A Knight With Grace (Assassin Knights #1) by Laurel O'Donnell

A Knight With Grace (Assassin Knights #1) Reviews

• 
  English

  A Knight with Grace was an interesting short historical romance story. I found it in an online search for Clean Romances, and it is clean overall.
  
  Its based on one of the Knights who murdered Thomas Becket, William de Tracy coming home many years later after years on Crusade (they were sent there as penance), and being ordered to marry the daughter of a local nobleman only to find that she is gone.
  
  The romance burns slowly and the plot is quite action packed. The characters are also well written, with William being exactly the opposite to what we expect: haunted and deeply remorseful for his past misdeeds he yearns for redemption and forgiveness. His stuggles are credible and relatable.
  
  Grace was a little less three dimensional, and rather naive but she wasn't simpering or annoying like some romance heroines.
  
  There is a good treatment of faith in a book that is General Market fiction which seemed to be accurate for the time period, and not demeaning of religious people or beliefs. A couple of times it even read like something from the Inspirational Genre.
  
  There was also a very interesting interpretation of Tracy's Becket's death, which illicit sympathy for his character: although since this should probably be taken as the Fiction it is.
  So this little novel did have a lot going for it: but there were some negatives.
  
  Some parts felt overdone and implausible, and some of the Americanisms grated a little. There were also some details that induced an eye roll: for example a married woman wearing her hair loose at a time when no respectable Lady would have dared to.
  Also, there's a bit early on which says that William 'went to mass as often as possible'. I don't know if that was a mistake or oversight by the author, but its a glaring error, because William was meant to be excommunicated. Excommunicated people were NOT allowed to take the mass, and were banned from other rites and sacraments of the church, but the mass was the main one.
  
  Also, some followers may wish to note their is swearing in this book, including one F-word. An enjoyable read, but with some reservations.
• 
  Kelly W.

  I bought this book solely because I read an abbreviated summary without the knight's name mentioned, and it made me go, “Wait, if he’s an assassin, and he got excommunicated, I wonder if he murdered Thomas Becket.” AND LO AND BEHOLD, TO MY SURPRISE, I WAS RIGHT. That’s not really a spoiler, since we find out on page 10.
  
  As a medievalist, I’m not expecting my fiction to be historically accurate, much less historical romance, so my main reason for giving this book a low rating isn’t the history - it's the prose, characters, plot, etc. This book was only 176 pages (at least, the edition I have), but I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters or feeling invested in the plot. Usually, I would have loved a medieval romance set in a time period close to the one I study. But alas, this book didn't meet my expectations for a fun, escapist fantasy. That's not to say I wish the author ill or intend my criticisms to be taken personally - your mileage as a reader may vary. The book just didn't work for me.
  
  Trigger Warnings: violence, blood
  
  Writing: I understand that romance books are supposed to be light and fun, not literary, but the amount of telling instead of showing in this book barred me from getting invested in the story or its characters. We are told that Grace has affection for characters rather than shown, we are told backstory rather than letting it unfold gradually, and we are told what characters are feeling rather than seeing it manifest through their actions. There isn’t much variety in what we are told either. Blood is referred to as “dark red liquid” multiple times, William's hair hangs in dark brown waves at least three times, etc. I know that not everyone will write poetic prose, but something more interesting would have gone a long way.
  
  The prose also lacks flow. O’Donnell likes to use a lot of sentences that are roughly the same length, interspersed with a couple of short fragments or a list of questions to create impact. But the effect was that the rhythm felt robotic. For example: “The room behind her was silent. Strangely quiet. And then a large clatter came from inside the room followed by a roar of rage that so scared Grace she back pedaled into a shadowed corner and pulled her knees to her chest. What had happened? Was her mother dead? Was that what was making her father so angry? Was he so angry because he was losing her?” (p. 3). The prose feels heavy and overwritten, not letting the reader make connections for themselves.
  
  The dialogue is similar, which makes conversations feel wooden. For example: “‘You look pale. Are you feeling all right?’ Curtis asked. Grace looked at him in disbelief. ‘I’m worried. I’m frightened. I’m tired.’ ‘Do you want to go back?’ ‘Never!’ she hissed. She shook her head and waved away her worry. ‘It’s too late. I can’t go back. And I don’t want to.’“ It didn’t feel like real people were speaking to each other. The characters also speak inconsistently - sometimes, a “ye” or “shant” would be thrown in at odd moments, so the dialogue was half “old fashioned” and half updated.
  
  Plot: I’ll admit, as soon as I found out the hero had murdered Thomas Becket, I screamed with joy. It’s silly, but I enjoyed it immensely. I'm a medievalist - what can I say?
  
  But right away, the pace of the story seemed be off. We spend one chapter in the present, then skip ahead 3 months for the next chapter, then skip ahead another month again - and all 3 chapters are only 16 pages! With all that time skipping around, it felt like O’Donnell didn’t quite know how to make meaningful events happen in a timely manner.
  
  Aside from that, there wasn’t anything about the plot that stood out. William and Grace mostly travel and don’t really do much. The events that do take place don’t do a lot to bring them together in a meaningful way, in my opinion. At one point, the assassin shows up and makes plot happen, but he’s mostly lurking in the background, so he isn’t very intimidating.
  
  When we get a big reveal towards the end about Grace’s father’s plot, I just wasn’t into it. It seemed cartoonish and not at all exciting, so rooted in raging misogyny that I couldn’t find it enjoyable.
  
  Characters: Grace and William didn’t have much personality - Grace wanted to escape her father and an arranged marriage, William was a self-hating man of honor. Grace doesn’t seem to be all that smart or feisty, as she doesn’t have a clue how to operate outside a sheltered castle life and doesn’t fight tooth and nail once William captures her. The plans she does have are simple and not at all well thought-out. It’s probably why her escape attempt only lasts a week. William falls for her because she’s nice to him.
  
  Side characters weren’t even that compelling. Curtis, Grace’s supposed close friend who risks his life and position to take her away from her father, apparently just wanted money. It was disappointing, since it meant that Grace had no positive relationships in her life at all. When she finally does get one, after meeting William’s cousin Emily, it’s quickly taken away because we can’t have nice things in the Middle Ages.
  
  Grace’s father was perhaps the most annoying to me, personally. We start off the novel with Grace’s mother dying, and Grace is subsequently mistreated by her father. His disdain for her lasts throughout the book, and his reason is eyeroll-worthy. Maybe it’s a personal preference but I’m so sick of medieval heroines having fathers that treat them like dirt - it’s overdone, and it’s not an interesting way to achieve “realism” is historical fiction.
  
  Historicism: I know I said I don’t expect my fiction to be historically accurate, but there were so many things that could have been adjusted so that the setting felt less generic. Like the fact that anyone only seems to eat bread and rabbit. Or that Grace wears one gown that rips easily and her hair is uncovered. Small things that would have been a nice gesture towards enthusiasm for the time period.
  
  Overall, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I was hoping, even with the story revolving around Thomas Becket. While I do wish the author well, I don't think I'll be continuing on with her next book.
• 
  Kim Dennis

  I maybe should have given this one star, except that I did finish it. Contrary to what the title COULD imply, this book was basically clean -- nothing past kissing, although there were some mild inferences. I can't say I was super fond of the end. There were some things that didn't really make sense to me and it was overly dramatic. However, even with that, I may have given it 3 stars.
  
  The thing that REALLY bothered me was the f-word at the end of the book. This book had been more or less a Christian book with prayers and talk of God and forgiveness, and then that came out of nowhere. I was totally disappointed. I have deleted it from my Kindle and I won't be reading the rest of the books in the series. I was kind of interested, too. The assassination of Thomas Becket was something I think I vaguely remember from one of my history classes many years ago, but I didn't know much about it. Because of what was brought up in this book, I did some research on it. I love books that lead me to learn new things. Oh well.
• 
  Margaret

  Only wanting a knight to save her, Grace thinks she's found her knight when he helps her escape an arranged marriage to a fallen knight. But when the fallen knight instead becomes her protector, Grace realizes what true love truly is.
• 
  Sonya Wasden

  Grace is looking for a protector but all protectors are not the same. When she flees from her father's arranged marriage, she is helped by a friend who she thinks she can trust. Instead, she finds a protector in someone she always thought was a monster but is searching for redemption for a heinous act he was involved with. Can this new protector save her from death or will he not be the man she has come to believe he is?
  
  This book was a short, quick read but the story was fairly well developed for the length of the book. I liked the story but foul language that serves no purpose other than shock value is frustrating to me. There is one f-bomb that detracts from the story in my opinion.
• 
  Richelle

  Pleasantly surprised by this medieval romance. My first time reading this author (thank you kindle recommendations 😉), so I wasn't sure what to expect.
  
  CONTENT: Violence - some (We are talking about Knights during Medieval times)
  Language- so seriously there was NONE until close to the end of the book, and then you get a couple of unexpected F-bombs
  Romance- mostly clean, with some mild sexual references. This is not a steamy romance.
• 
  Mary King

  i read this book in one sitting and i didnt stop reading it while i was cooking, but about the book it has a good story line it is about a father and daughter that starts to have problems after the wife/mother dies, then there is a prearranged marriage to a man that is said to be a murderer and then there is a love story. read this story you will enjoy it
• 
  LUAYNE

  Good read
  
  A knight with a guilty conscience, excommunicated from the church, and a deep seated loneliness, finally finds peace. The event in this book was in another medieval writer's book, Kathryn Le Veque my favorite author.
• 
  Cynthia

  Good read and Scottish romance. I now want to read the rest in the series.
• 
  Katherine

  Enjoyable
  
  I loved the chemistry between William and Grace, and there were some slight, very slight, surprises. I wish there had been some sex, but the romance was very sweet!
• 
  Susanne

  Fast Pace
  
  Kept me interested in what was coming next, so didn't put it down often. Finished in just under two days.
• 
  Majanka

  Book Review originally published here:
  http://www.iheartreading.net/book-tou...
  
  In A Knight with Grace, Lady Grace Willoughby is quite sure of the fact she does not want to marry Sir William de Tracy. Her main reason for not doing so is that he’s a cursed man, ostracized from the church. He’s been excommunicated because of a horrible crime in his past, and Grace wants nothing to do with him.
  
  William on the other hand, is desperate for redemption. When he’s ordered to retrieve Grace, and an assassin tries to kill her, William realizes he has growing feelings for the woman. And Grace too starts to feel something for William. Can they overcome the past, and find love together?
  
  I didn’t want to spoil too much of the plot, but there is a lot of intrigue going on and secrets that could hurt William and Grace’s relationship, let alone the assassin out to hurt her. The writing is fast-paced and flows really well. Once I started reading, I didn’t want to stop.
  
  The author did an amazing job crafting both Grace and William and making them realistic and enjoyable characters. They also had a lot of chemistry. The setting was detailed, and it was easy to imagine yourself being there as a reader.
  
  A suspenseful, thrilling historical romance that I would recommend to all fans of the genre.
• 
  Petula

  Grace Willoughby is at her mother's death bed trying to comfort her when her father throws her out of the room.
  He has suddenly turned into a bad tempered and hurtful man. He is insisting Grace marry a Knight who has been excommunicated because of his part in the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket.
  William de Tracy expected his betrothal to be called off when he is summoned by the girl's father. Nobody will want a murder in the family. He couldn't be more wrong.
  Our heroine is a very confused young lady. How can everything have changed so quickly and be so bad? Death seems to be following her flight.
  Our hero is carrying a mighty load of guilt. He has sworn never to kill again. Unfortunately he will have to.
  It is a clean romance full of action, emotion and surprises. You will not believe who the real villain is. A very unusual and intriguing story line.
  It is the first in a series. I'm assuming the other books will be about William's friends. I look forward to reading them.
• 
  Dianne

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• 
  Nola

  A view of internal conflict
  
  This is the story you always wanted to read about a dishonored knight seeking redemption and his lady who has had a happy life turned tragic. Real life bad things happen. The characters are believable and based on historic figures involved in the death of Thomas Beckett. I liked this book because the internal turmoil was not the usual lovers' misunderstanding but one on a enormous scale.