Thursday, September 19, 2013

Knight Blindness by Chris Karlsen ~*~ Giveaway ~*~



Today I'd like to welcome Chris Karlsen and her novel Knight Blindness to Pure Jonel!

Title:  Knight Blindness
Author:  Chris Karlsen
Series:  Knight Blindness #3
Published:  July 20th 2013 by Books to Go Now
Page Count:  312
Genre:  Romance
Shelf: Review Copy
Rating:  ★★★★

Book Blurb:

Ready for battle, Medieval English knight, Stephen Palmer, charges into the French enemy’s cavalry line. Heeding a warning given months before, he hesitates as he comes face-to-face with the knight in the warning. Struck down in the year 1356, he finds himself landing in the year 2013. Grievously wounded, he’s taken to a nearby hospital. Confused by the new world surrounding him, he attempts to convince the staff he’s from another time, only to find they think him mad.

Rescued by friends, who, to his surprise, have also come through time, he must find a way to function in this odd modern England. He is quickly enchanted by the kind Esme Crippen, the young woman hired to tutor him. She too is enchanted by him. Tempted to deepen the relationship, she hesitates thinking him adorable, but mad. He must discover the means for getting her to believe the truth, all the while, unknown to him, he didn’t come forward in time alone. The enemy knight has also traveled to 2013.

French noble, Roger Marchand, doesn’t question why the English knight who charged him hesitated. That fraction of a pause gave him the advantage needed and he brought his sword down upon the Englishman’s helmet hard, unhorsing the knight. He moved to finish the Englishman off when the world changed in a rush of sensations as he is ripped through time.

Seeking a reason for the terrible event, he enters a nearby chapel. There, thinking God has chosen him for a quest to turn French defeat that day in 1356 to victory, he sets out to find the English knight. The man he is convinced holds the key to time. If he returns to the day of the battle, he can warn his king of mistakes that snatched victory from them.

Excerpt:

She knocked and a short, compact man with grey, thinning hair, cloudy blue eyes, and the reddest lips she’d ever seen on a man answered. In a way, he reminded her of Rupert Bear. He wore a red sweater vest over an open-collared white shirt, unfashionable brown plaid cuffed trousers that looked a size too big, and well-worn brown, wing-tipped shoes.

“You must be Esme Crippen.” He gestured for her and Electra to come inside. He closed the door and extended his hand. “Will Davison.”

“I’m Esme,” she said, shaking his hand. “This is my sister, Electra.”

“Electra, a fine literary name,” Davison said as they shook hands.

Esme took a quick scan of the cluttered office, surprised a curator, even of a small museum, hadn’t a secretary.

“You said you’re looking for a drawing lent to us by the National Gallery in 1960. The Black Prince at Crecy, you said.”

“Yes. Does it sound familiar?”

“I was an apprentice here then. I believe I know the work you’re speaking of, an impressively detailed rendering considering the environment. It was done on vellum, we believe for the king, as colored inks were used, including gold, although no gold leaf was applied. We think the work was probably done by one of his priests. Unfortunately it was placed into storage back in the seventies and the facility burned to the ground in 1979.”

The news sucked every ounce of energy from her. She had so much hope. Why didn’t Davison tell her over the phone and save her the trip? The bloody drive took three hours. Bad enough to waste those hours not to mention they’d hit the London rush hour on the return. She’d like to wrap her hands around his scrawny neck and shake the fillings from his teeth.

“Fortunately,” he continued, “We had a copy made prior to the drawing going into storage. “The original was fragile, obviously. The curator and I worried it might deteriorate more if it stayed on display. As the Black Prince was the subject, and is such a big part of Canterbury’s history, we did want to keep a representation exhibited. We had it copied in oil. It hangs in the main room of the museum. Come, I’ll show you.”

He led them to a side door of his office that also served as a door to the rear of the museum proper. This section of the museum displayed artifacts and pictures from the Victorian period up to and including the hard fought air war, the Battle of Britain.

Through another archway to the next room, Davison led them to a painting. The gilded-framed oil was about a meter wide and a half meter high and hung in the center of one wall.

“Remarkable isn’t it?” he said. “It depicts the aftermath of the battle. This is where the young prince raised up so many young men who fought alongside him to knighthood.”

“Oh my God,” Esme whispered. Shocked, she stared unable to take her eyes from the painting. How could this be? Identical down to the wound on the chin. She’d seen the scar on Stephen’s chin up close.

Unlike the larger, more famous sister institutions, the simpler Museum of Canterbury didn’t employ infrared protective alarms that go off when a visitor gets too close to an exhibit.

Davison’s hand on her arm stopped Esme as she stepped forward, fingers inches from the canvas. “No touching allowed, Ms. Crippen,” he warned and removed his hand.

“Sorry,” she said, moving back to drop onto the bench in front of the painting.

“What is it?” Electra asked.

“Are you ill, my dear?” Davison asked.

She shook her head, too numb to speak.

Electra joined her on the bench. “You look like you’re going to faint. You’re white as a ghost.”

“Would you like some water, Miss Crippen?”

Finally, she found her voice. “No. Thank you but I’m fine,” she told Electra and Davison.

Esme turned from the painting to ask, “Is this an exact copy of the original?”

“Yes. The curator at the time was meticulous man and would not approve even the slightest deviation.”

“You’re positive?”

He nodded. “Very.”

“Esme—”

She held up her hand to stop Electra’s question. “Thank you, Mr. Davison. This is more than I expected when I asked about the drawing. If it’s all right, I’d like a few minutes more to appreciate the excellent artistry.”

“No worries, Miss Crippen. If you require no more of me, I’m going to return to my office. Take as much time as you like. The museum is open until five.” Davison gave each a polite tip of his head and left.

As soon as he was out of the room, Electra said, “Esme talk to me. There’s something up with you and this painting. I want to know what.”

“The young man kneeling, two over from the prince’s left, the one holding a bloody gauntleted hand under his chin.”

“What about him?”

“He looks just like Stephen.”

From Electra’s sour expression, she found the explanation anticlimactic. “That’s all? Jeez, I thought it was something really big.”

“You don’t understand. He could be Stephen’s double. That’s not all. The man standing behind him I’d swear is Alex Lancaster. A younger version but hand to heart, I think it’s him.”

“I’ve only seen pictures of Alex Lancaster when he’s been in the press. I agree. It does look like him. But it isn’t either Stephen or Alex since those men,” she tipped her chin toward the painting, “lived close to seven hundred years ago. Why are you weirding out?”

Esme ignored the question. Too many of her own occupied her thoughts. How had his face wound up on this medieval man: the narrow too long nose, the strong jaw, the broad forehead, even the shape of his eyes...his injury didn’t change the slight downward tip to the outside corners?

“Hello,” Electra waved her hand in front of Esme’s face.

“Stop it.” She dug her cell phone out. Conscious of how light and shadow might affect the shots, she took pictures of the painting from different angles.

Electra tugged on her arm, pulling the camera away from her face. “He’s not Stephen. Maybe he’s his ancestor, five-hundred times removed, but he’s not Stephen.” She let out a heavy sigh.

My Review:

This brilliant story was simultaneously hilarious and heart wrenching. Karlsen’s brilliant storytelling draws you into a world that compares with no other, while remaining realistic and easy to relate to. This novel was well and eloquently written. I really appreciated the fact that I never felt like the author was talking down to her audience. The research behind this novel is out of this world. I was very impressed with the twist that Karlsen put on well-known battles throughout history without rampant inaccuracies.

The characters in this novel are off the hook. Karlsen manages to seamlessly combine the middle ages with modern times to create characters that would be at home in either time period. She also creates characters that really draw you to them. They are unique and realistic all at the same time. It’s a very nice combination. This goes for both the main characters and for the supporting casts.

Overall, this was a very intriguing novel that kept me going throughout. I would highly recommend it to any reader and cannot wait to dig into more from this very talented author.

Buy your copy online here today!

About the author:

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.

My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write two different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is, Dangerous Waters.

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, four rescue dogs and a rescue horse. 

Connect with the author online:

Website
blog
Facebook
Twitter: @chriskarlsen1
GR
Pinterest
Trailer


And now, enter the tour wide giveaway!


19 comments:

  1. Good morning,
    I want to thank Jonel for taking the time to read Knight Blindness and for the lovely review. I look forward to talking to everyone about books, any books and about writing.
    Chris Karlsen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure Chris. Thanks for joining us here today

      Delete
  2. Wow! Looks like a great read! *fingers crossed* :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds like a great read! I enjoyed the blurb, excerpt and wonderful review!
    luvs2read4fun(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amanda Ray,
      Glad you liked the excerpt and blurb. I'm thrilled with the review. The story took me the longest of all my books to write but I really wanted to present how our world was viewed by the two different knights.
      Chris

      Delete
  4. Sounds like my kind of book. Thanks!
    MCantu1019 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi MCantu,
      Thank you. I will have three free download days for Kindle users coming up. They'll be Sept, 21, 28, and 29.
      Chris

      Delete
  5. HI Frosted Betty,
    Thank you for the kind words. It was a fun story to write.
    Chris Karlsen

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds like a good read. Loved the excerpt!

    As always, great review! :)

    jodie(at)jodiebcooper(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jodie,
      Thank you. Excerpts are always a challenge to choose, at least for me:)
      Glad you liked it.
      Chris

      Delete
  7. I love Chris Karlsen's books--can't wait to read Knight Blindness!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Coleen,

      Thank you. I have three free download days Knight Blindness coming up for Kindle users. They're Sept 21, 28, & 29. I'll be sending an email as a reminder for the 28/29 free days.
      Chris

      Delete
  8. Wonderful review! I'm definitely adding it to my TBR list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Dii,

      Thank you. Knight Blindness will be a free download day for Kindle users on Sept. 22, 28 &29.
      Chris

      Delete
  9. Sounds fascinating! Is this a standalone book? Or is there a cliffie? Time travel always makes my head spin and this one sounds like a doozy! Well done!

    Kathie
    firstpagetothelast@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Kathie,

      I read this as a standalone and had no issues. Of course, I'm dying to read more of Chris' work now, but this can be read as a standalone or part of the series.

      Delete
    2. HI Kathie,
      This is a stand alone although part of a series. I think you'll find Knight Blindness more of a fun time travel and not terribly sciencie;)
      Chris

      Delete
  10. sounds good, thank you for the giveaway.

    dalene_65@live.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is a very interesting and well-written review. I read this book myself, and also think that the characters are fascinating, as is the story itself!

    ReplyDelete