Dawn of the Knight

Dawn of the Knight
by Robert Beck

248 Pages
Published August 10, 2013

This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

"One honorable young man can make all the difference..."

In this thrilling and suspenseful action/romance novel, a fatherless Canadian high school boy, Lance Rock, has been raised and trained by the United States government’s former top operative. For his senior year, Lance decides to travel to California in the hope of finding a girlfriend as well as freedom from his regimented life. Once there, he inadvertently ends up in the home of a mother and her two teenage daughters. He is forced to use his skills to defend them and himself from the woman’s ex-husband—a crime lord who has been terrorizing the family for over a decade!

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 This almost felt like two books: The one it wanted to be, and the one it actually was.

It took me a while to get into this one. I felt the opening was extremely weak: The first big chunk of the book happens while the MC sits in an airport. That's right, he's sitting still in an airport. He's looking at a scrapbook, and it sends him into all sorts of recollections. Yes, the info we learn is good, we get to know the character, etc., but NOTHING is happening to progress the story. It's all backstory that could be learned in other ways.

Once we get to the "main" part of the story, I hoped things would be a whole lot better. But the MC, Lance Rock, is beyond clueless (this is part of his backstory, and he has no experience in the "real" world beyond what one friend can offer) - so much so that it's extremely unbelievable.

Lance, as a character, wants to be a good guy, looking out for those around him and protecting those who are "weak." The last 1/4 (maybe) of the book actually became enjoyable for me.

This is a no-thinking-required book, and if I'd gone into it with lower expectations, I think I could have liked the corniness. But I do think said corniness was unintentional.

2/5 stars