Heart of a Knight by Barbara Samuel

Lord Thomas is a mysterious knight with a secret that could cost him his life. A giant of a man, both in stature and heart, Thomas is smitten by the king’s cousin, Elizabeth de Auvers, who fled her castle during the plague and returned to find it thriving, thanks to Thomas. Elizabeth finds herself powerfully drawn to him, even as she wonders what he is hiding. 

This was a great freebie I picked up in the iBookstore romance section. I love a good romance, historical even more so. Ms Samuel has a gift for describing angst, I tell you. 

The people in this book are secretive, guilt ridden, and tricky. Very enjoyable. Good, uncomplicated books like this give me time to relax and escape into another world. This one was intricately built. Not to the point where it became an issue ... the descriptions didn't interfere with my own imagination, but there was enough to paint an authentic picture. 

The Mermaid's Knight by Jill Myles

When a car accident takes Leah Sunderland’s life, she finds herself in dire need of divine assistance. Her fairy godmother comes to the rescue, but her help comes with conditions. As a fairy godmother, the only assistance she can offer deals with (you guessed it) fairy tales. To win a second chance at life, Leah must play out the tale of The Little Mermaid. 

I loved the story of the little mermaid, so I bought this for £3 (bargain). It was good, nothing to fawn over or read over and over, but good enough to spend a Sunday morning reading with a cup of tea. 

The writing was lackluster ... I'm not dying to absorb more of Miss Myles wordplay, I've forgotten most of it already, but the characters were engaging as I read. It seemed a bit long for what it was, lots of padding here and there that I had to force myself not to flick through. Without a doubt what I enjoyed most was the intensity between Leah and Bryce (leading couple). Very good, though Leah herself was a bit of a whimp at times. For example, she's a mute and cannot communicate with anybody. Okay, tough break, but not the end of the world. Pen meet paper. No paper?  Find some other freaking way. Hell, scratch words into the castle walls with a rock if you need to. I just didn't get that she was well educated and too dense to figure out how to pass for a lady rather than be used as a leman. 

The fairy godmother was odd. I kept thinking of Jackie Stalone with magical powers whenever she popped up, not a great combination.