Rating: 
Summary: A champion of a twelth century historical romance
Review: This historical romance is fun to read and the characters are warm and genuine. However, what turns Elizabeth Chadwick's novel into a champion of a book is the contrasting sub-plots that brilliantly intertwine into a fantastic tale. On the one hand, readers travel the circuit; while on the hand they gain a taste of the spouses struggling with the home as they support their constant traveling mate. THE CHAMPION is historical romance at its delightful best. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: At first, I had no clue that it was a romance, I only picked it up because it looked cool. I have this thing for knights and the Medieval ages. So my cousin was like, "That's a romance". Oh well. I could get it for 50 cents at the library book shop. So I read it. I didn't exactly like romance books, but this book was great. It wasn't like the two characters were kissing every single moment in the book (yuck), but it was good. I liked the plot and the characters. The characters were lovely, but they had many flaws, that's something that I think makes an interesting character. The action is pretty good, but I liked it because of the characters and the fact that it's almost like a history lesson provided by Elizabeth Chadwick. Even if I didn't like romance, I learned many things about the Medieval times from the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but "Holey"
Review: Elizabeth Chadwick did terrific research for this book and worked it in so well that a reader gets double her money's worth with a good history lesson along with good entertainment. This attention to detail makes the two obvious holes that jar the reader out of the story that much more puzzling. A major sub-plot is the heroine's pursuit by her grandfather in order to marry her to his choice to beget an acceptable heir. Since the grandfather was only in his mid-fifties when his last male heir died, why didn't he simply marry again and beget his own heir? This was especially odd since another character is fathering children at the same age. Another major secondary character, King John of Magna Carta fame, has a wife of ten years when he is first introduced. A couple of years later, he marries again, leading readers to think he must be committing bigamy, aided and abetted by the Church and most of England and Normandy, since no mention is made of the first wife's death. Holes like these, especially the first one, weaken an otherwise enjoyable story.
Rating:
Summary: My first, but certainly not last Chadwick novel...
Review: I have always loved historical novels for their insight as to how people lived back then. Rosiland Laker has always been one of my favorites with her 18th and 19th century European sagas. But when I saw a review of one of Elizabeth's medieval stories, I knew it was time to go back further in time, to an era that is long forgotten and rarely taught in any school. And boy was it worth it. It is obvious that Chadwick researches her stories in incredible detail. And her characters are easily embraced. I am on my third one now, after finishing not only "The Champion", but "The Marsh King's Daughter" as well. I am half way through "The Love Knot" as we speak, and it is as good if not better than the rest. Five stars!
Rating:
Summary: An Improvement
Review: I read Elizabeth Chadwick's "The Wild Hunt" and I was none too thrilled with it. I didn't find it particularly memorable so when I picked up "The Champion" the name of the author didn't quite click, though it did sound familiar. As I was reading it, it finally dawned on me why the name sounded familiar. Although I had my doubts about the book, I persevered because I'm a staunch believer that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. And I'm glad I did. When I read the inside of the jacket, I felt pretty sure I saw how this book would go. I'm glad to report I wasn't able to entirely predict the story, which is always a thumbs-up in my book. Nothing is more disappointing then being able to tell the story yourself. Indeed, it's a cliche to say it, but it's the truth--I COULDN'T PUT THE BOOK DOWN. God knows I had dozens of things to do but the book drew me on. Having read two of her books, Elizabeth Chadwick has learned subtlety (among other things). I highly recommend this book, I know I will now make an attempt to read more of her work
Rating:
Summary: An Improvement
Review: I read Elizabeth Chadwick's "The Wild Hunt" and I was none too thrilled with it. I didn't find it particularly memorable so when I picked up "The Champion" the name of the author didn't quite click, though it did sound familiar. As I was reading it, it finally dawned on me why the name sounded familiar. Although I had my doubts about the book, I persevered because I'm a staunch believer that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. And I'm glad I did. When I read the inside of the jacket, I felt pretty sure I saw how this book would go. I'm glad to report I wasn't able to entirely predict the story, which is always a thumbs-up in my book. Nothing is more disappointing then being able to tell the story yourself. Indeed, it's a cliche to say it, but it's the truth--I COULDN'T PUT THE BOOK DOWN. God knows I had dozens of things to do but the book drew me on. Having read two of her books, Elizabeth Chadwick has learned subtlety (among other things). I highly recommend this book, I know I will now make an attempt to read more of her work
Rating: 
Summary: good historical content
Review: I really enjoyed this story of Alexander de Montroi and Monday de Cerizay. They began as friends, then set off individually to make their way in the world. Years later they are reunited and find that during their separation they have fallen in love with each other. Still, I found this story a little too predictable to give 5 stars. The 'good' characters were beautiful and the baddies were mean and had ugly scars. For a more unpredictable story, with three dimensional characters, try Sharon Penman's "Here Be Dragons", or Barbara Erskine's "Lady of Hay" or "Child of the Phoenix".
Rating:
Summary: Standard romance plot, with better-than-average detail
Review: The plot of Elizabeth Chadwick's _The Champion_ is fairly standard romance fare. An innocent young girl and a handsome but arrogant and promiscuous young man fall in love. After many misunderstandings, and after the couple defeat the Bad Guys, the man changes his ways, and they live happily ever after. What makes _The Champion_ worth reading, despite its predictability, is the attention to historical detail, painstakingly researched by the author. Many novels set in the Middle Ages feel like they're set on a Hollywood soundstage, rather than actually in that gritty, violent period. Chadwick brings the Middle Ages alive, showing us what was beautiful and what was terrible about them. For example, I never knew before that jousting was actually sort of a professional sport, providing an income for social "undesirables", and possibly permanent jobs as mercenaries, if a nobleman in the stands was impressed with their skills. Basically, this is a predictable story with a very rich background. I wasn't very sucked-in by the characters--they seemed a little flat and stereotypical--but this book is better than its peers because of the research, and I will probably read Chadwick again.
Rating:
Summary: Standard romance plot, with better-than-average detail
Review: The plot of Elizabeth Chadwick's _The Champion_ is fairly standard romance fare. An innocent young girl and a handsome but arrogant and promiscuous young man fall in love. After many misunderstandings, and after the couple defeat the Bad Guys, the man changes his ways, and they live happily ever after. What makes _The Champion_ worth reading, despite its predictability, is the attention to historical detail, painstakingly researched by the author. Many novels set in the Middle Ages feel like they're set on a Hollywood soundstage, rather than actually in that gritty, violent period. Chadwick brings the Middle Ages alive, showing us what was beautiful and what was terrible about them. For example, I never knew before that jousting was actually sort of a professional sport, providing an income for social "undesirables", and possibly permanent jobs as mercenaries, if a nobleman in the stands was impressed with their skills. Basically, this is a predictable story with a very rich background. I wasn't very sucked-in by the characters--they seemed a little flat and stereotypical--but this book is better than its peers because of the research, and I will probably read Chadwick again.
Rating:
Summary: #1- If you read one book read THE CHAMPION
Review: This is a wonderful book that tells the epic story of a young man that leaves the monistary he is put in and joins the tourney court with his brother and ends up a knight with a son and a wife that is happy that the father of her son is "home." Even though I am only 14 this was a great book I belive and I would recomend it to anyone. It has a great plot and it combines romance, history, adventure, and human ethics to make a briliant tale of a knight and his strugle through life and the strugle of those who he encounters. This was the first book I ever read all the way through, in previous grades i would read books asigned and i would skip chapters or just read the back and "wing" the test. This book kept me on the "edge" of my "seat." I read this book for a week straight, I only stoped to eat or go to the bathroom. If you read one book this week, this year, or even in your life it should be this.
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