor often takes over and wins out the day. This is true in this story. The other stories in this anthology were a little draggy and boring, but it was interesting to compare them with Lynn's work, to really prove her skill as an author or beyond compare.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has 4 stories in one book - 4 different authors - Lynn Kurland who I already enjoy reading, and then 3 more that I hadn't heard of - one clean and a good short story, the other two authors were a little more graphic, but nothing hardcore. It was nice to read this one broken up into 4 stories. It made putting the book down easier. I could read one author and put it down after 100 pages because the story was done. It was nice for a change in pace. Usually I can't stop a good book once I have started and I don't get things done.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. a nice collection of stories. the depiaget story (the traveller) was cute and sweet, though following a more obscure relation. the minstrel story was cute as well, though a bit typical and juvenile. i did enjoy the two main characters though. the bachelor knight was a little dour for my taste and was not quite up to par for me. the final story, the siege, was very sweet and romantic and i thoroughly enjoyed it. very well done for a short story...definitely left me wanting more of them.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me reading an anthology is something I do to shift gears...cleanse my palette, per se. I went on a search for knights in shining armor and boy did I find them. Four of them! I thoroughly enjoyed each of these stories and am only giving it four stars for the fact that I rarely give five but also felt that the third story started off a bit slow and Ho hum for me but by the end I was enjoying it. We all need to find our knights in shining armor even if they only exist between the pages of a great story.

[Tricia Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading stories by Lynn Kurland and Deborah Simmons, but in this anthology I was blown away by Glynnis Campbell's short story, The Siege. This story captivated me! I recommend this book for this story alone. A lovely, emotionally-charged love story and I enjoyed every word of it!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a mixture of stories from different authors. I had read a book prior by Lynn Kurland
and loved it, so I thought I give this a try. I liked the time travel and historical fiction, so this was a perfect book for me. It also gives you a taste for other authors. Stories are mostly set in the 1300s.

[Judy Bullard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of her 'Novellas' - several short novels in one book. Good, but sometime when she writes with another author or two, the reading isn't quite as clean. Too much information sometimes!!! I don't need to be reading about so much passion and details! I like the clean novels. A couple of the short novellas I did not finish because of this.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was 4 different stories by 4 different authors. Each one was about a different Knight dealing with their Vow all involving a woman of course. Quick easy reads with happy endings, not like real life and that is why I liked it :)

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the short stories in this book were fun and entertaining to read. I am just discovering I much prefer longer stories. Shorts just don't allow enough time for character, as well as, plot development. Something always has to give and I find I dislike the sacrifice.

[Serena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read the first story in this book -- the one by Lynn Kurland -- The Traveler --- It was pretty good! The first book by her that I've read about the DePiaget's.

William De Piaget & Julianna Nelson

[Kenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable and easy to read. Spoilers for new books in this one. Looking forward to reading those.

I wish a few of these stories would have been full books, I would have liked to see more of the story.

[Spring Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories in this anthology weren't the best. But overall a fun read, if you like knights and such. I think my favorite was the last story - "The Siege," although it had a little love scene, but it wasn't too bad. I don't think any of the other stories had anything in them at all, though.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this author. She is able to write contemporary and historical very well, however I don't like her short stories as much and her full length novels. It's worth reading but defiantly not a favorite.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt it was too short. It included several romances, but none of the stories were long enough. Otherwise I liked the book. My only regret was that the stories weren't long enough for us to get to know the characters very well.