An Earthly Knight

Let me start by saying that I absolutely adored this book. It's by far the best story based on the Tam Lin myth I've read and, as I only borrowed it from our library, it's going to be the very next book I buy! For those not familiar, the Tam Lin folk ballad tells the story of a young man who was under the Faerie Queen's enchantment and a maiden who fell in love with him. Everything about this book was perfect for me. I loved the heroine, Jenny because she seemed very real. Our story takes place in 1162 and these were bad times to be a woman. Many, many a writer tries to make historical heroines into carbon copy of our standards of today's independent woman and thus seem extremely out of place. Not so for McNaughton. Although our heroine is a bit of a free spirit [I am sure there were exceptions to every rule even back then] she still torn between what she feels and how she must act. One perfect example is how, at one point, she treats some of her servants. This is a time when servants could be beaten and mistreated and no one would see anything wrong with that. Jenny, having grown up without a mother to teach her how to run a household and seeing how some of the other nobles act, thinks that maybe that's how a lady of her station should behave. Nonetheless she still feels bad and sad if this is how she is expected to act. When she sees another noble girl actually being kind to the servants she understands that she was wrong and makes up for it. Tam Lin is, well, perfect in his role. Really, there is not much I could say since I found him to be just wonderful. I also loved the look into the harsh life people had back then. It was hard to swallow some of the men and how they viewed and treated women but we all know our history and it would have hurt the book a lot if Janet had tried to make it fit with our ideals today. The love story is beautiful and I must say I enjoyed the secondary story of Jenny's sister Isabel. She was a fallen woman yet she was merely a victim of a time where women where blamed for just about everything. LOL. My verdict, as if you haven't guessed by now, is to run to your local bookstore and get your hands on this jem. You won't be disappointed! A solid 5 out of 5!

Jenny Avenel is the daughter of a (somewhat) wealthy landowner. After her sister is disgraced by a wayward knight, it falls to Jenny to make a marriage with a powerful man to benefit her family. As sweet, kind and beautiful as she is, she is considered as a potential match for the King's own brother, Earl William. Jenny tries to impress him, but the arrogant man cares little for her and her feelings. At the same time, Jenny finds herself falling in love with Tam Lin, the man whose family once lived in Carter Hall, which is now her dowry. She is forbidden to have anything to do with him, because he is rumored to have connections with the fairies. As the cruel Earl closes in, Jenny finds herself trying to protect her sister, and still stay with Tam Lin. WHen he reveals that he may have to return to the realm of the fairies forever, she is heartbroken. When Tam Lin's staying becomes a matter of her life or death, and of their eternal souls, will Jenny be able to save them both and avoid Earl William to find true love with Tam?

i could not put this book down. it is about young jeannete and tam lin.they first meet when jeannete is laying on a branch in a tree and laughes. then tam lin comes riding on a horse to help her down. jeannete is saved from marrying the kings brother william because she is pregnent with tam lin.i hope you enjy the book.

Jenny has always had more freedom that most- at least for her time period, considering the year it's only 1162. Not particularly concerned about marriage, it suddenly is thrust upon her when her older sister shames the family by running away with a suitor. When Jenny is recommended as a bride for William de Warenne, heir to the crown of Scotland, her family is thrilled, and immediately determined that a marriage shall be made. Yet to her surprise, Jenny finds the man cruel, aloof, and utterly broke. She is much more attracted to a young man named Tam Lin. Rumored to be under a fairy spell, Jenny has been warned of the dangers lurking about him...but her heart tells her that she can trust him. Should she marry for the possible good of her family and forget any hope of every having happiness, or shame herself like her sister did for a love that will last her entire life? A wonderfully written book, not only did I get swept up in the story, I learned a lot about life nine hundred years ago. Five stars! (Fantasy fans will especially enjoy this story.)

Sixteen-year-old Lady Jeanette Avenel, called Jenny, is the younger daughter of a minor Norman nobleman. Because of this, she has enjoyed relative freedom while growing up on her family's estate in Scotland. But now that her sister has been disgraced, everything has changed. Suddenly, Jenny finds herself thrust into the role usually belonging to the eldest daughter, and is chosen as a potential bride for William de Warenne, the king's younger brother and heir. In spite of her upbringing, however, Jenny wonders what if might be like if she could chose her own husband, someone she loved. When she meets Tam Lin, a young man who is rumored to have been kidnapped by fairies and who still remains tied to their world, she learns what it is like to be in love. But will her relationship with Tam only lead to heartbreak in the end? Set in medieval Scotland, An Earthly Knight combines history, romance, and fantasy to make a wonderful story for teens that I highly recommend. I absolutely loved this book, and couldn't put it down. The characters were wonderful, as was the romance, and I loved the medieval setting.