Knight's Blood is the second book in a trilogy written by author Julianne Lee. I received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer's program. The book works fine as a stand alone novel, although be forewarned--it ends on a cliffhanger that will leave you most likely wanting to read the final book of the series.

Overall, I found the story to be well written and enteraining. There are shades of the Outlander series here, to be sure. The plot is a bit confusing, as it centers around time travel, so the narrative jumps back and forth from present day London to fourteenth century Scotland. A navy pilot who wooed and won his beautiful wife in the first book of the series, has found himself transported back from a series of adventures in 14th century Scotland (which included being knighted and getting married). When he and Lindsay, his squire aka wife, discovered she was pregnant, at his wife's urging they found help from one of the "wee folk", Nemed, to return to present day London for the birth of their child. Alex returned to his duties as a Navy Pilot. Before long he received word that his wife has given birth to a son. Alex takes a leave of absence from the military to visit his wife and child, but when he arrives in London he is shocked to find their apartment empty with signs of a hasty departure by Lindsay. In the apartment he sees a photo of his newborn son and is shocked to see he has pointed ears--a dead giveaway that the child is not entirely human. Alex immediately suspects Lindsay of having been unfaithful to him. He discovers from a neighbor that their son was kidnapped and Lindsay fled quickly in pursuit of the kidnappers. Fled back in time and to another land. Alex knew he had to do the same, and quickly.

Alex managed to travel back to the general area of his castle as a laird in Scotland and the general time of his lairdship, the 14th century, through the machinations of the "wee folk". However, he arrived naked and very, very ill. He managed to regain his health after a long recuperation during which a grown young man showed up. A young man unmistakably of his lineage who turns out to be his twenty-seven year old son, Trefor; who was not only kidnapped as an infant by the fae, but has now been back in time by a beautiful version of this species, Morag. Trefor is indeed of magical lineage himself, on his mother's side, it turns out. Trefor believes his parents are responsible for abandoning him as an infant and bears a marked hatred of his father, in particular. Alex accepts that he is his son, but feels only antipathy towards him. They begin a quest in search of Alex's wife, Trefor's mother together.

In the meantime, Lindsay has gone back to previous ways of passing as a man to join a militant group of raiders, plundering and wreaking havoc and death upon villages in the far northern reaches of England. A dashing masculine version of the fae named An Reubair is the leader of this group and he is determined to call Lindsay his own and have sons by her. Between trying to keep An Reubair at bay and dealing with the aftermath of a brutal rape (which along with the fatal aftermath is described in graphic detail), Lindsay has her work cut out for her in her quest to search for her lost infant son.

When the "family" finally meets up with one another, they return to the castle of his lairdship Alex MacNeil (who has now been proclaimed an Earl). All is not well, though and this is about as dysfunctional a family as you will find. Trefor is longing for his mother who rejects him outright and refuses even to talk to him. Alex sides with his wife to protect her. Between the two of them, they display an inexplicable cruelty to this albeit unpleasant young man, who is their son and who survived a childhood full of neglect, abuse and cruelty in foster homes. His hatred towards his father is festering and is bound to end up leading to no good. His parents are only fanning the flames. This relationship is the least enjoyable part of the book because such coldness displayed by parents is so unnatural and feels wrong. The other really maddening part of the book is Alex's power displays over his wife in 14th century Scotland, when both of them being from modern London, know that this behaviour is unacceptable.

The story ends on a cliffhanger that will probably leave you wanting to read the third and final book in the trilogy. ( )

Received from LT April 2013 Batch

Back in the modern world, Alex hears that his wife Lindsay has given birth to their son. He returns to their London flat to hear that their unnamed son has been kidnapped and Lindsay has disappeared.

Seperately, both Lindsay and Alex return to 14th century Scotland - Lindsay to find her son, Alex to find both of them. Lindsay returns to being disguised as a soldier, despite having given birth only a few days before. She falls in with a group of mercenaries led by a fairy lord and under the banner of Nemed the elfin king and presumed kidnapper of her baby.

Alex returns to his castle 6 months after he left, and after a few days has a shock visitor - his adult son who he has never met, arriving on horseback under the American flag - a country that wont exist for another 400 years. Pointy eared and fey, his son bears an extreme hatred of his father (who he believes abandoned him into American foster care), and who has unexplained and unexplainable powers.

Much of the book is spend with Alex and Lindsay being apart and it's only 2/3 of the book before they're reunited. Whilst apart, Alex is made an Earl, and finds that he and Trefor are worlds apart and dont get on. Finally the three are reunited and return to the castle, whilst Lyndsey still refuses to accept the man a mere year younger than herself is the son she gave birth to mere months before. Alex then has the small task of staking claim to the new island that he has been given by the King when Alex was made Earl. The book ends in such a way as to keep some options open for the sequel.

The book contains language and scenes that some people might have issues with (some would call them "triggers") so not really for those of a nervous disposition - I suspect that this is perhaps one of the reasons for some of the more negative reviews out there. There are a few typographical errors (words inserted after a "global replace" was done perhaps?) but they are minor. As with second books it seems to be a faster read than the first one, in part because both the author and the reader have already established the new world in the first book so dont have to recreate it (much!) in the second one ( )

When Alexander MacNeil returns from deployment, he finds both his wife and his newborn child gone. He quickly discovers that he needs to return to 14th century Scotland if he wants to retain any chance of finding them again.
Knight’s Blood picks up a couple of months after Knight Tenebrae and sees Alex and Lindsay return to medieval Scotland. As they go on their separate adventures, we see the story from both their eyes, which is a nice change from the first book.
Lindsay’s struggles feel real, but Alex quickly shows his unlikable character traits again. The animosity between him and Trefor gets tiring quickly, and Alex’s arguments against chasing after Lindsay wear a little thin after a while.
The story is entertaining enough to keep me reading, but doesn’t hold me captured like I would expect from a truly great book. ( )

This one is an interesting mix of time travel, fae magic, and medieval combat, but I'm not sure how the combination sits with me. The author did an excellent job getting us "caught up" with the events in the first book, and the story was compelling enough for me to get myself a copy of the first book. The "new" main character (so stereotypical that even the author refers to him as "Mordred") is one-dimensional and uninteresting, but the rest of the cast was compelling enough for me to probably finish the series. ( )

Alex MacNeil and his wife Lindsay recently returned to 21st century after being in 1315 awaiting the birth of their child but nothing is as it appears in the future. Alex and Lindsay's baby is kidnapped and replaced with a changeling. Both of them rush to return to the past in search of their son. Alex is confronted with a young man that eerily looks like his brother claiming to be his son. Trefor is an unknown quantity for both Alex and Lindsay. Lindsay wants her baby boy not this young man. Who is behind the kidnapping? Will Alex and Lindsay accept Trefor as their son? Your answers await you in Knight's Blood.

I really like books about time travel. I thought the characters and story were compelling and interesting too. I'll be honest I wasn't a fan of the son. I'll definitely read the next book in the series. ( )