Mission Accomplished

Sorry for the lateness of this post but the real world has a way of getting in the way of my fun :) I want to thank those who offered suggestions for my Mission Possible a couple months back. I read a few of the books mentioned as well as a couple others that I found on my own and final verdict: I read some good stories, a couple 'bleh' books but my favorite would have to be A Knight In Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux!

Abandoned by a cruel fate, lovely, thoroughly modern Dougless Montgomery lay weeping upon a cold tombstone in an English church. Suddenly, as if in answer to her prayers, the most extraordinary man appeared. He was Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck...and according to his tombstone he had died in1564. Tall, broad of shoulder, attired in gleaming silver and gold, he was magnificent. Drawn to his side by a bond so sudden and compelling it overshadowed reason, Dougless knew that Nicholas was nothing less than a miracle: a man who would not seek to change her, who found her perfect, fascinating, just as she was. Yet she could not imagine how strong were the chains that tied them to the past...or the grand adventure that lay before them....

I've read a couple of Jude Deveraux's books in the past and they were just on my OK scale. Decent stories with a cute love story but nothing that stuck with me after the fact. A Knight In Shining Armor broke that mold and is a definite keeper that I can see myself re-reading in the future. I'll admit, the beginning started out bad for me. First of all, I have a thing with character names that make my eyes roll and this one had that: the heroine's name is Dougless. But after seeing the name a few times, I got over it. Then the beginning of the book makes Dougless sound so pathetic with all she puts up with that I thought I had another TSTL heroine on my hands. I did put the book down a couple times but after finally getting over that beginning bump, there was no looking back. I was happy to see that this wasn't another lust at first sight story and enjoyed the build up of the friendship then relationship between Nicholas and Dougless. I wasn't annoyed each time Dougless had to explain an item and it's function to Nicholas. In fact, most of the time I found it sweet to look at things through his eyes. Actually, I was surprised at how his comments were very relevant to things going on today what with everyone trying to go green and save the earth. It's very true how much we take for granted and waste in this time. I loved the humor in the book and found myself smiling several times throughout the story. It was also cool to have two different time-travel aspects in the book, the second being where Dougless is transported back in time. This book even includes the Buffy/Angel dilemma - all you Joss Whedon fans know what I'm talking about. Basically, the "we want to make love but can't because something bad will happen" dilemma. There's a part when Dougless has traveled back and they're about to get it on but then Nicholas stops them and he says something to her that I found heartbreaking and sweet, sad and beautiful, just a whole mix of emotions. As for the ending, for a few moments I wished that it happened a different way but after some thought, I felt it was perfect as is. Final grade: A-