Tuesday, August 30

Gwen Rowley: Knights of the Round Table-Lancelot

From the back of the book
Lancelot du Lac is the greatest knight of a peerless age, blessed by the Lady of the Lake with extraordinary military prowess. His fight ability has earned him a place at King Arthur's side, but the powers the Lady has given him come at a terrible price.
Elaine of Corbenic is struggling to hold her impoverished family together. The keep is a wreck and the peasants, starving, are on the brink of rebellion. Elaine's father is obsessed with finding the Holy Grail, and her older brother, maimed by Lancelot in a joust, is a bitter drunkard. Without a dowry, she has little hope for the future.
Incognito, Lancelot rides into Corbenic on his way to the king's tournament. He finds the practical Elaine irresistible. Thoroughly dismayed when she reveals her contempt for "Lancelot", he must face his own arrogance to win her hand. For only with Elaine at his side will Lancelot have the strength to free himself from the enchantments that bind him...
This was an interesting reworking of an old tale, reversing common assumption and casting a traditional hero in a poor light and a traditional anti-hero(ine) is a positive role.
The medieval world building is good and I thought that there was just enough magic introduced to place the story firmly in the legend category (as opposed to fictionalized history) but without tipping it over into pure fantasy.
The romance was believable, due to the very well developed characters.
I enjoyed this spin on a familiar story and look forward to finding copies of further books in this series.-Lynn

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