An Enchanted Knight

The Cursed Kingdom, Book 1

By: Hildie McQueen

Narrated by: Summer Roberts

An exciting new paranormal romantic treasure from USA Today bestselling historical romance author Hildie McQueen

Gwyneth "Gwen" Lockhart has a rare and powerful gift—she helps lost spirits find peace and cross over. When she takes on a job at a beautiful Scottish castle, she expects it to be like any other. But when she encounters the ghostly presence of Lord Tristan McRainey, a knight who died centuries ago, something feels different. Drawn to him in ways she can’t explain, Gwen begins to wonder if Tristan is not a ghost at all, but a man cursed and trapped in time by dark magic.

Lord Tristan McRainey has been imprisoned for three hundred years, bound by an evil wizard's spell along with four of his fellow knights. When Gwen enters his world, he's certain that she holds the key to breaking the enchantment. Confident that he can make her fall in love with him and sacrifice whatever it takes to free him, Tristan has no doubt the plan will work. But what he doesn't expect is to find himself falling for her first.

And as their bond deepens, the cost of breaking the curse may be higher than either of them imagined.

Contains mature themes.

©2025 Hildie McQueen (P)2025 Tantor Media

Meeehhh

I’m not really sure where to start. This story was like a cake in which all of the ingredients were used, but it failed to rise so it tastes okay but the texture is kind of weird and off-putting. The premise was interesting enough to secure a preorder from me, and I think the premise is what got me through it. The execution was a mixed bag.

I think what stood out to me most were the sudden and almost inexplicable s€x scenes. Like, serious things are happening and all of a sudden they’re going at it, and maybe it’s because I’m not 20 anymore, but I was left thinking “oh, we’re doing that NOW? That was not the vibe I was picking up.” *shrug*

Likewise, the demeanors of many of the characters seemed odd and sometimes counter-intuitive given the information provided. The main male character was an odd mix of modern and antiquated sensibilities, and the explanation for his modernity seemed to fly in the face of the terms of the curse.

There were a couple of moments when his antiquated ideals and his genuine confusion when they were rejected by his lady “love” both rang true and left me amused and kind of charmed.

I’m kind of intrigued to hear the stories of how the other knights break their curses, but also wondering if it’s really worth it.

The narrator was similarly decent. Her Scottish accent is not good, but not absolutely terrible. There were a few times when I thought “a series of rolling r’s does not a Scottish accent make,” but those episodes were brief.