After seeing much ado online about this upcoming romcom, I was thrilled to read an advanced copy. One must take a leap of faith in Bryn Donovan’s HER KNIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, (a young woman falls for a statue in a Chicago museum), but as I read to escape, it was no hardship. Donovan delivers a sexy, sweet romance with punchy dialog and amusing characters. Easy to recommend if you are looking for lighthearted romance with a side of steam. This would translate well to Netflix.

3.5⭐️ This was pretty cute. I really enjoyed Griffin and Emily's chemistry! The way Griffin is able to first speak with her while he's a statue was honestly hilarious because I would've convinced I needed to be committed. 😂

he falls first & harder / opposites attract / forced proximity

*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review with my honest opinion.*

The rom coms of all rom coms!! I laughed and swooned so much in this book.
Ever since I was a kid I loved the idea of a living breathing museum (Have you seen Night at the Museum?? SO COOL!!) and this book shows you exactly what that’s like… and Griffin is one HOT living breathing museum if I do say so myself! The romance is both sweet and chivalrous and spicy. I even found myself learning history facts while reading!

Her Knight At The Museum by Bren Donovan, Emily temporarily works at the Chicago museum as a conservator and has been put in charge of a stone statue that’s going to be in the mid evil era presentation for the museum. She first marvels at how realistic the statue looks but nothing prepares her when she starts hearing his voice and having sexual dreams about him which only end when she makes out with him and he comes to life. I don’t want to give anything away but I do want to say I am a stickler for historical accuracy and I thought the author did a great job having griffins inner thoughts match the things he said and I know she writes that it isn’t verbatim straight out of the 13th century but her effort is duly noted. So many authors want to write historical fiction/romance and make it to much like modern day but I think The author handled it perfectly even when confronting Terrence and his boyfriend Scott I thought that was well played this book was funny interesting in all so swoon worthy. If the author decides to have Jason and his private association be matchmakers in the future not that they did in this book but just saying if there is another book I’m definitely down to read it I loved this book so much!#NetGalley, #BerkeleyPublishing, #BrenDonovan, #HerKnightAtTheMuseum,

In this charming tale, a cursed knight is imprisoned for years in a suit of armor until true love’s kiss frees him… but when the true love is an art conservator newly hired to restore the sculpture and it goes missing after Griffin reanimates, chaos ensues, and Emily becomes suspect number one. Meanwhile, a solicitous, chivalrous, adoring man is just what she needs, post-divorce.

Donovan plays up the fish-out-of-water culture shock and Griffin’s courtly manners beautifully. The Chicago setting is a delight for people familiar with the city and museum. The romance is imbued with comedy, fantasy and history, and I loved the details of museum work. I was able to suspend my disbelief and bought completely into Emily thinking a statue is handsome, and responding when she “hears” his voice in her head; to me, it felt no less icky then crushing on a celebrity, having a book boyfriend, or writing yourself into fanfiction.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #HerKnightAtTheMuseum via #NetGalley courtesy of #Berkley.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group ; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

This book is a delightful romantic comedy with a streak of fantasy and a whole dish of history*! The premise is fun and cute, and the character interactions are enjoyable. I saw references to Kate & Leopold in some of the advertising, and I would say that's a decent comparison. The absolute worst thing about this book is at the very end the author drops an incredibly tantalizing plot point that I think it would be nigh criminal not to follow up on with more installments!

*The author recognizes at the end of the book that a good deal of historical liberties had to take place for the book to function, though I would say the premise is such that it would not be terribly hard to say the historical character had learned some modern speech with the passage of time.)

For sensitive readers, there is some referenced historical misogyny, racism, and homophobia as well as depictions of graphic sexuality.

This story was a fun way to bring history and art to life. Literally! Griffin stuck as a statue until Emily. This is relatable in love and life. You may feel frozen and time and history. Maybe even stuck in the past and holding on to baggage or a heavy set of armor. Emily helps him find a new life while still letting him acknowledge his past life. But not only does she help him move past old things he helps her as well. They show each other love that each other have never known. Their relationship moves fast but you can tell Griffin will stick by her side. The story flowed nicely and held my attention. Cute and romantic and pulls you into a world where make believe can become real life. There are some intimate scenes. Not long or overdone. Passionate and sweet! Love the dog’s name!! 4.5 stars!!

I'm so sorry but I cannot get on board with the fact that she is sexually attracted to a statue. I will not be finishing this book.

Her Knight at the Museum provided a delightful twist on Night at the Museum. The characters were captivating and skillfully crafted. Using language that mirrored the era, the author skillfully transported readers to the Medieval times.

I definetly recommend reading this book.

This sounded like a light, fun read with a cute premise, but it didn't pay off in the end—though I didn't quite make it to the end. I stopped before the halfway point. I pushed past early scenes of Emily being, er, *into* to the knight while he's still a statue. Things picked up when the knight became a man, and I did enjoy the fish-out-of-water element. On a whole, the writing wasn't "there," the romance happened too fast, and I just couldn't get into this.

Her Knight at the Museum is just badly written. The romance is in your face sexy, rather than romantic sexy. I have to say I did not even finish. It was so bad I just didn't want to waste my time on it. I would never recommend this book to a library patron or a friend.

An art conservator, Emily, restoring a medieval statue breaks a curse, bringing Griffin back to life and out of the limestone he’s been trapped in for centuries.

This romcom was fun. It took a little while to get going, but was a cute read. Sometimes books with elements of time travel or fish-out-of-water characters fail to address the basic needs of our modern time, like identification, vaccine concerns, and employment. The fact that Emily thinks that performing at the book’s equivalent of Medieval Times would be the perfect job for Griffin is hilarious and also makes sense.

A complete delight. I loved both characters and this fish out water comedy was just so so so funny. It reminded me of a gender reversed splash. I really enjoyed also that it didn’t shy away from the fact that a knight would probably have some very problematic views and how she taught him they weren’t acceptable. Truly though this book made me laugh out loud several times. One of my fave reads of the last few months for sure. The romance is worth rooting for and both characters are just so likable.

At first, this concept was a little hard to enjoy, but once I got into it, the book was very cute and funny. We don't realize how much is REALLY that different between hundreds of years, unless you live the jump (our characters), or in our case, read about it.

I really liked Griffin and understood his excitement and frustration over little things in the present time. I liked reading his flashback moments, but LOVED seeing the world through his eyes!

The writing was difficult to grasp. There were some paragraphs that felt very well written, but others that were all over the place and felt bland/clunky.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for the eARC!

This was just simply not for me at this time. I didn’t love the writing and it felt very surface level. I might come back another time and give it another try because I didn’t hate it?? It was seemingly going to be a silly goofy time and it was?? But not in a way that was actually fun for me.

Thanks to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

dnf @ 30%

Do you love the movies Night at the Museum and Enchanted?!? Then do I have the book for you. “Her Knight at the Museum” is literally an equal mix of all the things I loved from both of those films. We have Emily who is museum curator working on restoring a Medieval statue. And then we have Griffin who is quite literally out of his time period and brought back into the present day.

This book was absolutely bonkers, but I say that in the best way possible because I freaking loved it. Word to wise don’t start this book before going to bed because you will want to stay up all night reading it. This book had me laughing out loud and swooning at all things Griffin related. 100% one of my favorite romcoms of 2024. If you haven’t already guessed I highly recommend you check this book out.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for providing me with a ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a great idea, but it was poorly executed. The prose was clunky and parts were very repetitive. I lost interest over halfway through and did not really care how any of this was resolved. This could have done with some additional editing.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Who says chivalry is dead? As Emily is relocating back to Chicago post-divorce, it sure feels that way as she even considers dipping her toe back in the dating world. However, the arrival of a 15th century sculpture of a knight in shining armor stirs up the romantic side of her and invades her dreams. However, this visit from Griffin the Knight goes beyond her wildest fantasies when he seemingly comes to life. But sometimes fantasies bring nightmares because that means the valued artwork goes missing in what appears to be an art heist and Emily is at the heart of the investigation.

Change in life is inevitable and it is hard. And while it might not be as drastic as a curse being lifted that thrusts a medieval knight to life in big-city Chi-town, Bryn Donovan’s novel is a playful take on embracing the ebbs and flows of this crazy ride called life. Her Knight at the Museum is a hilariously beautiful rom com full of magical realism that evokes hope with an old world nostalgia amidst our modern day mayhem.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Review is on Goodreads and will be posted on instagram closer to publication date and on Amazon when published!

THIS IS SUCH A CHARMING DEBUT! I am a sucker for stories like this (Kate and Leopold fans rejoice!) Bryn is a writer to watch for sure. I was giggling and kicking my feet the entire time.

Bryn is clearly a very talented writer! I don’t usually enjoy romcoms but I loved all the characters and found the book a great escape from every day life.