Book Review - Lady Knight

Title: Lady Knight
Author: L. J. Baker
Genre: fantasy
Page #s: 323
Publication Date: 2007

Summary: Riannon is a knight in a land where women simply don’t become knights. She is mocked, scorned, and plagued by phantom pain from an old wound. After leaving the latest lord to employ her services Riannon finds herself indebted to her cousin Aveline when it turns out that the battle wound she suffered years ago is ensorcelled and, without Aveline’s help, she will surely die. After swearing herself to the service of the Goddess Riannon becomes a paladin under Aveline’s thumb.

Through her service she meets Eleanor, a widow who has lost two husbands and avoids a third by paying a bribe to the crown. While traveling with Riannon Eleanor finds herself falling in love and Riannon, likewise.

Their romance strikes rocky points from start to finish, the first rock being that Riannon is a woman and Eleanor has previously only deserved men, and then later Eleanor’s marriage due to Aveline’s schemes for a holy war. At the end, however, they ride off into the sunset together.

TW – killing (she’s a knight and at war most of the time), rape, mentions of rape, arranged marriage, victim blaming, love spells, misogyny, slurs…

I think I got all of it.

Good Points: Written by a lesbian about a lesbian! Well, Riannon is a lesbian at least. Aveline is also a lesbian.

Riannon is a bad ass knight! Who, eventually, everyone respects. She’s a war hero!

Aveline is stone cold and lets no one fuck with her and no one get in her way.

It’s really, really well written.

The romance is adorable, the flirting is FUCKING ADORABLE.

THE SEX IS FANTASTIC.

Srsly these are the most fun sex scenes I’ve read this week.

Riannon avenges Eleanor’s rape, murdering her rapist. Her family backs her up and she and Eleanor ride off into the sunset together to live HAPPILY EVER AFTER ALRIGHT.

Bad Points: Eleanor has no interest in other women besides Riannon. WHILE THAT IS TOTALLY OKAY and sexuality and gender are both incredibly fluid things it is a little irksome that instead of a lesbian/bisexual romance you have a lesbian/straight except for Riannon romance. Sorry, that might just be my pet peeve.

Lots and lots and lots of misogyny. Until Riannon comes out as the hero of Vahl she is ostracized by pretty much everyone.

Aveline is a stone cold bitch and screws anyone who gets in her way over. She arranges for Eleanor to become married to an old man for political influence. Geoffrey, the old man, is at least not his son, Ralph, who is a misogynistic ass hat.

Who rapes Eleanor.

Geoffrey proceeds to blame Eleanor.

I’m a little skeeved out by the crusades/holy war plotline too.

Rating: 4/5

Book Review - Sword Masters

For all it's papyrus titled glory this was actually a really fun read.

Title: Sword Masters
Author: Selina Rosen
Genre: Fantasy
Page #s: 313
Publication Date: 2008
Location in Series: First, there is a recently published sequel I am considering as well
Trigger Warnings: Rape, miscarriage, abuse, lots of straight up killing

Summary: When Tarius' father, Jabon the breaker, is killed by attacking Amalite's she chooses to quit her life on Kartik, her home island, and instead become a Swordsmaster of the Jethrik, as her father had. Unfortunately the Jethrik allow neither Katabull or women to become Swordsmasters and Tarius' is both. She hides her identity from her friends, teachers, and the woman she loves. Her skills earn her accollades and the king's regard.

Then it all comes crashing down around her.

Eventually she and Jenna rebuild a new life from the ashes of the old and wipe the Amalite's out entirely.

Good Points: KICK ASS LESBIAN PROTAGONISTS.

The Kartik are accepting of m/m and f/f pairings. (Although the Jethrik, who we spend much of the book dealing with, are not.)

Kick. Ass. Lesbian. Protagonists.

Realistic rage at all the crap that goes down.

It's a fun, easy read.

Bad Points: Errrrrrr. There are a lot of skeevy points that I'm going to warn people about.

Tarius' spends most of the novel lying about her gender. She is female and is a lesbian but in order to become a swordsmaster must dress like a man. She never reveals her true gender to Jenna and in fact, when Jenna pushes for Tarius' to have penetrative sex with her Tarius' has another man take her place.

Tragon, who takes her place, is sexually aggressive with Jenna and had previously attempted to rape her. Jenna gets pregnant through their sex. She later loses the baby because of abuse at Tragon's hands.

Rating: 4/5