Captured by a knight…
Rescued by his kiss!
When orphan Eva loses the father-figure who’d protected her on the streets of London, she suspects the Knights of Fortitude. But when she steals information from them, she’s caught by brooding knight Nicholas. Learning he might not be the villain after all, she puts her distrust aside to work with him, yet Eva must stay focussed – and not get distracted when they share a stolen kiss!
| Title: | A Stolen Knight’s Kiss |
| Author: | Melissa Oliver |
| Series: | Protectors of the Crown (Book 2) |
| Pages: | 288 |
| Category / Genre(s): | Harlequin / Mills & Boon Historical Romance |
| Trope(s): | Enemies to Lovers |
| Point of View: | Third Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H&h) |
| Location: | London, England |
| Setting: | 1226, Medieval |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 25th October, 2022 |
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Engaging intrigue and romance
A Stolen Knight’s Kiss in the second book in Melissa Oliver’s medieval set Protector’s of the Crown series. There is an overarching mystery of the shadowy Duo Dracones group that started in the first book and will continue on through the series – so we don’t get the conclusion of the larger mystery, but the love story of Eva and Nicholas and the smaller intrigues involving our pair, are all contained within the pages of this story. If you’re worried that you need more of the background, then pick up A Defiant Maiden’s Knight as I’ve no doubt you’ll love that story, too.
When we first meet our heroine, Eva, I admit that I wasn’t completely on board with her – she was a little too cheeky and mouthy for me. But I suppose she didn’t know, as we readers did, that Nicholas was actually her knight in shining armour. But as she let her walls down, I started to like her more and more, until finally I liked her immensely and was rooting for her. She never lost that feistiness of spirit or her loyalty and, thankfully, she never did stupid things when presented with the possibility of doing so. Good job, Eva.
Nicholas was a minor character in the first novel and I already was half in love with the laid back, cheeky and charming knight. His character built over the course of the novel and we learnt so much more about him and what made him tick. And while I liked him before, as a more rounded character – he was perfection. And did I mention that the poor lad had that broken, squishy inside covered by a hot, solid exterior? Carrying his mama’s ring? Remembering his childhood pain? He just needed the love of a good woman.
“…engaging and engrossing read with just enough intrigue and suspense to keep you on your toes.”
Luckily for him and us, Eva was that woman. She and Nicholas had a nice little spark going on from the moment they meet. Actually from the moment their eyes meet on practically sentence one, page one! They have that delicious attraction disguised as arguing and banter that causes bouts of spontaneous kissing – which I’m always here for. There’s also just enough sex to keep things fresh and interesting.
As with other books I’ve read from Ms Oliver, her writing style transports you into the world her characters inhabit. I don’t know how she does it – because it’s so well-written that you forget you’re reading and just live in the story – but I often found myself seeing, smelling, tasting the things along with our characters. I have to say that I again noticed the author’s quirk of full-naming her characters at random times when it didn’t seem necessary. But ach – it is what it is!
As I mentioned the love story of Nicholas and Eve stands completely alone and while I’m always hoping for an epilogue – I content myself with the fact that this book up set up what will hopefully be the next book in the series with Marguerite and Sir Savaric Fitz Leonard as the couple. Hopefully Eve and Nicholas will appear in that story as Joan and Sir Warin did in this one – and really cutely, too!
This is a great, engaging and engrossing read with just enough intrigue and suspense to keep you on your toes. The love story is never overshadowed by the skullduggery but instead blends well together to make a satisfying read that’ll leave you happy and content.
* I received this book in exchange for my honest review *
Melissa Oliver is from south-west London where she writes historical romance novels. She lives with her lovely husband and daughters, who share her passion for decrepit, old castles, grand palaces and all things historical.
Melissa is the WINNER of The Romantic Novelist Association’s Joan Hessayon Award for new writers 2020 for her debut, The Rebel Heiress and the Knight.
When she’s not writing she loves to travel for inspiration, paint, and visit museums & art galleries.
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Protectors of the Crown Series:
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