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A review by thebooknerdscorner
Lady's Knight by Meagan Spooner, Amie Kaufman
2.0
Hidden identities, a jousting competition, and whispers of dragons abound in this sapphic historical romance.
Gwen has spent her entire life pretending that she is someone that she isn't. Not only has she taken over her father's blacksmith, but she's also queer and dreams of being a knight in a time where none of these things are acceptable. When Gwen runs into the glamorous noblewoman, Isobelle of Avington, she learns what it means to truly be oneself. Isobelle isn't afraid to seize the reins of her life and concoct a plan to keep her from being forced to marry any of the knights competing in the Tournament of Dragonslayers. Secrets abound as Gwen and Isobelle endeavor to keep Gwen's hidden identity of Sir Gawain hidden from the entire kingdom. If the two can manage to win the tournament, they'll both be free. But if they fail? Well, let's leave that to your imagination, shall we?
I was really hoping that this one would be a funny lesbian knight and noblewoman romance, but it was just so boring. Literally nothing in this book felt original. exciting, or unpredictable. The way that the authors decided to pen this novel certainly didn't help this matter any either. Between the weird segments that the narrator stepped in to tell the story momentarily and the chapter headers, little of this book had any shock factor whatsoever.
I'm not a huge fan of fight scenes in general, but the ones in this book were especially tedious to read. Seriously, the long one at the end almost had me falling asleep and I seriously considered stopping reading this book with only twenty some pages to go.
The biggest positive takeaway I have from this book is the feminist messages. Gwen has always been forced to hide her true strengths both in the forge and in combat. Isobelle's entire life has always been controlled by others, and she is trying to escape from a loveless marriage. They are both queer, which also isn't remotely accepted during their time. This story focuses a ton on defying the path that society has laid out for us, and defying expectations. Also, the bits about being your true self were sweet, I guess.
Overall, "Lady's Knight" was just not that enjoyable of a book for me to read. I found it to be boring, predictable, and often repetitive. I didn't find myself connecting with any of the characters and I felt super underwhelmed by the romance. I can appreciate some of the feminist themes and messages, but that's about it.
Gwen has spent her entire life pretending that she is someone that she isn't. Not only has she taken over her father's blacksmith, but she's also queer and dreams of being a knight in a time where none of these things are acceptable. When Gwen runs into the glamorous noblewoman, Isobelle of Avington, she learns what it means to truly be oneself. Isobelle isn't afraid to seize the reins of her life and concoct a plan to keep her from being forced to marry any of the knights competing in the Tournament of Dragonslayers. Secrets abound as Gwen and Isobelle endeavor to keep Gwen's hidden identity of Sir Gawain hidden from the entire kingdom. If the two can manage to win the tournament, they'll both be free. But if they fail? Well, let's leave that to your imagination, shall we?
I was really hoping that this one would be a funny lesbian knight and noblewoman romance, but it was just so boring. Literally nothing in this book felt original. exciting, or unpredictable. The way that the authors decided to pen this novel certainly didn't help this matter any either. Between the weird segments that the narrator stepped in to tell the story momentarily and the chapter headers, little of this book had any shock factor whatsoever.
I'm not a huge fan of fight scenes in general, but the ones in this book were especially tedious to read. Seriously, the long one at the end almost had me falling asleep and I seriously considered stopping reading this book with only twenty some pages to go.
The biggest positive takeaway I have from this book is the feminist messages. Gwen has always been forced to hide her true strengths both in the forge and in combat. Isobelle's entire life has always been controlled by others, and she is trying to escape from a loveless marriage. They are both queer, which also isn't remotely accepted during their time. This story focuses a ton on defying the path that society has laid out for us, and defying expectations. Also, the bits about being your true self were sweet, I guess.
Overall, "Lady's Knight" was just not that enjoyable of a book for me to read. I found it to be boring, predictable, and often repetitive. I didn't find myself connecting with any of the characters and I felt super underwhelmed by the romance. I can appreciate some of the feminist themes and messages, but that's about it.