Elise is the illegitimate daughter of King Henry II. Sir Bryan Stede is known as the Black Knight, an honorable knight who has served his king. When the king suddenly passes away, Elise’s life takes a massive change, one that finds her in the path of the Black Knight.
I had a problem getting through this book. It just didn’t work for me right from the beginning. I didn’t like the first interaction between the two main characters and it just continued to turn me away from it from there.

This hero had me writing him right from the start, or should I say first slap, folks. As a knight, he wrestles her off her horse to the ground accusing her of a crime and slaps her across the face. No, just no. Since she was screaming for help, there is no bloody way this so called knight didn’t know she was a woman.

This prompted me to read other low rated reviews and apparently there are several other issues pertaining to this so called knight hero that do not fall within my realm of acceptable romantic leading man conduct.

So please note I did not finish this advanced reader copy. I did not realize at the time I was issued it via NetGalley it is a reprint (not a new release). Otherwise, I would have checked out reviews more closely before volunteering to review it.

(These comments are based on an advanced reader copy distributed via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. No compensation was provided to this reviewer, nor is there any affiliation between the reviewer and author/publisher/NetGalley.)

A Lady with a secret and A knight who serves duty and honor. In a time where marriages are garnered for land and loyalties , these two find a way to love and future. Find a comfortable chair because this book will keep you reading to the last without putting it down. A tale of scope and time embroiled in intrigue and suspense.

Ebook from Netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

Sir Bryan Stede, a knight who rose from humble beginnings to become the favored knight of Henry II and then his son, Richard the Lion Heart. He’s a fierce and magnificent warrior who follows no law but his own, that is until he beholds the exquisite Elise. Elise is every Knight’s dream a woman with blue green eyes and red gold hair, although she pleaded her innocence she clearly was caring a ring evidence of King Henry Plantagenet’s. Bryan captures Henry's illegitimate daughter, Elise, Duchess of Montoui in France believing her to be a thief. She becomes his reluctant prisoner, she fights him and lies to him over and over, yet there is no denying the passion that erupted between them as their destinies become entwined together. She is no innocent and then he becomes obsessed with her. Another great book with strong independent characters and a battle of wills by Heather Graham!!! I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers' copy of this book from Net Galley and the publisher.

Bryan is a knight and has served two kings, Henry II of England and Richard the Lion Heart , He went on the 3rd crusade with King Richard. Duchess Elise de Bois of Montoui ends up married to Bryan and has a secret.
How do I explain this book, It is not a story or a tale , but an epic. It has so much emotion, greed, hate, murder, betrayal, friendship, love, if not all the emotions known to humans. The characters were so life like, it was uncanny. It was easy to get involved in the story, from the opening page. The plot was full bodied and complete. The way Bryan and Elise battled each other was truly awe inspiring. The descriptions of places and people were very detailed and you could easily put yourself in their place. Everything flowed smoothly and evenly through out and was well put together. There was conflict between Elise and Bryan, the kings, the other couples and all of Islam. I could not put this down, It was that mesmerizing. I could go on forever about how wonderful this book is. The only drawback I saw was in editing. Some of the words were separated by a space or a dash, at least in the copy I received and it was a little distracting. I really loved it, I have read some really good books but I think this is the best, I have read in a while.

I really liked this historical read. Elise is concealing her secret, she is the illegitimate daughter of Henry II, Sir Bryan Stede is a fierce warrior and is drawn to Elise. Will they find a happily ever after or will circumstances tear them apart? Suspenseful read with lots of drama and suspense and wrapped in historical events. The story takes you back in time and really draws you in, I really liked it!

I've been gradually growing out of my love for historical romances but every so often one comes along that takes me to a time when I loved to read my history in a love story. Bryan Stede is loyal to Henry the II even as his sons and knights desert him. Standing vigil over his fallen King's body he interrupts robbers come to rob the King of his crown and jewel and nets himself what he believes is a sweet thief Elise.

As it turns out Elise is lady of a small kingdom in France and Henry's illegitimate daughter. Richard, Geoffrey and Eleanor are all aware of her blood but when she's caught running from the chapel where Henry's body is lying she lies and loses her innocence to Bryan. As a reward for his loyal service to his father and as reparation for taking Elise's virginity Richard awards Bryan with Elise to wife as well as land near the border of Wales.

A marriage begun in conflict the two barely have time to develop a amiable relationship while Bryan is away in service to King Richard and ultimately to the crusades. However Elise's heart has been softening towards her husband and the dowager Queen Eleanor's romantic tales of accompanying Henry on crusade take Elise to the desert sands of the holy land to be with her husband. With her golden beauty Elise is captured by Saladin's nephew while Bryan is injured.

Elise bargains with her Muslim captors for their advanced medical help to heal her husband and keep herself safe. Will Elise languish behind the luxurious walls of a Muslim harem or is there a chance for her to be re-united with her enemy now turned beloved husband? The author does a superb job of painting the history of the times and the conflicts at home in England as well as the politics between the countries and rules who are fighting in the crusades in the name of religion.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

This is a re-release under Shannon Drake from 1995. And while it may sound weird when talking about a historical romance this story is dated. There are a few things in the book that if written now would make a woman’s spidey senses go nuts like rape and just all around women being less than, if you know what I mean.

Now that being said, the story is good and as always Graham’s writing keeps you interested. She is one of the few I still read historical romance for.

I think you just need to give it a read and accept it for what it is. A dated historical romance.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Elise, the secret, illegitimate daughter of Henry II goes to the castle to pay her respects to her father after his death. During her visit, a band of thieves come into the chamber to rob and pillage the contents of the room. Elise is mistaken for one of the robbers by a loyal, handsome knight of the king. She cannot reveal her identity and the knight cannot neglect his duty. Despite all that happens, mutual attraction wins. I liked the book but it was a long "cat and mouse" game. This whole book could have been much shorter and still accomplished the same ending. An interesting plot but I felt like it got bogged down throughout the book.

Blue Heaven, Black Night by Heather Graham will be available May 30, 2017 by Zebra, an imprint of Kensington Books Corp. An egalley of this book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

**** 4.5 stars: Loved it and probably stayed up all night reading and developing real feelings for fictional people.

This Middle-Ages romantic drama will keep you up all night reading.

blue heaven black night heather graham

Recommended readers:

If you like Heather Graham
If you want an action-packed historical read
If you like Middle Age period fiction
Here's my Rankings:

4/5 for characters
3/5 for plot
3.5/5 overall
REVIEW FROM BOOKS FOR HER:

The death of King Henry II has left two of his favorite and loyal subjects in a mess. Sir Bryan Stede is his honored knight and discovers Elise escaping the castle where the Henry rests, just after discovering his King's chamber ravaged. Stede's new duties force him to escort Elise to the new king, where they meet danger, intrigue and political agendas. An amazing storyteller, Graham hits the mark again with this Middle Ages romantic drama. Her strong, imperfect characters weaved in with the action and political drama of the post-King Henry period is non-stop entertainment. This will keep you reading through the night - or at least wishing you could!

Available May 30: Blue Heaven, Black Night by Heather Graham

This is a difficult book to like. The H is a knight, a brave, recognized knight of the king. The h is the bastard daughter of the king. They meet as he pursues her from the castle, thinking she is one of several thieves who have murdered several people and stolen from the body of the King. When she initially tries to assault him, then he finds the kings ring in her possession, she lies and says she was the kings mistress. He seduces her, taking her virginity, and realizing her lie, of course. She escapes his clutches while he sleep, taking his horse and boot, leaving him to walk back to the castle. It's a complicated story, resulting in their marriage and eventually finding love. The h is an angry, bitter and essentially unlikeable person throughout the first half of the book, and truly, I don't think I ever Cato truly like her. The H is more appealing, despite his brutish beginnings. It was difficult to persist with the book, disliking the h as much as I did, but I received ARC for review, and persisted, and was rewarded with a HEA. But truly, found the h not nearly as likeable as the H.

I read this book the first time around-loved it more the second time!

Old school bodice ripper, indignant heroine and judgmental hero. It grew tiresome very quickly. Sex scenes rather awkward. Maybe this was en vogue back then.

This book is obviously a victim of its time. Shannon Drake was a household (ok maybe i am exaggerating here) sensation, at least among the ladies who loved some romance reading. And it is not uncommon to find such stories topping the bestseller list. Hero Bryan supported Henry who had now died. His son Richard had come into power and that was bad news for Bryan. Heroine Elise was Henry's bastard daughter but no one knew. She was given to nobility to raise and grew up to be a duchess (Henry's plan). But now Henry was dead. Bryan and Elise both lost their king. They met at Henry's death and Bryan mistook Elise as a thief. I do not know why Bryan must believe that Elise was a thief and a liar. Probably because that is how we get a story. Elise was acting all angry because God forbid someone should doubt her, even when she was seen taking something that belonged to Henry as her own. So they spent some time together playing this I despise you you despise me game and the natural result is of course intercourse. Isn't it what always happens when you despise somebody?

Their physical relationship started early in the book under questionable circumtances. I was confused about why it happened at all but hey it is a bodice ripper. Someone's bodice had to be ripped. The historical background was done in a grand fashion. Shannon Drake is good at that. But the characters did not really capture me. My eyes were rolled all the way to the back whenever they were both up to their antics.

Some may find their physical relationship troubling. It seemed consensual to me. But please proceed with caution.