Sherwood Forest, 1217
Delivering messages for Lord Rannulf, Sir William Bowman ran into to some trouble, two men out to cause him harm, luckily a women warrior stopped the attack and saved Sir Will by carrying him back to Tuck’s Tower, her home. While nursing the knight she found in the forest back to health, Lady Julianna D’Arcy realized there may be something to being a women, her current way of life had been more suited to a man, seeing to the defensives of the keep, riding out with sword to rid the forest of thieves and wearing tunics and leggings instead of dresses. Will accepted her current roles because of growing up with Lady Gillian (Hidden Heart), another women who enjoyed swordplay at a young age, Julianna wanted to believe that a man, other than her father could appreciate a women like her, hoping someone like Will would be a partner in defending her keep instead of trying to take over command. Legends like the Bride of the Tower resurface after some realize the attraction between the knight and their Lady, these and other legends of childhood heroes could be believed, especially in Sherwood Forest.

Hint: The legends of Robin Hood, Maid Marian and Robin’s band of men do come into play. This is the 6th book of a 7 book series, while the addition of the legends are fun, this one lost a bit of the fun and camaraderie of the previous books, most of the time one or the other were unconscious, between his would recovery and her ‘malady‘. Time spent together was mostly time to think, reflect and have emotional awakenings. While this was emotionally charged, the action was almost non existent, only one fight, and one standoff that leaves the reader saying, ‘What?’. I actually could have done without the standoff and just heard the reply that Lord Rannulf surely sent, other characters were referred to but never played a part in this one (I think I miss them). I am not sure I ever read this one before, it was with the rest of the series that I dug out to read again. This is a 2003 Harlequin Historical. ( )