Girl on the Run

Jennie's Klassel has a gift for funny medievel romances and this book is no exception. Lady Kaia, cousin to King Jibril, runs away from the convent she was in to travel to the future with a monk, Father Absalom, and the magician Merlin. She leaves a letter written by the monk to her best friend Morganna telling her that since the man she loves only sees her as a child she is going where she can learn to read and write and marry the man she chooses. Eben, brother in law to the king, is enraged that someone broke his sister's little friend Kaia's heart and vows to find her and bring her back safely. What he doesn't know is he is the man who Kaia loves, but he still sees her as a child. When he does catch up with her, he is ashamed at the lust he feels for her. This is little Kaia (she's 18 years old), he can't think that way about her. He then orders her to return with him. Kaia gets aggravated at Eben and escapes again to join her friends aboard the ship that will take them to stonehenge where they will escape to the future. When Morganna and Eben's squire Jocco also join Kaia and the monk, they don disguises to keep them from being found. There is a particularlly funny scene where Kaia, Morganna, Absalom and Jocco disguise themselves as the Muslim wives of Merlin. Eben ends up on the ship as well and starts ordering Kaia about and locks her in her cabin. When a storm leaves them stranded on an island they learn it is the island where Eben's evil cousin Gyp was exiled. He has discovered a fungus that makes the men overly endowed and vigirous but once it is used, it is the only way they can ever perform again. Gyp has the formula and uses it to control the men on the island. He attempts to take his revenge on the captives from Dominion, but they outsmart him time and again. I really liked this book, but the only problem is Eben. He went from being the most outrageously funny character in the book before to being a stick in the mud in this book. I don't understand why she changed his personality so much from one book to another. I liked him just fine the way he was. Still really good.

this is my second book by Miss Klassel. If you enjoy very funny historical romance, then I can highly recommend this author. This quick book was funny, heartwarming, very adventuresome and as a bonus-a paranormal romance as well. The introduction of Merlin in the story was inspired. The hero and heroine are enjoyable and realistically portrayed. The hero is a hunk of an alpha male-who never sways from his arrogance-but he has good reasons for doing so. The heroine is great-beautiful, adventuresome and brave. A very fun book that I recommend you pick up ASAP:) 5 stars!

In continuing the saga begun in SHE WHO LAUGHS LAST, author Klassel returns to the land of Dominion several years later as Lord Eben, the young brother of Lady Syrah is all grown up and being of the `blind booby' persuasion, seemingly oblivious of the young Lady Kaia who has also grown up into a beautiful young woman. Lady Kaia from the age of three had adored Eben all her life, extracting a promise from him that he would `pwomise to mwarry her when she would be all gwown up'. Naturally, Eben still considers her as a second little sister, she and Morgana, his own little sister, being inseparable. Both Kaia and Eben had for a time tried to out-prank each other, worms in her bath, and sewing his sheets together - all in fun but as they grew older, the pranks while amusing had Eben continually coming to her rescue. After Kaia had been sent to a convent in an effort to curb her mischievous ways and turn her into a proper young woman ready to marry, have babies, etc. according to her buffoon of a father. Kaia's fondest dream was to learn to read and write the one thing forbidden by her father. Having lost all hope of Eben ever recognizing her as a woman other than his `little one', Kaia encounters a kindly monk, a talking dog who turns out to be none other than the mystical "Merlin", and sets out with them for a circle of stones in the Western lands. Once there she could be transported into the future where she could choose her own husband and learn to read! Once again Eben is sent out on the trail to rescue and return Kaia to her home. Along the way, they encounter Eben's worst enemy, other run-aways, and the entire escapade turns out to be a merry chase with eye-opening revelations for both Eben and Kaia. *** As a sequel to SHE WHO LAUGHS LAST, it can and does stand-alone. Again, Klassel gives you some interesting characters, loads of chuckles and a fun look at her interpretation of the infamous Merlin from the Arthurian legends. While I did feel the chase did get a bit on the drawn out side, the author did manage to fill the pages with other interesting tidbits that were interesting, such as the sub-plot of bringing down the odious Gyp from her original debut novel. Another, thing that was entertaining was the feeling of the realism of the middle ages even though the locales were fictitious. While I would have liked to have seen a bit more romance, those episodes that did occur were very pleasant and as a whole gave off a lightened sensual awareness. This was a very nice installment to Klassel's Dominion series that I can certainly give a thumbs up to. --- Marilyn, for www.romancedesigns.com ---

Lady Kaia was definitely a woman ahead of her time. Long before Sadie Hawkins, at the age of three, she was proposing marriage to the man of her dreams, Eben. Although the older "man"(14) dismissed her as a little girl's affections, there was still somewhat of a bond between them. It was Eben who found himself rescuing Kaia from one scrape or another until the day she was sent to a convent in hopes of gaining a more serene nature. Rather than serenity, all Kaia gained was boredom, which she attempted to relieve in rather outrageous ways. Just before she is to be sent home, Kaia meets a very unusual "person"; a talking black hound. The hound is Merlin, in disguise. Together with an elderly monk, Kaia sets off on a quest to the stone circle that will take them to the future, a world of flying people and pizza pies and women's lib. When news of her escape gets back to the her relative, the king, Eben is dispatched to retrieve Kaia, the monk, and Kaia's best friend and Eben's squire who have gone in pursuit of the delinquents. Kaia leads them all on a merry chase, barely eluding capture by Eben, only to be taken by Eben's worst enemy. When Eben at last catches her, he realizes losing her would be the worst thing that could happen to his heart, but hasty words could ruin the romance and send Kaia on a one way ticket to the twentieth century. **** Even if you don't like paranormals or historicals, this book is too much fun to pass by. Subtle tribute is paid to the premier Arthurian chronicler of the last century, TH White. Ms Klassel's Merlin is among the best Merlin of all books. I'd like to see him again. Although this is an offshoot of She Who Laughs Last, reading it is not critical to following this book. **** Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.

In Dominion, a female, even a royal relative, has no need to read so is never taught so. Education is limited to what a woman can do for her mate. Being a first cousin to the King has not helped the spirited Kaia Kurinon gain anything but the accepted female learning. However, at eighteen her élan and capers becomes unacceptable for a marriageable woman so in punishment for her latest antic the nuns exile her to a monastery. There she meets Merlin the talking dog who claims he can help her travel to a future where women are educated alongside men and control their destiny.Kaia accompanied frustrated scientist Brother Absalom flee to the portal, the standing stones in the Western Isles. Princesses cannot shirk their duty, so Eben Dhion is sent to bring her home. Kaia has loved Eben for years, but her feelings remain unrequited as he thinks of her as his misbehaving younger sister. He catches up with her on the island of Ataxi, but first must defeat his enemy, Ranulph before he can try to understand why he suddenly needs Kaia safe as his wife.The second Dominion novel (see SHE WHO LAUGHS LAST) is an entertaining often-amusing fantasy romance starring two delightful lead protagonists especially the feisty Kaia. Secondary characters like Merlin living by going back in time augment the tale by adding the depth needed for two vastly different final confrontations, that between Eben and Ranulph and between Eben and Kaia. Fans who take the Arthurian legend as gospel will want to pass, but those who appreciate a wonderfully humorous spin that will keep readers laughing will devour this fun tale.Harriet Klausner