Category / Historical

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Midnight Confessions by Candice Proctor

Format: E-bookmidconf
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Hero: Marshal Zachary Xavier Cooper
Heroine: Emmanuelle de Beauvais
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication:  June 2002
Started On: August 1, 2010
Finished On: August 2, 2010

Emmanuelle, the widow of Philippe de Beauvais who died no longer than 3 months ago is devastated when her friend and mentor Henri Santerre is murdered right in front of her with a crossbow bolt tipped with silver alloy, the kind that Emmanuelle’s dead husband Philippe had used for recreational hunting. Emmanuelle is more than shocked by the events that take place that night and she can’t help but think that the bolt had actually been meant for her.

The Yankee Marshal Zachary X. Cooper embodies everything that Emmanuelle has come to detest in the confederates war that was ongoing. When Zachary hears about the unusual murder that took place in a cemetery and that also with the most unusual of weapons, he is more than intrigued to find out who is responsible for the murder. The beautifully exotic French woman who is the only witness to the crime and possibly looking as the best viable suspect for the murder stirs something deep within the soldier’s soul right from the very beginning.

Zachary is determined to uncover the secrets that shrouds this woman he is tempted beyond reason to make his, even when the fact that he is a Yankee soldier clearly irks the woman he wants. Emmanuelle is not your typical romance novel heroine. A woman who has a deep passion for practicing medicine during a time when all doors leading to the profession were closed off for her gender,  Emmanuelle continues to serve at the Hospital de Santerre, a hospital that had been opened up by the joint efforts of her father, her husband and Henri Santerre, who had all been doctors. Though heavily mortgaged Emmanuelle refuses to give up and close down the hospital, even after the death of Henri which meant that the only doctor certified to treat patients at the hospital was Dr. Charles Yardley who himself meets an untimely demise later on.

One by one, the people who play vital roles in Emmanuelle’s life are killed off and Emmanuelle herself barely escapes death at the hands of a hired Irishman before being rescued. Though Emmanuelle refuses to give into the fear that threatens to consume her of what would happen to her son Dominic if she were to be killed, Emmanuelle refuses to truthfully tell Zachary anything about her life which might provide vital clues in solving the senseless murders that seemed to be taking place.

Although Emmanuelle would like nothing better than to bury her head in the sand and refuse to face the truth about the intensity of her feelings towards the Yankee soldier who had somehow managed to find a niche for himself in her life, it is with explosive passion that these two finally come together. Zachary is determined to uncover the truth hidden in the layers of half truths that is fed to him one way or the other, and he is more than driven to save the woman he loves more than anything else in this life from the death that awaits her with certainty if the killer is not caught.

This is a splendid story set in the steamy New Orleans, a place where explosive passion, murder and half truths take the center stage. As the truth is uncovered, one painful inch at a time, I continually found myself surprised and at times ready to take Emmanuelle by the shoulders and give her a good shake so that she would tell the complete truth, just the one time. Touching highly provocative subjects, this book is not just a romance, but an intrinsically woven tale of family drama, murder and the destructive power of lies. Highly recommended for those who love a story that would intrigue you and make you ponder about what you have read long after the book is over.

I especially loved the unusual epilogue in the book, told in the viewpoint of a grandchild of Zachary and Emmanuelle, long after they are dead to a great granddaughter of theirs named Emmanuelle. All the characters in this book would definitely weave their magic on the reader that would continue to linger long afterwards. And this is one of those romances where the hero is younger than the heroine; Zachary being five years younger than Emmanuelle.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Bequest by Candice Proctor

Format: E-bookthebew
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ivy Books
Hero: Jordan Hays
Heroine: Gabrielle Antoine
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: March 28, 1998
Started On: August 1, 2010
Finished On: August 1, 2010

When Gabrielle Antoine who was brought up in a convent since she was five years old receives word of an inheritance that a woman she has never heard of has left for her, Gabrielle decides to travel Central City, Colorado by herself and find out more about the woman and what has been left for her. Though her best friend Julia St. Etienne tries to warn her that what she may find may not be to her liking, Gabrielle who has always yearned to find out who her mother and father were and where she belonged to does not pay heed to her friend’s gentle warning.

Upon her arrival at Celeste’s Palace, Gabrielle finds out that the woman Celeste DuBois who had bequeathed her half the proceedings from the sale of Celeste’s Palace, is actually her mother and that Celeste’s Palace is a whorehouse which she had managed with her partner Jordan Hays. The shocking revelations that come one after the other definitely shatters whatever illusions that Gabrielle may have harbored about her parents.

At first, knowing that her mother had been alive all along sends a sharp punch of betrayal through her but as she starts spending time with the enigmatic and compelling Jordan who stirs all her senses something fierce, Gabrielle has to admit that her mother made the wiser choice by shielding her from the cruel ways of life in a whorehouse.

Gabrielle is at first more than ready to get rid of the whorehouse and say good riddance to what she has stumbled upon, but her sense of integrity refuses to allow her to sell a whorehouse and use the profit to start up a school for girls, a dream that as a teacher Gabrielle has always harbored within her. And when she comes to find out that her mother was killed and that everyone suspected Doug Slaughter, a man who ran all sorts of establishments through out the county who had wanted to buy Celeste’s Palace from her mother, Gabrielle decides to dig her feet in and refuse to sell the place to a man of such vile character.

Jordan wants nothing more than to be left alone with the dark memories of all that he had lost in his life. The haunting nightmares of how his wife and unborn babe died at the hands of drunken soldiers is a constant reminder to Jordan that he is a man who has nothing left to give to a woman or anyone else. But the daughter of his business partner who has taken residence at their establishment tempts him beyond reason and Jordan fights it with everything in his being, knowing that an innocent like Gabrielle would be devastated if he were to love her and leave like Jordan is used to doing.

But little by little, as Jordan and Gabrielle spend time together, it becomes a battle worth losing when all Jordan wants to do is to lose himself in the arms of the woman who bewitches him so. For Gabrielle who is determined to change the establishment into a girls school and provide the women at Celeste’s Palace with better jobs, it is an uphill battle all the way when Doug fights dirty every step of the way just so he can get his hands on the property.

The story of how the sweetly innocent and undeniably sensual Gabrielle captures the unwilling heart of the lithe and handsome Jordan who thinks of himself as the soulless one is a sweet and taut one. And the fraught danger that lurks deep within the shadows at every turn makes this book a quick page-turner.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Marriage Bed by Stephanie Mittman

Format: E-bookmbed
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Dell
Hero: Spencer Williamson
Heroine: Olivia Williamson
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publication: April 1, 1996
Started On: July 31, 2010
Finished On: August 1, 2010

The Marriage Bed is a story that is a bit more complex than your average romance. Filled with details of family life with characters who are less  than perfect, this is a story that was totally different from what I expected when I started on the book.

Olivia and Spencer were neighbors when they were growing up. Spencer had been best of friends with Olivia’s brother Remy and Olivia doesn’t remember a time when she has not loved Spencer. When Spencer married Kirsten, Olivia had been devastated and vowed that she would never love another man. Kirsten had borne him two children Peter and Margaret, and an epidemic of diphtheria had taken away all those whom he had held close to his heart. From the moment he had buried those who were more precious to him than life itself, Spencer had promised himself that he would never love again.

However life and its practicalities demanded that he take a wife and Remy convinces Spencer that Olivia would make him a most suitable wife. Olivia may run his household like a well oiled machine and cater for his every need but Spencer vows that Olivia would never hold a candle to what Kirsten and his children meant to him. Though Olivia knows that Spencer had closed off his heart when his family died, the hope that with time Spencer would come around and learn to love her is what keeps Olivia going. And the one thing that Olivia craves more than anything else is to carry Spencer’s children in her womb and bring them into this world so that the pain that lingers in Spencer’s eyes may ease just a little.

With Olivia’s naivete on what goes on in the bedroom, it is easy for Spencer to continue deceiving Olivia without actually performing the act which could bear him sons and daughters. Two years on, Olivia is devastated by the fact that she is barren and that she would never be able to give Spencer the children Olivia is sure he needs. Little does she know that Spencer had been keeping the most vital part of their marriage a shame.

Desperate for a family, Olivia badgers Spencer until he agrees to open up his home for the children of Olivia’s sister who had died recently. Olivia is overjoyed by the thought of having young ones around her for whom she would bestow upon all the love she holds in her heart. But things hardly go according to plan when the children arrive. Neil is the only one who is taken with the idea of living with her Aunt Olivia and Uncle Spencer whilst Louisa who is the eldest and looks after the little one Josephina resents the living arrangements with every fiber of her being.

However the less than perfect family somehow strive on and it is when Olivia comes to know just how much Spencer has been withholding from her in their marriage that things turn around. Right about then, an accident that nearly takes away the woman Spencer had unwittingly fallen in love with though he had tried unsuccessfully not to, makes Spencer want to turn their lives around and love and worship the ground his beautiful wife walks on.

But the sense of betrayal that Olivia feels is too strong for her to just forgive, forget and move on. Olivia takes the kids and moves into her brother’s home and tries to live without Spencer who is continually underfoot now professing his love and adoration for her. Spencer has his work cut out for him to convince Olivia that he had wronged her immensely and that he would do everything within his power to have Olivia and the kids back in his life, and that he would continue to show it to her every day of his life.

Whereas romances always feature a hero women would love to dream about and sigh upon, Spencer is far from the idyllic hero. Going bald at his head and with his less than perfect body, Spencer is not the type of hero romance books are made out of. But what makes it all better is the story of how this less than average hero fights everything within him at first to keep Olivia as far away from his as possible making both of them miserable in the process and later how he devotes himself to winning the love of his life back into his arms and into his life once again.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Night In Eden by Candice Proctor

Format: E-booknight in eden
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ivy Books
Hero: Captain Hayden St. John
Heroine: Bryony Wentworth
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: September 28, 1997
Started On: July 30, 2010
Finished On: July 31, 2010

I just love it when a book ends up being a real treasure worth savoring. This book was suggested on one of the discussion forums on Amazon and from the synopsis itself, it sounded like a book that I would love. And from the first page itself, this book captivated me by its wonderful charm and didn’t let go long after I finished the book.

Bryony Wentworth is unjustly  sentenced to spend her life in servitude in New South Wales for the murder of her husband Oliver Wentworth. With her daughter Madeline snatched right out of her arms screaming for her mama, the only thing that keeps Bryony going is the unborn babe inside of her. But life and its cruelty took Philip her son away in death and it nearly drives Bryony mad with grief and anger.

Captain Hayden St. John visits the Parramatta prison to find a nursemaid for his son Simon whose mother had died soon after prematurely delivering Simon. Hayden’s wife Laura was a beautiful delicate woman and her death had changed Hayden into a man colder and harder than he was before. The spirited woman who stands before him who undoubtedly was still grieving for her son stirs something deep within Hayden that he doesn’t want to recognize.

Bryony can’t believe it when she is sold to the tall bronze man who stands before her with a wicked looking knife strapped to his thigh. There is a wildness about him that called out to the woman inside of her, a call Bryony refuses to pay heed to because Bryony was a woman who vowed to uphold the values she had been taught as a child.

Hayden at first refuses to believe that his body is clamoring for the attention of the convict woman who now looks after his son. But when he sees the answering fire that smolders within Bryony’s eyes, Hayden requests Bryony to become his mistress. The attraction that simmers between Bryony and Hayden is so hot that I found myself captivated by the heady magic of it. The final showdown when it all comes to head is a scene not to be missed as it answers every craving the previous pages invoke in the reader.

Its when Hayden makes Bryony his lawfully wedded wife and brings back Madeline from England that stirs up the trouble. Madeline refuses to connect with Bryony accusing her of abandoning her and vehemently hates Hayden for the position he holds in her mother’s life. And the final twist in the story comes when Oliver returns from the dead, wanting to take his wife and child back to England with him.

This is a wonderful story set in the rough Australian terrain that is beautiful and wild at the same time like the love that is described so vividly between two characters that are definitely made for one another. Hayden is a hero that would stir any woman’s dreams and Bryony is a heroine who would win the affection and admiration of the reader. The side characters are well developed, the story a moving one which had me up all night to finish the book.

This book is very highly recommended for all romance lovers out there. If you haven’t already read this story, get a copy and indulge yourself in one of the finest love stories out there.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Touch of Fire by Linda Howard

Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Microsoft Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Western Ladies, Book 3
Publisher: Pocket Books
Hero: Rafe McCay
Heroine: Doctor Annie Parker
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: October 1992
Started On: July 5, 2010
Finished On: July 6, 2010

I am almost done with my re-read phase of novels by Linda Howard. Her novels are so interesting that I just can’t seem to be able to set aside the book once I start reading. This novel is no exception to that and I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the tale of how Rafe McCay and Dr. Annie Parker found ultimate happiness with one another.

Rafe has been on the run for his life for the past four years. Framed for a murder which he didn’t commit, Rafe is a man who has an army of bounty hunters on his trail with a handsome bounty of 10,000 dollars on his head. Though at first Rafe had tried to clear up his name, the murders of the two men who tried to help him has long convinced Rafe that his life would always be spent on the run.

One such bounty hunter, Trahera gets too close for comfort and Rafe is shot hindering his plans though he manages to slow Trahera down by shooting him in the leg. Ten days after Rafe gets shot, delirious with high fever and an infected wound, Rafe comes across the boom town Silver Mesa where blessedly he finds the home of Dr. T. A. Parker.

Annie whose father was a doctor is a woman who is determined that she would practice medicine even if it meant she had to live in towns like the one she was currently residing in. Born during a time when females were merely tolerated and much less when she dares to encroach on territories determined to be for the men, Annie is thrown for a loop when she finds Rafe residing in her home with the smell of infection wafting off of him.

From the moment Annie touches Rafe, though she tries to keep her thoughts professional and her touch brisk, Annie can’t help the jolt of sensation that slithers through her being by the merest touch. Rafe can’t believe it when the lady standing before him proclaims to be the doctor he was looking for and when though her touch soothes him and stirs a fire of longing in him at the same time, Rafe just attributes it towards the fever which is making him delirious.

When Annie proclaims that Rafe is not fit to do anything but rest for at least 3 days, Rafe kidnaps Annie at gun point and makes her leave with him and travels high up into the mountains where he would be able to recuperate without the fear of being caught. Though he knows Annie is frightened out of her wits to be forced to travel in the cold, Rafe admires the strength that keeps Annie from whining and complaining about her fate.

Thrust into the company of the man with the cold silver eyes who makes Annie burns for things she has no clue of, it is a battle that Annie loses when Rafe sets out to seduce the delectable doctor in his arms. Annie knows that she would never again love another man as she has come to love Rafe and surrenders her body and soul to the man who makes her senses sing from pleasure.

But danger is constantly lurking in the shadows and when finally Trahera stumbles upon their hideout by chance, Rafe knows its time to move on and return Annie to where he kidnapped her from. But Annie knows that she would never be able to return to the life as she knew it and Rafe knowing that her safety had also been compromised now decides to take Annie along with him.

Annie and Rafe’s journey through the unforgiving lands is one filled with taut sensuality and danger at every turn. The mystery of how Rafe is on the run for his life is a riveting one and with a hero and heroine you root for right from the start, this is an unbeatable book of romance and adventure.

I always love a good epilogue in any book I read and my favorite part of the book would have to be the epilogue which describes the happily ever after that Rafe and Annie finds with each other.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: His Secondhand Wife by Cheryl St. John

Format: E-book
Read with: Mobipocket Reader & Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Copper Creek Brides, Book 2
Publisher: Harlequin
Hero: Noah Cutter
Heroine: Katherine Cutter
Sensuality: 2
Date of Publication: July 1, 2005
Started On: July 5, 2010
Finished On: July 5, 2010

I don’t ever remember trying out a book by this author previously. I gave this book a ago because this title kept cropping up on various threads in the Amazon discussion forums. Though this novel didn’t meet all my high expectations, it is a sweet and uncomplicated read that I enjoyed after the roller coaster ride of reading After the Night.

Noah Cutter is a man who has severe scars on the insides and the outside. Ever since an accident during his childhood scarred him for the rest of his life, Noah is a man who has resigned himself to living a solitary life till the end of his days.

Salvation comes when his step brother Levi who has always been the outgoing and cheerful one in the family ends up getting killed because of his hooligan lifestyle. It is then Noah comes to know that Levi had taken a bride five months back and that it is up to him to deliver his sister-in-law the news of her husband’s demise.

Katherine is a woman who had always led a hard life. With her father abandoning her mother whilst she was quite young, Katherine had always  been on the receiving end of her mother’s bitterness. Katherine had not known a life where she didn’t have to work all day long just to put a roof above her head and a warm meal on the table. When Noah turns up on her doorstep with the news of Levi’s death, it is as if all her hopes of a better life die along with him. But Noah seeing that she is pregnant with Levi’s babe and witnessing firsthand just how vicious Katherine’s mother was to her, Noah takes her along with him to his ranch so that Katherine and the babe would have a better life.

To Katherine, the world that awaits her is one filled with wonderment. The luxurious life that she finds in Noah’s home makes her realize that everything Levi had done and said were all lies. At Noah’s place, Katherine meets her mother-in-law Estelle to whom she takes an instant disliking to because of the abhorrent way that she treats her stepson.

Once Katherine enters into his life, Noah who has always craved solitude finds himself in need of hearing the constant chatter that Katherine keeps up whenever they meet. Noah is surprised by the fact that Katherine doesn’t find his scars in the least bit revolting and bit by bit starts to feel comfortable around her. Estelle, wanting to keep her grandchild in the family counsels both Katherine and Noah to get married to each other & thus Noah proposes marriage to Katherine.

Noah believes that he would never be able to give Katherine what she truly desires though he knows Katherine is a woman with simple needs. Katherine craves to be needed in the new life she embarks upon with Noah and it is a slow journey for these two towards a happily ever after.

This is a beauty and the beast themed book with an evil stepmother added to the mix who is eloquently put in her place by the beauty.

My favorite part of the book was just how tenderly Noah cared for his wife, unknowingly giving her his love, all the while thinking that he is not worthy enough for his beautiful wife.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sweet Lullaby by Lorraine Heath

Format: E-booksweetlullaby
Read with: Amazon Kindle & Mobipocket Reader
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Homespun, #21
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Jake Burnett
Heroine: Rebecca Anderson
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publications: March 1994
Started On: July 1, 2010
Finished On: July 1, 2010

When I first started off this book last night I was a bit apprehensive because at first the story didn’t seem to be so interesting. Maybe it was because I was too sleepy and tired to give any real thought to the story unfolding but somehow the thought of reading through a story where right from the beginning the hero is in love with the heroine didn’t seem to be that exciting. But boy am I glad I was wrong. This book has got to feature one of the most endearing heroes I have ever come across.

Jake Burnett is a man who has been wronged so much in his life. A mother who sold her body to keep a roof above their heads and a father who never acknowledged his bastard child until his mother passed away when Jake was about 10 years old or so, Jake never knew any happiness or joy in his life even when he was brought home to live with his father. Bearing the brunt of his father’s many beatings and punishments and being made to live in the barn seeking the warmth of the animals to keep him from freezing to death at night with an his elder brother Ethan who continuously found ways to make him more miserable, there didn’t seem to be any end to Jake’s suffering until his father died leaving him with all his property.

At first wanting nothing to do with the property, Jake travels around and works for Rebecca’s father at his ranch. From the very first moment that Jake encounters Rebecca, he falls deeply in love with her. Rebecca is a beauty whilst nobody would call Jake a handsome man. Jake wears the marks of all the hardships that he went through to become the man he is on his body and face.But Jake doesn’t fall in love with Rebecca because she is just a pretty face but because for the first time  in his life, a woman makes him feel welcome and not soon afterwards a deep and lasting friendship is formed between the two.

Jake never dreams of the possibility that one day he may have everything his heart desires. But when Rebecca gets pregnant after sharing a night of passion with the love of her life Brett Meier who has left without knowing that he has fathered a child, Rebecca never envisions that her father who had loved her and spoiled her till now would reject the very idea of the child growing within her.

John Anderson’s, Rebecca’s father’s solution is to get her married to Jake and thus avoid the scandal that would follow if his daughter were to give birth out of wedlock. Jake proposes marriage to Rebecca on his own terms and Rebecca knowing that there wouldn’t be any other man around whom she would feel comfortable with as Jake accepts his proposal and decides to leave with Jake to Texas to make a life of their own which drives John into a fit of anger and disown her the very next day after they get married.

Marriage to Rebecca is a bittersweet experience for Jake who wants nothing more in life than to keep a smile on Rebecca’s face forever. The partnership that forges between the couple and the friendship that grows between them is heartwarming and at times filled my eyes with unshed tears.

As the story slowly unfolds, Rebecca begins to learn of the true feelings her husband holds for her but never being able to return the feelings because she still holds the handsome Brett close to her heart. With Ethan hellbent on vengeance and getting back the land he believes is rightfully his, life on the ranch that Jake and Rebecca build from the grounds up is not one without hardships.

Through the birth of their child Jacob and all the patience and love that Jake bestows on Rebecca, intimacy of another kind starts to unfold between the two, and Jake finally starts to feel happy in his life when Brett comes along and proclaims that he wants Rebecca back in his life. Everything Jake has worked for seems to crash and burn right in front of his eyes when he sees the desolation in his wife’s eyes and the distance that seems to crop up between the two.

It literally broke my heart into pieces to read about how Jake lets Rebecca and their son Jacob that he had come to love and adore leave so that Rebecca would find true happiness with the man she loves. I felt like howling when the pages seeped with the pain and anguish in Jake’s heart at his immense sacrifice.

However, once Rebecca leaves to start a life with Brett, she starts to realize that even though she doesn’t know it, she has come to love her brown eyed husband who stirs a slow simmering fire deep within her every time they come together. I was prepared to hate Rebecca for the pain she causes Jake when she readily leaves with Brett but the pain and loneliness that she goes through during the separation and the fact that she refuses to give her body to Brett until her divorce from Jake is final redeemed her in front of my eyes.

This book brings a whole new meaning to the saying, if you love something let it go and if it comes back its yours. I don’t think I would be able to put into words just how wonderful a book this has been and if you really want a romance that can play with your emotions and make you cry and laugh this is a must read.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Parting Gifts by Lorraine Heath

Format: E-bookpartinggifts
Read with: Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Homespun, #30
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Hero: Jesse Lawson
Heroine: Maddie Sherwood
Sensuality: 2.5
Date of Publication: December 1994
Started On: June 29, 2010
Finished On: June 30, 2010

Even as I write this review, I still feel the remnants of the kaleidoscope of emotions that coursed through me as I finished this book. With a degree in psychology in hand, Lorraine Heath creates the most beautiful and realistic characters that have such depth that you can’t help but feel for them and relate with them. Though this is the first time I am reviewing a book by the author, I have previously read a lot of books by her and loved each story as it worked is magic over me.

This story is no different and right from the very start, Maddie Sherwood, who is at the very end of her wits as to what to do for survival finally succumbs to offering her body in return for shelter and food clutches at your heart. Rescue from the fate to which she had resigned herself to comes in the form of Charles Lawson who bids a hopping 1000 dollars to be the man who would initiate her & take her virginity.

However Maddie soon realizes that ravishing her is the furthest thing on Charles mind and before she knows it, she has agreed to marry him and care for his three children Taylor, Hannah and Aaron who settle deep within your heart from the very first encounter. And when Maddie first tumbles into the arms of Jesse Lawson, Charles’s older brother, Maddie realizes just how much she has agreed to sacrifice and forgo in the marriage of convenience to which she has entered with Charles.

From the very first moment Jesse looks into Maddie’s whiskey brown eyes he is a goner. Though he tries to fight the immense awareness he feels for someone he should not, you truly understand the meaning of the term “the heart wants what it wants regardless of the consequences” when you feel the cascading emotions that passes between Jesse and Maddie as the story progresses. While Maddie too yearns for the strength of Jesse’s embrace, she knows that deep within her heart she could never be disloyal to the man who had given her his family and affection.

What Maddie has no inkling of is the fact that Charles is a man who is near death, and the fact that he wanted his motherless children to know the warm and loving embrace of a mother was the reason why he had married Maddie in the first place. And Maddie holds close to her heart a secret which could destroy what she has come to love and hold dear to her heart.

Its hard to put into words how reading this story made me feel. Jesse’s loyalty towards his brother and towards doing what’s right made me admire him and fall in love with him along with Maddie. And Maddie’s courage in resisting the temptation of embracing the man she loved with every fiber of her being and being faithful to her husband made me realize the strength in her which Charles saw the night he rescued her from a life of prostitution. And Charles, the man who was insightful enough to know what his brother wanted and needed more than anything in the world and being man enough to leave Maddie to him made my throat tighten with emotion.

This is a book that packs an intense wallop of emotion and a page turner at that. I would advice to keep a box of tissues ready because towards the ending, its all you can do to keep from crying at turns with sadness, hope, happiness and ultimate joy.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

outstandingread

 

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Surrender by Pamela Clare

Format: E-book
Read with:  Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: MacKinnon’s Rangers, Book 1
Publisher:
Hero: Iain MacKinnon
Heroine: Lady Anne Burness Campbell
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: February 28, 2006
Started On: June 26, 2010
Finished On: June 26, 2010

Reading Pamela Clare’s Ride the Fire had me interested in reading other novels by the author. Pamela Clare receives rave reviews on Amazon and the two books I have read of hers to date have convinced me that she is an author worthy of being included in the auto-buy list from now onwards.

Surrender is the first book in the series of MacKinnon Rangers, a handpicked cadre of warriors, who had the fierce courage of their Scots forefathers, combined with the stealth and cunning of the Indians who lived beside them in the wilderness. Iain being the eldest with two younger brothers Morgan and Connor, Morgan’s story already published in December 2008.

Iain is a man who has been forced to serve the British crown in order to save his life and that of his brothers. The one thing which Iain craves for more than anything is his freedom, a man who has simple dreams of starting a family with a woman he loves and taking care of the farm which was his father’s legacy to his sons. However, Iain knows that until the bloody war that they are in the midst of is through there is no hope of him ever gaining his freedom.

It is during one of their intelligence gathering sessions that Iain comes across Anne on the brink of being attacked, raped and murdered by a group from the Abenaki tribe. Anne is a woman who has been wronged by her own family whom she has held dear until she was branded a thief and sold into servitude for a period of 14 years. With a hard and desolate life ahead of her, Anne knew that there is no hope for her dream of starting a family of her own ever being realized with her body bearing the mark of the false accusation which she had fallen under.

Iain rescues Anne at peril to his own soldiers and at the risk of being punished or tried in a martial court for disobeying orders. It is during the first couple of days that Iain treks through the forests with a fatigued and injured Anne towards the safe haven of Fort Elizabeth that the first stirrings of attraction towards each other takes hold.

Though Anne knows that the barbaric warrior who has rescued her is not what she has been brought up thinking a gentleman should be, she can’t help but admire and respect this man who has risked everything to help her in her time of need. Though his gentle touch that leaves her senses all jumbled up makes her wary, for the first time since she was falsely accused of thievery, Anne begins to feel safe.

Ms. Clare cleverly weaves a tale of war, political manipulations, breathless passion and love with characters that you root for right from the very beginning. Action packed with never a dull moment this book left me with humongous respect for those who fight the terrible wars waged in this world just so the rest of us could be safe and sound in our homes with our loved ones.

Though Ride the Fire is my favorite of the two novels that I have managed to read from the author so far, this novel itself is a page turner which you wouldn’t want to put down once you start reading.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Daniel’s Bride by Linda Lael Miller

Format: E-book
Read with:  Amazon Kindle
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hero: Daniel Beckham
Heroine: Jolie McKibben
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: September 1, 1992
Started On: June 24, 2010
Finished On: June 25, 2010

I have been following and reading up stories on the theme where heroes were previously married or dote on someone else apart from the heroine with whom the hero has to enter into a marriage mostly for conveniences sake. Daniel’s Bride is one such novel, one when I started reading I had the inkling that I had previously read it and halfway through I knew with certainty it was so.

Jolie is about to be hanged for a crime which she didn’t commit when Daniel saves her from her fate by agreeing to marry her then and there. Jolie realizes that she would rather get married to a total stranger than die and pay for a crime she never even knew was happening until it was a trifle bit too late. Daniel marries her and whisks her off to his farm where Jolie discovers that her brand new husband is a man who has vowed never to love again.

Daniel has been grieving for his dead wife and two children, one who had died without even being born into the world. Daniel knows that he needs children to continue the family line and it was with this practicality in mind that he saved beautiful Jolie, who unnervingly had the power to skim right through his thoughts no matter how hard he tries.

Its a hard life for men and women back in the 1800’s and when you read through the book, you find yourself in awe of those who have lived under such hardships in the past. The preparation of a simple meal back then took hours and though the description makes one think Jolie embraces the hard life effortlessly, I felt twinges in my back from just reading about the backbreaking work she does on a daily basis.

Right from the start Jolie is drawn to the quiet enigmatic man that Daniel is. A man of few words, Daniel introduces her to the wonders of sensuality and before long she is in love with Daniel. Daniel doesn’t like the fact that he continues to be enchanted with his wife and decides to send her along to San Fransisco so that she may start a new life as a divorcee once the harvesting period is over.

But the best laid plans have a way of getting over one’s head as two children who have no where else to turn to end up living with Daniel and Jolie. Little by little, the rigid structure Daniel has built around his heart starts to crumble, but it is a battle that is hard won for Jolie. And to make matters worse, the outlaws who actually committed the crime for which Jolie was prosecuted for starts turning up around the farm when Daniel is not around, keeping Jolie at a loss as to how to get rid of them before they destroy the family that she has found for herself and holds so dear.

This story is one that moves slowly, like a cup of hot tea warms your insides on a cold day. Sometimes I got frustrated with Daniel because he rarely shows how he feels towards Jolie and the ending of the book too seemed a bit empty to me because maybe I was wishing that Daniel would profess his undying love to the woman who would walk to the ends of the earth for him. But anyhow, its a good story which makes me more appreciative of all those gadgets that eases the hardships that we too might have had to face if it weren’t for their invention.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | BooksOnBoard | Kobo

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