Lady of Steel

I really enjoyed reading "The Wicked Wager" by Mary Gilgannon and on the whole, I enjoyed reading "The Lady of Steel" as well but somehow the story couldn't draw me in and it felt rushed.
There were great characters but it felt as if the bad guys were simply too bad and the good oneswere too - okay, not too good, they also had dark sides but everything tended to be extreme.
I know, of course, that those times were hard and brutal and that women had no rights but..again...but. The characters are lacking depth and are rather stereotypical: The really bad guy, the honorable good guy, committing bad deeds. things like that.
I would have wished for some communication because half of the problems might have been avoided if anybody, okay, if Lady Nichola had talked to Fawkes de Cressy. Even though I understood her hesitancy to trust him considering her former experiences with men (well, not all of them were bad, right, so ....) to a certain degree, it felt as if the story was just drawn out by it.
Apart from that, I felt as if everybody was always rushing to and fro and hither and thither and going from one place to the next like we do today. Considering that traveling was much harder and took much more time in those times, that felt a bit off.
On the whole, it is a nice story that I will probably read again but I had expected more.

Publisher's Description:

One rapturous hour sparks unforgettable passion between Lady Nicola and Fawkes de Cressy. The memory of their time together enables Fawkes to survive the horrors and perils of the Crusades and gives Nicola the hope and strength to endure a brutal marriage.

Fawkes returns to rescue the woman of his dreams and finds Nicola enmeshed in a dark web of castle intrigue. Fawkes is so altered by the hardships and cruelties of war, that Nicola fears to trust him with her secrets or her heart.

Surrounded by enemies, the battle-hardened knight and the aloof, wary woman must rebuild the bond between them. Only if they dare let the soul-stirring magic their bodies share grow into love can they escape the sinister plot that threatens to destroy them both.

My Thoughts:

This is a lengthy and convoluted story.
Lady Nicola is married to a man who wants no part of her or any other woman. Her husband demands that Fawkes shares Nicola's bed in order to impregnate her.
One hour of passion leads to an unimaginable story of intrigue and deception.
Will their short tryst lead to an eventual love?
I gave this tale 4.0 of 5.0 stars for storyline and character development and a sensual rating of 4 of 5 flames. There are many intimate encounters in this tale but not all are detailed or explicit.
I received a complimentary digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher to read and review. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Nicola's story is great. She's married off to a disgusting man who brings in a "replacement" to impregnate her. The young man then disappears and she keeps him in her heart because of how kind he was that night. Time goes on and the young man returns. Fawkes returns as a conquering hero. A widow, Nicola marries him. Their story is tense...lots going on, and I found it hard to put this story down.

Well written book with great storyline and plot. A sweet book that has a great second chance romance. The story is true to it's time period and the language is also. I like when an author has made research about the time period they want to write the story in. I like the references to the historical events. Sometimes it was a very heavy read because it lacks depth in some parts but absolutely worth the time.

There is drama, family issues, passion, emotions and some twists. I like the supporting characters. It has a slow start but it gets better within the first 3-4 chapters. The epilogue is most welcomed.

Nice chemistry and passion. I like the main characters and how they develop. The story flows nicely and it is very captivating from first to last chapter. The author has delivered a story that is worth the read!

I voluntarily reviewed this Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was interested, enthralled and wanted to read on to see what happened. The characters were strong, interesting ,not one of them was boring. I recommend that this is a book to be read and enjoyed.

The Lady of Steel tells a story about a lady who is married to somebody who brings the replacement to make her prego. This could be a great reading tho yet there are certain aspects need to be considers. The development of the characters are not even there. The characters are portrayed as someone bad then remain bad all the time. Yet the good characters are portrayed in too-good-way. The plot and pace is also to slow. So many repeated things. The story also jumps from one place to another which is sometimes confusing. Yet it is a good novel to read during the leisure time.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this book to review. I am sorry it takes super long to review it as life gets busier here.

I knew by its cover - this book has potential to be good.
It was better than good. It was great. Second chance romance with a lot of romance in it, some twists and a lot of good writing. Page turner!