Hard Day's Knight

By: Katie MacAlister

Narrated by: Karen White

Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

Men in tights never looked so good. At least that's Pepper Marsh's first impression when she attends a jousting competition at the Rennaissance Faire in Ontario. An unemployed and unattached software engineer, Pepper has had enough of the computer geeks in her dating pool. She yearns for a man of yore. A man not afraid to stare death in the face... and laugh at it. A man with a big lance....

Pepper's cousin has promised to find her a knight in shining armor, on the condition that Pepper walk around in wench garb. With her mind on her embarrassingly revealing bodice, Pepper promptly steps into the path of an oncoming steed... and is rescued by sexy Englishman Walker McPhail. Once the wild man of jousting, Walker has let a brush with death keep him out of the ring. Though his emotions are clad in almost impenetrable armor, Pepper finds Walker infuriatingly sexy - and she's about to go medieval on his heart.

©2005 Marthe Arends (P)2013 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"Generously seasoned with her distinctive brand of impudent wit, set against the fascinating world of jousting competitions, and graced with a full cast of deliciously original characters (including a fiendishly adorable cat), MacAlister's latest fresh, funny, and fabulously sexy contemporary romance is pure fun." ( Booklist)

Very Entertaining

Karen White is a great narrator with an excellent range of voices in her repertoire. This book has a strong comedic tone and it was the first time I had heard her deliver such humor. She did a fine job of it.

The story is slightly ridiculous. It's set at a modern day renaissance fair and centers around the jousting competition with millions of dollars at stake. There's a bit of a mystery tied into the tournament and, of course, there's plenty of romance.

It's definitely worth a credit and makes me eager to listen to Katie MacAlister's other stand-alone novels, which are being released in audio in September.

3 people found this helpful

What the...? Was that the book?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I just remembered this being a fun book to read, so I thought the audio would be just as fun. It wasn't. Some parts I didn't remember which isn't such a big deal, but it was boring. I read the book in one sitting and I had a hard time staying awake for this one.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

eh.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

a tad too monotone for my taste

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

TV movie, yes. Big screen, doubtful

1 person found this helpful

Thank you!

loved IT,
hearing is even greater than reading. male voices little problem but much better than most other performers of other books.

another winner

never fails to make me laugh out loud with her wacky femal heroines antics, that make me cringe.

Funny romance and joust

I enjoyed the laugh-out-loud humor of this crazy over-the-top story. The romance is great fun and the situation pretty unique.

Snarky and fun

What made the experience of listening to Hard Day's Knight the most enjoyable?

I like an Alpha male paired with a strong, smart, and sarcastic female. Can't help but laugh at some of the one liners.

Any additional comments?

I love Katie Mcalister and this book did not disappoint. All of her books have a strong female lead paired with a strong Alpha male. I didn't guess the villain in this one until late in the story but it was a good read.

A confection the enjoy...

Katie MacAlister delivers a sweet truffle of romance in a pleasant story with engaging characters in an unexpected setting. Although not the strongest of Ms. MacAlister's books, it is sure to entertain and periodically cause you to chuckle out loud. The presence of Moth, the cat, our heroine's simultaneous sidekick and nemesis, is a memorable albeit ridiculous character who deserves a book of his own.

Good humor

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

must like humor, this one makes you laugh or smile in public.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hard Day's Knight?

I love all the subtle notes on the "maw" cat. Listen for them or you will miss a good opportunity to smile.

What does Karen White bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

her full range give life to all the humor. I purchased this as Ms White read it...and I was not disappointed. Regular core romance with humor.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just a good up lifting story. This is not a fast paced story, but a good way to enjoy a humorous story.

This is a miss!!!

Would you try another book from Katie MacAlister and/or Karen White?

I read The Corset Diaries which was really good. I laughed a lot and figured I'd try something else. I was not happy with this choice. The book was slow. I was confused about the character. The fact that she is afraid of animals at one time and then is comfortable working on them threw me for a loop. I am not sure if I would try another book.

What could Katie MacAlister have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I didn't believe that the character with all her confidence was single. It seemed as if the story was about two different people. If we were told the character was bi-polar, it would have made much more sense to me.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

No comment about the narrator. I didn't think she impacted my bad experience. This was the only book downloaded to my Ipod. I will not make that mistake again. I was forced to listen to this story until reaching home. I was tempted to listen to the radio and did for a time. I did not even complete the 1st part. I can't get through it.

What character would you cut from Hard Day's Knight?

The main character.

Any additional comments?

I really thought this would be a great book. It wasn't. I am surprised at the comments because I did not enjoy this one at all.

Not very good

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I don't think I'd recommend it. It's a little too shallow, and even though I finished it, I was frustrated several times over really idiotic story developments. Women's jousting? I had to google it just to see if it's real. Yes, it exists, but it's pretty niche. Also, MacAlister is famous for having her lead characters fall deeply, madly in love within the space of a couple days. How do you really get to know someone enough to LOVE them truly, within a couple days time? It's not possible, IMO, and I think she might try a story that develops over the course of a month next time.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe; a screenwriter might change the cat to a dog.

Any additional comments?

A Renaissance fair is on the one hand, pretty far from an historical reenactment of the time period. On the other hand, many people who work at these things pride themselves on being historically accurate in their appearance and manner. Clearly, every character in the book didn't give a hoot about that. Whatever, I can forgive that.

Next, a cat? Really, that is among the dumber sidekicks I have read about in books.