Lord Darver's Match

ISBN 1-57343-017-X (Paperback)
ISBN 1-57343-016-1 (Ebook)

Affaire de Coeur - Five Stars
Scribesworld - Four 1/2 Stars
Sime~Gen - Five Stars

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AN INNOCENT WISH—Little did modern day Hillary Logan realize when she made her innocent wish for a happy marriage, that she'd be waking up in bed next to a handsome aristocrat—in early 1815. Struggling to adjust to Regency England, she teaches the dashing marquess a thing or two about love and "a woman’s place."

A PLEASANT DIVERSION—Seeking a diversion from the ongoing horrors of the Napoleonic Wars, Simon Altmont looks forward to a liaison with the attractive woman in his bed. She would make a perfect new mistress! He soon learns how different his mysterious Mrs. Logan really is. The Marquess of Darver has finally met his match.

Book Reviews

Affaire de Coeur - Five Stars
A charming read filled with spirited characters and unusual situations. A delightful journey in time. Fast, fun, unpredictable and compelling. An unusually spirited heroine for a Regency romance.

Scribesworld / Kathy Frost - Four 1/2 Stars
Hillary Logan's trip to England with her husband was an attempt to rekindle her husband's fading affections. Her wish to have a happy marriage has not led to her husband but back in time, nearly two hundred years, into the bed of a handsome, mysterious man with his own secrets. While Hillary learns to how to make her way in Regency England, Simon Almont (Lord Darver) learns that this unusual American is more than just a potential mistress. Facing the future with Hillary means facing his match in love.

Susanne Marie Knight's Regency story is one of the best time travel novels I've read in years. Hillary's final understanding and acceptance of what has happened to her is well written and very believable. This is often a stilted area of a time travel novel but Ms. Knight handles her characters and their reactions with the skill of an experienced writer. She also knows how to hold your interest and keep a story going. I read Lord Darver's Match in one evening and I'm definitely looking forward to more novels by Susanne Knight.

Sime~Gen / Nan Doporto - Five Stars
Wishes can be a lot of trouble, especially if they come true in an unexpected manner. Disillusioned with her husband, Hillary Logan goes to sleep in an English Inn. Her last thought before dropping off to sleep was for a happy marriage. This twentieth century lass wakes up in bed with a total stranger in Regency England.

Simon Altmont, the Marquis of Darver, is not above a bit of dalliance and would enjoy a liaison with the woman he discovers in his bed. Mrs. Logan would make a perfect distraction to the Napoleonic threat. But she will have none of it. Hillary wants out of this historical re-enactment stuff. It seems Lord Darver has met his match!

Charming and such fun, Lord Darver's Match is a time-travel Regency filled with spirited and sprightly dialogue. Susanne Marie Knight offers believability coupled with unpredictability to make for a fast paced read. Her characters are diverse. Her situations are humor filled and unusual. All which make for one heck of a satisfying read.

The Word On Romance / Kimberly Lightfoot
Spirited but repressed, modern day woman Hillary Logan is on vacation with her husband Jim, in bonny old England. A passive-aggressive workaholic, Jim can't even remember Hillary's name after six years of marriage. It's not surprising when Hillary visits Stonehenge on a moonlight night, that she wishes for a happy marriage. Apparently, the "gods" were listening because the next morning Hillary wakes up in bed with a handsome aristocrat, in 1815!

The Marquess of Darver, Simon Altmont, only wishes for a diversion from looking for French spies in England. The war with Napoleon is in full swing and Altmont has been asked by the Prince Regent to sniff out any traitors that may exist in the land. On his way back to London from the English coast, he wakes up to find a delicious damsel in distress scantily dressed in his bed.

As Simon pursues English traitors, Hillary must find a way to survive in these strange times. It would be a lot easier if Hillary could remember her history, but she used to fall asleep in class! When fate brings Hillary and Simon into close contact it's time for Hillary to give Simon a lesson on modern women.

Witty and strong, Hillary doesn't fall into the trap of trying to "out do" or "show the hero who's boss." She stands up for herself in an elegant and sophisticated way, putting Altmont in his place so succinctly it's a beauty to behold. The scene where she receives "instruction" from Simon on the difference between a marquis and a marquess is hilarious. I can just imagine Simon standing there with his mouth hanging open as she walks away.

Confirmed bachelor, Simon Altmont, Marquess of Darver, has had a string of mistresses throughout his adult life. But no woman keeps his attention for long, certainly not long enough to tempt him into marriage. Simon is a very Alpha male, he is a man's man and everyone honorable and wise loves him. While his enemies, Gillian Humphreys first amongst them, despise him. Simon's razor like wit is produced very early in the story and the scenes when he's having his servent, Finch, try to look for Jim, and get Hillary some clothes is funny, and when he gives Hillary a back-handed compliment about her "attire" it was hysterical. Hillary's sharp tongue and the fact that she gives as good as she gets makes Simon hot under more than his collar.

Lord Darver's Match shows how Hillary deals with the adjustment of time travelling. She doesn't have skills that would be appreciated in this era, but she still has to make a living. Simon is a member of the Royal family and is used to getting his own way and having females fall all over him. He is spoiled and willful but why wouldn't he be. The antagonist of the story is Gillian Humphreys who is a rogue and scoundrel and even stoops to molesting Simon's niece. The entire family hates him but they attempt to be civil, which of course is always a mistake.

The plot is not necessarily a new one but Ms. Knight writes it extremely well. There are no loose ends, and it does not turn silly in places because the heroine isn't familiar with the time period. Ms. Knight has a penchant for creating realistic characters, even if Hillary is from the second millennium and Simon is from the middle of the first, they both fit well together. Hillary's "innocence" coupled with her back bone are matched with Simon's arrogance and need for a somewhat equal partner. The fact that Hillary endured a marriage with a husband that could not remember her name shows that Hillary could be submissive enough to satisfy Simon's 19th century ego.

Lord Darver's Match is to be read with thirst as it speeds crazily from the beginning to the end with dialogue reminiscent of William Powell and Myrna Loy in the Thin Man movies. This is a book to buy, to keep forever, and to take out once a year, blow the dust off and devour all over again.

What Readers Are Saying

"A fast-paced novel filled with sparkling dialogue and memorable characters!" Joan Overfield, award-winning author

"Regency and time-travel readers are in for a real treat!" Vicki Hinze, bestselling author

Susanne Marie Knight
Being a writer means first being a reader. My love of books started at the age of nine, when I devoured science fiction short stories, especially novels by Issac Asimov. In high school I began reading Regencies by Georgette Heyer. The tone and the language of the era fascinated me. Where else could you refer to a drunken man as someone who was "chirping-merry," "three parts disguised," or "a bit bosky"? From avid reading, I graduated to writing. I wanted to combine fantasy with my own particular kind of reality.

The idea for Lord Darver's Match began one dark morning with me snuggling in bed next to my husband. What would happen, I theorized, if the man I woke up next to was not my husband? This idea developed into Hillary Logan's plight transporting her to early nineteenth century England… and the Marquess of Darver's bed.

When I'm not writing, editing, volunteering at my daughter's school, working in public relations for a PBS television show, or doing household chores—I sleep! Oh, I also play computer games, browse bookstores, swim, and watch TV's "X-Files."

I'd love to hear from my readers. My address is P.O. Box 28114, Spokane, WA 99228.