"Devereaux\'s classic time travel has new life again"
1988 Dougless Montgomery is on vacation in England with her
boyfriend, to whom she hopes to be engaged soon. What was
supposed to be a romantic getaway for two turns into the
trip from hell when Robert brings his obnoxious, scheming
daughter, Gloria, with them, and them abandons Dougless in
a Church in Ashburton, without even her purse! This being
the worst in a string of bad luck lasting her whole life,
Dougless breaks down, sobbing her heart out on the tomb of
an English Earl from the 16th century who was to have been
executed for treason. 1564 Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck, is sitting in
his prison cell, writing a letter to his mother, three days
before he is to be executed for treason. Suddenly, he hears
a woman sobbing as though her life is over. Try as he might
to ignore it, this woman's cries overwhelm him to the point
he can think of nothing else. The next thing he knows, he
is standing in a Church, in front of his own tomb and face
to face with Dougless. Nicholas has come forward over 400 years in time, to solve
a mystery. He had been wrongly accused of treason and needs
to find out who his betrayer was. Dougless is in disbelief,
thinking Nicholas is crazy when he tells her his tale. She
was never one to turn her back on one in need though, so as
she helps him find his way around, she comes to believe in
the impossible, and finds herself falling in love with her
own personal knight in shining armor. However, as Nicholas and Dougless fall deeper in love, fate
beckons once again. Nicholas is taken back to his time to
face his execution, nonetheless. Dougless can't give up
hope though, in spite of their seeming failure to save him
from death. Now the impossible happens once again, sending
Dougless back in time herself, to try and prevent the chain
of events leading to the execution from occurring. Shock of
shocks though, Nicholas does not remember her and in fact,
he despises her! Can Dougless convince Nicholas her story
is true, in time to prevent his death? It is easy to see why Knight in Shining Armor remains a fan
favorite of Ms. Devereaux's books. She takes a classic
romance theme and alters it entirely, making it entirely
her own. The plot flows seamlessly, capturing and carrying
the reader along. She also weaves a lot of interesting
trivia bits in, without detracting from the story, and
gives a clearer picture of life in Elizabethan England. The characters grow dramatically throughout as well.
Dougless starts out as a weakling who will do anything to
make someone happy, but by the end of the story, she has
come into her own. She overcomes her feelings of
inferiority to become a woman full of quiet strength and
confidence. Nicholas starts off as a scoundrel, a
womanizer, and a philanderer. As the story moves along, he
is seen for the noble man he is- one who puts honor and
family above all else, even himself and his dreams. Whether enjoying this book for the first or the dozenth
time, it is enchanting, guaranteed not to disappoint. It is
a thoroughly engrossing read and one definitely not to be
missed! Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2002. All rights reserved.
Posted April 15, 2002
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted November 19, 2006
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