A nice twist on the Beauty and the Beast story. Barclay Howard has never felt loved, his grandfather wasn’t the loving type. Thinking that the Free Love lecture he was attending was something totally different than what it actually was. On top of his disappointment the police are raiding the meeting. Seeing a women in distress he tries to escape with her, but she attacks him with her hat pin. This gave the police enough time to arrest them and others. After spending a night in jail Norah Capshaw doesn’t realize the reason she and all the others were released was the Mr. Howard posted the bail.
Their paths crossed several times and looks are not what is important in life. Many laugh out loud parts, love Barclay ward! The romance is slowing building, but the adventure is great.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #WhiteKnightNeeded

What if the beast is a knight at heart …

I loved Barclay instantly, well I already liked him from the previous book, a bear with a heart of gold.
And knight he really is, while he hides his gentleness behind the armor of his size and aloofness, he is a man of principles and honor. Never he will let someone in need behind.
Thus how he rescues not once or twice but third time Norah, despite her flagrant distrust and her low opinion of him.
Barclay is used of being overlooked or judged for his appearance, a beast he looks like, a beast they think he is when he is such a gentle and kind soul, one resigned of loneliness as few people have been able to see past his figure.
Norah is no exception, from her lack of faith in general in strangers, even more if they are male. Plus she has heard whispers about the beastly Howard, a man who eats debutantes for his breakfast. Yet he is the sole person who lends a helping hand when she is in dire straight and in need of more than simple rescuing.
But her trust is not easily won, still slowly Barclay’s goodness and matter of fact view of life will break her walls until they crumble down and she can not anymore lie to herself about the man who stands alongside her at every turn and event, becoming her rock and her future.

The author with this new release gives a new dimension to the beauty and beast myth, no haughty prince but a man faulted for his beastly size and a beautiful heroine struggling to trust. Adding to it, a wild ride from England to Scotland, with breeches eating goat, a willful child and a mystery to solve all the while dodging kidnapping attempts.
I’m rather intrigued by next book hero, Randville, easy to guess there is more to him than his tailor/valet’s suit.
4.5 stars

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 kisses

I have been granted an advance copy by the publisher, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

A solid historical. My only warning: this is a slow burn with nothing beyond kissing. But there is plenty of mystery and intrigue to distract you.

Also a perfect palate cleanser between steamy reads.

Barclay spots Norah as she ducks into a meeting. And notices that she's being followed by a rough-looking man. When the meeting is broken up Barclay tries to help her escape the police and the man following her when she resists they are arrested.

Later, Nora loses her job, and Barclay runs into her again. This time helping her flee the unruly customers where she was working and later again that night when someone tries to grab her again.

Barclay offers her a job. He's just become guardian to his nephew, the next earl. And he needs someone to tutor his nephew.

Their attraction is growing and when she finds out she has living relatives he helps her local them and accompanies her to make sure they check out.

They find themselves embarking on an adventure that takes them all the way to Scotland and grandparents she'd never met.

Barclay Howard is done with love. Unfortunately, he's not done with responsibility, saddled with his young nephew. Setting off to his family estate, he runs into the penniless Norah Capshaw. On the run, Norah is without a job or options--until Barclay offers a position as his nephew's tutor.

But despite the quickly growing attraction between Barclay and Norah, she finds herself threatened by the man who pursued her before. As she and Barclay attempt to come together in the Scottish Highlands, they must dodge threats both emotional and physical.

That all sounds great--and the cover is, too. It's a well done romance, to be sure. But it is by and large a clean romance, which I don't think the cover really... belies. And that did bother me. When I look at a book with that cover, I think I'm getting something much hotter than this book actually is.

Don't get me wrong, this is a fun book. There's a great bit of banter between the leads, and I loved the Scottish setting and its adventurous tone. But ultimately, there could've been a lot more going on here--not just in terms of sex, but in terms of plot as well.

If you're looking for something quick and sweet, this could be for you. It just wasn't right for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this Beauty And The Beast, unruly child adventure. I laughed out loud at times. The romance was sweetly passionate. Barclay Howard is burly and is awkward towards women, yet he has a heart of gold. Known as “The Howard Beast” by debutantes, he has reconciled at never finding a woman who could fall in love with him. Norah Capshaw is alone in this world, running from mysterious men, not knowing what they want. Norah is lonely, scared, yet independent. Barclay and Norah start their turbulent romance when Barclay saves Noah from being abducted at a free love rally. On top of that, Barclay has just inherited guardianship of an unruly, spoiled six-year-old heir to the earldom.

Barclay was a wonderful character. Barclay is self-conscious but would do anything for those he loves. He is shocked and angry when he is shackled with the responsibility of this young child but takes the role seriously, being both equal parts disciplined and loving with the child. He loves and corrects Elias as needed as good as any father. Norah was alone and scared, yet I admired her fierceness and independence. I loved how after her first shock, Norah sees beneath Barclay’s rough exterior to the wonderful, caring man inside. The couple’s sweet romance is peppered with passionate kisses, and it feels genuine and organic.

The plot flowed well; I sometimes felt there could be more substance to the story. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the entertaining storyline, laced with humor and adventure. Elias, the young earl, was simultaneously a thorn in the main character’s sides and a ray of funny sunshine. The secondary characters caught my attention, and I was invested in each of them. White Knight Needed is the second book in the Reluctant Heroes series. This was my first journey into this series, and I wasn’t disappointed. Betina Krahn is on my radar for light, humorous romances with plenty of adventure and heart.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

That book was enjoyable but I started to get annoyed by the end of the lack of romance scenes. Didn't feel a real connection between both MCs. But the plot was well made, and there was a lot of twist and turns.
It was more of a mystery book than a romance. It was enjoyable and sometimes I would catch myself tearing a bit.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this arc

I really enjoyed this book. Humor, mystery, adventure, and especially romance. So many likable characters and and and interesting storyline as well. 5 stars.

❤️❤️❤️1/2
💋

Very enjoyable but rather slow, romance, adventure and mystery, all in one book.

A good story if your in it for the long haul, it moves rather slowly but there is something new on every page so it’s not boring or tedious.
I enjoyed reading it, and would read more from this author.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

There was a lot of plot going on in White Knight Needed, that I never really connected with the characters, something I greatly enjoy when reading a historical romance. I want to be immersed in the story.

There were some interesting elements, Barclay is a huge, "beast like" Scot, who really is very kind, he "inherits" his six year old cousin who is an Earl. Norah is running away from her own demons, agrees to tutor the young Earl.

There is some adventure, it wasn't very steamy (if you're looking for that in your HR books) and as said above, I didn't connect well with the characters so I didn't find it overly romantic either. Norah spent most of the time being mean to Barclay, which was a put off. 2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. Thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.

Sometimes you just gotta give it up to a Beauty and the Beast style romance that is trope-y and fun. Barclay has rescued Norah from a stalker and offered her a job tutoring his high spirited nephew Elias. You know what's going to happen but that doesn't matter because Krahn has a good way with characters and a. sense of humor. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. An entertaining read.

~My Thoughts
This one was a intriguing read. The plot and all the mysterious happenings kept me hooked enough to finish the book. There were scenes that made me laugh out loud and kept the book interesting. I also enjoyed reading tid-bits from history.

I found the relationship between Barclay and Norah cute. The way she accepted him and the way he supported her was lovely to read about. I also found their interactions with Elias, Barclay's ward, very sweet.

But I think I would have enjoyed the more if there were more interactions and relationship development between Elias, Barclay and Norah.
There were also times when I found Norah a little irritating, especially when she made the stupidest decisions known to mankind.

And in my opinion there wasn't alot of romance in the book, there was more intrigue and mystery than romantic interactions.

Overall the book was an okay read for me. And if you enjoy reading books with lots of mystery and little romamce this one is definitely for you.

I was sad, I wanted to like this book, I like historical books, I mean it has a couple of things that I enjoys, it's a historical, romance, then there is Scotland. But I didn't care for the H, I found her to be mean to the other H, she was constantly yelling at him that he was beast, I guess he wasn't handsome, but give a break, I guess I lost interest and didn't care for her .

This book has a couple good plots!

I really liked the pace of this book and enjoyed the overall plot. Essentially each main character had their own plots that came together nicely, Barclay becoming his 6 year old cousin's guardian and Norah being stalked due to family secrets.

What I struggled with in this book was really connecting to the characters. I couldn't quite put my finger on why either. Maybe I needed more excitement or whimsy from the main characters that seemed to be provided by supporting characters (Elias, Scottish Family).

This book had a slow romance, but I would have liked a lot more romance focus throughout. The constant "beast" references were a distraction as well.

A good plot from a suspense perspective that kept the book enjoyable, but a bit of a lackluster romance.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

I thought this was a great story with never a dull moment! I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the humour peppered throughout and all the action. The lack of steamy passion between the hero and heroine didn't bother me too much although I would have preferred to see a bit of action in that area! lol Otherwise, I thought the book was good:)

Barclay and Norah's story is intertwined with danger and the mystery of gold coins and as they head into Scotland to find the truth, neither of them foresee all that happens. When she finds family she didn't know she had, secrets are declared and the danger becomes very real.

This is the first book I read by this author and I am very interested in reading more of her work. I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Wow! What a Fantastic Story! White Knight Needed will keep you spellbound as it takes you on a rollercoaster ride that weaves a story from beginning to end with threads of intrigue, suspense, mystery and secrets. Betina Krahn has written a story that's filled with characters that weave a story that will hold you spellbound as their individual personalities become more than just part of the tale they come off the pages and pull you in, the book flowed well from one thing to another without being forced, plot brims with tension-building twist, and great dialogue. With setting descriptions and action sequences that are wonderfully vivid that brings the story to life and as the uncertainties escalates the suspense builds and danger abound which brings this read together perfectly!

This was a light hearted, easy, enjoyable read. Set during the Victorian era, our hero has just found out that his Grandfather has died and he has become the future Earl's guardian. During a tumultuous period of his life he meets Norah, a down on her luck woman who ends up very reluctantly needing his help, twice.
Impulsively he offers her a job as his new ward's tutor. The hero, who the heroine views as a 'beast of a man' both physically and in manner soon begins to win her round, revealing a softer and lonely side to his nature.
An unknown person is stalking Norah for unknown reasons, activating the hero's protective instincts. This leads into a fun side plot involving Jacobite gold, kidnap and a journey to Scotland.
The hero was really sweet despite his initial gruffness and I really liked the heroine, more so as the story progressed.
Looking forward to reading more from this author and excited she is considering a story about the mysterious valet.

This is a new author for me. I found that I enjoyed the book. I found the characters engaging and the story well thought out. The pacing was good and I enjoyed the ending of the book. I will continue to read more books by this author.

White Knight Needed is the second in a series of which I haven't read the first. I wonder if reading the first one would have helped me connect to the characters in this one a little more. The story follows Barclay Howard, a gentleman of means and also of giant proportions, and Norah Capshaw, an educated woman who was orphaned and is now alone in the world.

Barclay is frequently described as being beastlike, but I think it has to do with his size and extra long canines. We're given to assume that he has not had much luck with the ladies as a result, but I dunno. A gentle giant is typically a yummy and popular hero in romance novels. Norah is less than enamored when she first meets him, however, though it could be due in part because she's running from a stalker at the same time.

So the first few times the two meet are less than stellar, mostly because Norah can't get past Barclay's appearance. Eventually she ends up as a houseguest and ultimately agrees to accompany Barclay to the country to serve as a tutor to Barclay's 6-year-old cousin and heir to the earldom. Said cousin is a spoiled brat, and his presence seems rather unnecessary except to provide a reason for Norah to go to York with Barclay. Meanwhile, Norah's stalker follows them to York. The reason why is what propels the remainder of the plot.

The storyline itself is pretty good. It was an easy read, and I wasn't particularly bored. However, I found it difficult to connect with the main characters, and I'm not entirely sure why. It could have something to do with not learning much about their pasts. Norah's lack of friends from school is written off fairly easily as your average debutante snobbishness. Of Barclay we learn very little except that he was raised in his grandfather's household. There's a brief mention of his parents, but not in detail. It's possible that the previous novel told us more about his past, but that doesn't help us get to know him in this novel.

In the end, I'm not sure if the mild interest this story stirred in me is enough for me to seek out book 1 or look forward to book 3.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks!

I thought that this book had a very good title. Norah, through no fault of her own, finds herself in many scrapes and Barclay is always there to rescue her. Lots of things are going on in the plot. A mysterious person is trying to harm or even kill Norah. Barclay's grandfather, an Earl, hated him and has named a very young cousin as his heir--and Barclay is stuck being the guardian. Luckily Norah, being an experienced teacher, gets hired by Barclay to tutor the young earl.
The mystery about Norah's past is dangerous and unexpected. Barclay is definitely Norah's hero and she soon begins to realize it. The romance in this novel is fairly tame but the couple clearly has chemistry. Overall this was a good read.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book left me a little bit cold, overall. I wanted to like it a lot but the romance between the main characters already got off to a bad start for me when constantly the hero is being kind or noble and the heroine just keeps yelling at him or thinking of him as a beast despite him doing absolutely nothing to cause that reaction. Then the mystery of the gold just didn't interest me much and seemed to have a very easy solution that didn't really factor much in to the way the hero and heroine felt about each other.

Also for a historical romance, it was distinctly lacking in the romance department. Once the two get to Scotland it's all about the gold and their relationship really takes a back burner. The part I enjoyed the most was the relationship between the hero and his ward, but that also took a bit of a backseat to the overall plot.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.