Review: The Lion and the Crow by Eli Easton

This is a tale about two medieval English knights—Sir William Corbet, aka the Lion, and Sir Christian Brandon, aka The Crow. In a time when duty was everything, personal honor was more valued than life itself, and homosexuality was not tolerated by the church or society, how can these two men reconcile their deepest, most secret yearnings to love another man?

Sir Christian was raised in a household where he was hated for his unusual beauty and for the sake of his parentage. Being smaller than his six brutish half-brothers, he learned to survive by using his wits and developing a gift for strategy. He feels little loyalty to the system that’s abused him since birth.

Sir William, a large and fierce warrior, has pushed his unnatural desires down all his life. He’s determined to live up to his own ideal of a gallant knight. But when he takes up a quest to rescue his sister from her abusive lord of a husband, he’s forced to undertake a journey with Christian. It’s a partnership that will test every strand of his moral fiber, and, eventually, even his understanding of the meaning of duty, honor, and love.

 This story is offered for free as part of Love Has No Boundaries Event. This event is sponsored by the m/m romance group on goodreads.





What's better than a knight in shining armor?

 Two knights in shining armor. Together. Kissing.



Sir William and Sir Christian have both noticed each other in the past. But, of course, are not able to outwardly express their 'unnatural' attraction. But they find themselves on a quest to rescue William's sister from her abusive husband. Just the two of them.

I loved their hesitant, slow burn romance. Neither one knew if the other was interested, all they had to go by were the sneaking glances and tentative touches.  They were probably killing each other with suspense and lust because it was killing ME with suspense! And maybe some lust. Let's be real, by 'some lust' I mean 'a lot of lust'. So then it happened and all that crazy tension was released and...



Boom!

There was nothing tentative about their touches any longer.

"'Oil?'
'Linseed oil.'
'For cooking?'

Christian corked the jar and wrapped his arms around William's neck, standing on his toes to murmur in William's ear. "For easing your way into my passage."

Oh Christian, you saucy little wanton. I knew I liked you. 

This was an easy and predictable story, but still sweet and romantic. Their love and devotion for each other was obvious. They're a couple you can't help but root for right from the beginning. Yes, their struggles are exactly what you'd expect from a book set during this time period. Yes, they found a very convenient way to be together, but all that didn't make Christian and William's story any less enjoyable. In fact, I liked that I was able to read about and enjoy their romance without things getting all tied up in the where, what and how for too long.

Another hit from Eli Easton! Two for two makes her an auto buy author for me.

Oh and this one is free on Goodreads. Can you believe it? She just gives away this good stuff.