Book Review: A Knight's Choice and Other Romances by Lindsay Townsend

Blurb:

Six wonderfully sweet medieval short romances in a single anthology. Perfect feel-good reading!

A Knight’s Choice—Morwenna must marry to satisfy her family’s ambitions. Her choice is one of two brothers, but which?

Midsummer Maid—The romance and magic of Midsummer works for everyone—including a beautiful dairymaid and a less-than-handsome woodsman.

The Philosopher and the Herbalist—A light-hearted Not-Beauty and Not-Beast tale, with a romantic twist.

The Bridal House—Alis is reluctant to marry. Her betrothed presents her a beautiful bridal house that might help her see matters in a happier light.

The Seal of Odin—A dark tale of romance set during the age of the Vikings and early Christianity. Sometimes, love is found where we least expect it.

Ugly Meg—Once pretty, now scarred, Meg lives and works in seclusion in Bath—but other jealous guild members are plotting against her. Will fellow carpenter Matthew Warden come to her aid? If so, what will be his price?

My Reviews:

A Knight’s Choice
What's a "seed-pot" woman to do when faced with a future with one of two brothers and not much of a voice in which one she gets (ah, daddy's ambitions!)? Travel with both of them back to their home and quietly watch, observe... and discover who they truly are. And maybe find a way to make the choice for herself. Swoony cute story!

Midsummers Maid
Clare and Haakon have a mix of a beauty and the beast and a damsel in distress story that is charmingly cute. Both outsiders in their own ways, things happen on a midsummers night that allows fate to step in and entwine the two together. She's got a chance to show her grace and courage and acceptance, gifting him with exactly what he needs, and he's got a chance to be provider, protector, and leader, gifting her with exactly what she needs. Love feeling their connection and see their love blossom.

The Philosopher and the Herbalist
Super short story but with a huge gut-catching message I don't want to spoil. Definitely a beautiful truth we all need a reminder of, both sides of the coin....

The Bridal House
This is a quick glance at Alis discovering her hea. Short and sweet.
And I want her house. (sojealousnotjealous)

The Seal of Odin
A twisted story with a gentle lesson in forgiveness and faith. I wasn't sure what to expect, but didn't guess what happened!

Ugly Meg
Whew!! What a way to end this little anthology of stories. Meg had a beautiful life, and then it was taken away from her... or so she thought, until someone found his way past her fears and hurts.
This was another story that had a few surprises in it (I was not expecting the "special items" haha) and delivered a sucker-punch of a beautiful lesson - seeing deeper beyond skin deep and finding the beauty there that shines through. Definitely a story to remember and take the truths deeper inside.

What I truly loved with this whole group of stories is the common thread weaved through each of them in some design. Seeing past skin deep or other's judgement and pursuing what's truly valuable and worthy. This is a great set of stories to enjoy and absorb truths from.

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