Review: Tender is the Knight by Jamaica Layne

Tender is the Knight by Jamaica Layne

Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Heat Rating: 2

Blurb

Assembly-line forewoman and Dayton, Ohio resident Lisa Marie Smith’s life just got a lot more medieval. Lisa’s co-worker and best friend, Pegeen Palmer forcibly drags her to an event showcasing Pegeen’s latest hobby---the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), a living history organization that specializes in the Middle Ages. SCA members get their weekend kicks dressing up in medieval “garb” and pretending to be knights and ladies.



Lisa is skeptical at first, but pretty soon she falls for Sir Phillip Reginald of Whitestar, a swashbuckling SCA Knight and top favorite to become the SCA’s most important new King. It’s soon clear that this dazzlingly handsome, super-sexy knight has a dark and mysterious past, and it’s all Lisa can do just to keep her head above water as she gets caught up in the strange, intrigue-ridden world of SCA kingdom power politics. Will shy, emotionally fragile Lisa manage to juggle her day job, her eccentric best friend, and a passionate new relationship with her mysterious knight without coming apart? 




Hunter’s Review

At the beginning of this book, I was rather enticed with the description of the SCA. I’d never heard anything about it and I was fascinated with the story. But, as the book progressed I found myself frustrated with the way this story moved forward. Lisa is so unaware of the workings of the SCA and so much time is spent explaining it to her that almost no character development actually happens in this book.

Lisa doesn’t change much, except for a sudden understanding about herself that comes out of nowhere and Phil’s behavior is downright rude at times with very little explanation. For me, the worst part of the book came at the very end when the characters ‘made up.’ I just didn’t buy it at all that a girl with no experience in the SCA stumbles onto love and becomes royalty almost immediately upon entering.

However, I do think that people who are interested in learning about the SCA will enjoy reading this book.

2 Tea Cups!