One Perfect Knight is a sugary confection of charm and quirky humor. It is a time travel, but we travel more to Fantasyland, than to a time past. We move back and forth between the present and King Arthur’s Camelot – a Camelot that is more of a kissing cousin to Technicolor musical movies than to the Dark Ages.

Julie Gaffney has been pushed into helping a friend handle a children’s birthday party at a medieval theme restaurant. While standing close to a suit of armor, she suddenly finds herself in Camelot, facing an irate Sir Lancelot wearing that same suit.

Camelot is as pure as Paradise, but the shining apple already contains a worm. When Julie tries to prevent the inevitable descent into darkness, she, Lancelot, and his enemy are all bounced back to the 20th Century. Not only do they need to return Lancelot, who fails to thrive in the modern world, but Camelot must be saved. Yet how can they do that when they have become the villains of the Arthurian legend?

We all dream of our perfect match and Sir Lancelot is the best and truest knight in the Arthurian legends. His fatal attraction to Guinevere only serves to make him more human. The Lancelot presented here isn’t all that perfect, but, hey, what legend come true is? At least this Lancelot is willing to do manual labor in a shelter for the homeless.

With all the travel back and forth, Julie is torn between different roles. Her assertive behavior as a successful career woman hides her dissatisfaction with her loveless life. Yet this same forcefulness makes her stand out like a sore thumb in Camelot. Who the real Julie is isn’t easy to say, but since this read is more of a romp, psychoanalysis of the heroine isn’t really necessary.

One Perfect Knight juggles alternative timelines. When Lancelot and Julie end up in the present time, the legends of Camelot have changed. Guinevere has a different lover, and you may guess just once who the two betrayers of Camelot are. This was an amusing idea that put some spice in the plot.

I liked One Perfect Knight while I read it, but it is fading away already. It is a little too sweet for my everyday taste, and the interesting alternate versions of Camelot are too quickly dealt with. Sugar and spice and everything nice aren’t always enough. Having said that, I still recommend it as a remedy for an overdose of angst-ridden historicals with more sex than love.