Rise Of The Defender by Kathryn Le Veque, My review of this epic medieval romance.

 MY REVIEW:
 
★★★★★
Sir Christopher de Lohr is fighting with King Richard in the holy lands. He is Richard's best and most powerful Knight. When one of the King's Barons is dying he summons Chris and orders him to claim the Baron's castle and daughter by marriage. Then he declares that Chris will be the Defender of the realm and keep Prince John from taking over his kingdom.  This is a huge task and a very dangerous one.
Dustin is the Baron's only child. She is spoiled and willful.  She has no need or want for  a husband.  She doesn't realise how beautiful she is and has no time for silly flirtation.
Dustin will cause trouble and heartache between Chris and his most beloved friend. She will have much love, heartache and danger to face.
The battles are Bloody and intense. There are so many heroes in this book, some we will meet again in other stories. Our heroine is strong and completely selfless.  Everyone falls in love with her. That is what causes a lot of their problems.  There are also some historical characters that are well known to us all who make a big difference in Christopher's life.
I love the descriptive writing that pulls me completely into the world the characters inhabit. I have loved all of this authors books and will read any more I can get my hands on.

Kathryn started out at age 13 writing a space-travel novel, inspired by a recently-released film called "Star Wars". The following years were filled with minimal writing, mostly on spiral notebooks in the days before personal computers. Then, in 1992, Kathryn decided to get serious.

"Your writing can either be a hobby or it can be who you are. Make your choice."

That was some advice she received from an established author. So she made a choice; she was going to make writing who she was. Historical fiction was her passion and she learned everything she could about it. The writing field isn't like being an actor or a singer; actors can be 'extras' and singers can be 'back up singers'. A writer is on her/his own. There are no supporting roles. A writer must stand on her/his own talents, so Kathryn decided to take the time to hone her craft. And that involved writing novel after novel, deciding what her style was, what worked for her, what didn't, and understanding how to write tight and perfect. It's still an ongoing process, but she's well on her way.