Review: A TALE FULL OF DANGER, EMOTIONS AND ROMANCE
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 17, 2012
With "Her Fair Lady", Kathleen Kirkwood shows us once again that she is a marvelous storyteller with a wonderfully rich and fine imagination. This is the story of Royce and Juliana, our two heroes, who are simply trying to find their place in this world and it's certainly not easy, to say the least!Young squire Royce de Warren was lucky enough to be chosen by Lord Hugh to join a group of knights going to the Holy Land to fight beneath the banner of The Lion Heart. His head is full of dreams and expectations. But he won't need to go very far to be confronted with a horrific and nightmarish vision.Darkness was falling and after a turn of the road they saw the village in fire, they heard the cries, they discovered the bodies of both villagers and animals butchered, scattered here and there ... and again the same devastation and gruesome spectacle inside the manor house of Lord of Vaux! But by the merest chance, or is it fate, Royce discovers a trembling little girl with extraordinary silvery hair hidden under a boat near the river ... The miller's family is dead in the grass nearby so he just assumes that she's their daughter. In the neighboring village, she's entrusted to the brewer and his wife who are childless. But before continuing his journey, Royce gives the little girl his silver cross and he vows that he will always protect the weak.Ten years later, Sir Royce de Warren is back in England. All he wants is to settle down. The late King Richard promised him some lands and he has now to claim them from King John. Lord Gilbert Osborne of Penhurst, an old man barely able to stand, interrupts the sumptuous royal festivities and demands justice from the Knight Royce de Warren. He's responsible for the loss of his granddaughter, The Lady Juliana Mandeville. Wrong must be set to right and so Royce embarks on his quest to find the lost heiress and return her to her rightful family!Today it is Ana's wedding day, she's smiling, she's radiant and she's happy; she had dreamed about this day for years, but alas, this was not to be ... a knight arrives and steals her happiness and her future--she's ripped from the only family she remembers. Nobody is here to help her; it's a nightmare! She doesn't recognize Royce as her long-lost squire. She absolutely rejects the idea that she could be Lady Juliana. She's furious, alone with her fear and she's going to fight him every step of the way ... and what an understatement!This is only the beginning of an arduous and very eventful journey and it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.Juliana is an impulsive and head-strong girl who is determined to express her refusal of her new circumstances by any means possible. But she understands very quickly that she has no choice but to go with Royce ... for now. Despair combined with a good measure of recklessness and naivety is a powerful mix for creating perilous situations and indeed there's no lack of them here. Very frankly, I'd be lying if I told you that I never wanted to slap the girl, but on the other hand, I can understand what she's going through and she has so much to lose by doing nothing ... well, so she thinks.Royce is a good and honorable person who has the patience of an angel because Juliana is a constant source of irritation and even danger in his present life. He's definitely not used to dealing with such an adversary. To observe the progressive evolution of their personalities was very exciting and even funny to watch. Then very slowly but surely Juliana accepts her destiny.Ms. Kirkwood's captivating style of writing and wonderful descriptions keep you immersed in this story full of danger, emotions and romance until the very end.