Secrets of the Knight

Diana Winslow went to Castle Bannaster on a mission; she did not know that an act done under the cover of a servants costume would change the course of her life. Viscount Bannaster is now dead and his brother Thomas is now the Viscount. When word comes that Thomas will be coming to her home to court Diana's sister, the Bladeswoman plots to find out if he has discovered who she is. Viscount Thomas Bannaster, once destined for the priesthood is now looking for a wife. When his cousin, the King of England, suggests that he court the younger Winslow sister he heads right to her home only to be kidnapped on his way. Even though Diana swears the kidnapping is to protect her sister, he knows something else is up. As soon as he escapes, he intends to find out what that is. Secrets of the Knight is smart, funny and sexy. Julia Latham does an excellent job writing these unusual lives and does so in a way that is believable. The dialogue feels natural and the characters are intelligent and well written. I especially liked the opposite upbringings of the two main characters, the woman trained to be a fighter and the male punished if he touched a sword. Not many can write a character that does stupid things once in a while, but is still smart enough to know that it was stupid. Secrets of the Knight is the complete package and that is why I Joyfully Recommend it. Tori Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Julia Latham has swiftly moved to the top of my auto buy list for medieval romances. Some medieval romance authors tend to create a very alpha hero who captures the missish heroine. This is not the case with Julia Latham's third installment in the League of Blades Series, Secrets of the Knight. Diana Winslow is not your typical 15th century woman. She is the first female member of the League of Blades. The only bladeswoman in a band of men. The League is a secret society of bladesmen who fight for justice and the good of England. At the tender age of 17, Diana is sent to Castle Bannaster by the League on her first mission. Her mission is simple - go undercover as a maid, gain the confidence of the servants, and assist the servants in standing up to their master and abuser, Viscount Bannaster. But in her attempts to help the servants, Diana discovers the unwanted attention of Viscount Bannaster. When he tries to force his lecherous motives on her, the training of the League takes over and she kills him, only to turn and find the brown eyes of his younger brother staring at her. At the age of 18, Thomas Bannaster has lived a life full of unhappiness. From a young age, his family has insisted he is destined for the priesthood. Although reluctant to do this, Thomas agrees out of family duty and loyalty. But Thomas dreams of more for his life. As Julia writes, "He wanted to feel . . . close to someone, to feel loved and to love in return." One night he enters his brother's chambers and finds Viscount Bannaster attacking a young servant girl. Thomas witnesses his brother's murder. Instead of calling for the guards and imprisoning the servant, he tells her to grab her dagger and leave the castle as soon as possible. Fast forward 6 years later. Diana finds out that Thomas Bannaster, Viscount Bannaster, will be visiting her family home in an effort to court her beautiful sister Cicely. Desperate to keep Thomas from discovering her as his brother's killer, Diana does what any bladesman or rather bladeswoman would do - she abducts Thomas and throws him in her dungeon to hold as her prisoner. But will this prisoner reverse the roles on Diana and capture her heart? I thoroughly enjoyed watching the relationship between Diana and Thomas evolve from foe to more than friend. Julia Latham has created two wonderful characters, both of which are full of surprises. I smiled and sighed as Thomas slowly showed Diana that even though she was physically strong and could wield a dagger better than most men, she was still a woman. A woman worthy of love, of desire, and of happily ever after. Julia Latham also writes Victorian historical romances under the name Gayle Callen. Personally, I don't care what name she puts on her books as long as she continues to write keepers like this one. I hope that you will go out and buy Secrets of the Knight and enjoy the adventure. You will not be disappointed!

Julia Latham also writes Regency Romances under the name Gayle Callen but this story is set in the mediaeval period, a world of Knights and castles and danger. Diana Winslow is a rather unusual young lady, one who has trained in fighting with daggers and who has become part of a group of mysterious fighters who try to right wrongs. When she finds herself defending a serving woman from the attentions of a lecherous viscount her life takes a whole new path as she escapes a murder charge with the viscount's brother potentially taking the blame. Six years later the new viscount, Tom Bannaster, comes to the Keep where Diana and her sister Cicely live. He is supposedly there to get to know Cicely before proposing marriage to her but Diana wants to keep him away from her sister because of Diana's history with him. However things don't exactly go her way and Tom tries to seduce Diana. Diana has to decide where her loyalties lie, whether to the mysterious group of Bladesmen or to this man with a chequered history. This was a reasonable story set in an inhospitable and dangerous time. Tom and Diana were both appealing characters although some of the other people in the story, such as Cecily and their brother Archie, felt rather stereotypical. We didn't learn a great deal about life in the mediaeval period, most of the attention was on the interactions between Tom and Diana. The story was fairly predictable as it moved along but it wasn't boring and despite the improbability of many of the actions and events it was a reasonable read. Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

**4 1/2 Bookmarks, Courtesy of Wild on Books** Kidnapping a Viscount was probably not the best idea, but Diana had little choice. Years ago, she was responsible for his villainous brother's death, and only Thomas Bannaster knew the truth of the situation. Plagued by suspicions he murdered his brother for years, he must surely be there to expose his brother's true killer and clear his name. She was on a mission for the League of the Blade at the time, tasked with stopping the late Viscount's cruelties, but her impulsive actions have put her position as a Bladeswoman on hold for years since. Now the League has a new mission for her, and it involves the very man she has kidnapped. Problem is, she finds herself succumbing to Tom's attempts to seduce her - something she never anticipated. How can she keep her objectivity as a Bladeswoman even while she loses her heart to the subject of her investigation? Once again, Julia Latham more than proves her mettle in the historical romance genre. With a blend of sexy romance and suspense, she weaves a tale that easily spellbinds readers. SECRETS OF THE KNIGHT follows suit in this vein by starring a very strong heroine who bucks the strictures upon her gender and strives to be more than the average historical heroine. Diana is a very atypical Lady, a far as historical romances go, and more than appeals to modern women. She is bold, resourceful, and has spent a lifetime training in the physical pursuits normally denied to women of her time. I found her to be a woman that I could admire, even when she made a few mistakes. Above all, Diana just wants to do what is right - a quality that Tom soon recognizes and endears him to her more than her undeniable physical attributes, despite how their relationship starts off. Tom himself is a man with a past that haunts him. Where Diana may have made some mistakes, he has gone far past that. But he isn't a bad man; he simply made a few unfortunate choices that he is now working on moving past. Having been raised to enter the priesthood, he didn't learn how to deal in social situations until late in life, making it difficult for him to adapt. By the time he does learn, however, he becomes a man any woman could lose her heart to, and it is easy to see why Diana falls for him. For a historical romance that is sexy, sweet, and suspenseful, SECRETS OF THE KNIGHT fits the bill very nicely! Series Order: Thrill of the Knight One Knight Only Secrets of the Knight

In 1480 League of the Blade warrior Diana Winslow traveled to Castle Bannaster in disguise as a servant. Her assignment was to end Viscount Bannaster's brutal mistreatment of women. However, she went too far leaving the viscount dead and his brother Thomas accused by the lords as his killer. Six years later, King Henry strongly suggested to his "cousin" Thomas to court Cicely Winslow. Thus he heads to Richmond while Cicely's sister Diana knows she cannot hang around just in case he recognizes her in front of her family as the servant who could defend herself with the blade on that fatal day. Instead once again the impulsive master bladeswoman acts; she abducts Thomas. As she holds him prisoner, the pair are attracted to one another. However, if extended family relations were not convoluted enough, her employer orders her to investigate Thomas' loyalty to the King The third League of the Blade historical romance (see THRILL OF THE KNIGHT and ONE KNIGHT ONLY) is a fabulous gender bending tale as Diana is super with the sword and not afraid to act often impetuously and unwisely. Thus she is weaponless when she falls in love. Thomas is a strong character too, but this deep period piece belongs to the third bladeswoman