What is the enemy of your enemy?

Synopsis

A disgraced warrior…

Torn between duty and desire!

Sir Tristan must win back his honor. His orders from King Edward are simple: seek out the leader of Pwll Du Castle—the unmarried Lady Catrin—and demand she leaves. As Tristan is renowned for his lethal charm and handsome looks, how can she resist? But when the beautiful Welshwoman comes under siege from her covetous neighbor, Tristan finds himself fighting for her! Yet, is it a losing battle? For securing the castle and fulfilling his knightly duty will mean letting Catrin go…

My review

Lady Catrin is ready to protect her people of  Pwll Du Castle against everyone and everything. She is used to fight back, as her home has been under siege several times, luckily finding her victorious. But when she captures a stranger on her lands, she is certain that it is a scheme from her nemesis. What she doesn’t know, is that Sir Tristan arrived at  Pwll Du Castle on a whole different, yet similar mission. Because he has received orders from King Edward to make Lady Catrin leave as the king himself has set eyes on  Pwll Du Castle. And why would the king not use Tristan’s well – known charms? However, Catrin seems to be immune for Tristan’s charms, as she knows all too well how people look when you have the looks. And her focus is once again on protecting her people as her neighbour is once again planning a siege. But this time, Catrin can count of the help, knowledge and skills of Tristan. The more Tristan is helping out and teaching, the closer he and Catrin are getting. As they start to understand each other better than everyone else ever did, Catrin’s wariness starts to shift, just as Tristan’s resolution to keep his distance is evaporating. However, Tristan still has to follow his orders, which makes things impossible with Catrin to evolve, isn’t it?

It’s not a secret that I love reading stories involving knights, strong women and a fight here and there 😊 And I have read this series with great pleasure, falling in love with each character. Of course that also means that Tristan isn’t a complete stranger to me, yet I couldn’t wait to get to truly know him, and I just had the urgence to see behind his looks and see the real Tristan.

And yes, it helps me liking Tristan because it’s one of my favourite male names 😊.

I admired Tristan’s determination and focus. He got orders from the king, and he is adamant on being successful on his mission. A mission with which he wants to show his worth, and that he is more than just a knight with good looks. But most important, he wants a chance to show everyone that he is not the kind of person everyone believes he is, a person that is still paying the price for lies. And he wants to redeem the fact that his best friends, his brothers, are also paying the same price, by being loyal to Tristan.

It is rather clear from the start that Tristan and Catrin are at an impasse. Because they both want complete different things. Where Tristan needs to persuade Catrin to give up  Pwll Du Castle, Catrin wants to protect her home and her people at any cost.

And where I admired Tristan’s determination and focus, I liked Catrin devotion to her people.

Catrin did not have an easy upbringing, where her own father just saw her pretty face and wanted to use it for his own benefits, by wanting to marry her off to the highest bidder. Now that she is in charge, she shows that she is so much more than what everyone literally sees.

She has literally fought for her people, she is still fighting for her people, and she will never back down, no matter who is attacking her. That fierceness we see in so many occasions, but we also see how she knows when she needs to accept the offered help. Because all that matters are her people…

Of course when Catrin and Tristan first meet, they are in a fighting stance. Obviously Catrin doesn’t trust one word Tristan is saying, and she is totally immune whenever Tristan puts on his charming game.

But in a way, it was sweet to see how the pair of them, start to understand each other. Of course it doesn’t seem like a rea problem of the world, being nice looking. But with their stories, we see how people assume things, how people use their vulnerabilities for selfish purposes.

Because Catrin and Tristan have both been hurt and disappointed, they understand each other’s pain. And they find it somehow easier to open to each other with what they had to endure and are still enduring.

Obviously, also fighting together against the same enemy, not only are they spending more time together, but they are starting to develop feelings they were so against on having. Without spoiling anything, I have to admit I was a bit shocked with Tristan revelation, but at the same time, it made me respect him even more!

Now, of course the ending didn’t come as a complete surprise. But with Catrin and Tristan it  is the journey that is more important than the end result. The pair of them both start off as wary people, not truly letting anyone new getting close. But it was sweet, heartwarming, to see how walls are slowly falling apart, how trust is being built and how love is growing.

In this book we not only see this whole journey between Catrin and Tristin, but we also see how these characters are putting other’s needs before their own… Because it would be easy to just pursue your own dreams and hopes, but it is greater to put someone before yourself…

Ella Matthews absolutely captivated me with this lovely story! Tristan of course lived up to the high expectations I had for him, but he even went beyond and turned out to be a greater man than I thought. And Catrin is exactly the woman I expected her to be, ready to see behind Tristan’s façade, she is exactly the woman that Tristan needs. She is exactly the fierce, strong, independent woman I needed her to be!

I couldn’t read this book fast enough, but also I couldn’t read it slow enough!