A Knight’s Temptation by C. Kean

The second novel in Catherine Kean’s Knight series, A Knight’s Temptation was a good divergence from my normal paranormal read.

Aldwin Treynarde is a squire who, in his youth, was banished from home for shooting Lord Geoffrey de Lanceau with a crossbow bolt and nearly killing the man. Later on, Aldwin discovered that he had been set up by the deceitful Baron Sedgewick, who fed him false stories about the lord’s wrongdoings. Now, several years later, Lord Geoffrey sends out a call for volunteers to find a stolen, valuable jeweled pendant before it falls into the hands of the Baron and his wife Veronique. Aldwin accepts at once and hopes to make amends to Lord Geoffrey.

Meanwhile, Lady Leona Ransley and her aging father, who have possession of the pendant, want only to turn it in anonymously and collect the reward money. Under an assumed name, Leona arranges for a secret meeting with Aldwin in a seedy tavern, and, making yet another rash decision, Aldwin decides to kidnap her. She fights furiously against him and finally reveals her true identity: she and he had once been great companions. By this point, the feckless squire desires his warrior captive more than any woman he has ever met, and he knows he has one last chance to protect her life. Only by settling the events of their past and fighting side by side will Aldwin and Leona be able to defeat their opponents and surrender to their greatest temptation—love.

Much like the rest of this series, A Knight’s Temptation was not only an enjoyable read, but completely satisfying as well.  Again, we’re given a great story concept that isn’t dragged out and we actually become invested in their situation.  Aldwin may have kidnapped Leona, but she continually fights him.  She never really gives up even once it becomes obvious that she’s better off with him than on her own.  I actually really liked that.  How many times do we read that the maiden falls instantly in love with her kidnapper soon after the occurrence?  That is one thing about Kean’s plots that I have been enjoying – the idea that everything doesn’t simple fall in to place right away.  Don’t get me wrong, they do eventually, but the characters suffering is drawn out.

It is also great to see Aldwin back again after his initial appearance in A Knight’s Vengeance.  We all know he had feelings for Lady Elizabeth, but it’s good that he ended up with his own happing ending – which shouldn’t be a spoiler. Seriously, this is a romance novel, HEAs are mandatory.  I also liked the fact that it involved a character from his past, one he didn’t realize was still breathing.  That was a new twist and it worked out well for the plot line as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Knights series by Catherine Kean and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for a fourth book, if there is one.  If you’re a fan of romance, especially historical romance, then you need to check out this series.  A Knight’s Temptation comes out, officially, on April 1st, but it’s actually available at Amazon right now.

Read Order:
A Knight’s Vengeance
A Knight’s Reward
A Knight’s Temptation