Until the Knight Comes

May 1, 2006
Welfonder's newest is a medieval romance set in Scotland. Lady Mariota Macnicol stands falsely accused of murdering her lover, but escapes, hiding out at the deserted Castle Cuidrach. When the castle's new lord, Sir Kenneth MacKenzie (the villain from Welfonder's Devil in a Kilt
), arrives to take possession, she brazenly informs him that she is the chatelaine—then changes her story after she learns he is the actual owner. MacKenzie accepts Mariota's half-truths and provides her haven, and they wind up falling hard for each other, though both have been betrayed by lovers before. But Mariota remains on the run from her accusers, while MacKenzie plots to keep her at Cuidrach until he can win her trust and convince her to marry him. Their lusty dialogue grows wearisome ("he intensity of him unleashed a trickling anticipation that spilled all through her, making her blood run thick and rich"), and uneven pacing keeps readers in a state of distraction, as Welfonder shifts rapidly between the romance and the book's suspense-deficient subplots.

July 1, 2006
Mariota Macnicol followed her heart, forsaking her good name and family for love for an unworthy man. Framed for murder by her lover's mistress and imprisoned by his men, she and her faithful friend Nessa escape. They find sanctuary in bleak, tumbledown Cuidrach with the help of a magical golden lute and a red fox only to discover Sir Kenneth MacKenzie, the new Keeper of Cuidrach, and his band of knights arriving to claim the castle and take up residence. They race to secure the keep against marauders and the evil men following Mariota in pursuit of vengeance and gold, while a heated relationship develops between Kenneth and Mariota. Welfonder's storytelling skill and medieval scholarship shine in her latest Kintail-based Scottish romance with magical elements courtesy of the wise woman Devorgilla. And a teaser indicates that romantic misadventures will continue with young Jamie MacPherson, one of the Keeper's most loyal knights at arms.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)