Jerry Cooke
5⭐️ - What if A Knight's Tale was sapphic and had dragons and drunk tea parties? Sounds like an amazing time and it was!
"Today you are a knight.. and today, you are MY knight"
Gwen hates that she has to hide that she's taken over her father's blacksmithing business, because god forbid somebody buy a sword made by a woman. She's also quite like joust, as it happens, just to know that she can. Some things aren't worth getting burnt at the stake over though, she decides, and so when she wins the first round of the tourney under the disguise of Sir Gawain, she doesn't intend on doing a second one!
Lady Isobelle is somewhat invested in the outcome of said tourney, her guardian having placed her hand as the prize to be won. As somebody who has always been able to talk her way out of any situation, being placed in this situation just won't do. Therefore, her discovery of Gwen's knightly ambitions comes just at the time, because it would be rather lovely to have her win instead of one of the lecherous old knights.. she just needs to convince Gwen to play along!
This isn't a world that accepts a woman doing a man's job though and so freedom for Isobelle comes with a severe risk of persecution for Gwen. Something that becomes more and more difficult to stomach as feelings grow between the two.
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I'm not sure I've ever grinned so much during the first couple of hours of an audiobook. This truly does give A Knight's Tale vibes in the best way, but while there's a lot of similarities in the overarching concept, the execution done in a way that really makes it stand alone. I take my hat off to Helen Keeley and Barbara Rosenblat, because they do a phenomenal job here - giving perfect accents and wonderful Lady Whistledown vibes during the prologue and scattered narration segments.
Isobelle's queer awakening is a thing of beauty, with so much yearning and awkwardness. The tentative questioning and hinting that she and Isobelle both do to determine if they're both into women is as face-palmy as it is fun and affirming. It's some of the most fun I've had with a romance story in ages. The whole cast is amazing though and the Power of Female Friendship vibes are truly flawless. I couldn't ask for more.. except for desiring a sequel, which I'm happy to say we're getting this year!
5⭐️ - What if A Knight's Tale was sapphic and had dragons and drunk tea parties? Sounds like an amazing time and it was!
"Today you are a knight.. and today, you are MY knight"
Gwen hates that she has to hide that she's taken over her father's blacksmithing business, because god forbid somebody buy a sword made by a woman. She's also quite like joust, as it happens, just to know that she can. Some things aren't worth getting burnt at the stake over though, she decides, and so when she wins the first round of the tourney under the disguise of Sir Gawain, she doesn't intend on doing a second one!
Lady Isobelle is somewhat invested in the outcome of said tourney, her guardian having placed her hand as the prize to be won. As somebody who has always been able to talk her way out of any situation, being placed in this situation just won't do. Therefore, her discovery of Gwen's knightly ambitions comes just at the time, because it would be rather lovely to have her win instead of one of the lecherous old knights.. she just needs to convince Gwen to play along!
This isn't a world that accepts a woman doing a man's job though and so freedom for Isobelle comes with a severe risk of persecution for Gwen. Something that becomes more and more difficult to stomach as feelings grow between the two.
---------------------------
I'm not sure I've ever grinned so much during the first couple of hours of an audiobook. This truly does give A Knight's Tale vibes in the best way, but while there's a lot of similarities in the overarching concept, the execution done in a way that really makes it stand alone. I take my hat off to Helen Keeley and Barbara Rosenblat, because they do a phenomenal job here - giving perfect accents and wonderful Lady Whistledown vibes during the prologue and scattered narration segments.
Isobelle's queer awakening is a thing of beauty, with so much yearning and awkwardness. The tentative questioning and hinting that she and Isobelle both do to determine if they're both into women is as face-palmy as it is fun and affirming. It's some of the most fun I've had with a romance story in ages. The whole cast is amazing though and the Power of Female Friendship vibes are truly flawless. I couldn't ask for more.. except for desiring a sequel, which I'm happy to say we're getting this year!