Love at First Knight

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

This was the cutest, nerdiest book about role-playing (and LARPing) I've ever seen! Our FMC, Daisy, struggles with social anxiety with a dash of agoraphobia, and despite being in her 20s, is still living at home and never ventures out without her family. So when she's forced to step out of her comfort zone and become a teacher at a knight school for children in London, she flounders a bit. Our love interest, Teddy, has all the makings of a swoonworthy male character, being both cold and standoffish at times, while constantly teasing her.

We don't get the true romantic overtures until maybe 75% into the book, but Teddy has a whole romantic monologue prepared, not to worry! I really appreciated their interactions, and the ways in which Teddy feels guilty over getting Daisy into trouble, then making it up to her. The writing in this book was full of humor and life, and really embedded all the LARP terminology throughout the book and set itself apart from other romance novels in that way.

I read this whole book in one sitting!!! Which is the highest praise I can give any romance book. I'm taking off a .5 star for the wrap-up at the very end, which felt incredibly rushed. We get a great grovel and LARP scene and then...somehow everything magically works itself out, Teddy is just allowed to be less royal, and it all feels a little too bow-tied for me, to the point of unrealism? And also the way our two characters make up and get back together in that final scene felt incredibly rushed. This is also a completely PG romance, and would be perfect for YA reader too, who is trying to overcome the anxiety of new situations all at once. I'm excited for a book about Bobby!!

Megan Clawson really never misses. I love the royal references in her books — really does entertain me. I’d read her books forever! This one especially is 10/10.

Me? Obsessed with you? Yes.
I don’t think I’ll ever get over this story! I need to read it again and again!

This is such a fresh take on romance, and is sweet and clean, appropriate for both adults and young adults. Our female protagonist is a LARPer struggling with severe anxiety and still living at home in her 20s until she is forced to venture out into London. There are two potential male protagonists and the reader isn't quite sure which path to follow at first, but it becomes clear with the royal whose only goal seems to be to irritate her. The book is so adorably nerdy and full of LARP terminology...it's wonderfully perfect for those of us who never quite see ourselves in the other stories...different from other plots. The ending did feel quite rushed and unrealistic, especially compared to the rest of the story, but perhaps there was a publishing deadline to meet? Overall still a fantastic read.

•anxiety rep
•royal romance
•royal mmc, nerdy fmc
•loathe to love
•slow burn
•closed door

*possible mild spoilers*

Daisy is a 23 year old who comes from a small village and has stayed there basically her whole life. Her and her family do LARPing with a community they have built up. For the most part she’s satisfied with her slow, quiet life. Although there’s a part of her deep down that longs for more, she just can’t bring herself to step out of the comfort of life as she knows it. Daisy suffers from pretty intense anxiety and while she can tear down orcs, elves, and other make believe monsters on the battlefield, she struggles with bringing her confidence from her fantasy life over into the real world.

She ends up being signed up to work at knight school (against her will). She gets there and all is well until a rogue viscount is constantly getting under her skin and in the way of her doing her job. Lots of tension and flirty banter! Theodore Fairfax has been sent to work at knight school as a last ditch effort to save face. He’s determined to screw it up so they will send him away and he will finally be out of the press’s prying eyes. Long story short there is a lot of head butting between Daisy and Teddy and Daisy ends up losing her job!! She goes back home just for Teddy to arrive on her doorstop in a sort of grand gesture and confesses he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about her ❤️❤️❤️ They compete at Helm’s Geek together, just to arrive back in Daisy’s village with another hurdle they have to leap over. Daisy ends up performing her own grand gesture weeks later which leads to her being arrested for trespassing on royal grounds 🤣

I also LOVED the little side plot between Daisy and her sister. Daisy feels jealous of her sister bc she is going to uni and seems to be able to navigate through life so easily without the anxiety Daisy deals with. Her and Marigold seem to drift apart over the years, then they have a reconciliation at Helm’s Geek and a heart felt moment after Teddy leaves the village.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“The worst of all? From the moment his lips melted against mine, I was prepared to slay a dragon for just one more taste of him, for one more chapter in his tale.”

“I watch my sister across the dining table, wondering why she got to be her, and I am stuck with myself…. The guilt of resenting someone you love so deeply is overpowering. How can I be jealous of someone I only wish the best for?”

“If you actually start thinking of other people as people, and not just characters in your quest, you’ll realize that we’re all just trying.”

“You showed me that I can fight, that I can choose my fate, so I chose you.”

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read

Thank you very much for the ARC copy. I really enjoyed this, it was delightfully cute and I loved the neurodivergence representation in it. I think my only critique is that there is this sister sub-plot that I wish had more established in the beginning because it has a lovely conclusion to something I feel like never got started. Same with the final chapter before the epilogue, I would have liked one more of Teddy and Daisy actually getting their moment, possibly when he bails her out. Otherwise, this made me smile a lot and was an incredibly fun time. I definitely want to check out this author's other books!

3.75 stars!!

I came in thinking this would be a cute little romcom but honestly it was much more a journey of self discovery, a focus on confidence and being true to yourself!!! Plus a side of romance of course!!

Daisy Hastings is not quite your average 23 year old- she’s anxious and still lives at home, she spends her time LARPing with her family and is an excellent swordsman and brave elf lady. Her father applies for her to teach at a summer camp Knight School, giving her an opportunity to both show off her skills and get away from home out on her own for a little!!

Life in London is a huge adjustment for our gal, but her eccentric roommate makes it bearable. Unbearable, however, is having to babysit a party boy Royal being punished into working at the camp as well. She couldn’t care less about his title, and so she banters with the best of them trying to get under his skin the way he does hers. Watching her grow in self confidence and this man absolutely eat it up is so rewarding!! But honestly just her growth is great to see- the best way to succeed in life is to just be who you are!!

Thank you to Megan Clawson and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for a honest review!

Daisy Hastings is a major homebody, but her alter ego, Lady A, is a skilled knight and talented LARPer. When her dad secretly gets her a job at a summer knight school, she’s more than anxious about it. At the school, she meets Teddy Fairfax, who is dead set on causing as much chaos in his life as possible. When his chaos risks Daisy’s chance at securing her job, enemies are created.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this! So much of the story made my little nerd heart swell. Daisy/Lady A is such a complex character and I loved her arc throughout the story. The confidence she gained with the help of a few other characters made me so happy. The author was able to implement the main characters’ personally challenges in a way that made them feel so relatable, and I adored all the side characters mixed in as well!

This was a super fun enemies to lovers romcom set in the author's Royal series and also takes place in London when Daisy, a LARP loving woman with extreme anxiety takes a chance on a summer job teaching the "Knight school programme" the only problem? There's a disgraced distant royal relative, Theo who is doing all he can to get kicked out of the program and at the same time risking Daisy's place in the program.

I loved the mental health and #ownvoices Neurodiversity rep in this book and the way the two MCs finally got to know each other once they opened up about their deeper insecurities. Great on audio and another great read by Megan Clawson! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! Plus the adorable pink cover was impossible to resist!

Love at First Knight is a contemporary romance set in the same universe as the author's first book Falling Hard For the Royal Guard and I do admit to being glad that Maggie and Freddie make a cameo appearance in Clawson's new book.

I adored Love at First Knight. Some of the issues I had with Clawson's first novel are fixed in this one. Daisy is a whole personality with a family, a life, and interests outside of her love life. She's just a real of a character as Maggie, but I felt the story that Clawson built for Daisy and Teddy felt more realistic and the requisite romance happily ever after more achievable. I love how Daisy and Teddy's relationship developed naturally from picking at each other as co-workers, to helping each other as friends. The scenes of non-antagonistic banter made me smile and I loved Daisy's Grand Gesture at the end of the book.

The characters felt fresh with each one distinct as a whole personality. Daisy's relationships with her family take center stage when needed, and I saw her development both with them and with Teddy. For his part, Teddy came across as less wooden than Freddie did in Falling Hard and I felt like I knew him as a character. There was no instalove and the relationship just felt like it built naturally.

The whole last third of the book was just utterly delightful and I smiled my way through it. Clawson is going to be an auto-buy author for me. I've flow through both of her books in about three days and I'm sad there isn't another one available.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the arc for review purposes.

Thank you to Megan Clawson and Harper 360 for the ARC!

I never thought I’d enjoy a book about LARPing!🗡️
This was such a cute story about overcoming your anxieties and embracing yourself, with a meet cute mixed in! The mental health was so well articulated, it actually spiked my anxiety at times! 🙈 As well, it was a bit hard for me to imagine a viscount falling for a LARPer at first but as the story progressed the idea won me over!

If you love enemies to lovers, found family, quirky characters, and stories representing mental health, I recommend you check this book out when it releases on 05/07/2024!

I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley because I had read the previous book from this author that was also set in the Tower of London and involved an awkward girl and adorable interactions with her future love. In this book, Daisy gets an opportunity to work at the Tower of London as a summer camp instructor for children wanting to become knights. While she excels in the program, she totally screws up when she lets Teddy distract her.

This story seemed to go a bit too long - otherwise I would have given it 5 stars. It was a clean and pleasant read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a fresh take on romance! Anxiety, awkwardness, LARPing, and some really witty banter. For an anxious person, it’s so hard when someone volunteers you for something or takes away your choice. But Daisy gave it a shot and meets Teddy, who she loathessssss. They shouldn’t work, they have every reason not to, and yet this slow burn is paced perfectly.