Description: Luneta is tired of living in dull Orkney with her mother and father (who happens to be the most boring knight of King Arthur's Round Table). She prides herself on always getting what she wants, so when the opportunity presents itself, she jumps at the chance to stay at a family friend's castle near Camelot. Her handsome cousin, Sir Ywain - a young knight seeking adventure- arrives just in time to escort her to King Arthur's court.
Along the way they pick up a knight-turned-fool named Rhience, whose wit and audacity set many a puffed-up personality in its place. Before arriving at Lady Laudine's castle, the trio stops at Camelot, where they hear the story of the Storm Stone, a magical object deep in the forest that soon sweeps everyone into a web of love, betrayal, and more than a bit of magic.
Note: Description from the book jacket.
Review: "The Lioness and Her Knight" is a great addition to Gerald Morris's Squire's Tales series; as always, the book is laugh-out-loud hilarious with a great plot and a satisfying romance. Luneta is a little more passive than I would have liked, being dragged hither and yon by circumstances and not of her own volition, but she is still a good character, intelligent but with her own human foibles (she prizes her ability to manipulate people and loves to meddle in others' affairs). The character that really made the book for me was Rhience, whose amusing quips and sarcasm kept me giggling throughout the whole book, but whose more serious side was also apparent (but not to Luneta, unfortunately). As mentioned, I would have liked to see Luneta be more of a driving factor in the plot, but the story was decent nevertheless. One of the great things about the Squire's Tales series is that every book (except possibly the second one) can be read as a stand-alone; knowledge of the happenings of previous books is not necessary when reading a later book, though it can be amusing (for example, Luneta's parents were the stars of the third book in the series, and it was fun to see how they interact as a middle aged married couple). "The Lioness and Her Knight" is definitely worth the read, and if you like it, you'll love the rest of the series as well.
I finished this book in one day, I like it so much. Besides the first and possibly the second book, this is my favorite out of the series.
"The character that really made the book for me was Rhience, whose amusing quips and sarcasm kept me giggling throughout the whole book, but whose more serious side was also apparent (but not to Luneta, unfortunately)." I wholeheartedly agree! Rhience is exactly what was needed to keep this book sharp!
Luneta started out as a dissapointment to me, as she reminded me of someone I know, who happens to be a very young teenager (13). She was whiny and annoying, but as the book progressed, especially with the help of Rhience, she turned out all right. She actually reminded me quite a bit of Jane Austen's "Emma".
Posted by: Page Turner at January 6, 2006 03:10 PM