The Knight's Kiss
When beautiful Princess Isabella of San Rimini needed an expert to catalogue the artifacts stored in the royal palace, all roads led directly to dark, mysterious Nick Black—a contemporary example of potent masculinity if ever there was one. Yet thanks to a medieval curse, Nick Black had been around for a long time...a very long time.
In fact, once he'd been known as Domenico of Bollazio, an ambitious knight who would never know peace—or mortality—until he learned to put someone else's welfare before his own. In taking this assignment, Nick hoped to find an ancient trick to break his curse. Little did he know that close contact her lovely highness, Isabella, might help him to find mortality—and love—the old-fashioned way!
Behind the ScenesNicole wasn't sure how her editor would react when she proposed the storyline for The Knight's Kiss. There are no paranormal elements in the first two stories about the diTalora family of San Rimini. In fact, both are very contemporary. The Prince's Tutor featured glittering casinos, and Going to the Castle touched on life in a modern refugee camp. However, Nicole's long been a fan of anything and everything to do with the medieval period. She's even read stories about the Crusades just for fun. Since her fictional diTalora family held the throne of San Rimini during the middle ages, she got to thinking about what life would have been like then for San Riminians. Would they have participated in the Crusades? What about their proximity to Venice, and the powerful doges who ruled that city-state? Would there have been trials for suspected witches, as there were throughout Europe at that time? How would people from different levels of society live day to day?
Nicole made sure her editor had a cup of coffee in hand and they were comfortably seated in a great NYC restaurant with breakfast on the table before she broached the topic of her book. When Nicole said, "Well, I'd like the hero in Isabella's book to be a medieval knight. Someone from San Rimini's past who knew Isabella's ancestors", she expected her editor to laugh aloud and say, "That's a little out there. Any other ideas?" Instead, Nicole's editor put down her coffee cup and said, "Go on!" Thankfully, she was as thrilled with the end product as with the initial idea, and Nicole had a great time writing the book.
Book BuzzWinner of the 2004 RITA Award for Best Short Contemporary Romance.
Winner of the eHarlequin "Golden Noodle" award, meaning it was selected by site visitors as the Best Silhouette Romance of 2003.
"...an entertaining and inventive read."
—RomanticTimes Bookclub Magazine
"It's the constant twist on the fairy tale that made me laugh and enjoy this story so much...my only disappointment was when it ended. The Knight's Kiss is Ms. Burnham's third book in the San Rimini royalty series, and I think it's her best. I've already reread it. Five roses—highest rating!"
—A Romance Review
"...a wonderful story, full of witty dialogue and sparkling characters. It takes such a talented author to be able to make the story come alive and pull the reader so deeply into the story that they truly feel as if they are there observing it first hand...Ms. Burnham has a true talent to be able to accomplish this so well in only her second book...an amazingly talented new author who is not to be missed."
—Romance and Friends
"...gosh darn it, Nicole Burnham is good...there's an effortless flow to the story, the dialogue rings true, and both Nick and Isabella were real people... Readers of series romances who don't know Nicole Burnham should definitely check her out."
—All About Romance
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Silhouette Romance, May 2003, ISBN: 0373196636
