One Enchanted Evening

de Piaget #5

by Lynn Kurland

Time-travel romances have made Lynn Kurland a bestseller in the here-and-now.

A duty-bound knight has taken on the task of rebuilding the most dilapidated castle in all of England.

A costume designer gets her chance to shine by showcasing her fairy- tale designs at an upscale party in an authentic medieval castle.

And the magic that whispers along the castle's hallways is about to orchestrate an improbable happily-ever-after.

Genres: Romance, Time Travel, Historical Romance, Historical, Paranormal, Time Travel Romance, Fantasy

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 27, 2010

About the author

Lynn began her writing career at the tender age of five with a series of illustrated novellas entitled Clinton’s Troubles in which the compelling hero found himself in all sorts of . . . well, trouble. She was living in Hawaii at the time and the scope for her imagination (poisoned fish, tropical cliffs, large spiders) was great and poor Clinton bore the brunt of it. After returning to the mainland, her writing gave way to training in classical music and Clinton, who had been felled with arrows, eaten by fish and sent tumbling off cars, was put aside for operatic heroes in tights.

Somehow during high school, in between bouts of Verdi and Rossini, she managed to find time to submerge herself in equal parts Tolkien, Barbara Cartland and Mad Magazine. During college, a chance encounter with a large library stack of romances left her hooked, gave her the courage to put pen to paper herself, and finally satisfied that need for a little bit of fantasy with a whole lot of romance!

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still wonderful.

Original Review: Having waited for years for Montgomery de Piaget's story, I can say it was well worth the wait. Having read all of Lynn Kurland's wonderful books, she has once again taken me to a place few authors have. For a trip to the delightful, amazing time-traveling world of the medieval de Piaget family is a treat. Re-acquainting myself with so many great characters from her previous books in the series, is a trip I always look forward to taking. Ms. Kurland never fails to "enchant" me with her humor, quick and clever dialogue and feel good, old fashioned romance. No bodice ripping, heated sex scenes here, but you don't even notice the lack of them.

All of Ms. Kurland's de Piaget family books are a tribute to her fans of the series. In each book, you will find characters that you have fallen in love with from her previous books on the family. This book was especially fulfilling as medieval family members that have found themselves permanently in the future meet Montgomery de Piaget, now an adult. Montgomery has been a prominent character, first showing up as a young, endearing, mischievous medieval lad. Montgomery is the youngest son of Rhys and Gwen de Piaget ("Another Chance to Dream") who are the origins of an amazing English dynasty. His parents and siblings are legends in the family, as well as the still standing Arcane castle built by his father Rhys. How Montgomery finds himself in the future and what he is going to do about it is a terrific part of the story. His romance with his "future gel" is adorable. Montgomery's reactions to meeting his immediate family members in the future is everything you want it to be.

Yes, I have been waiting for years for Montgomery de Piaget's story. It was better than I could have imagined. ;)

[NovelReaction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Montgomery finally has a story! I have to admit I am a HUGE Lynn Kurland fan (I have every one of her books) and I have been counting down the days until One Enchanted Evening was available.

I fell in love with Montgomery when he was a teenager in When I Fall In Love and he was firmly convinced that Jennifer was from Faery. Well, Montgomery has finally put all of that behind him, working hard to live up to the reputation of his father and older brothers (and it is alot to live up to).

Montgomery is given Sedgwick Castle by his father, a suspcious gift at best as it has holes in the walls and ceilings, guardsmen who are less than stellar and cousins who refuse to leave and are plotting Montgomery’s demise. But, it is Montgomery’s to call home so as he moves in to repair the walls and work on the relatives he is shocked when a fairy, wings included, appears on his drawbridge.

Persephone, known as Pippa, figures karma owes her after her apartment burns down with all her carefully collected vintage clothing and sewing machines in it. Pippa is showcasing her designs at a children’s party hosted at her sister Tessa’s English castle in a final attempt to get her clothing design career to take off. On the night of the party, as Pippa is wearing her faery costume, she crosses the bridge of the castle and finds herself in the moat of a very different looking castle.

Montgomery is everything a knight should be: honorable, chivalrous, and not afraid to kick some serious trash when needed. Pippa is a devoted sister who is a closet HEA fan (Happily Ever After). As Pippa struggles to adjust to 1229 living, she starts to realize there are definite perks to staying with Montgomery. Montgomery doesn’t feel like he has anything to offer a woman from his time period, let alone someone from the future. As each struggles to deal with their growing feelings for each other a threat from within the castle threatens their very lives and makes each evaluate exactly what they want in life.

I enjoyed One Enchanted Evening, it felt a lot like coming home because I have become so familiar with Montgomery’s family and time period. Nothing shocking or super unique about this novel as compared to her other stories but it was great to visit old friends and to see Montgomery his own love. Did anyone else get the feeling that John is going to be the next one to get a story? I highly recommend anything by Lynn Kurland!

[Sherrinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Lynn's books and this one was was true to form. I liked Montgomery, but he wasn't the "alpha male" I have come to expect from Lynn. I found myself wanting him to take charge more. I wanted him to kick out those previous tenants. I wanted him to reveal his feelings for Pippa a lot earlier than he did.

Thoroughly enjoyable, but not my favorite.

[Cindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. I was in the mood for a good time travel romance, and this fit the bill nicely! This is not the 1st book in the series but was easy to keep up with nevertheless. I will be going back and reading them in order, however. Even tho this was an older book, nothing dated it.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clean and super romantic.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Amanda


One Enchanted Evening is a time travelling romance for what Lynn Kurland is most well known for and in true style this book does not disappoint.

Our hero is Montgomery De Piaget a Knight who seems to have a lot of responsibilities except the ones he wants the most - such as a wife, children and a home. Instead he has been charged with the daunting task of having to rebuild the fallen castle of Artane to its former glory.
Enter our Modern Washington heroine Pippa Alexander. She has been brought to England for a special purpose more than what she thinks. Pippa travels to England with her sister to supply Medieval costumes for an upscale party in an honest to goodness Medieval Castle!

In an instant both their lives are thrown into disarray, and they must work together to conquer the lurking danger and have their happily ever after.

I now have the sudden urge to quote the fairy Godmother from Shrek 2 and say that "Happiness is only a tear drop away."

Lynn Kurland is a best selling author for a reason. Her powerful stories enthrall and captivate you from the get go. This latest installment of the De Piaget romance series will not disappoint Ms. Kurland's fans. The story is fast paced and hysterically funny as you watch Pippa and her sister try to come to terms with finding themselves landed in the 13th Century while trying to convince poor Montgomery that they are not the fairies that he believes them to be come to help him repair the castle they are 21st Century women!

As my first introduction to Lynn Kurland’s writing I loved it right from the start. I personally love time travel romances. They are what first got me into reading the Romance genre and reading a new one that I love is like meeting a new friend. If you are the same frame of mind as me and love time travel romances then you will adore this story even if you haven't read anything of Ms. Kurland's before.

If you are already a fan of her books then I'm guessing this will be a must buy for you and you will spend a happy couple of hours immersed in this story.


Rating 4.5/5

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite, but still ok. I thought it drug a little bit. I was, however, happy to finally see one of the boys go after their woman in HER world just to prove that he wanted her.

**After reading the most recent DePiaget novel, I had to go back and read the three sister's (Pippa, Tess and Peaches) stories in order and one right after the other. Because.......they all happen within weeks of each other - in the stories - but were written/published years apart. Slight little comments or facts now make so much more sense about Montgomery, John and Stephen - as well as Pippa, Tess and Peaches. It was mentioned in the first few chapters of this book that there was already a new mechanic in town. I now wish, reading back through, that the twins could have seen each other then - even though they did get their reunion in John's book. And, Stephen's quarks and Peaches prejudices make more sense in their story because things build in the two books before their story is completed. I highly recommend, if you haven't done so already, going back and reading this one, One Magic Moment, and All For You together and in order.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a magical story! I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it hard to stop reading when I had to. The characters were well rounded and I appreciate the author's touch with dry humor.

Also, I felt that Pippa's reaction to tumbling back in time to be more realistic in that she kind of freaked out and didn't readily accept the situation and adjust within 3 pages.

One thing - I really think these books should be read in order because when Pippa and Montgomery met all the relatives and the reader was introduced to who married who and who was a child/father/mother, etc of whom, it was very confusing. Even though there was a family tree in the book I didn't think that was much help.

This book was certainly a wonderful escape and I thoroughly enjoyed reading how Pippa found her knight in shining armor - so to speak!

[Lacy♪ ♫Movements of a Demigod ♪ ♫ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story with it meddling ghosts and crazy siblings and cousins. The beginning of the book was a little slow for me with all the explainations of hippy parents and crazy Cindi parading around like an evil step-sister. Once she was out of the picture things improved drastically for Montgomery and Pippa. Overall it was a great time-travel romance with a touch of humor.

[Carolyn Takara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading the continuing saga of the De Piaget family. This is Montgomery's story and I can't wait to read the rest of his siblings' adventures, especially what happened to his twin brother, John.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Lynn Kurland book. I loved it. Great writing, romance and adventure with absolutely NO unnecessary "details" to compromise it. Definitely PG rated. I can't wait to read them all!

[Rosanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too much thinking of thoughts. Wanted more dialogue, intrigue and romance. Not her best. .

[Stephanie Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh these books. If you want to fall in love, this is a series for you . Lynn Kurland is a master storyteller. Each family member MacLeod, De Paiget are swooooonnnnn worthy . each one can stand alone but to read them as a series is how you should do it. I cannot tell you how many time i have climbed inside these books and just wallowed like a glutton. I let the characters wrap around me till i could feel their touch. Cry for their anguish, rejoice when true love prevails. Medieval never felt so close, Time travel for the ages . These characters still live in my heart and always will

[Amber Guilbeault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, light read for fans of genres with th romance and time travel.

[Sandy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m in shock. There hasn’t been a Lynn Kurland book to date that I haven’t totally loved. Until now. I just like this one. It’s still a good book, wonderful characters, great time traveling, and a good storyline. But this time there was a little silliness included and that just didn’t work for me, especially because it took away from the beautiful writing that Ms. Kurland is known for in her books.

Pippa Alexander’s passion is fashion design. She’s just shy of getting her huge break in the business, something she’s waited and worked so long and hard for. A bigwig in England is interested in her designs, so she’s headed to her sister’s castle to meet the man and make the deal of a lifetime.

Karma is having its way her with first, however. The apartment building where she lives burns to the ground and she makes it out with only what she’ll need in England. Then her parents, who are flower children still going strong, show up, along with another sister, Cinderella. (I kid you not, mom and dad kept tokin’ it up over the years. There’s Peaches and Moonbeam too, and Pippa’s true name is Persephone. Tess and Valerie got lucky.) I did laugh a few times when these characters were introduced.

Cindi has decided she’s going into the design business also, so she’s hitching a ride with Pippa to talk to Mr. Megabucks. This sister is a real piece of work. Self-centered and self-absorbed, Cindi is the princess of them all. So when they do reach sister Tess’ castle, Cindi makes sure she’s in the right places at the right times, shoving and pushing to be in the limelight. It’s that shoving and pushing that land them both in Medieval England, the year of our lord 1241.

That’s the year Montgomery de Piaget’s father gives him Sedgwick Castle, a ruin with holes aplenty, hardly any walls, muck everywhere, and relatives who would rather see him dead. The next thing he knows, the Faery Queen and her handmaiden have dropped out of thin air to grace his home with their presence. And this is where the story gets silly in spots.

Cindi doesn’t fare well after time traveling. She takes her princess complex to a new level and becomes the queen Montgomery and his people think she is. She demands constantly and Pippa delivers. Cindi has gone completely off her rocker, the stress of her circumstances getting to her. This part of the book just doesn’t have the Kurland flare, the beautifully strung-together words that make reading her a pleasure.

After half the book, Cindi is flung back home and Pippa is left in 1241. Just like that. And my thought was, “Why was Cindi even part of the story?” It just seemed unnecessary, all the antics and whatnot, and it didn’t nothing for the storyline.

The second half of the book is so much better, back to the Lynn Kurland I know and love. More and more Montgomery and Pippa’s feelings for each grow, but they know they can’t be together because she has to return to her own time. Montgomery has to figure out which of his vengeful relatives is trying to kill him, all the while endeavoring to put his home in order and assemble a guard to protect it.

Pippa is learning to live in Medieval England, and as she finally admits her feelings for Montgomery, just before he’s ready to ask for her hand, she’s thrown back to Sedgwick in present day. Not willing to live with questions of what might have been, Montgomery takes time into his own hands and goes after his love.

I enjoyed Montgomery’s reactions to 2010’s marvels. He acclimates quite well, only because he’s always known his family has had paranormal oddities over the years, and he has other family in modern England who help him out. But finding Pippa and spending time with her in her world only gives them more questions about their future, and just when they sit down to talk about it, time intervenes once again.

We also get to catch up with past characters from previous books, which is a lot of fun, especially through Montgomery’s eyes. So that made this part of the book more of a pleasure to read too. And I’m glad. I had too many doubts while reading early on that I was going to like the entire thing. But change came and I’ve never been so glad to see it.

See my complete review at http://www.goodbadandunread.com

[Beth Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the 2nd book I read in my collection of 4 books by Lynn Kurland. I didn't exactly go by publishing dates because it appeared the other 2 I had dealt with a different family then the di Piaget family that I had read about in "When I fall in Love" so I stayed loyal to the di Piaget family and read One Enchanted Evening that has Nicholas's younger brother, Montgomery, as the main handsome, sexy knight in the story.

Now that I am on Good Reads and see how the series is set up, I realize that was a mistake and although my other books deal with people with a different last name (MacLeod) they really are all the same extended family. Oh well. My Bad. I don't think you miss alot by reading them out of order. One Enchanted Evening does a good job of letting you know what is going on and Nicholas and Jennifer, from the first book I read, play a minor and understandable role in this book.

This book is a romance novel set in the same theme as "When I fall in love"....beautiful women, time travel, strong, daring, sexy knights. Parts of this book I enjoyed even more then the first one...

For one thing, Montgomery the knight comes to modern day time and it was fun to see him freak out (as in draw his sword and want to kill someone for looking at "his woman") over the women wearing jeans and a shirt instead of their normal layers of dresses. That made me laugh.

Generally, when you read romance novels, the male character has a hot temper or is a jerk sometimes or something. You find none of this in medieval England....This brotherhood of knights have been raised to be consistently chivalrous and wonderful to the ladies besides being strong, brave, and able to rescue anyone in distress. Even though I was reading this on a cruise ship as I lounged around eating and drinking, my own life still was found lacking in comparison. No matter how I tried to set up my husband to say the kind of romantic, witty things like the knights did, he remained my ever steady, ready, clueless stud muffin. Sigh.

Who needs to set oneself up for such disappointment, so when I finished this second book, I didn't start another. My heart and head needed a break from such romance. : ) I didn't like feeling like my own life was lacking, but I couldn't find my own romantic and perfect knight anywhere.

[Hazel McNellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

INHALT
Montgomery de Piaget glaubt nicht an Magie. Das sagt er sich zumindest immer wieder, während er die heruntergekommene Burg, die er von seinem Vater geerbt hat, versucht, im Jahre 1241 wieder aufzubauen. Da kommt es eigentlich gar nicht gut, wenn ausgerechnet ihm eine Fee vor die Füße fällt. Das Chaos ist perfekt, als sich herausstellt, dass die Fee Persephone, kurz: Pippa, heißt und aus der Gegenwart stammt!

MEINUNG
Herrlich! Der Roman ist sooo schön! Ein Märchen wie es im Buche steht! *hehe* Zu Beginn hatte ich noch leichte Schwierigkeiten, mich an den Schreibstil zu gewöhnen. Auch die Tatsache, dass anfangs ein Geist mitmischte, machte es nicht leicht. Doch das gab sich sehr schnell. Erstaunlich schnell sogar! Der Roman entwickelte so einen starken Sog; er riss mich einfach mit! *lol* Dabei ist es typisch Liebesroman-Manier ein Plot, der weniger durch die Handlung vorangetrieben wird als vielmehr von den Empfindungen der Protagonisten. Diese wechseln sich in der Perspektive kapitelweise ab, sodass der ein oder andere fiese Cliffhanger entstand, der das Lesen nochmals spannend gestaltete. Die Charaktere sind allesamt liebenswürdig! Zum Schluss musste ich sooo über Robins Kommentare lachen! Kurzum: Das Buch hat total viel Spaß gemacht zu lesen und zählt jetzt definitiv zu meinen liebsten Romanen in diesem Genre. Ein modernes Märchen mit herzerwärmenden und super-romantischem Happy End! :) Deshalb: 5 von 5 ☆☆☆☆☆. :)

[Kathryn Scarborough · Rating 3 out of 5]

great Lynn Kurland..gets wordy sometimes,every time I thought this book was ready for the circular file, something piqued my interest and I kept reading. This book is not on the same scale as A Garden in the Rain, or Much Ado in the Moonlight, but it has it's moments. There are some places in the book that make the reader go 'huh?' How many people can pick up the Norman French Language and speak it like a native in a few days? I think scholars would love to have such an easy time with it.Pippa is a believable character, but you wonder why she puts up with her flaky sister and doesn't bunch her lights out, or at least tell her off with all the abuse she's getting from her. That just makes Pippa look weak. And Montgomery...well does 'just too good to be true 'ring a bell? All in all, nice witty banter, and good one liners, just so wordy, I found myself skipping pages to get on with the story.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a great underlying storyline and the male romantic lead was sweet, charming, and very male in all the right ways, but all the other aspects of this book just left me rolling my eyes and sighing in frustration a lot. The romantic relationship between the two character leads was actually boring in my opinion because it just kept going back and forth and back and forth due to unnecessary conflicts because of a simple lack of communication. This book would have been better if the author would have just focused on the one glaring, obvious problem of our hero and heroine coming from different centuries and resolving that and letting their relationship blossom as they strive to overcome that very main issue of why they can't be together instead of all those little dumb issues with her spotlight-stealing, pot-head sister.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book. But ...once her horrible sister, Cindi gets out of the picture things improve. I love how Montgomery watches over Pippa but doesn't smother her while doing it.

Once Montgomery goes to the future ...the scene where he is wanting to learn to drive a car is wonderful! Kurland captures what a guy would want to conquer who just came from medieval times.

The banter is always good in Lynn's books. I especially like the banter between brothers and the other men relatives. So great to revisit with all the past characters of the De Piaget family and their ghosts.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 starts. I was very excited to try One Enchanted Evening because Kurland writes so many books and it looked fun and quirky but halfway through I keep asking "is this going to go somewhere? Is something going to happen? Are they going to keep doing nothing?" I hate to say it but this is a really boring book. The premise is promising, but in reality it is slow and even the few funny parts are not that funny. There is really no romance and I am halfway through. THey just keep having the same interactions and same dialogue. There is no description of outside of the castle. The heroine doesn't really have
a personality or "do" anything.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, but a few parts just bothered me too much. In the first half of the book Cindi is a major antagonist, but her character was too flat and lifeless. She was just there to move the plot along, and was quickly written out of the rest of the book. Also, the whole time travel thing - I like the premise, but it was accepted by the characters too casually. I could sense there's a whole lot of back story about the family in the author's other books. I did appreciate that it was a clean romance.

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great as always... This one was a little bit weird as far as wording a few parts of the book but I was super happy with it... Raised all kinds of questions about what happened to John and what not... kinda knew what century they'd end up in only because of reading Till There Was You -- Mary says she was going to Montgomery's keep and that there were kids to take care of there...

Persephone Alexander & Montgomery De Piaget

[Olivia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not get beyond the first chapter. It just dragged and took forever to introduce characters and backstory. I don't want to "read more and it gets better". If I don't care about the characters by the middle of the first chapter, I close it. So this book gets a DNF.

By the way, I had not read any of the other books in this series. I have read Kurland before, but could not tell you which books.

[Leslee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obviously I picked up a book in the middle of a series, it feels like it. This is a stand alone but there are things the author assumes the reader knows, but in reality, I didn't. Characters were not very well developed, and abandoned after being introduced. While the idea of time travel doesn't bother me the idea that they'd have no problem fitting right in does. I'll skip this author in the future.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like her other time travel books, the story is light, the hero handsome and characters from previous novels abound. But the heroine of this tale, Pippa, is practically spineless, accepting abuse from her sister on a scale that no one else with 5 siblings would contemplate, which makes it difficult to care about what happens to Pippa. This is not my favorite Kurland title, but it does help continue story lines started her in previous novels.

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Montgomery and I was glad to read his story. I especially loved his interactions with his family and "lost" loved ones. I thought this story was too similar to Nicholas and Jennifer and while the evil sister was okay for awhile, I wish Pippa would have stood up for herself sooner. It would have been even better if Montgomery had found John too!

[Annette Summerfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with the reviews that said they wished Montgomery would have taken charge of his castle, got those guys in order, kicked out the bad ones and got down to the business of fixing it up. I kept expecting him to and real help to get there and real work being done and him taking charge as the Lord of the manor.
Enjoyable book

[Yiayia13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize, when I got this from the library, that it was book #6. Even though you can read this book, there were things mentioned that the previous books in the set would help to make sense. I didn't like how the heroine let her sister walk all over her. She should have nipped it in the bud a lot sooner.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to read Montgomery de Piaget's story! Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me. There was one character who annoyed me to no end, and this character really ruined the story for me. Still, I love Lynn Kurland and I'll read anything she writes.