Christmas Knight - Christina Skye
Let me start by saying that there has NOT been one book by Christina Skye that I have read and been disappointed in. They are all fabulous. I started with Overboard, then all her CODENAME books. Then "Bound by Dreams."
I picked up Christmas Knight/Moonrise today because I knew I was going to be at the beauty parlor for 2 to 3 hours straight. I could not put it down. I had to finish it. It was one of the best books that I have read in a long time.
The story begins with Hope O'Hara. Hope after the death of her uncle purchased a castle of sorts in Glenbrae and renovated it as a Bed and Breakfast. Hope is loved by all in the village and her friends. Hope will need a miracle to keep her Bed and Breakfast running. That miracle begins with the meddling of 3 old women. They cast a spell to bring Ronan McLeod into the future. Ronan comes into the future from the year 1298. He was the first owner of the castle. He was a Knight of the Crusade under King Edward known as the King's Wolf. He first appears to rescue Hope while she is on top of the thatch roof trying to repair it during a storm.
The book is part of the Draycott series so we have appearances by Adrain and his cat, both ghosts. Pulling in those characters from that series could not have been an easy task but Christina Skye did it flawlessly. All the character's lives in this story are interwoven and in the end you see it all clearly.
The character of Hope is not sexy nor breathtakingly beautiful. She is hardly described in the book except that she has short brown hair. She came across to me as ordinary as we all are. She could be any one of us. She had the same problems; IRS, bills, worries and past hurts and pains. Ronan is a the man that every man should aspire to be - honorable, courageous, brave and true. He did not waiver in his character. You are humbled by his honor and his call to duty. Not much different than our modern day soldiers.
I want to share with you some sections from the book that pulled at my heart:
"Honor held him still. Honor made his hands fist as snow hissed over the heavy thatch. Hope needed a miracle on the night he had been brought here. She needed someone to share the burdens of this beautiful demanding house....What she had was McLeod....Meanwhile, flawed or not, he was the only warrior she had."
"Forget all else but how we fit together, mo run."
"McLeod stood bare-chested. "No matter, I will find her". He dug his fingers into the dirt, then tracked dark lines over his chest, a token of battle, first to the right,then to the left. He did the same to his cheeks. "If I fail, let me be cut down with her. Give me no breath to draw if hers should fail first." Slowly he dropped the dirt back to the floor. "It is our way".... "It is done......"My heart will bring me all the heat I need tonight."
"Read my heart", McLeod said in silence to the abbey's imposing guardian ghost. "She will be my home and my time. Her friends will be my friends and her joys, my joys." She is all the dream I need."
This book was a romance, pure and simple. The characters were real and believable. The story touched my heart and ignited a spark of belief that there are men out there, even in this time, like our Crusader Knight, Ronan. A man of honor who sees a woman's beauty in her heart.
Thank you Christina Skye for such a lovely story. I had tears in my eyes in some parts. The story will linger in my head and heart for a while. That kind of lingering story is the best kind.
Rating - 10+++
I bought it, will keep it and read it again before dementia sets in.
I know, I need to get a life!
Enjoy this one,
Susan
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