A good story that had me glued to the pages from the beginning until the end. You are given a look at the beginning at Lady Raven the daughter of the Lord and his Lady of the castle with the opening as she is wanting to be practicing to joust, only to be disturbed by her twin brother. She is also founding out at that time that she is to be married to the winner of a series of comes in the coming months. She is not happy. You are then introduced to Johaton the commoner and blacksmith working towards being a master at his craft. He is hired to watch her and to also work at the castle for the upcoming games. Lady Raven he finds is not what was expecting and as the story goes along she sees Jonathon differently as well. Yet they can’t be together because they are from two different classes. This is a good story with good characters all around and the author keeps Raven the same throughout the story which was good. A very good read.

Picking Up the Gauntlet by Elizabeth Rose

I absolutely love this writer, from modern day, to western, to highlander to this. Awesome., never the same.

Lady Raven Blake, who is a bit spoiled, is not happy with her father’s plan to marry her off to the winner of the tournament he has planned. In fact, she would rather compete in the tournament herself. Lord Corbet Blake is determined to see that she behaves in a more lady-like fashion when the nobles arrive for the competition. His plan is to bring Jonathon Armstrong, an Armorer to the castle as temporary castle blacksmith and as Raven’s personal guard. Things don’t go exactly as planned. As hard as Jonathon tries to fulfill his assignment, Raven makes it difficult. To top it all these two are falling for each other.
Wonderfully writen and wonderful characters , can't wait to read the next.

Picking Up the Gauntlet by Elizabeth Rose was a good story. There are some criticisms, however: most authors of this genre are far from historically accurate, but the make some effort to include at least formal language if not other things pertinent to the time period. Rose wrote in modern lexicon, even using modern idiom a time or two. The story was modern, not historically accurate, so other means had to be found to put it, at least slightly, into the time period it was supposed to be. Sadly that detracted from an otherwise decent story.

It was the story of a blacksmith/armourer, sometime guard, who was hired to be a bodyguard to the lord’s daughter, who was known to be a mischief maker. Her father had given up hope of anyone coming forward desiring her hand and so had arranged a forthcoming joust with her hand in marriage as the prize. Raven was a mischief maker, and sadly, not an altogether pleasant person to be around. She could be unkind at times. Jonathon was a good guy who worked hard and wanted to make his way in the world. She was tough on him but he fell in love anyway, something no one else had done. It was an amusing story.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Picking Up the Gauntlet by Oliver Heber Books, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #OliverHeberBooks #ElizabethRose #PickingUpTheGauntlet

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy of picking up the gauntlet by Elizabeth rose. Kind of a King Arthur vibe of world. Main character is a girl who of course isn’t supposed to learn to fight and such but it does her good

Lady Raven Blake, who is a bit spoiled, is not happy with her father’s plan to marry her off to the winner of the tournament he has planned. In fact, she would rather compete in the tournament herself. Lord Corbet Blake is determined to see that she behaves in a more lady-like fashion when the nobles arrive for the competition. His plan is to bring Jonathon Armstrong, an Armorer to the castle as temporary castle blacksmith and as Raven’s personal guard. Things don’t go exactly as planned. As hard as Jonathon tries to fulfill his assignment, Raven makes it difficult. To top it all these two are falling for each other. Not allowed. Is there any way the Lady and the Commoner find a way to be together? With this story, the Below the Salt series is off to a good start. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Picking Up the Gauntlet is the 1st book in the Below the Salt Series by Elizabeth Rose. Below the Salt back then meant below Noble birth. This is Raven & Jonathan's story. Raven is the twin sister to Rook who is the heir to Blake family, and Jonathan is working on his final project to become a master blacksmith. Jonathan is asked by Raven's dad and brother to be her personal guard, or as they put it babysitter, during a tournament her father is holding to find her a husband. Raven does everything she can to be herself including raising mastiff, wielding a sword, and trying to joust! Jonathan from rumors believes Raven to be a Shrew! They find that both their opinions of each other are far from real. And Lady Raven finds that Noble birth and a Noble heart ❤️ are 2 different things.

The Armorer, the Shrew, Forbidden Love:
Raven and Jonathon are from two different worlds according to the time this thrilling story takes place.
Different stations in life collide with a blast of desire like no other. This is an intriguing story of two very strong characters.
Jonathon, a conscientious follow the rules kind of guy.
Raven is very spoiled, and very strong minded. She'll go down fighting for what and who she wants.
This makes for a challenging story that is filled with flirtatious banter, lots of angsts, desirous passion, crafty thinking, and much more.
The best scene is Jonathon taking measurements for making the suit of armor. I actually laughed out loud.
The story is fairly predictable, but it is a fun lighthearted story to read that brings us to a wonderful happy conclusion.
I do look forward to reading about Devon's story and also hope Lark has her happy ending in a future book also.
Book 1 of the Below the Salt series that is filled with everything I look for in a wonderful romance story. How can you not like handsome warriors, tournament's, fisty strong women, and romance?
✔5 Star cover.
✔Authors notes at the end are very interesting to read.

Lady Raven is a rebellious and headstrong woman set as a prize for her father's tournament. How will she navigate her family's expectations and yet not loose herself in the process? Jonathan, the Blacksmith is a commoner with uncommon traits that seem to impress not just his customers. It does have some spice, readers beware. I would recommend this book.

There were a few instances when I was pulled out of the story with some confusion, sometimes the perspectives change mid-chapter, and I had a hard time following whose perspective I was reading. I also wondered if a diamond would be the type of ring used in the middle-ages or something that Lady Raven would wear/like.

It was a still a very fun quick read.

I am so obsessed with this book!! I absolutely loved this so much!I want and need more!!
I just reviewed Picking Up the Gauntlet by Elizabeth Rose. #PickingUptheGauntlet #NetGalley
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I loved this book. The characters were great and inspiring. There was also a lot of steam in the book, which I love. Add in a sassy and independent female character and it all blends nicely. Great book!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the advanced copy. The premise of this book is cute and though it is nothing new or out of the box, it could make for a fun romance. I found quite a bit of trouble with the main character’s reasoning right off the bat (would someone really think of jousting without armor?) which made me feel like the MC was not believable. I also felt like this book was written for a younger audience (language used, how the sentences were structured) rather than for adults.
I didn’t finish the book as I’m quite picky. I wish the author luck and recommend they change the tone to suit a more adult audience.