He left to save his family… Now he’s back! Nicholas of Mei Solis swore to do anything to protect his home–even going away to fight for it. This meant leaving beautiful Matilda, too. Now Nicholas has returned briefly to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one look at Matilda, now widowed and with child, changes everything. Suddenly Nicholas is compelled to stay…and to take back the … take back the future they both thought they’d lost…
Lovers and Legends miniseries
Book 1 — The Knight’s Broken Promise
Book 2 — Her Enemy Highlander
Book 3 — The Highland Laird’s Bride
Book 4 — In Debt to the Enemy Lord
Book 5 — The Knight’s Scarred Maiden
Book 6 — Her Christmas Knight
Book 7 — Reclaimed by the Knight
“Locke’s latest entry to her Lovers and Legends series is a beautifully written tale of loss, faith and the magic of love between a scarred maiden and the deadly mercenary she rescues.” — RT Book Reviews on The Knight’s Scarred Maiden
“Locke doesn’t disappoint. Her Christmas Knight is empowering and romantic with a darker undercurrent … I absolutely recommend. It’s just so good!” — Goodreads on Her Christmas Knight
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I’ve been waiting for this book since I first saw the cover and read the blurb before it was officially released. At the time I hadn’t had the pleasure of reading any books from author Nicole Locke. So I decided since it was seventh in the series, I would read the first six books first, even though all the books in this series could be read separately. Oh my what a fantastic journey I have had reading the last six books. I highly recommend reading the whole series! I was hoping that in anticipation for this story that it would be able to live up to the previous books…. Well it was even better than I ever imagined it could be! It was absolutely fantastic and I loved it! This definitely was one of my very favorites of this series and I am so happy to have found a new favorite author to follow. 10 stars if I could!
We first met our hero Nicholas in book five, The Knight’s Scarred Maiden. This story takes us back to his home 6 years after he left to become a mercenary. When Nicholas left his plan was only to be gone for two years to collect enough money to keep his home running. He left his home under the control of Matilda our heroine who was his betrothed and his two best friends. When he returns much has changed with Matilda widowed from his best friend and pregnant. I truly loved both Matilda and Nicholas in this story and at times it was truly heart wrenching the pain both had gone through. This was such an emotionally charged story and I couldn’t put it down till I finally got to their HEA! This one is definitely a keeper!
If you read the previous book The Knight’s Scarred Maiden then you already know Nicholas of Mei Solis, he is the scarred knight that helped Rhain escape the vengeance of Reynold of Warstone. If like me you wondered about his past, the wait is over!
Commanded by Rhain to return home and settle his past, Nicholas dreads returning to his holding and the only woman he ever loved, the woman who promised to marry him and married his best friend while he was away. Six years ago, Nicholas was happy and in love, he left Mei Solis to earn coin for the property, he said he would return in two years and left even after Matilda begged him to stay. Two years turned to three and with it a horrific injury and the news that his love married his friend Roger. That news kept him alive, alive to seek vengeance on his erstwhile friend and his faithless love. Now three years after receiving the news, he is back and ready to put the past behind him and move on with his life.
Matilda loved Nicholas with all her youthful heart and begged him not to leave, but leave he did, without even a proper goodbye. At first he wrote her letters and she wrote back, but then his letters to her suddenly stopped without explanation, but he continued to correspond with Louve, the estate steward. Believing he broke their betrothal, Matilda marries his friend Roger, she writes to him one last time to tell him of her marriage, and tries to love her husband as he deserves. Nicholas, Matilda, Roger and Louve all grew up together and were dear friends, but what Matilda felt for Nicholas was much deeper and she was heartbroken when he broke their betrothal.
She was content with Roger, but never loved him as she did Nicholas and feels guilty about that. Roger is dead and she is pregnant with his child, she has tried very hard to change and become the type of person she believes Roger wanted her to be, she curbs her adventurousness and her temper, but Nicholas’s returns and treats her like she betrayed him, she cannot let that go without speaking her mind.
They talk and argue, each believing they are the wronged party and slowly they begin to accept their own roles in the break down of their relationship. They form a tentative peace, but Matilda is sure Nicholas is leaving again and refuses to trust him. When Matilda goes into labor, Nicholas is by her side and after the baby is born, keeps his distance for weeks, until he hears her crying.
Something breaks in Matilda after Julianna’s birth and she feels like she is drowning in despair and grief. When Nicholas comforts her, it feels right and later when he insists that she stay in the manor, they finally have it out – the love they shared, never truly died, but hurt and mistrust are not easy to let go of, and when Reynold shows up, Matilda is sure Nicholas is lost to her forever.
This was a very emotionally charged book filled with misconceptions, mistrust, forgiveness, second chances and growing up. I personally felt that they both could have tried a little harder to communicate while he was away and Matilda was more angry than I believe warranted (for someone who married and had a child with another man) and I would have liked the ending to be a bit more specific regarding their HEA. But it was a very good story and makes me want to read Reynold’s book all the more!!!
4 1/2 STARS!
A historical rendition of lost love reconnecting! With an in depth depiction of several characters who were the best of friends once upon a time, but who now have feelings of betrayal floating around them. Nicholas and Matilda are both quick to grab our attention, and as they begin the slow process of reconnecting and forgiving each other, we get a glimpse of what the future could hold for them. Danger is swirling, but true love is once again beaming a powerful force. Really good read!
Nicholas sacrificed himself and many years of his life in order to raise the money needed to keep his family homestead running and receiving the upgrading that it needed. Now he has arrived home, to confront his past and the ones he thinks have done him wrong.
Matilda was betrothed to Nicholas all those years ago when he left, but when he stopped writing or responding and never returned home, she went on to marry another. Now widowed and pregnant, she’s not sure how to react when Nicholas returns. She’s still angry, yet seeing him brings back those same old feelings.