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King's Man
Beloved Enemy...
Lord Nicholas Spencer feared no man. Empowered by King Henry's royal might, he set out to uphold the king's justice. Wiping out a nest of pernicious smugglers would be no trouble for his stalwart troop. As for himself, he longed to come face-to-face with the brawny seaman rumored to be their leader...
Widowed Rosalind Barlow plotted to win at a man's game. By day, she ran a quiet inn; by night, she defiantly captained a band of smugglers. Rosalind had sworn to outfox the king's man, only to find her woman's heart had played her false...into the arms of her enemy.
Lord Nicholas Spencer feared no man. Empowered by King Henry's royal might, he set out to uphold the king's justice. Wiping out a nest of pernicious smugglers would be no trouble for his stalwart troop. As for himself, he longed to come face-to-face with the brawny seaman rumored to be their leader...
Widowed Rosalind Barlow plotted to win at a man's game. By day, she ran a quiet inn; by night, she defiantly captained a band of smugglers. Rosalind had sworn to outfox the king's man, only to find her woman's heart had played her false...into the arms of her enemy.
299 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
abandoned
May 1, 2013I can't handle "King Horrid Henry" references on every other page. Another one bites the dust.
August 17, 2016
I have a bunch of older romances sitting in my TBR, so Old School Romance month is always fun. I was in the mood for a historical, so I started digging nice and early. My first choice, Knight Dreams by Suzanne Barclay, featured a “hero” raping the heroine before we even get 40 pages into the book. So, that one was a no-go. Thankfully, my second choice, a 1991 Harlequin Historical called King’s Man fared much better. Written by Caryn Cameron (aka Karen Harper), this novel set in a struggling seafaring town during the days of Henry VIII was as much historical fiction as romance and I rather enjoyed it.
The heroine, Rosalind Barlow, is a young widow who inherited more than just her family’s inn to run. She also finds herself heading up the rough and ready local band of smugglers hauling in French goods for sale. With no market license, the small village of Deal on the English coast struggles for survival and without their smuggling, many would likely starve. As with many in Deal, Rosalind is no admirer of the king. In fact, her one connection to the larger world came when locals saved the passengers on a sinking royal vessel only to have all of their own boats later destroyed by the government.
After living under these conditions, Rosalind isn’t too thrilled when Nicholas Spencer rolls into town. As with the last visitor from the Crown, Nicholas’ vessel runs into the trouble in the rocky waters and he has to be rescued. However, things are different this time. Even though Nicholas comes to Deal with a mandate from the King to oversee the building and fortification of Deal Castle to protect from threat of the French, he treats the people of Deal fairly. They are paid a bounty for their efforts in rescuing him and his crew, and his men are living, working (and spending their coin) in Deal rather than simply occupying the town.
Even so, Rosalind is suspicious of this agent from the King and treats him initially with the disdain she reserves for all things associated with the government. Given what has happened in Deal over the years, I initially couldn’t blame her. However, “initially” would be the key word here. Rosalind goes on hating anything and everything having to do with the King and his government for way longer than seems rational. A kind and goodhearted craftsman sent by the Crown to work on the building project falls in love with her sister? He must be up to no good and the two must be separated! Nicholas treats her and everyone in town decently? Rosalind wonders what his game is and…you get the picture.
This is a partial review. You can find my complete TBR Challenge column at All About Romance: http://allaboutromance.com/august-tbr...
The heroine, Rosalind Barlow, is a young widow who inherited more than just her family’s inn to run. She also finds herself heading up the rough and ready local band of smugglers hauling in French goods for sale. With no market license, the small village of Deal on the English coast struggles for survival and without their smuggling, many would likely starve. As with many in Deal, Rosalind is no admirer of the king. In fact, her one connection to the larger world came when locals saved the passengers on a sinking royal vessel only to have all of their own boats later destroyed by the government.
After living under these conditions, Rosalind isn’t too thrilled when Nicholas Spencer rolls into town. As with the last visitor from the Crown, Nicholas’ vessel runs into the trouble in the rocky waters and he has to be rescued. However, things are different this time. Even though Nicholas comes to Deal with a mandate from the King to oversee the building and fortification of Deal Castle to protect from threat of the French, he treats the people of Deal fairly. They are paid a bounty for their efforts in rescuing him and his crew, and his men are living, working (and spending their coin) in Deal rather than simply occupying the town.
Even so, Rosalind is suspicious of this agent from the King and treats him initially with the disdain she reserves for all things associated with the government. Given what has happened in Deal over the years, I initially couldn’t blame her. However, “initially” would be the key word here. Rosalind goes on hating anything and everything having to do with the King and his government for way longer than seems rational. A kind and goodhearted craftsman sent by the Crown to work on the building project falls in love with her sister? He must be up to no good and the two must be separated! Nicholas treats her and everyone in town decently? Rosalind wonders what his game is and…you get the picture.
This is a partial review. You can find my complete TBR Challenge column at All About Romance: http://allaboutromance.com/august-tbr...
March 8, 2021
I love the old Harlequin books this one is my favorite.
September 19, 2023
Not bad for a Harlequin Historical. Has a decent plot and quite enjoyable to read. Is it a classic? No, but ....
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews