Nothing in Common

Romantic_L_eads Recommendations and reviews of romantic fiction

Nothing in Common

June 1999

AN IRISH BALLAD, a medieval tragedy and a New England whale of a tale _ this selection of hits has nothing in common but touching love combined with great writing.

Briar Rose

By Kimberley Cates (Sonnet – June 1999, $8.99)

Fans of tender loving heroines and sad wounded heroes will enjoy the uncomfortable beauty of Briar Rose. In a contemporary, this hero would just visit a shrink, but in the wonders of historical fiction he gets Rhiannon Fitzgerald, a lonely healer and believer in fairies. She is traveling gypsy fashion through the wilds of Ireland when she happens upon a wounded English Captain Lionel Redmayne. Unlike the wild animals she usually tends, this patient is dangerous and heartless. As he heals Rhiannon tries her best to heal the wounds within his soul designed to prevent him caring.

Lionel Redmayne is a great example of the tortured hero and the redemption of an abused human soul.

Bride of Trouville

By Lyn Stone (Harlequin – 1999, $5.99)

A spin-off of her medieval The Knight’s Bride, Stone has created a perfect heroine to match the arrogant, love-starved Comte de Trouville.

Edouard Gillet has returned to Scotland to avoid problems in the Court of France. It would serve his interests to have an estate away from France. If in the bargain he acquired a widow as beautiful as the betrothed who abandoned him four years earlier, so much the better. He meets the perfect Lady Anne of Baincroft and decides it will be a love match.

Unfortunately, their perfect union is marred by Lady Anne’s fear of Edouard’s need for perfection. Her son cannot meet this impossible standard and she must protect him at all costs.

Likable and rational characters that fit comfortably in their time and settings are a hallmark of Stone’s work.

Beyond the Sea

By Mary Kingsley (Topaz – June 1999, $7.99)

Yet another woman has ended up on a ship _ this time a whaling ship out of New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1871. Whaling being a definite taboo subject in the politically correct 1990’s, Kingsley showed courage and capability in presenting an interesting time in New England history.

Spoiled, plump Abigail Palmer is left with next to nothing upon her father’s death. She decides to go to sea when the only captain she could get for her rumor-ruined whaling ship is a known drunk. Captain Nathaniel Howland lost everything when he allowed his drinking to destroy his last command. He needs this ship and this voyage to redeem his reputation with the whalers of New Bedford. Abigail cannot fully trust Nathaniel but relies on his protection of her from unwanted attentions of her childhood friend now captaining his own ship in the whaling fleet. As these two characters are stripped of their defenses in the unforgiving Arctic, they discover the essence of what they want from life and each other.

Kingsley provides realistic, riveting settings and situations. Her plot is thoroughly researched and miraculously maintains a delicate balance_ true to the time period yet compassionate _without being preachy.

Janine Taylor is a Halifax based writer. She may be reached at romanticleads@hotmail.com

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