Hard Day's Knight

I've been telling everyone about Hard Day's Knight. If you've read Men in Kilts or The Corset Diaries, you know what to expect: a funny, page-turner of a romance with a fabulous hunk of a hero and a smart, witty heroine you wish you could be like.

Pepper Marsh has been dragged to a Renaissance Faire in Ontario by her cousin, who thinks it's the perfect place for Pepper to meet A Man.

Walker McPhail used to be the best jouster on the circuit, but has retired to coaching after nearly killing someone.

They meet when he hauls her up on his horse and out of the path of another, out-of-control horse.

Laughs are provided by Moth, Pepper's aunt's crazy cat that she's cat-sitting; the horses that try to eat Pepper; and her adventures with the League show more of Wenches.

But laughter is best when it's balanced by something serious, and here it's balanced by suspicious & dangerous events surrounding Walker's jousting team, and Walker's and Pepper's inability to let go of their fears and live.

As mentioned earlier, Walker nearly killed another jouster, and has refrained from participating in the sport he loves because he's afraid he'll be responsible for someone's serious injury or death. Pepper completed most of a veterinary degree, but quit short of graduating, afraid that she wouldn't be able to live up to the exemplary standards set by her family of veterinarians. The sabotage forces both of them to face their fears: Pepper has to treat a horse's injury, and Walker has to joust again.

In the process of coming to terms with themselves, they fall in love--always the best sort of romance, I think: when self-improvement goes hand-in-hand with finding love. show less

Pepper attends a jousting competition and falls in love with her very own knight in shining armor. Then she gets to ditch her official wench costume and don armor herself.

You either like Katie MacAlister's books or you don't. I do. I like her humor, her heroines, and the incredible supporting characters she comes up with. Her books are fun, light reads.

Katie MacAlister is usually always good for a few laughs, and I did indeed laugh out loud frequently during the first few chapters, especially during the opening tug-of-war scene! This is a very cute story of unemployed techie, Pepper's, foray into the world of a Renfaire where she learns about wenches, jousting, wubbies and love, along with the fact that if you're willing, just about anywhere can be a bedroom (even a tree trunk).

In the past I've always considered this author's work to be pretty low key in the explicitness category. I don't know if she was just experimenting with this one, but it was much steamier than what I'm used to seeing by her. It took me a bit by surprise. The plot was pretty even and held my interest although show more most of the book involved Walker's angst in overcoming his past jousting issues. There were a couple disappointments for me in regards to the story. I found the resolution of the slight mystery do be a let down in the manner it was all taken care of. Also, I found Pepper herself to be moderately abrasive, I'm not so sure I really cared for her personality. My favorite character overall had to be Moth, although he certainly seemed to have more doglike qualities than most self-respecting cats would ever allow, he was a great bit of comic relief.

I did enjoy this contemporary romance despite my couple little quibbles and highly suggest this author to anyone who enjoys romance with a good dose of humor. show less

This was my first "descent" into romance. Last year a few months after my local Renaissance Faire ended I was going through withdrawal (hey, I'm a Rennie, so what?) and went searching for books involving Faires. I found Hard Day's Knight, and rolled my eyes, thinking "Oh, god, romance. What have I come to, to be reading romance?", and bought it anyway. To my surprise, I enjoyed it. Hard Day's Knight actually has a plotline, and though it has sex, the sex is not the point of the book itself (a fact which relieved me greatly: if I want pr0n there's lots of fanfic on the internet). While I couldn't imagine a Faire being anything like the one depicted in the book, it sated my withdrawal at least a little bit, and got me hooked on the show more author.

Pure fluff, but loads better than a lot of romances I've seen (mostly my roommate's books, which, I'm sorry Steph, make me cringe). Definitely a nice escape from the Literature I'm supposed to be studying (which makes my brain hurt). show less

I absolutely loved the whole Renaissance Faire setting and Pepper's character was hilarious. She's blunt and the dialog with her and Walker is great. Also, I loved Moth, the cat Pepper toted around with her all over the faire. I would've liked to see more about the other aspects of the Renaissance Faire aside from the jousting, but it was understandable that MacAlister didn't venture off too far with her writing into the other areas of the faire. At the end there were a few things I felt were left unresolved, but not as much as in The Corset Diaries.

Heroine goes to renaissance faire to find a man. Obviously she finds one, and they live happily ever after. No surprises there. On the plus side is a competent heroine, who is clear from the start as to which guy she wants, and why. And she's honest to herself (and others), something I would expect a real life 36-year-old to be. There are funny situations, always a plus. Drawbacks: It's predictable. The heroine not liking animals was never really credible, and some of the plot is built around this.
All in all a good read, but if you don't like romances already, don't start with this one.

If you like romantic comedy, then Katie MacAlister's HARD DAY'S KNIGHT is definitely the book for you. A modern-day romance set in contemporary times, this book has the feel of a historical comedy, revolving as it does around the world of a Renaissance Faire. For those of you who aren't familiar with this look into the past, Ren Faires are big business-a large number of people gather at these yearly events for a variety of reasons. A combination craft fair, historical reenactment, and performance arts, faires such as the one mentioned in this book draw huge crowds, from participants and spectators alike.

In Ms. MacAlister's world of the Renaissance Faire in Ontario, the characters might be make-believe, but the goings-on at the faire are show more anything but. For Pepper Marsh, being a software engineer without a job is bad enough. Being unable to find a date, and having nowhere else to look outside the geeks and computer techies she's used to working with, she travels with her cousin, CJ, to the Faire with an eye towards landing one of those hunky guys in tights that CJ is always talking about.

Unfortunately, the first things Pepper notices about a reenactment of medieval days of yore is the tireless effort it takes to put up a tent, avoid horse poop, and the disturbing chore of wearing revealing and embarrassing wench attire. Sure that all is lost, Pepper seeks out that knight-in-shining armor that she's sure is around the hot and dusty Faire somewhere. Stepping into the path of a hell-bent steed, she's fortunate enough to be rescued by none other than Walker McPhail.

A sexy, single, gorgeous Englishman who once jousted in the ring with the fervor of a true devotee, he's let a near-death experience keep him from jousting, his first love. The infuriating wench who seems out of her element is intriguing, even though Walker has a feeling that his buddies of the Three Dog Nights jousting team may have had a hand in their initial encounter.

With funny, believe secondary characters, fresh and humorous dialogue, and a hero and heroine who lock horns over just about everything, HARD DAY'S KNIGHT is a contemporary romantic comedy that you don't want to miss. show less