A Warrior's Honor (Historical , No 420)

Rating:
Summary: 3-star Harlequin medieval from a good author
Review: This book misses being 4 stars, but I think it's fair to rate it a solid three stars. If I were grading it like a school paper, I guess I'd give it a B.

Bryce Frechette is a knight who's been disinherited, and being without funds or a liege lord, he becomes the dogsbody of Cynvelin, the supposed fiance of Rhiannon, a lovely Welsh lady. After Cynvelin basically tricks Bryce into kidnapping Rhiannon (turns out he has quite a grudge against Rhiannon's father), Bryce eventually learns how evil Cynvelin really is; all this is set against his growing attraction to Rhiannon and hers to him.

I had to take away a star or two because Rhiannon doesn't seem angry enough with Cynvelin, or with Bryce for that matter, for the kidnapping (she actually thinks, right after the kidnap, "I'll tell him I'm sorry but I just can't stay!" You're sorry? Why are YOU sorry, dummy -- you've just been kidnapped!)
To be fair, aside from this momentary stupidity of thought, Rhiannon is actually a very resourceful heroine & an interesting character.

It also does take rather a long time for Bryce to realize that Cynvelin isn't all he charmer he makes himself out to be. However, once he realizes, he's everything a hero should be. I was never quite clear why Bryce lost his family holding; to be frank, the reason is stated, but it's not exactly a compelling one. Also, it did seem like the author was stringing out Cynvelin's eventual evil against the two main characters. (I found myself wondering if he was EVER going to make an attempt on Rhiannon's virtue. It was like, get with the evil, already!)

With a slightly stronger plot and more character development, this book could easily have been four stars, but it's still good company for a rainy afternoon.