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Book Review of Knight of Passion (All the King's Men, Bk 3)

Knight of Passion (All the King's Men, Bk 3)
Tesstarosa avatar reviewed on + 151 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


The third and final book in the All the King's Men trilogy. This is the book that my book club is reading and what lead me to read the first two. My read the books in order rule has not disappointed me.

King Henry has died young and left a young widow, Queen Katherine, and the toddler king. There are two factions, the Gloucesters and Winchesters, fighting to "guide" the young king, who has been taken from the foreign queen (Queen Katherine is French.) Lady Linnet, our heroine, is one of the queen's advisors, but her most urgent desire is to seek revenge for Grandfather against the men who cheated him and left her and her twin brother, Francois, to starve upon his death. She is intent so intent on revenge that she will sacrifice everything, including love, to achieve her goal.

Our story opens in France with Lady Linnet in bed with her childhood sweetheart, Sir Jamie Rayburn, the step-son of Lord William FitzAlan. Linnet is supposed to be engaged to another man when they are caught together in bed. But not by accident, for Linnet has no desire to marry the man her father has chosen for her, Guy Pomeroy. Jamie is unaware of Linnet's plot until they are discovered together and he leaves for England, heartsick at the cruelty of Linnet's refusal of his proposal.

Five years later in London, Jamie rescues Linnet from a near riot in the streets of London and learns that she is an advisor to the queen while he is an advisor to the Bishop of Winchester. Their romance is eventually reignited and eventually Linnet agrees to an engagement to Jamie with the promise to stop her quest for vengeance.

But one night, Linnet sees an opportunity to obtain her last revenge and she ignores her promise to Jamie, certain that he will never learn of her transgression. Linnet is wrong and Jamie learns of her betrayal and calls off the engagement.

Linnet stills wants Jamie, but Jamie is determined to find a wife he can trust and soon his family has arranged for him to marry a woman whose only desire is to enter a convent -- but her family has land, something that Jamie as the step-son of Lord FitzAlan does not have.

God's beard, when will our misguided lovers learn that they belong together? For sooth, certainly Jamie knows that Linnet needs him -- especially since her quest for vengeance is taking her into danger. (I just love the quaint little phrases used during the 15th century.)

Yes, another great story. I anxiously await more from this author.