Knight Errant

Knight Errant is an adorable sci-fi romance. It starts off a little slow, but patient readers will be rewarded. I look forward to reading the sequel.

Received via Member Giveaway. ( )

I received this book from Librarything Member giveaways. Despite many attempts I could not finish it. I just could not get into either the story or the characters. I am unsure what it was about it - I enjoy science fiction/fantasy and have no problems with gay romance. ( )

A cute very anime-esque story. Why do I relate this story to anime? The combat training the crew routinely does, the space-opera theme, and heck the captain's blue hair all give me that sort of macross/evangelion/etc vibe. Not that this is a bad thing at all, I really enjoyed reading the story!

The story is well developed though I found myself wanting to smack Taro around for being such a dope at times, though the story wouldn't be what it is without that character flaw. There were times when I had difficulty discerning how all of the characters were related to one another. I did eventually figure it out but things were a bit unclear as to how Eve and Taro were connected and where all of the other characters fit into the "family" that lived aboard the ship.

I hope that in the sequels we find out more about Taro's pre-Eve days when he lived with Murgoty, I think a lot of the explanations for Taro's character flaws lie in his back-story and I would be interested to hear more about his younger days. ( )

Knight Errant is a sweet, though action-packed, coming-of-age/gay/space opera/romance, in which the gay part is much less important that the coming-of-age part. The love scenes are not at all explicit for anyone who would be uncomfortable with that but quite apologetically same gender, which I consider a plus. While I am not a huge romance fan, this is well-written with plenty of space opera adventure to keep you entertained.

My one complaint was that the novel gets off to a slow start. I found myself not caring that Kintaro Hibiki (mostly called by his nickname of Taro) was kicked out of a low-life gambling club, and the author seemed to go on a bit about how Taro's adopted "sister" and savior, Eve Marcori, always saved small children and got kicked out of the space marines for doing so. However, once you get past the first couple of chapters the action starts rolling and, even more importantly, you get drawn into the characters for whom you start cheering.

Taro is devoted to Eve who now owns and captains a space freighter. He has no desire to go to college or follow in Eve's footsteps as a space captain. However, he won't disappoint her by telling her that or by telling her that he is gay. He represses almost all of his own personality to try to fit into her vision of what his dead mother would have wanted him to be. The problem is that it isn't whom he is.

Then they rescue another young man, Rafe, who was a former pleasure-slave. Eve had freed him from slavery but being a courtesan has seemed to him to be the only way to make his way in life. He really isn't good at much of anything else--or so it seems. Besides that, Rafe likes pleasing and giving pleasure to other people if it can be someone he likes or cares about. He hasn't minded his way of life as long as he could choose who he was with. The budding relationship between Taro and Rafe, with its misunderstandings, some of them deliberately fostered by Rafe, and its snarky dialogue is quite well done.

Taro decides to find a way to get rid of Rafe largely, though he doesn't admit it to himself, because he is strongly attracted to him. Unfortunately, Taro has a way of finding himself in deep trouble, and his attempt to rid them of Rafe lands the two of them kidnapped and stranded on a poisonous planet. There Taro begins, with Rafe's help, to see that he can and must stand up for whom he is and what he wants, even against Eve who only wants the best for him.

Through space explosions, gambling, bar fights, more kidnappings, and a gradually deepening relationship, Rafe comes to value himself as more than a pleasure-giver and Taro comes to realize that he must be who he really is. The novel is literately written and a pleasure to read. If you hang in there past the slow start, this is a book you will thoroughly enjoy.

This is a four-and-a-half Star novel. ( )

*possible spoilers*

I honestly don't know how to write a review for this book. How do I write a nice coherent review for a book that made me literally squeal multiple times, for a book that had me sneaking extra breaks at work just to read it?

Well first, let me start out by pointing out the one and only thing that I didn't like about this book. And it's a purely subjective thing: I don't like sci-fi. I never have. So some parts of this book were very hard to "get". The poisonous planet, the friends that act like humans until you read a mention of fur and paws and remember that they aren't... the fact that a good chunk of this book takes place on a spaceship that the main characters live on... Sometimes it was hard to understand all of that.

However. None of that could take away from the sheer *awesomeness* of the storyline. It's very easy to understand what Taro is going through in the beginning... This wonderful, totally bad-ass Marine named Eve takes him under her wing, gives him everything he needs and more, and plans out a solid future for him. A future that he doesn't want, and that is basically against his personality. But how can he tell her that, when she's given him so much? It's easy to identify with that, and to feel the struggles that Taro goes through.

Especially when he realizes he's fallen for Rafe. Rafe, who is labeled as "baggage", "NAVU" (No Actual Vertical Use)... Rafe is exactly the opposite of that solid future Taro has been working towards, but he quickly realizes that Rafe is also exactly what he wants.

Taro and Rafe are.... amazing together. They bring out the best *and* the worst in each other, they bicker constantly and can't help pushing each other's buttons, and they just fit so great together.

And this review is getting pretty long. See, I knew this would happen! Basically, this book is awesome. There were times when I really really hated Eve, for the way she treated Rafe, and especially the way she talked about Rafe to Taro even after she knew they were together... And yet if I tried just a little bit, I could see where she was coming from. I was rooting for Taro the whole way, and yet I sometimes got frustrated at how he would always keep his real feelings to himself... Which is why I cheered outloud when he finally got it all out, yelled at Eve and finally said everything that he'd been holding in the entire book. That was *awesome*.

I will be re-reading this book. Multiple times. A friend joked that I should just start re-reading it right now, and I'm seriously considering it. That's how much I love this book. ( )

Knight Errant is a love story that follows the adventures of Kintaro Hibiki. Kintaro (Taro) wants to meet the expectations of his adopted sister and go to college. Taro doesn't want the life his sister has mapped out for him. He prefers living life on the edge. While trying to figure out how to stomach the boredom of college Taro meets Rafe, a male pleasure giver. Taro tries to ignore his attraction to Rafe. After being kidnapped by the husband of one Rafe's clients, they find themselves stuck on a deserted planet. While trying to survive together planet, Taro gives up trying to fight his attraction and gives in.

Throughout the rest of the book Taro and Rafe end up in some interesting situations. Though there seems to be a lot of scrapes and dangerous situations each situation builds the bond between the two lovers. The story is so well written that I easily forgot that the book followed a gay couple. The gender of the Taro and Rafe took a sideline to the budding romance between the too characters. Knight Errant was easily one of the best books I've read in a while. It's a must read for any looking for a true romance novel. ( )

This was an excellent book. One of the best books I have ever read. Once I sat down and started reading it, it was very hard to pull away from it. I found it very entrancing and the story kept me on my feet. This is definitely a book I would recommend you read. On a scale of 1-5 i give this book a 10. If you read my reviews please go buy this book it is totally worth the money and the time it takes to read it. Really looking forward to reading the next book. :) ( )

Taro has been adopted – sort of. The woman he considers his big sister, ex-marine Eve Marcori, took him in when his mother died, promising his mother she would look after him. He now has a home on her freight-hauling star ship, brothers and sisters also rescued by Eve, daily training, and soon college. Taro is trying hard to stay out of trouble to please Eve, after all he owes her so much and can't bear to disappoint her. He decides not to tell her college is the last thing he wants to do and he certainly isn't going to tell her he recently realized he's gay.

For Taro, life suddenly gets interesting when Rafe is rescued and joins them on the freighter. Their adventures and budding relationship is what the story is all about. It's a sweet m/m romance with non-explicit love scenes. Though I found it hard to warm up to the characters at first, they soon became very real. Their dialogue is great with snarky Taro and playboy Rafe trying to come to terms with their attraction to each other.

Through bar fights, kidnapping, survival on a poisoned planet, first love, and dealing with Eve's expectations, Taro learns to stand up for who he is and what he wants. It's a great tale once the action starts and I loved the happy for now ending, promising a sequel in 2011. Well written and very creative! I will certainly want to read more. A half star deducted for what seemed like a slow start, but if you hang in there, you soon won't be able to put this one down. ( )

I'm constantly rereading this book.

I have the paperback format of the book, and every time I see it on my desk, I open it up to reread one of my favorite scenes. But that reminds me of another favorite, and then another, and soon I'm flipping to the beginning of the book to reread the whole thing. That way I get all of my favorites in order.

Taro and Rafe may get off to a rocky start, but when they begin to work together, to get to know each other, they are an amazing team. The romance is believable and sweet, but there's plenty of action as well. A great book! ( )