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lizzye33 's review for:
Her Knight at the Museum
by Bryn Donovan
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was not expecting a funny contemporary romance in my future so soon after the last one, but when I did a double take at my recommendations for the first time in months, I figured, why not give it a chance? I loved the concept of this plot before, even if not all attempts succeeded. I think this one has.
It's more openly suggestive than I felt particularly comfortable with in my taste. I got a little nervous with the spice in their first meeting, wondering if it would be mostly that content, which I was happy to find it was not. It was charming in most aspects, including the emotional aspects of each character contributing to the greater story. Still, as someone who loves Aurtherian legends, gentlemen who are model human beings, and romance that can entirely shift the hearts and minds of the characters from the dead set "It's just the way things are or have always been" to "But this is what things could be" and find peace, it's refreshing, even if it takes some extreme methods to get there.
For the first time in a long while, I fell into this book like I have not with other contemporary romances in the way I thought I was watching them in person. I rooted for them and saw parts of myself in these characters. They have genuine fears and flaws; nothing felt unnecessary to add to the writing. For once, there was no needless explanation of internal dialogue; everything blended and flowed perfectly.
Most importantly, it made me laugh, and no book has gotten more than a smile or a scoff from me in quite some time. It was refreshing, and I greatly needed and appreciated it. I love the moments that caught me off guard with wording and timing, especially the quick witt of casual conversation immediately questioned and humorously contextualized by Gryffin. Man, I love that guy. Gryffin and Emily balance together so well that they make the writing flow, not the other way around, for once in a blue moon. It was great and very charming.
And I fell for Gryffin pretty much since he began falling for her because of who she was and how she treated others before the curse broke, and she knew of it, and after she got through her lust crush in the first couple of chapters. Given the situation, they handled the unexpectedness of everything rather well, on top of the theft problem.
Speaking of that, it is an interesting plot element, though I was weary of it going into the story aware of it. I still feel justified in that weariness because though it adds the premise very well, it's not my favorite addition to my story, and their anxiety, though very warranted, made me a little anxious for the book to move faster in those sections. But towards the end, in particular, I greatly loved the parallels and full circle moments for Gryffin and Emily, and they both deserved a resounding love for each other.
Not all the moments were predictable in how my brain conceived the prompt or the plotline, which was interesting; not always my preference, but it worked well for the characters and added to the story well. That said, even with some mystery elements, the issues mentioned at the beginning of the story, though mostly resolved, were only brought up to an answer toward the end of the book in minor things that I both almost forgot about and kind of felt pulled out of the story a little to recall, I'm not sure why.
That and the characters you don't know who to trust. I still don't like Laurie, Jason gave me weird vibes the whole time, I still want answers about his work because they were vaguely brought up since Emily also wanted to know, and I guess she got her answers even though we didn't. I was wondering if a sequel would be written based on this plot point into an SPN spin or something, but pleasantly, this is a stand-alone. I saw the plot twists coming mostly, except when the meeting and the Gala took place. I wish I had more patience in getting to the end because I pulled myself out of the story by the latter.
But whether you like contemporary romance, quick wit, hopeless romantics like ourselves, fantasy and Arthurian legends, art, healthy mindset shifts, history or mystery, there is something for everyone to enjoy. If any of these elements suit your interests, I highly recommend this little surprise of a well-written book.
It's more openly suggestive than I felt particularly comfortable with in my taste. I got a little nervous with the spice in their first meeting, wondering if it would be mostly that content, which I was happy to find it was not. It was charming in most aspects, including the emotional aspects of each character contributing to the greater story. Still, as someone who loves Aurtherian legends, gentlemen who are model human beings, and romance that can entirely shift the hearts and minds of the characters from the dead set "It's just the way things are or have always been" to "But this is what things could be" and find peace, it's refreshing, even if it takes some extreme methods to get there.
For the first time in a long while, I fell into this book like I have not with other contemporary romances in the way I thought I was watching them in person. I rooted for them and saw parts of myself in these characters. They have genuine fears and flaws; nothing felt unnecessary to add to the writing. For once, there was no needless explanation of internal dialogue; everything blended and flowed perfectly.
Most importantly, it made me laugh, and no book has gotten more than a smile or a scoff from me in quite some time. It was refreshing, and I greatly needed and appreciated it. I love the moments that caught me off guard with wording and timing, especially the quick witt of casual conversation immediately questioned and humorously contextualized by Gryffin. Man, I love that guy. Gryffin and Emily balance together so well that they make the writing flow, not the other way around, for once in a blue moon. It was great and very charming.
And I fell for Gryffin pretty much since he began falling for her because of who she was and how she treated others before the curse broke, and she knew of it, and after she got through her lust crush in the first couple of chapters. Given the situation, they handled the unexpectedness of everything rather well, on top of the theft problem.
Speaking of that, it is an interesting plot element, though I was weary of it going into the story aware of it. I still feel justified in that weariness because though it adds the premise very well, it's not my favorite addition to my story, and their anxiety, though very warranted, made me a little anxious for the book to move faster in those sections. But towards the end, in particular, I greatly loved the parallels and full circle moments for Gryffin and Emily, and they both deserved a resounding love for each other.
Not all the moments were predictable in how my brain conceived the prompt or the plotline, which was interesting; not always my preference, but it worked well for the characters and added to the story well. That said, even with some mystery elements, the issues mentioned at the beginning of the story, though mostly resolved, were only brought up to an answer toward the end of the book in minor things that I both almost forgot about and kind of felt pulled out of the story a little to recall, I'm not sure why.
That and the characters you don't know who to trust. I still don't like Laurie, Jason gave me weird vibes the whole time, I still want answers about his work because they were vaguely brought up since Emily also wanted to know, and I guess she got her answers even though we didn't. I was wondering if a sequel would be written based on this plot point into an SPN spin or something, but pleasantly, this is a stand-alone. I saw the plot twists coming mostly, except when the meeting and the Gala took place. I wish I had more patience in getting to the end because I pulled myself out of the story by the latter.
But whether you like contemporary romance, quick wit, hopeless romantics like ourselves, fantasy and Arthurian legends, art, healthy mindset shifts, history or mystery, there is something for everyone to enjoy. If any of these elements suit your interests, I highly recommend this little surprise of a well-written book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, Classism