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Knights of Champagne #5
Mistaken for a Lady
Wearing his ring again…
When a shocking revelation reveals Francesca's illegitimacy, she worries for her marriage to Tristan, Comte des Iles. Her heart in tatters, she awaits her husband's return… Will he request an annulment or give their union a second chance?
Duty has kept Tristan from his beautiful wife's side for far too long, but the memory of her touch is seared into his soul. Now, with malevolent forces working against them, it's more important than ever for Tristan to show Francesca that he'll never let her go!
When a shocking revelation reveals Francesca's illegitimacy, she worries for her marriage to Tristan, Comte des Iles. Her heart in tatters, she awaits her husband's return… Will he request an annulment or give their union a second chance?
Duty has kept Tristan from his beautiful wife's side for far too long, but the memory of her touch is seared into his soul. Now, with malevolent forces working against them, it's more important than ever for Tristan to show Francesca that he'll never let her go!
288 pages, Paperback
Published September 20, 2016
4 people are currently reading
358 people want to read
About the author
Carol Townend
61 books92 followersCarol Townend writes atmospheric Historical Romances and Sagas set in England and Europe. Born in Yorkshire, she went to a convent school high on the Whitby cliffs. Later, she studied history at Royal Holloway College, London. She lives in London with her husband and daughter.
Carol's first novel, Sapphire in the Snow, won the RNA New Writers' Award. Two other novels were shortlisted for the RoNA Rose award - Betrothed to the Barbarian in 2013 and Unveiling Lady Clare in 2015.
Carol loves research, and spends too much time hunting for excuses to go on research trips. She can often be seen teetering on the battlements of various stately homes or castles.
Carol's first novel, Sapphire in the Snow, won the RNA New Writers' Award. Two other novels were shortlisted for the RoNA Rose award - Betrothed to the Barbarian in 2013 and Unveiling Lady Clare in 2015.
Carol loves research, and spends too much time hunting for excuses to go on research trips. She can often be seen teetering on the battlements of various stately homes or castles.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 18, 2016
I used to read a lot of medieval romances, but for some reason haven’t picked up so many lately, which is one of the reasons I decided to read Carol Townend’s Mistaken for a Lady the fifth book in her ongoing
Knights of Champagne
series. Another is that it’s set in and around Brittany and I’m a sucker for stories set in France. It’s a decent read, but feels at times as though it’s romance-by-numbers; we’ve got a couple estranged by circumstances, a heroine who is insecure and doesn’t know where she stands, a hero who is used to bottling things up and keeping secrets (one of which is a doozy) and a villain who goes through the motions of being villainous but who never comes across as particularly clever or menacing – and ultimately I felt as though I was looking at a jigsaw puzzle in which the pieces didn’t quite fit neatly together.
Around a year or so after her marriage to the handsome, gallant Comte Tristan des Iles, his young wife Francesca finds herself left to her own devices when her husband is called to the service of the Countess of Brittany. These are troubled times for the duchy, which is under threat from both France and England (Brittany was an independent state until the middle of the sixteenth century), and as one of its premier knights, Tristan is needed to play a key role in subduing a rebellion and then helping to keep the peace.
But a planned absence of a month or two stretches into two years. Tristan is sent to England on a mission and when he returns, court politics continue to keep him away from home. During that time, Francesca, who had believed herself to be the daughter of the Count of Fontaine suddenly discovers she is not (I am guessing that this happened in Unveiling Lady Clare, the second book in the series), and that not only is she not nobly born, but she is likely illegitimate, too. While Lady Clare treats Francesca with courtesy and kindness, Francesca is horrified at the thought that she has married Tristan under false pretences, and leaves Fontaine because she feels it inappropriate to remain there. When, during the period of Tristan’s absence, he fails to answer any of her letters, she becomes more and more convinced that he regrets their marriage and will want it annulled.
When Tristan is finally able to return to Francesca, it is to deliver the sad news that the man she regarded as her father is on his deathbed and has been asking to see her. Tristan is annoyed, to say the least, that his wife is no longer residing at Fontaine and believes the fact that she has abandoned their home there indicates that she must have decided that their marriage is over.
Around the first third of the book is basically each of them thinking that the other wants an annulment but not directly saying so. I can understand that not having seen or communicated with each other for two years is partly to blame, and the fact that they didn’t really know each other all that well before Tristan left (in spite of having been married for more than a year) won’t have helped, but I can’t deny that the continual repetition of their assumptions as to what what he/she must have been thinking without either of them actually voicing those thoughts was frustrating.
Fortunately, however, once they embark on their journey back to Brittany things improve, and Francesca and Tristan begin to actually talk to each other. They find out that the other did not receive any of the letters they each sent, and Francesca broaches the subject of her newly discovered lack of nobility (and dowry) and posits the idea that Tristan must surely now want a wife who can bring something to their marriage more than just herself and an uncertain lineage. But Tristan insists he doesn’t want another wife and is more than a little surprised at the strength of his desire to keep Francesca with him.
Francesca, however, remains doubtful. She has realised that she is a different person to the naïve girl Tristan married and that if they are to make a life together, then things are going to have to be different to before. Tristan is a man used to command and to keeping his own counsel; and she realises that if there is no trust between them, then their mutual attraction and delight in their physical relationship will not be enough to sustain a marriage.
Early on in their journey, Tristan notices that their small party is being followed. He suspects he knows by whom, but not why; he takes on some extra guards for the rest of the way and they eventually arrive safely at the Castle des Iles, where a whole new set of challenges are going to face him and Francesca as they try to repair their relationship.
As I said at the beginning of the review, there are interesting elements to this tale, but the book as a whole doesn’t quite hang together, and I struggled to maintain my interest in it. While I liked the setting and am usually a fan of second-chance romances, a lot of the uncertainty around the central relationship here feels overly drawn-out and the journey towards the HEA just isn’t compelling. The villain is introduced early on and makes appearances here and there throughout, but never feels integral to the story; and while there is some interesting historical detail, most of it is given in obvious info-dumps and “as-you-know-Bob” conversations. I liked the fact that Francesca recognised things between her and Tristan needed to change and that he was keeping secrets that perhaps he needed to talk about, but didn’t like her method of drawing him out, which was to keep poking and prodding him in a most unsubtle manner. However, my biggest problem with the book is that neither of the protagonists is particularly interesting or engaging and there is no real spark between them. I can forgive much in a romance in terms of the plot if the characters pull me in and the chemistry is there, but sadly, neither of those things is the case here.
I’m not averse to trying more books by this author, but unfortunately can’t really recommend this one.
Around a year or so after her marriage to the handsome, gallant Comte Tristan des Iles, his young wife Francesca finds herself left to her own devices when her husband is called to the service of the Countess of Brittany. These are troubled times for the duchy, which is under threat from both France and England (Brittany was an independent state until the middle of the sixteenth century), and as one of its premier knights, Tristan is needed to play a key role in subduing a rebellion and then helping to keep the peace.
But a planned absence of a month or two stretches into two years. Tristan is sent to England on a mission and when he returns, court politics continue to keep him away from home. During that time, Francesca, who had believed herself to be the daughter of the Count of Fontaine suddenly discovers she is not (I am guessing that this happened in Unveiling Lady Clare, the second book in the series), and that not only is she not nobly born, but she is likely illegitimate, too. While Lady Clare treats Francesca with courtesy and kindness, Francesca is horrified at the thought that she has married Tristan under false pretences, and leaves Fontaine because she feels it inappropriate to remain there. When, during the period of Tristan’s absence, he fails to answer any of her letters, she becomes more and more convinced that he regrets their marriage and will want it annulled.
When Tristan is finally able to return to Francesca, it is to deliver the sad news that the man she regarded as her father is on his deathbed and has been asking to see her. Tristan is annoyed, to say the least, that his wife is no longer residing at Fontaine and believes the fact that she has abandoned their home there indicates that she must have decided that their marriage is over.
Around the first third of the book is basically each of them thinking that the other wants an annulment but not directly saying so. I can understand that not having seen or communicated with each other for two years is partly to blame, and the fact that they didn’t really know each other all that well before Tristan left (in spite of having been married for more than a year) won’t have helped, but I can’t deny that the continual repetition of their assumptions as to what what he/she must have been thinking without either of them actually voicing those thoughts was frustrating.
Fortunately, however, once they embark on their journey back to Brittany things improve, and Francesca and Tristan begin to actually talk to each other. They find out that the other did not receive any of the letters they each sent, and Francesca broaches the subject of her newly discovered lack of nobility (and dowry) and posits the idea that Tristan must surely now want a wife who can bring something to their marriage more than just herself and an uncertain lineage. But Tristan insists he doesn’t want another wife and is more than a little surprised at the strength of his desire to keep Francesca with him.
Francesca, however, remains doubtful. She has realised that she is a different person to the naïve girl Tristan married and that if they are to make a life together, then things are going to have to be different to before. Tristan is a man used to command and to keeping his own counsel; and she realises that if there is no trust between them, then their mutual attraction and delight in their physical relationship will not be enough to sustain a marriage.
Early on in their journey, Tristan notices that their small party is being followed. He suspects he knows by whom, but not why; he takes on some extra guards for the rest of the way and they eventually arrive safely at the Castle des Iles, where a whole new set of challenges are going to face him and Francesca as they try to repair their relationship.
As I said at the beginning of the review, there are interesting elements to this tale, but the book as a whole doesn’t quite hang together, and I struggled to maintain my interest in it. While I liked the setting and am usually a fan of second-chance romances, a lot of the uncertainty around the central relationship here feels overly drawn-out and the journey towards the HEA just isn’t compelling. The villain is introduced early on and makes appearances here and there throughout, but never feels integral to the story; and while there is some interesting historical detail, most of it is given in obvious info-dumps and “as-you-know-Bob” conversations. I liked the fact that Francesca recognised things between her and Tristan needed to change and that he was keeping secrets that perhaps he needed to talk about, but didn’t like her method of drawing him out, which was to keep poking and prodding him in a most unsubtle manner. However, my biggest problem with the book is that neither of the protagonists is particularly interesting or engaging and there is no real spark between them. I can forgive much in a romance in terms of the plot if the characters pull me in and the chemistry is there, but sadly, neither of those things is the case here.
I’m not averse to trying more books by this author, but unfortunately can’t really recommend this one.
May 3, 2019
Francesca casou-se muito nova com o conde Tristan, e mal havia se acostumado com sua vida de casada teve que ver o marido partir para defender o ducado da Bretanha.
E o que era para ser algo rápido, acabou demorando 2 anos. E para piorar a situação, neste período ela acabou descobrindo que não era filha de um nobre como pensava, e que seu casamento, que como tantos outros da época, fora feito através de alianças políticas, não acrescentava nada de poder ao conde. Acrescente ainda o fato de não ter gerado um filho e as inúmeras tentativas de contato com o marido através de cartas que nunca foram respondidas. Para Francesca estava muito claro que Tristan não queria mais o casamento.
Sua nova condição social, e toda a insegurança que a situação lhe deixava acabou gerando um enorme desconforto para ela, além de uma grande tristeza e insegurança a cerca de seu futuro. Mas, disposta a seguir em frente da melhor forma possível, ela manda uma última carta, que decidiria os rumos de sua vida.
O que ela não imaginava é que Tristan estava na mesma situação que ela. Incerto de seu futuro ao lado de Francesca e muito magoado pela ausência da esposa.
Por conta disso, e levando notícias tristes e importantes para ela, ele decide resolver de uma vez por todas a questão de seu casamento. Mas é pego de surpresa quando percebe a extensão de seus próprios sentimentos. Sem falar no medo de saber que a vida de Francesca está em perigo, e que segredos de seu passado podem acabar de vez com qualquer chance deles um dia se entenderem. E uma pergunta que paira na cabeça de ambos, se as cartas são verdadeiras, que fim tiveram todas elas?
O livro tem um enredo simples, que apesar de ter me entretido, não me encheu os olhos, mesmo não tendo deixado nenhuma ponta solta e tudo ter sido esclarecido. Mesmo assim foi uma leitura gostosa que distraiu a mente.
E o que era para ser algo rápido, acabou demorando 2 anos. E para piorar a situação, neste período ela acabou descobrindo que não era filha de um nobre como pensava, e que seu casamento, que como tantos outros da época, fora feito através de alianças políticas, não acrescentava nada de poder ao conde. Acrescente ainda o fato de não ter gerado um filho e as inúmeras tentativas de contato com o marido através de cartas que nunca foram respondidas. Para Francesca estava muito claro que Tristan não queria mais o casamento.
Sua nova condição social, e toda a insegurança que a situação lhe deixava acabou gerando um enorme desconforto para ela, além de uma grande tristeza e insegurança a cerca de seu futuro. Mas, disposta a seguir em frente da melhor forma possível, ela manda uma última carta, que decidiria os rumos de sua vida.
O que ela não imaginava é que Tristan estava na mesma situação que ela. Incerto de seu futuro ao lado de Francesca e muito magoado pela ausência da esposa.
Por conta disso, e levando notícias tristes e importantes para ela, ele decide resolver de uma vez por todas a questão de seu casamento. Mas é pego de surpresa quando percebe a extensão de seus próprios sentimentos. Sem falar no medo de saber que a vida de Francesca está em perigo, e que segredos de seu passado podem acabar de vez com qualquer chance deles um dia se entenderem. E uma pergunta que paira na cabeça de ambos, se as cartas são verdadeiras, que fim tiveram todas elas?
O livro tem um enredo simples, que apesar de ter me entretido, não me encheu os olhos, mesmo não tendo deixado nenhuma ponta solta e tudo ter sido esclarecido. Mesmo assim foi uma leitura gostosa que distraiu a mente.
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February 5, 2024O casal se separa (porque Tristan precisa defender o ducado) e cartas são perdidas. Nesse ínterim, Francesca descobre que não é a filha verdadeira de um conde, isto é, ela não tem posses. Assim, acontece um engano: distantes um do outro e sem receber as cartas, um acha que o outro não que continuar com o casamento. Até aí, tudo bem. O que me irritou foi que depois ele manifestou o desejo de continuar o casamento e ela não queria pq não se considerava digna do marido, que ele merecia se casar com outra e blablablá. Cansativo ler essa parte. Não torci muito pelo relacionamento deles, não me conquistou.
O segredo dele é que tem uma filha pequena de um relacionamento anterior.
O segredo dele é que tem uma filha pequena de um relacionamento anterior.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2017
J'ai été surprise par l'arrivée de ce cinquième tome et malheureusement j'en suis ressorti mitigé. Pour moi ce n'est pas le meilleur de la série. Mon avis complet via le lien. https://songedunenuitdete.com/2017/06...
December 15, 2021
só dei uma estrela pq não dá para dar meia.
December 8, 2023
Delightful read and introduction to the historical romance of this author.
September 26, 2016
* I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads. *
I enjoyed the characters and the happy ending. As with all romances, there is the annoyance of characters not saying what they are thinking, but this book didn't dwell on that as much as some other books. This is the first book that I have read in this series and I would enjoy going back to read the others. I would especially like to know the story of Lady Clare and how she came to be reunited with her father.
I enjoyed the characters and the happy ending. As with all romances, there is the annoyance of characters not saying what they are thinking, but this book didn't dwell on that as much as some other books. This is the first book that I have read in this series and I would enjoy going back to read the others. I would especially like to know the story of Lady Clare and how she came to be reunited with her father.
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October 26, 2016"I enjoyed this book. Mistaken for a Lady is the 5th book in Carol Townend's Knights of Champagne miniseries. It's been a long time since I have encountered any historical novel so finely crafted. Carol Townend really knows how to tell a story. Her education in and love for the medieval period in history is obvious. Her writing transported me back to the age of gallant French knights and graceful ladies" (review @ harlequin.com). To read more, go HERE> http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.ht...
Miniseries: Knights of Champagne
Miniseries: Knights of Champagne
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September 10, 2016Miniseries: Knights of Champagne
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews