The Protector by Madeline Hunter

The first time he laid eyes on her she had come to his rescue with a sword in her hand. Still Morvan Fitzwaryn had never seen any woman who aroused his interest and his passion more than the unconventional Breton warrior beauty. Anna de Leon took him into her castle and nursed him back to health, little knowing the spark of desire she was feeding with her caring ministrations. It wasn't long before Morvan had vowed to protect and conquer this unconquerable woman with all the sensual weapons at his disposal.

For her part, Anna de Leon had no interest in men as lovers or husbands. She was used to commanding men in battle. But she suddenly had the strange feeling that her well-fortified defenses could be breached by this dark-eyed, smoldering handsome English knight.When her castle is besieged by an old enemy who claims both her and her lands, Anna finds she had no choice but to accept Morvan's aid--even if the enemy outside her walls is no match for the ally within, who with every tantalizing kiss and forbidden embrace threatens to make her a prisoner of her own fiery passion.

My sister bought this book and since her choices before were mostly the why-did-you-spend-a-dime-on-this stuff, I was prepared for anything when I started to read this.

The best thing about this book was the heroine--Anne de Leon. She didn't dress like a man just because she felt like it. She was a feisty, brave, and strong woman; and even led her men to battle during wartime Brittany. She even survived the plague. Now, that was some badass warrioress! I don't think there was ever a part in the entire story that I got irked by her. She was kinda cool for a woman of the Middle Ages. She even managed to be funny in one part--when Morvan asked her to start being the lady of her keep but started chaos instead. And for those, she became one of my most favorite heroines from historical romances.

And Morvan Fitzwaryn was an endearing hero to say the least. He grew up in court but didn't have the vanity bred there. He was a passable hero for me in the first several pages of the book until the part when he made it clear that he was prepared to let Anna go if it meant her happiness and contentment. Then he became a great hero for me. He didn't have the conceit to think that even if he could give her pleasure, it wasn't enough to completely bind her to him forever. I think it was brave of him--and humbling for a high-born knight--to offer that in the first place knowing that she was likely to take it. Theirs, after all, wasn't a love match. But he was prepared to let her be, but he just wasn't ready to witness her putting herself in danger.

But for me, the highlight in the story was when Morvan became more comfortable with Anna being the warrioress he had first come to know. He had kept her weapons in a bid to keep her safe. But he eventually let her have them back knowing that it is his protection that could keep her safe. He summed it up in one beautiful sentence:

"...it would be a sad thing if my love kept you from being the woman I fell in love with."

Final verdict: 7.5/10. Must-read, must-have.