Book Review: Chivalrous

Chivalrous by Dina L. Sleiman My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Chivalrous was an odd mixture of adventure, relationships, and faith. They weren't balanced together very well, but there were a few elements of the story I really liked I don't have a favorite character in Chivalrous, but I do like how most of the characters interacted with one another.

 The main male character, Allen, thought almost constantly about God and his faith, and while that got overbearing at times, I like how it affected his decision-making. I liked Gwendolyn more in the parts where she wasn't being a sissy and more of a tomboy, but I can understand her backing down at times because of her abusive father. 

Also, her relationship with Allen was the most interesting aspect of this book. It was an insta-love story, which I don't normally like, but I honestly didn't know if these two were going to have a happily ever after with all the twists and turns in their romantic plot. The romance between these two saved the story, I believe.

 The other main character is Rosalind, Gwendolyn's lady in waiting. I enjoyed her character through most of the book; she's a loyal friend that sometimes shows some snark. However, towards the last half of the book,the author added a pointless sub-plot about abortion with this character that was never resolved, and I don't understand why it was included in the story. The character Merry from the first Valiant Hearts book made a cameo appearance. I guess she's a Robin Hood character, but she was a damsel in distress in this book, and her part in the story seemed kind of pointless except to show how bad the bad guy was. Why make her the victim, and she never makes another appearance in the book.

 The whole ordeal with Merry was meh. I probably would have liked this book better if I had read the first book in the series, but this book does okay as a standalone. 3/5 stars. View all my reviews