Title: One Hot Knight
Series: N/A
Author: Christy Gissendaner
Genre: Romance/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Blurb: Stupid curse!
Yves Sucat was a Crusader trapped in a canine body…until a beautiful twenty-first century dog groomer offered the missing link to break his spell. But Regina Patterson was no fluffy-headed female who would instantly melt at Yves’ silvery seduction. The more time he spent with the tender-hearted blonde, the less he was able to keep his paws—hands!—off of her.
Regina was much more comfortable with dogs than men, and the stunningly handsome – stunningly male – knight who now shared her apartment was no exception. She’d hoped to find a man as loyal as the pooches she pampered day after day, but would Yves’s broken curse end with her own broken heart?
Thoughts: While the storyline for this one is a bit of a stretch – I mean, come on, we have a man that over 900 years ago was placed under a spell by a witch and was turned in to dog – that makes it all that more appealing for me. If the author can pull it off. There’s nothing I like more than a story that is just totally out there, but the author manages to weave the tale so well that it could make you believe that such a world could exist. So, I was excited to try this novel out.
Unfortunately, in this case I was a bit disappointed. The story just seemed to throw whatever details in there as needed to satisfy the typical happily ever after storyline – whether it actually made sense or not. For instance, the witch who actually cursed Yves previously makes a return, and all of a sudden our heroine (miraculously!) discovers she’s witch – even though there were no signs at all prior to point to that. And she’s strong enough to fend off a witch who was powerful enough over 900 years ago to turn a man into a dog for almost a millennium! The author does attempt to make some explanation as to why that is, but it just didn’t fly with me. There are other instances as well, but I don’t want to give too much away. And if the author did want to take on these slants regarding the hidden powers, etc. – then there needed to be some kind of buildup to that.
I didn’t feel any particular connection with the characters. To be honest, I think I liked the first few chapters the best, and that was when Yves was still a dog! For some reason (for me anyway) it seemed like once Yves returned to his human form, I lost whatever small connection I had with the story. And once he does return to his original form, I just didn’t feel any kindof chemistry between the characters.
Don’t get me wrong, the author herself is skilled, but for me this story just seemed a little underdeveloped and inconsistent.
Rate: C-
