To serve and protect the King, nothing goes too far, except…

Synopsis

A knight’s enemy

Becomes his closest ally…

Knight Theo Glenville will do whatever it takes to discover who’s plotting against his King. Sobefriending—and even romancing—his target’s middle daughter, Medea, is merely part of his sworn duty. But what isn’t? Falling under the spell of a woman who’s anything but plain in his eyes! Yet every day they become closer, the more torn he is between his allegiance to king or his heart…

My review

Medea Suval is the middle daughter of her family, and with no happy prospects for the future. She doesn’t have the same looks as her sisters, and has a mind of her own, which isn’t always appreciated. As a marriage is not something likely, even her parents have agreed that Medea entering a nunnery may be the best solution.
Being with her family at the King’s stronghold will be the last thing Medea will do before going to the nunnery.
With the King being nearly at war with France, it’s up to the King’s Knights to protect him and uncover plans of treason. And it’s Knight Theo Grenville’s duty to try figure out if the Suval family is plotting against the King.
Little did he know that Medea would be intrigued by the world of spying and uncovering truths and would become an ally, or at least think she is. While Medea is  helping out wherever she can, she is totally unaware she is part of a plan.
And Theo is finding it more and more difficult to keep his duty and his feelings separated, because plain Medea appears to be everything but plain…

I have a soft spot for Ella Matthews’ book and this story was again showing me why that is…

From the very start, I felt sorry for Medea… it’s obvious that nobody sees the real her, and she is so often quickly dismissed, even by her own family, that she feels rather alone. And beside feeling alone, she often also feels embarrassed by them, especially when hearing how loud and unapologetic her mother can be.
And even if her looks aren’t that great (but who has the right to say who is beautiful and who is just plain??? Aren’t we all beautiful in our own ways???), she is a bright woman, with a mind of her own. Even if in the past she got burned (emotionally), she still has that fire in her, not allowing any man to make her feel little.
And that made me also admire her, as she won’t back down that easily. Even when her parents, despite their promise that she could go to a nunnery, change their minds and want her to get married, she won’t just accept her fate.

This isn’t just a story about a woman who meets a man (not just A man, but a Knight!) and fall in love/lust/…
But this story gives us also a glimpse how our behaviour can reveal so much about ourselves. The way we stand, talk,… there is so much that can be told by even just standing still. Not that now I am a real spy, but it surely pinpointed me where to pay attention!
Together with Theo and Medea, and Theo’s fellow knights, I was trying to find out the truth, about who was in the plans of treason, and who even was a real murderer.

Talking about Theo… just like Medea, he is the kind of person people don’t have kind thoughts about. And his background and rumours surely didn’t help.
He is a dutiful man, he knows what is expected from him and protecting the King is his main focus.
He is also a great warrior, many opponents fear him.
But he also has a gentle character. The way he talks to Medea, the way he sees her, shows us that behind even an imposing persona, there is a kind, gentle and maybe even an afraid man.

It was so sweet to read how Medea and Theo find each other, even if I was a bit afraid of seeing how Medea would react when the truth of Theo’s plans would be revealed.
Medea and Theo challenge each other all the time. This isn’t an Alpha male finding a compliant woman, but a woman who is like him. And that makes only the attraction grow between them.

This is a lovely story to read, about people who have been both been hurt, but find each other in the most unlikely circumstances, joining forces to uncover people with evil plans.
And meanwhile find that even no matter how hard you try to resist, when love is involved, there is nothing you can do to stop these feelings and the right person will accept both your strengths and weaknesses (if we can call them like that…)