The Parfit Knight

Review written March 20, 20164 1/2 Stars - The very best kind of historical to listening to. Amazing good (1:st class) narrator and a very lovely sweet "oldish" story.My first Stella Riley historical (and also 2016:s Valentine Day gift to myself), the nevly published audiobook of a quite old romance from 1986 (or 1987). — 7 fantastic audiobooks hours narrated by one of the very best, Alex Wyndham.England 1774The love story about the Marquis of Amberley and young Rosalind Vernon.« When the Mar [...]

4.5 sweet stars.Well, I must say this was very enjoyable. Thanks to Ingela and Karen for the heads up. I actually bought the kindle edition as I am not "big" into audio although I did download the second one and enjoyed an hour of it on my commute home from work this evening. The Marquis of Amberley is rich, assured and thirty-four years old, with the reputation of being a law unto himself and a degree of charm which even his friends consider disastrous. When his coach is waylaid by highwaymen [...]

4.5 STARSWhat a little gem this was! Thank you very much Ingela for recommending this fabulous book. It was so incredibly well done. I fell in love with every aspect of the story. The writing was impeccable, the characters romantic and intriguing, and the storyline kept me glued to the book from start to finish. And you were also right about the narrator Alex Wyndham. His voice was exquisite!!! I could listen to that man read just about anything. So I am looking forward to reading the next two b [...]

I've given this an A+ for narration and an A- for content at AudioGals.I’ve been a huge fan of Stella Riley’s books for longer than I should probably admit! As I’ve said in our interview at AudioGals, I discovered her writing back in the 1980s and loved it so much that it stuck with me for more than twenty-five years, even though she took a long break from writing. In addition to a series of novels set in 17th Century England, she has also written three historical romances set in the Georg [...]

Great story with witty dialogue and wonderful H/h. This book is a definite keeper.

4.5 "A True Gentleman" Stars for the story and 5 Stars for Alex Wyndham's narration!What a delightful treasure! The intricate plot, complex characters, threads of humor, touching romance and one of the best ever narrations make The Parfit Knight a true gem!There are so many things that make this this book a special listen. But if I'd have to pick just one, I'd say what I loved the most was how the hero was able to look through the heroine's handicap (she is blind), to see the fully capable, desi [...]

I’m a big fan of Stella Riley’s civil war/restoration books, but have never read any of the other titles she published under the pseudonyms of Judith Blyth and Anna Marsh, so I was delighted to see from her bio on that she is revising all of her books for Kindle. The Parfit Knight was published in 1987 (by Judith Blyth) and it’s utterly delightful. I imagine that some may describe it as formulaic, as it does indeed employ some of the devices regularly used in romance – past tragedy, sec [...]

This is another of Riley's earliest novels published as Juliet Blyth, and although it still shows her going through her following-a-model phase (Heyer in this case, or so it feels like) with its rough edges, she is already improved considerably and is establishing her own style more boldly. I am glad to see this progress, for that was I'd been hoping for after the last novel of hers that I read.The storyline is a traditional Regency, and as such it follows a straightforward, very linear and rath [...]

This is my first Stella Riley book, but it most assuredly will not be the last. Despite recommendations from several friends, I had put off trying this author’s work, but when she engaged British actor Alex Wyndham to narrate the audio version, I jumped at the chance to listen.Because I am a word nerd, my first task was to look up the meaning of “parfit,” which turns out to be from Chaucer and is an English variation for the French word for “perfect.” In this book, Dominic, the Marquis [...]

Thank goodness for . Without , or rather, without my friends recommending it, specifically Georgie, but endorsed by all my other GR’s friends who have read it, I would never have picked up this book. I would have thought nothing of the title, less of the cover, turned my nose up at a Georgian setting and seen that it was a behind closed doors, so-called ‘clean’ romance and wondered why I should expend the effort. This was so worth the effort, because, of course, it was no effort at all. T [...]

While I liked Rosalind and Amberley quite a bit, aspects of this story about drove me round the bend. Rosalind is kind of awesome. I like that she's easy to make happy and that she isn't all poor-me about being made blind in her youth. She has had twelve years of dealing with quacks and nostrums and seems determined to do her best to cope and find what joy she may. And I absolutely loved seeing them meet and spend some days together with Amberley pushing her very gently to extend the horizon of [...]

Ahhh Just the bit of historical romantic fluff I wanted. I don't see much point in going over the plot so I'll just say that the heroine is disabled and keeps much to herself. The hero has a secret in his past that he'd rather not remember and certainly doesn't want the heroine to find out about. This was very sweet and well done. Reminiscent of Georgette Heyer, but a tad more "modern" sounding in places. It's chockablock with misunderstandings, but somehow it's not as infuriating as that sounds [...]

Oh my. What can I say? I love historical romances, especially regencies. But I must admit, they can be very formulaic with little differentiation from one to the other. Except this book does it, and does it very well. It's fresh and fun. Yet, it has some dark moments that add texture and keeps the reader's interest. But with all that said, the most important aspect is the characterization. It's strong with complexities that are slowly revealed over the course of the story. No one (well almost no [...]

I started reading this because my friend Ingela told me it had a Heyer feel and I'm a Heyer fan soGlad to report that Ingela was right, Riley's characters, names, general atmosphere do have a Heyer feel. The characters in this one reminded me very much of my beloved Alaistairs of These Old Shades and Devil's Cub. However Riley does do her own stuff here as well. Whereas with Heyer, we have wit, devious plotting and duel worthy repartee, Riley goes in depth into the male characters not just the f [...]

The Past: Rosalind Vernon is not paying attention and runs out into the path of an oncoming carriage. A young gentleman comes out and carefully removes the little girl from the road and takes her to a doctor.Fast Forward Ten Years Later:There is another accident but this time Joe Coachman has been shot. The gentleman locates a cottage and is welcomed inside. He brings his injured servant with him until a doctor can be located.The Marquis of Amberley is greeted by the most beautiful woman he has [...]

This was a marvelous story—I loved everything about it. And Alex Wyndham is a fabulous narrator. OMG!! His voice is sexy as f**k!!! Looking forward to the next two in the series, as I've no doubt they will be just as good.

A perfect blend of sparkling, witty dialogue, engaging and well-written characters and wonderful romantic chemistry make this such a lovely story.Amberley is honourable, charming, intelligent and kind-hearted with a great sense of humour…all the qualities I love in my heroes…although he is inclined to let society believe the worst of him. His mother, the Dowager Marchioness of Amberley, warns him that this is foolish:“You are too much inclined to let the world think what it will and there [...]

“He was a verray parfit gentil knight.”--ChaucerThe Parfit Knight (1986, St. Martin’s Press), #1 in the Rockliffe series byStella Riley, originally published under the pseudonym Judith Blythe. I’m reading the 2015 paperback edition republished by CreateSpace. The title references the Chaucer quote above, which in this story, refers to the hero. The Parfit Knight is a clean Georgian romance novel set in 1774 in London, Herftordshire, and Richmond. Generally, I prefer books between 300 and [...]

A delightful and well written Georgian romance, full of laughter, wit, and memorable characters. The writing is emotional, almost lyrical at points, and full of original and vivid sensory details (essential since the heroine is blind). I loved how the heroine and hero quickly understood the special bond of understanding and intimacy they shared. It was reminiscent of (and obviously influenced by) Venetia and Damerel's friendship and attraction in Georgette Heyer's novel. Although there were othe [...]

3.75 stars.A lovely and sweet romance:)This book remained me to Barbara Cartland's book which I read tons of them with Mills and Boons's books in my early teens. Actually my first HR read were Ms. Cartland's books then I kind of stop reading hers once I found Johanna Lindsey's and Julie Garwood's books.I guess it's nice to read sweet romance like this again in my HR books:)

grr Good Reads ate my review!"He was a verray, parfit, gentil knyght."~Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue, The Canterbury TalesAt almost 10 years of age, Miss Rosalind Vernon loves teasing her older brother Philip and racing him through the countryside. On the day before her 10th birthday, she meets with a terrible accident that will have repercussions that last through the whole novel. A dozen years later, the Marquis of Allendale has recently returned to London from a sojourn in France with his latest [...]

This book is thoroughly enjoyable. I couldn't put it down, reading it in one session. It, I think, is probably the closest in terms of language to my favourite author, Georgette Heyer, that I have come across. It doesn't quite have the same charm and turn of phrase that makes Georgette Heyer such a magic writer, but has a similar feel and I enjoyed every single word. The hero and the heroine are everything that you'd want. The hero has that lazy, care for nothing charm and the heroine is just go [...]

3/5; 3 stars; BI am always on the lookout for a new author to love and thought I'd check this book out. I enjoyed the author's style and think she's a good writer. I enjoyed the story but didn't love it because there was a trope I can't stand; that of the 'secret that will destroy everything'. I will definitely check out other books by this author if I get the chance.

GOOD LORD I LOVED THIS BOOK. Narration was perfect.

I won a copy of this audio recording in a contest run by the author, whom I had previously not heard of. What an absolute delight! I was compelled to order a paper copy when I was less than a third into the story, knowing that it was one I would want to return to. The title comes from a line by Chaucer, quoted in the book, and it conveys the true goodness and strength of the hero, Dominic, who loves his lady with passion and commitment. The tale is a fairly simple one, with a heroine blind from [...]

4.5 stars. A sweet, romantic story with an unfortunate couple of truly infuriating characters. I loved the romance and Rosalind and the Marquis of Amberley were perfect for each other. But when I wasn't busy swooning along with them, I was wishing I could reach into this book and choke Rosalind's brother Philip or his prospective brother in law, Robert Baker. All of the secondary characters were well done and enjoyable *except for those who were loathsome*and I hope they all make an appearance i [...]

I like this book immensely. Juliet Blyth is not very original (her books are just bits of a bunch of different Georgette Heyers mashed together) but I still love this one anyway. Something about having a blind heroine makes it just enough different from your average Regency romance. This book definitely belongs to the re-read-on-a-cold-drizzly-day group.

The heroine has a secret and the narrator is sublime. Alex Wyndham here I come!(Spoiler alert: See this book cross-referenced in my review of The Arrangement)

I'd give it six if I could! In the style of Georgette Heyer and very well written. Dominic and Rosalind are very good characters, as are the other players in this delightful tale! I do hope Riley is still writing.

Oh this book was done exceptionally well. I decided to go ahead and give it four stars, even though I do try to reserve four stars for books that I'm inclined to read more than once. If ever I read this again and decide against it, I'll adjust accordingly.If you are looking for a book in the same vein as Georgette Heyer, I don't think you can find one that comes even closer than this. This book was published in 1986, but it reads like it was written far earlier. Stylistically, it even feels olde [...]