The day he was condemned and banished from England, his fellow knights thought they'd seen the last of Gray de Valence. But the ruthless, emerald-eyed warrior had done more than survive in a world of barbaric dangers, he'd triumphed. Now, eager to pay back his betrayers, de Valence has come home only to find his plans threatened not by another man but a volatile, unpredictable, ravishingly beautiful woman. Vowing her own brand of vengeance against the high-handed, impossibly handsome knight, Juliana Welles will do her best to thwart him, to tempt and taunt him..until all Gray sees--and all he wants--is her. Yet when a cunning enemy puts their lives in peril, the fearless knight will have to choose between his perfect revenge and the passion of a lifetime...
From Publishers Weekly
In her first stab at medieval romance, Robinson (Lord of Enchantment) pits a clever and angry heroine against a wounded and angry hero. One of Lady Juliana Welles's legs is shorter than the other. This "devil's curse" was supposedly the reason that her betrothed, Edward Strange, rejected her. Renouncing all men, the bad-tempered Juliana plans to take vows of chastity and devote herself to the healing arts that her mother taught her. (Each chapter begins with a description of such remedies as sweet violets and houseleek.) Besides a herbalist, she is the "Stripping Bandit," the bane of her father's domain. Disguised as a boy, she takes her revenge against "strutting rooster knights" by making them take off their clothes. This is especially hard for Gray de Valence (who sounds like something you might find on a curtain rod). Silver-haired Gray has come to Wellesbrooke to revenge himself against Juliana's cousin, one of the knights who caused his exile from England and his subsequent enslavement. But he stays to joust it out with Juliana instead. When their battling gets tired (he keeps throwing her over his saddle), there is a poorly constructed murder mystery to solve.
In her first stab at medieval romance, Robinson (Lord of Enchantment) pits a clever and angry heroine against a wounded and angry hero. One of Lady Juliana Welles's legs is shorter than the other. This "devil's curse" was supposedly the reason that her betrothed, Edward Strange, rejected her. Renouncing all men, the bad-tempered Juliana plans to take vows of chastity and devote herself to the healing arts that her mother taught her. (Each chapter begins with a description of such remedies as sweet violets and houseleek.) Besides a herbalist, she is the "Stripping Bandit," the bane of her father's domain. Disguised as a boy, she takes her revenge against "strutting rooster knights" by making them take off their clothes. This is especially hard for Gray de Valence (who sounds like something you might find on a curtain rod). Silver-haired Gray has come to Wellesbrooke to revenge himself against Juliana's cousin, one of the knights who caused his exile from England and his subsequent enslavement. But he stays to joust it out with Juliana instead. When their battling gets tired (he keeps throwing her over his saddle), there is a poorly constructed murder mystery to solve.
