Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner – the dynamic duo behind YA series including The Starbound Trilogy and The Unearthed Duology – are back again with a new collaboration, Lady’s Knight. This standalone tale departs from Kaufman and Spooner’s traditional realm of sci-fi and instead ventures into the past, to a medieval land of knights, lords, ladies and blacksmiths. But this is first and foremost a rom-com adventure – forget any notion of historical accuracy and get ready for cheesecake on a stick, cheerleaders and a tavern serving themed cocktails.

Isobelle is a noble lady with social status and an enormous dowry, but whose indifferent guardian has offered her as the prize for the winning knight in The Tournament of Dragonslayers. Gwen is the daughter of a village blacksmith, whose talents for forging and fighting are pointedly ignored by everyone around her. When the two cross paths, they realise that an unexpected partnership might be the key to solving both their problems – Gwen will disguise herself as a knight, win the tournament, prove herself beyond a doubt and save Isobelle from being married off to an unknown brute! With Gwen’s skill and Isobelle’s determination, they can’t possibly lose, right?

As someone who had an adolescent obsession with Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet, any story that involves someone disguising themselves as a knight has me on the hook straight away; but Kaufman and Spooner elevate the already delightful premise with charming characters, endless wit, and a swoonworthy queer romance. While this is a fun-filled adventure, it also manages to maintain a lot of nuance in the relationships between characters, and the depiction of the prejudices and injustices that Isobelle and Gwen are trying to fight. I heartily recommend this to any fantasy or rom-com lover – you’ll giggle, sigh, gasp and cheer! For ages 13+.