The Captive Knight

This book was a total surprise. I had found it quite by accident on another reviewers list and decided to give it a try, and I was not disappointed. In fact, the writing has a depth and quality that is far above the typical romance novel, so much so, that I can't imagine why there are so few reviews. Unless, of course they looked at the tacky cover - "Never judge a book by its cover". Both Alienor and Jehan St. Simon are strong well developed characters, as are the secondary characters, and the story is simply compelling. The war between the English and French, although an integral part of the story, pretty much remains in the background while the relationship between Alienor and Jehan and her brother, Laurent, are the main focus. Set in Southern France in the midst of vineyards and war, it was hard to put down, and I look forward to reading other books by this author. There was little need to lay out the story as the other reviewer seems to have revealed most everything, but it is the quality of writing that grabs you.

This book takes place in southern France, in the year 1355. There's been almost constant war between the French and English kings, and the heroine, Alienor, has suffered from this more than most women. For one thing, her third betrothal has been broken off, this time because she lost her dower lands to seizure by a rogue knight, Jehan de St. Simon. When that same knight is captured and beaten by her father, Alienor expects to feel satisfaction; instead she is appalled at her father's rage and cruelty to Jehan, and the danger his lack of honor toward their enemy has suddenly placed their family. Jehan is a knight serving the English Prince of Wales, and her father's cruel beating of Jehan and holding him for ransom might bring the wrath of the English army on their heads. Alienor, at age 22, despises the thought that she might have to enter a convent. She longs for a home and children but the times she lives in seem to indicate she will never have these simple things. Dependent on a frequently-absent father to wrest back her dowry, wanting nothing more than a settled home and family before she becomes too old to have one, she can't be sidetracked by her pity for the broken and beaten knight -- can she? In the end, it's more in an attempt to redress the wrong done to Jehan and to the family's honor that she countermands her father's orders, and tends Jehan's wounds. This is the first in a chain of actions that will decide her fate (and it's marvelous to see the way the author ties them all together). I picked this up in a used book store for no reason other than I liked the cover. Now I want to go back to that store & buy everything this author has written. This book kept me up reading until 2 AM and only sheer exhaustion forced me to put it down. It is THAT GOOD. The story just takes off and never lets go; it's forceful, dramatic, and romantic. The characters are fully rounded "realistic" characters: Alienor, brave and smart, with a mind of her own; Jehan, determined, chivalrous, and fatally stubborn, and then there's all the minor characters: Laurent (Alienor's brother); her parents; her great uncle - and happily, none of the people in this novel are caricatures. As a reader of romances, you may be familar with the various kinds of subcharacters that some authors clutter a romance novel with: devoted old retainers for the heroine, or a smart-mouthed sidekick for the hero; sappy little children who talk like adults, or bitter mistresses flitting around, all who take time away from the romance -- but none of these, thankfully, are a part of MY LOVING ENEMY. The focus is all on Alienor and Jehan, their conflicts, and the way they resolve them, and oh yes, their romance, which is (sigh) quite memorable. Very highly recommended, particularly to any reader who is looking for a great medieval romance-read.