Alexandra Ripley’s FROM FIELDS OF GOLD – Unusual Love Story of the American South and Aristocratic London in late 19th Century with a Great Heroine.

The story begins in the South in 1875 and tells of Francesca (“Chess”) Standish, raised to be a lady but at 30, the Civil War has left her with only a rundown plantation and a patent on her grandfather’s machine to make cigarettes. Once her life was filled with laughter, now she is gray and glum. She wants to be married and has all but given up hope until Nate Richardson comes along.

 

Nate is smart, handsome and ambitious, and desperately wants to gain the patent for the machine that makes cigarettes. When Chess, who is 8 years his senior, tells him he can have the patent if he will marry her, he agrees. 

 

Ever since he was a teenager, Nate has been in love with the girl who became his brother’s wife. He shows Chess no passion, believing she is not interested and finds his pleasure elsewhere. Chess is so in love with him, she is willing to take the crumbs he offers her. Chess is a heroine to love: brave, smart and willing to wait for what she wants. She knows Nate doesn’t love her but she vows to become the business partner he will respect. And she does, sharing with him his dreams and his passion for the tobacco industry and helping his dreams become reality. 

 

Though he admires her, Nate is not faithful. But a trip to London will show her the affection she has long missed and awakens in her the girl she once was.

 

The story reflects the author’s deep research into the tobacco industry in the South and the era of the late Victorian period in London. She captures the life of the idle rich as well as the Americans who led the development of new industries and discoveries. Rich in detail, even as to fashion, with splendid characters, including some actual historical figures, Ripley have given us a great tale. You must wait till the very end for that happy ever after, but I assure you, it’s coming.

 

I didn’t want to put it down! It’s a keeper!

 

Victoria Holt’s THE DEMON LOVER – Gripping Story of a Tumultuous Love Set in England and France

Just so you know, this is not your ordinary Victoria Holt gothic murder mystery. Set mostly in France in the late Victorian period, this tells the story of Kate Collison, of the famous (fictional) Collison family of brilliant painters of miniatures, each artist signing the portraits “KC.” In each generation, the next son takes up the art to astound patrons in England and in Europe. Unfortunately, Kate’s mother, the daughter of a duke, gave Kate’s father, Kendal Collison, only a daughter. But Kate was determined to become better than any son of the family who had gone before her.

 

When her father develops cataracts and his ability to paint the fine strokes diminishes, she becomes his eyes. Signing the portraits “KC,” as all in her family have, no one knows a woman has painted them. A new commission arrives from a baron in Normandy who wants miniatures of himself and his fiancée, a princess. So, Kate and her father travel to France, intending to do the miniatures together. At the baron’s castle, before he arrives, Kate begins to fall in love with the baron’s cousin Bertrand de Mortemer. And then she meets the Baron, Rollo de Centeville, who by his own description is “arrogant, overbearing, impatient and self-willed.” In addition to that, he is clever, soon figuring out that the miniature he comes to admire is being painted by Kate, not her father. He also intends to have his way with Kate, no matter the cost to her.

 

An ingenious, intricately woven plot that had me turning pages, it tells the story of a selfish man who, like his Viking forbears, thought nothing of raping a woman to get what he wanted. And so he drugs and rapes Kate and then holds her prisoner for the purpose of reminding Bertrand that he, the baron, is in control. I must say that I had a bit of trouble understanding how Kate, having gone home to England, could return to France after what happened to her, or how she could keep from those who loved her that she’d been brutally raped by the man they admired. Nor could I understand how the Baron’s mistress, Nicole, would, after being cast aside by the Baron, try to convince Kate she should be more understanding of him. But such are the twists and turns in this story.

 

I loved Kate’s spirit, her determination and her strength. And I thought the way Holt showed how the artist gleaned the nuances of the subject’s personality while painting was masterful.

 

As in all bodice rippers, there is a certain satisfaction is seeing the Baron have his comeuppance, though even then, one can certainly agree with the hatred Kate feels for the man who ruined, as well as benefited, her life. Unlike some of her stories, Holt brings the heroine’s feelings about the “hero” (sometimes the baron seemed more the villain) to the fore early on, and that was good.

 

Holt does a brilliant job of showing us what the people of Paris lived through in the 1870 siege of the city by the Prussians when the people were starved into submission.

Like her other novels, it is told in the first person. A well-written bodice ripper, it does contain rape; and while there are no details or vivid descriptions, the fact of it is no less horrible.

 

There’s a surprise ending awaiting you. The story is a keeper. I recommend it.

 

Virginia Henley’s TEMPTED - Captivating Story of Scottish Love in the Borderlands—a keeper!

This is a classic story from a great author. In a complex, lusty tale of feuding Scottish clans during the time of James IV of Scotland and Henry VIII of England, Henley serves up a story that will grab you from the first page and will not let you go. I loved it. Henley has the ability to capture not only the time period, but also the culture of the borderlands between Scotland and England and the difficult but wonderful relationship between two stubborn, courageous people. I highly recommend this one.

Set in Scotland in 1512, this is the story of clans Douglas, Hamilton and Kennedy. Beautiful Valentina Kennedy, the oldest of the Kennedy daughters, was known as Flaming Tina for her glorious red-gold hair and her feisty temper. She was raised with her sister and brothers in Castle Doon in Ayr on the Southwest coast of Scotland where her father ruled as the Lord of Galloway. Tina despaired the lot of women that prevented them from enjoying male pursuits, and she frequently joined her brothers in their activities.

 

When Tina turns 17, her father insists she say yes to one of her many suitors. Tina thinks to marry the Hamilton heir but is happy when a gypsy tells her there will be no wedding for her this year. In a surprising turn of events, she is handfasted to her enemy, the powerful Black Ram Douglas, who she considers a brute of a man. Tina intends to have her revenge.

Henley develops some wonderful characters, including the ghosts of two star-crossed lovers from the past (another Kennedy and Douglas pairing), who constantly entertain. She paints vivid word pictures of the food, clothing and castles that draw you in and help you experience the times--and she does it all very well. In a fitting climax to the story, she superbly describes the battle between the English and Scots at Flodden where Scotland experienced a terrible defeat.

The second in the 2-book Clan Kennedy Saga is The Border Hostage and I recommend it, too!

 

Evelyn Anthony’s CLANDARA – Enthralling Story of Star-crossed Love Amidst the Jacobite Uprising of 1745

 

Set in 1745, in the time of feuds between the clans and the Scottish support for Bonnie Prince Charlie, this is the story of Katherine Fraser who falls in love with the eldest son of her family’s enemy—the MacDonalds. James MacDonald had a horrible reputation of cattle stealing, killing and debauchery when he met the lovely, flame-haired Katherine Fraser. For love of her, he changed. Neither family wanted the marriage but agreed to a betrothal when they could see the pair was determined.

 

Then came Charles Stuart and the call to arms all over Scotland. Having lost all in the earlier rising in 1715, Katherine’s family declined to go. Their enemies, the MacDonalds, were in the forefront of the clans supporting the prince. In one horrible act, James tears asunder the love that bound him to Katherine and sealed forever the enmity between his clan and hers.

 

This is a poignant love story very well told. Anthony vividly portrays the emotions of the Scots at the time of the Jacobite Uprising of 1745 and her description of the English slaughter of the Scots on Culloden Moor was brilliant and detailed. She shows you why King George’s son the Duke of Cumberland earned his title “Butcher.” By the time you get to the battle, you are so invested in the characters and the clans, your heart is racing.

 

The romance is an unusual one as James and Katherine are separated for much of the story, yet ever in each other’s mind. I loved them both but Katherine really shined as a woman trying to do the right thing under dismal circumstances. The ending is a bit like jumping off a cliff and I found I wanted more of the two of them.

 

If you like well-researched, detailed history in your historical romance, and you can’t get enough of Scotland’s past, then you will love this one. Highly recommended.

 

Sara Hely’s THE LEGEND OF THE GREEN MAN – Superb Storytelling in this Irish Classic

 

Set at the dawn of the Regency period (years after the defeat of the Irish Rebellion in 1798), this is the story of an aristocratic young English widow, Lady Kitty Harcomb, who fleeing the scandal-ridden ton in London, decides to pay a visit to her Irish suitor, Sir William Fossick. Perhaps she would even marry him and settle down at last. Of course, she does not love him, but love played no part in her plans. So, she sets off with her young son and his nanny for Ireland.

 

On a stormy night in Ireland as her coachman refuses to continue, she is saved from the elements by a local hero, Luke Denny, who is the head of the poor Dennys, a family whose other branch sided with the English and gained an earldom. Luke and Kitty meet in a ruined Irish castle, where he holds her at gunpoint. But he soon realizes she is not the person he thought her to be. He takes her and her young son to his home where she becomes involved in the Denny family and a world of danger, not to mention her own attraction to Luke.

 

This story reminded me of Victoria Holt’s tales. It’s told mostly from the heroine’s perspective. I was immediately drawn in and could not stop turning pages as the plot thickened and the past came to haunt the present. I had to know what happened to the beautiful Lady Kitty and the mysterious Luke Denny. Irish politics abound as old stories rise to affect the present.

 

Luke is a clever, noble hero and Lady Kitty is a heroine with spunk. I could not help but love them. And, I loved this story. Written in the 1970s it is still fresh today though I had to buy it used, in paperback. I only wish Hely had written more.

 

 

 

Kaki Warner’s HEARTBREAK CREEK – Great 1st in the Brides Trilogy, a Must Read Western!

First in the Brides trilogy (Heartbreak Creek, Colorado Dawn and Bride of the High Country), and set in Colorado in 1870, this is the story of Edwina Ladoux, “the once reigning belle of Sycamore Parish” in Louisiana, now a widow, who because of circumstances decides to become a mail order bride to a man described as an “honest, hard-working widower” seeking a “sturdy English-speaking woman” to help with his ranch and 4 children.

 

Edwina doubted she could be considered “sturdy,” but decided to proceed nonetheless. In her own words, “She might be leaping from the fat into the fire, but at least for that brief moment she hung suspended between the two, she would be totally free.” How could you not like a woman who would take a leap like that? Especially when she drags her older sister, Pru, along with her for this adventure into the unknown. Like several of Warner’s latest novels, this one features a train ride (to Colorado) and names like Damnation Creek—I loved them.

 

It gets more interesting as we learn that Pru is Edwina’ half sister and her mother was black. Pru is a beautiful, accomplished woman who is self-educated and able to care for both Edwina and herself. Both Pru and Edwina have a past that still affects them. Our hero, Declan Brodie, is a man of few words who is overwhelmed by his sprawling ranch and his four children. He also has a past that haunts him—his first wife left him for another man and Indians killed both.

 

Edwina thinks of Declan as a “great lump” due to his size. He calls her Miss Priss and then “Ed,” which she likes better. He has agreed to her terms—to give her a few months without consummating the marriage to see if they are compatible. Initially it seems they are not when he learns she can’t cook and she imposes rules on the children that have them bristling, but then Declan begins to admire other things about her. I loved their conversations and sparing. I loved the way Warner had the exasperated man cursing in his mind. She captures the male point of view so well.

 

Warner plunks you down into the late 19^th century American frontier with ranchers, Indians, freed slaves and others trying to build a new life. And we are introduced to the other “brides” in the trilogy so read this them in order.

 

The dialog is realistic and rich, the characters varied and well drawn and the plot is intriguing and exciting. Spread over all this like chocolate shavings over cake frosting is Warner’s dry wit. Simply delicious.

 

Dorothy Dunnett’s CHECKMATE – A Scottish Hero Like None Other and the Woman who Loves Him, a Keeper in a great series!

 

Set in 1557, this is book 6 in a most exceptional series. Our hero, Francis Crawford of Lymond, is now back in France, thanks to the actions of his friends and his unwanted wife, Phillipa Somerville. To get the annulment he seeks for his marriage that will free both him and Philippa to marry others, Lymond agrees to serve France for one year, leading an army against England and Spain.

 

Lymond succeeds brilliantly on the battlefield, and his wit, wisdom and charm win over the French court, but his mysterious past becomes an issue. Powers in Scotland want to use it to destroy him and Lymond wants to protect the story he discovers before others that will shame the family that raised him. Philippa makes this her quest. If she cannot have him, at least she can protect him.

 

Brilliantly told, you won’t even mind the long passages and poems in French that are not translated. I just let the story drag me on. There were nights I had to keep reading after my bedtime just because I could not bear to leave it. There were mornings I rose from my bed with the story fresh in my mind. The dialog is amazing, the characters beguiling and the twists and turns something to behold.

 

More than the others in the series, this one is the love story between Francis and Philippa, which I relished. Philippa is Lymond’s soulmate, the only woman who is his true equal (or at least close to it) and every man who meets her wants her. Lymond holds her away feeling unworthy of her for he has lived a jaded life.

 

As the end nears, courage triumphs, and love sacrifices. If you, like me, want a happy ending, you will get it so hang in there. This series of six novels is a triumph of adventure, history, great characters in a time of war and love that conquers all. The royal courts are well pictured and history of four countries in the 16^th century laid bare. In the midst of it all, one man rises a hero inspiring all around him, even his enemies. Only Philippa, who loves him with her heart and soul, was his worthy match.

 

I recommend reading the first five books before this one. They are all connected and you can’t really understand this last one without the others.

 

“There is nothing of me that does not belong to you.”

~ Philippa to Francis

 

“My son took many years to learn the simple truth. You cannot love any one person adequately until you have made friends with the rest of the human race also. Adult love demands qualities which cannot be learned living in a vacuum of resentment.”

 

Sybilla, Dowager Countess of Culter,

Francis Crawford of Lymond’s mother

 

 

The Lymond Chronicles:

 

The Game of Kings

Queens’ Play

The Disorderly Knights

Pawn in Frankincense

The Ringed Castle

Checkmate

Iris Johansen’s THE GOLDEN BARBARIAN – Desert Sands Make for an Exotic Locale in this Keeper!

This is the first in the Sedikhan series and it's a good one. If you like strong, resourceful heroines, handsome desert Sheikhs and love stories set in exotic places, you'll love this one. As with all Johansen's historical romances, she takes pains to weave a complex tale with wonderful characters and believable sexual tension.

Set in the early 19th century, this is the story of Tess Rubinoff, Princess of Tamrovia (somewhere in the Balkans) who first meets Galen Ben Raschid Sheikh of Zalandan (think desert sands) when she is 12 and he pulls her and her dog out of quicksand. Even then, he has designs on her as he wants to link their two countries in order to gain sufficient power to unify the desert tribes of Sedikhan.

 

Since she is only 12 when they meet, he will wait; he is a patient man. She spends the next 6 years in a convent at her cousin's suggestion (prompted by Galen) to protect her from an abusive father. When her father rejects Galen's suit, Galen arranges to steal Tess away by making her a proposition she cannot refuse—and she doesn't.

 

Once in Sedikhan, the adventure begins.

In case you want to read more of them, here is the entire Sedikhan Series (not all are historical; some are contemporary; but all have a link to Sedikhan):

The Golden Barbarian
The Golden Valkyrie
The Trustworthy Redhead
Capture the Rainbow
Touch the Horizon
A Summer Smile
And the Desert Blooms
Always
Everlasting
Till the End of Time
The Last Bridge Home
Across the River of Yesterday
Star Light, Star Bright
Man From Half Moon Bay
Blue Blue Skies and Shining Promises
Magnificent Folly
Notorious
A Tough Man to Tame

 

Shirl Henke’s A FIRE IN THE BLOOD – Enthralling Classic from Wyoming Cattle Baron Days

Not many romance authors would start their story with a black moment but Henke does it here and does it well. This is an absorbing story, very well told, of a hero who thought he’d never belong and a heroine who had everything but him. Meticulously researched, Henke serves up a worthy love story from the days of the cattle barons, the powerful cattlemen of the Cheyenne Club who ruled over Wyoming Territory in the late 1800s.

Jess Robbins and his father, though Texans, fought with the Union in the Civil War. Jess also did a stint with the French Foreign Legion. By the spring of 1881, he had a fast gun and a talent for spying out cattle thieves. So it was no surprise Wyoming rancher Marcus Jacobson hired Jess as a stock detective to find out who was stealing hundreds of his cattle from the sprawling J Bar ranch.

 

The first time Jacobson’s only daughter and heir, Lissa, caught sight of Jess Robbins, she was drawn to the man. A mixture of white man, Mexican and Indian, Jess was exotically handsome, virile and very sure of himself. Lissa had many suitors, including an older man her father wanted her to marry, but she wanted Jess. Though each was forbidden to the other, they could not stay away.

Henke captures the nuances of a relationship that was forged in passion but held something deeper, a lasting bond that would not be denied. Lissa grows up and her strength comes to the foreground as Jess realizes he cannot live without this woman. How it all comes together is fascinating and held my attention right to the sweet ending.

You’ll like this one. It’s a keeper!

 

Connie Brockway’s THE PASSIONATE ONE - Superb Scottish Historical Romance!

This is the first in the McClairen's Isle trilogy and it’s wonderful! An enduring Scottish historical for the "keeper" shelf.

The stories in the trilogy tell of a family of two brothers and a sister, Scottish by their mother Janet McClairen, and English by their father, the charming, selfish, ruthless Ronald Merrick, now Earl of Carr. Many years ago, Merrick fled his debtors in London to come to McClairen's Isle in the Highlands with an aim to take it from the McClairen clan. He came to woo the clan but ended up winning the laird's cousin, Janet. She gave him two sons and a daughter and then mysteriously died falling off a cliff. Later, through treachery, Merrick gained McClairen's Isle, and the title of Earl of Carr after helping the English at Culloden at the expense of the clan. His wife's relatives wanted revenge and went after him. Instead of taking him, however, they captured his sons. The Scots didn't want to kill the sons (they were half Scottish) so they were sent off to prison in France.

 

This is the story of one of those sons, Ash, who was freed when his father paid the ransom but his brother, Raine was left in France to rot. Ash lives to free his brother. In 1760, Ash is summoned by his father for an errand: to fetch back to Scotland Carr's ward, Rhiannon Russell, from England where she's been living for the last 10 years. While Ash loathes his father, he is willing to undertake the task for the money it will bring, money that will buy Raine's freedom.

 

Rhiannon is haunted by nightmares of having been hunted as a young girl by the Butcher of Culloden, Lord Cumberland, and has no desire to leave her place of refuge at Fair Badden. She is betrothed to a handsome Englishman, and while neither is in love, it is a good match for Rhiannon. And then comes Ash...

Brockway writes well, her words, phrases and dialog capturing the time period. She has wonderful analogies and lines that put you in the moment ("It had been waiting for her return for a decade, like a witch's unwanted familiar."). Her language is wonderfully descriptive so that you see each shadow cast by the moonlight and hear each cricket ("The winnowing wind whispered a spurious greeting and the chill mist stretched milky fingers up to brush her legs in mock obeisance.").

It is a well-woven plot, the story is believable and the passion and conflict between the hero and heroine convincing. The hero is one of those darkly handsome men, noble in heart, who has become jaded by life's experiences ("...his eyes were dark, his wrists scarred, and his soul as tattered and patched as a gypsy's cape..."). Ash never looked for nor expected to find love. Rhiannon is hiding from a past that frightens her, nightmares of being chased by Lord Cumberland's dragoons. She wants only peace--like an opiate. But Ash does not bring peace; instead, he brings a passion neither wants to acknowledge.

I just loved this book and didn't want to put it down. I highly recommended it and the rest in the trilogy!

 

Jan Cox Speas’s MY LORD MONLEIGH – A Beautifully Written, Poignant Love Story From the Scottish Highlands in the late 17th Century… A Keeper!

This wonderful story is set in the Scottish Highlands in the late 17^th century (mostly on the west coast) during the time when the Scots fell under Cromwell’s cruel hand and King Charles II lived in exile in France. The Catholic Royalists, such as our hero, Lord Monleigh, faced opposition from both the English and the Covenanters (Scottish Presbyterians).

 

The story has a melancholy feel that persists as 23-year-old spinster, Anne Lindsey, who lost her parents and then her relatives with whom she was living, is forced to live with staunch Covenanters who treat her like a servant. As the tale begins, Simon, the Earl of Monleigh, who Anne knows, is in prison in Edinburgh awaiting death while Anne’s benefactors look forward to his execution. Anne looks back at her memories of Lord Monleigh, beginning with the night she met him on the moors high above the ocean, and the rest of the story unfolds.

 

Monleigh is man who can be a wise, though at times hard, a leader of his clan, fighting to restore his king, but at the same time a charismatic charmer of the lasses. When he focuses his attentions on innocent and beautiful Anne, she has no will to resist. He exposes her to adventure, music and a passion she has not known, but has longed for. He believes he has rescued her from a dismal life, but he has also exposed her to danger, and he offers her no future. He is hunted by the English for his raiding and smuggling, something he does to pay the high English fees levied on the Scots. He is well aware the noose is tightening about his neck.

 

In Anne’s own words:

 

“He had enthralled me, bewitched and enraptured me; and I knew I played a dangerous and deadly game by so giving myself into his keeping. He was no god, in truth, or even godly. He was only a man, a mere mortal, who went in leather breeks and a dark cloak lined with scarlet, wearing a long sword at his side and a wicked blue dirk in his belt—who felt anger, boredom, indifference, who loved and hated as other men; who stood taller than most and held his dark head with a greater pride.”

 

The story is told through Anne’s perspective and in the first person, and somehow that seemed to fit. It is beautifully written with near magical dialog and tender emotions on every page. I cannot recommend it highly enough to those who love the deep historicals from Scotland. It’s a keeper as are all of Jan Cox Speas’ novels.

 

Since the book is out of print, unless you have an ebook download, you will have to buy it used in paper, but trust me, it will be worth it. And while you’re at it, I recommend getting Bride of the MacHugh, also by Speas, and my favorite.

 

Virginia Henley’s THE DRAGON AND THE JEWEL: Enthralling 13th Century Love Story and a Classic!

 

In the words of the author, “The story of Simon and Eleanor is one of the great love stories of the thirteenth century,”—a story that Henley masterfully brings to historical romance, a tale of two passionate people and the historical events that swirled around them.

 

Many women never find one true love; Eleanor Plantagenet was blessed with two, though one, William Marshall, was much older and perhaps more a father figure. The book is divided into those two love stories and each is well told and very precious. Much of this is actual history and Henley weaves fictional romance in so wonderfully, you’d never know it wasn’t fact.

This is the second in Henley's Plantagenet trilogy (The Falcon and the Flower, The Dragon and the Jewel and The Marriage Prize). When King John died, his oldest son, though still young, became King Henry III. Henry had a brother, Richard of Cornwall, and a sister, Eleanor. This is the story of the three siblings, and particularly Princess Eleanor and her second husband, Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester.

When she is nine, Eleanor is wed to William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (the son of the great William Marshal and equally as honorable). Eleanor has loved and admired William her whole life. The fact he is 30 years her senior is not a negative for her. William wants to wait to take her as a wife in truth until she is 16. Meanwhile, King Henry takes as his queen an impoverished and ambitious French Provençal, also named Eleanor, who is jealous of the king's sister and thinks to diminish her.

 

Others are plotting the demise of William Marshall for his influence with the king. On the night William would finally claim his bride, he suffers an attack and suddenly dies. Poison is suspected. Eleanor is devastated at his death, and in front of the clergy takes a vow of chastity and perpetual widowhood. A year later, the great War Lord, Simon de Montfort, enters her life. Once he sees her, he decides he must have her.

There is no question Henley knows how to write historical romance. (She is one my mentors!) Her story reflects the weak king that was Henry III and the constant fights he had with his nobles who were concerned he was allowing England to be run by foreigners and unworthy men. Henley’s attention to detail in dress, food and the environment is meticulous. She is so good I simply devoured this novel. Like her others, this is a complex, well-written, lusty tale with splendid characters, a strong feisty heroine, a drool worthy hero (two of them!) and an interesting plot. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

 

The Plantagenet trilogy (in chronological order):

The Falcon and the Flower (1989) - late 12th century/early 13th
The Dragon and the Jewel (1991) - 13th century
The Marriage Prize (2000) - 13th century
The Raven and the Rose (1987) - 15th century
The Hawk and the Dove (1988) - 16th century
The Pirate and the Pagan (1990) - 17th century

And, if you want Scotland's side of the story, you can read her wonderful Kennedy Clan romances, both set in the 16th century after the events of The Raven and The Rose:

Tempted (1992)
The Border Hostage (2001)

Iris Johansen’s THE WIND DANCER - Amazing Love Story in Renaissance Italy...Masterfully Told Tale! A Classic!

This is the first in the Wind Dancer trilogy and it is amazing, a "keeper".

Set in early 16th century northern Italy (1503), it tells the story of Lionello Andreas, oldest son of an Italian family that has held as its most treasured possession a small golden statue of the winged horse Pegasus that, according to legend, was given to their family at the fall of Troy.

 

The statue, known as the Wind Dancer, has been stolen from their city state of Mandara by Lion's enemy, Francisco Damari. In his effort to recover the statue, Lion decides to hire a thief and travels with his erstwhile companion, Lorenzo, to Florence where he buys a 16-year-old slave girl, Sanchia, who is known an expert at lifting men's gold. Lion quickly realizes he wants more from the brave and clever young woman than her thieving talents and takes her as his mistress.

 

Believing she has no ability to resist, Sanchia complies, as any slave would. In the process of helping Lion to steal the key to where the statue is kept, and in an act of great courage, Sanchia leads Damari away from Lion only to be captured by the demented and sadistic man. By the time Lion recovers her, she has been tortured and believes Lion did not honor his promise not to leave without her. As a result, she now believes her debt to Lion has been paid and demands her freedom. But Lion, whose feelings for her have grown into an obsession, will not let her go.

This is a story of passionate love in an unlikely place and, once found, denying it. The story is well told, the dialog gripping and the twists and turns complex. You will feel like you are there in Renaissance Italy. The physical relationship between Lion and Sanchia is explosive and sensual and Johansen does a superb job of describing it.

 

Like a tapestry with many threads coming together, Johansen has woven many lives into the story in a convincing manner. She has also created a great cast of secondary characters with their own passions and unique qualities. Lorenzo Vasaro, Lion's stalwart friend is an assassin with a jaded past and a wisdom that insists reality be pursued even if costly. He adds richness to the tale. I highly recommend this one.

 

Wind Dancer trilogy:

 

The Wind Dancer

Storm Winds

Reap the Wind (a contemporary )

 

Evelyn Anthony’s CLANDARA – Enthralling Story of Star-crossed Love Amidst the Jacobite Uprising of 1745

Set in 1745, in the time of feuds between the clans and the Scottish support for Bonnie Prince Charlie, this is the story of Katherine Fraser who falls in love with the eldest son of her family’s enemy—the MacDonalds. James MacDonald had a horrible reputation of cattle stealing, killing and debauchery when he met the lovely, flame-haired Katherine Fraser. For love of her, he changed. Neither family wanted the marriage but agreed to a betrothal when they could see the pair was determined.

 

Then came Charles Stuart and the call to arms all over Scotland. Having lost all in the earlier rising in 1715, Katherine’s family declined to go. Their enemies, the MacDonalds, were in the forefront of the clans supporting the prince. In one horrible act, James tears asunder the love that bound him to Katherine and sealed forever the enmity between his clan and hers.

 

This is a poignant love story very well told. Anthony vividly portrays the emotions of the Scots at the time of the Jacobite Uprising of 1745 and her description of the English slaughter of the Scots on Culloden Moor was brilliant and detailed. She shows you why King George’s son the Duke of Cumberland earned his title “Butcher.” By the time you get to the battle, you are so invested in the characters and the clans, your heart is racing.

 

The romance is an unusual one as James and Katherine are separated for much of the story, yet ever in each other’s mind. I loved them both but Katherine really shined as a woman trying to do the right thing under dismal circumstances. The ending is a bit like jumping off a cliff and I found I wanted more of the two of them.

 

If you like well-researched, detailed history in your historical romance, and you can’t get enough of Scotland’s past, then you will love this one. Highly recommended.

Elizabeth Stuart’s WITHOUT HONOR: A Wonderful Scottish Historical…a Classic Keeper!

Elizabeth Stuart is one of my very favorite authors. All of her novels are on my keeper shelf. Classics all.

 

So many “historical” romances have very little history. Not this one. I love how Stuart seamlessly weaves in rich historical events throughout the novel. She brings Scotland of the early 16^th century alive as she uses both real people and fictional characters to tell a complex, intriguing story.

 

The story is set in Scotland at the time when Archibald Douglas, the Earl of Angus, was just divorced from the dowager queen Margaret Tudor, elder sister of Henry VIII of England. Angus effectively ruled Scotland, being the regent for young King James. Angus was arrogant and claimed too much power for himself, drawing the ire of many, including the young king.

 

Against this tumultuous time, Jonet Maxwell, heiress to the clan Maxwell (the enemy of clan Douglas) fled her home, seeking to join with her beloved uncle, Robert, Lord Mure. Unwittingly, Alexander Hepburn, Baron of Durnam, and the enemy of Jonet’s uncle, intercepts her flight. Once he realizes who she is, he uses her to get to her uncle. She is young and naïve and Alexander is a jaded rake, who has sold his talents to France, England and Scotland. He lives for revenge of his father’s death, a death he blames on Mure, Jonet’s uncle.

 

The hero was a cad for most of the book so at times it was hard to like him. He was constantly hurting Jonet. Oh, he warned her he would (don’t they always?) but still he persisted. And because Jonet was naïve and weak (when it came to him), it sometimes made her come across as spineless. When she went willingly into his arms after he betrayed her, it made me want to slap her. And that was BEFORE he spent the night in the arms of his long time paramour. He would have happily taken Jonet’s innocence if she hadn’t stopped him—all in the same day!

 

I suppose the book was named for him. But don’t get me wrong, he comes out smelling like a rose in the end and those with truly no honor are identified.

 

A compelling Historical tale and a most worthy love story. Another for the keeper shelf it is so well written. I highly recommend it.

 

Sharon & Tom Curtis (aka Laura London) - THE WINDFLOWER – Superb Pirate Romance set in the War of 1812!

One of my all-time favorite books and a classic, The Windflower was the product of the husband-wife writing team of Sharon and Tom Curtis and some believe it was their best. I can tell you this: this pirate romance set in in 1813 during the War of 1812 is one of the finest historical romances I have read. Originally published in 1984, it was reissued in 1995, and can be obtained on Amazon for Kindle. It’s a keeper among keepers.

 

It tells the story of innocent, sheltered Merry Wilding, an American living in Virginia with her maiden aunt. Merry has a talent for drawing faces from memory, a talent her brother, an American spy will use to his benefit, exposing her to pirates and worse. Then, on her way to England with her aunt who wants Merry to have a better future, she is kidnapped. Taken to a pirate ship, she meets the English pirate Devon, who remembers her from a night long ago where he encountered her in a tavern. He holds her captive, believing she is involved with his enemy who was also on the ship Merry was sailing on. Protecting her brother, she will not reveal who she is. Devon is intelligent, beguiling and smooth and innocent Merry is powerless to turn away his kisses. The whole crew of pirates comes to love Merry and to teach her many things as she blossoms from shy girl to strong woman.

 

The writing is superb, the characters courageous, heartwarming and very special; the descriptions of the environs vivid; the metaphors numerous and well done; and the story a wonder to read, and re-read. The plot is intriguing. You will be swept away on a pirate ship to experience many adventures, battles at sea, storms, death, outrageous humor and love. I thought the writing gifted.

 

Here’s a sample from one scene; I bet it moves you though not a word is spoken:

 

“His fingers whispered over her face, seeking and slowly stroking nerve points, knowing where, how long, how much to caress. Her skin gained color under his touch; her eyes became enormous; her throat tightened. By her nose his little finger encountered a forgotten tear. Gathering the sparkling drop, he smeared it slowly over the curve of her lips and blew it gently dry. One hand came lightly to rest on her neck; the other supported her cheek as he sought her with his kiss.”

 

Here’s another:

 

“Tragedy dwelt like a blue flame in her big eyes; the shallow pulsebeat in the golden hollow of her throat was luffing like a spanker on a vessel that was hauled too close to the wind. He had seen the look before on women about to be raped, and he found no charm in having it turned on him.”

 

If you love pirate romance—or even Regency period romance set mostly outside of England—this classic will not disappoint.

Jennifer Roberson’s LADY OF THE GLEN – Superb Storytelling and a Keeper—a Highland Love that Survives the Massacre of Glencoe!

Roberson's Lady of the Glen has everything I love in a Scottish historical romance: an epic love story, a noble hero, a strong heroine, real history (the massacre of Glencoe), attention to detail and enough suspense and drama to keep me turning pages. And a wonderful hero and heroine. Even the music of the Highlands is included. I could hear the pipes and their mournful sound as Roberson described them.

 The story begins in 1682 when Catriona (“Cat”) Campbell first encounters Alasdair (“Dair”) Og MacDonald. She is an awkward, uncomely girl raised like one of her brothers by her drunken father, but Dair pays her a compliment when no one else does, telling her that she has “bonnie eyes…all bluey-green and bright. The sort of eyes a Highlander likes to come home to.” How could Cat ever forget him after that? Not even though he is one of the dreaded MacDonalds, the enemies of clan Campbell, could she fail to harbor a tenderness for him.

 

Much happens in this intricately woven tale that spans a decade. It’s the time when King James was exiled to France and William and Mary ruled England. The Scots battle each other as much as the English. Grey John Campbell, Earl of Breadalbane seeks to be the power behind the throne and he thinks it is William who will sit on that throne. He exerts his influence to unite the clans, pretending to support King Jamie, while planning on serving the Highland clans up on a silver platter to William. The clans don’t trust him but the lairds have little choice, seeing the English Ft. William erected as a symbol of the English dominance.

 

Famous battles like Killiecrankie are vividly described as Dair fights with the MacDonalds of Glencoe and the Stewarts of Appin. Both the MacDonalds and the Campbells kill each other’s young men caught reeving cattle, and Dair saves Cat from harm, and she saves his life. All this while another woman shares Dair’s bed. Then Cat’s father agrees to wed her to the Earl of Breadalbane’s son, Duncan Campbell in exchange for money to pay his many debts.

 

Perhaps the most intense moment is the Massacre of Glencoe when the Campbells, joined with the treachery of the English, including the king, murder nearly the entire clan of MacDonalds without provocation. Still remembered to this day, the massacre of Glencoe was a great perfidy on the part of the Campbells and England. A very sad chapter in Scotland’s history. As Roberson says of Glencoe, “’Tis a glen of sorrows, an empty place of blood and broken stone, of charred timber and burial cairns.”

 

I did not want to put this one down. The author truly captured the heart of the Highlands and the characters she vividly portrays bring to life one of the most incredible periods of Scotland’s history.

 

If you love Scotland and real Highlander romance—the deep ones—you will love this book! It does have a happy ending, too. Highly recommended.