"Great romantic fantasy"

In 531 on the island Kelmere of the Kingdom of Isles, Picts ambush the royal party as they near their keep. Prince Aedan, heir to the High King throne, is stabbed trying to save his younger sister. When Aedan next awakens he finds himself battered in a strange bed and room. He meets his hostess Ione who brought him from the sea to her island, something she has never done before. Aedan realizes he is on Kell, the legendary forbidden island. Ione explains that they are the only living souls on the isle and that she is the Siren of Kell.

Ione proves she is a mermaid by taking him to the sea before they make love. Though he wants to stay with her, Aedan builds a vessel because he needs to go home to help his people. She says she will die if he leaves Kell, but he insists curse or not he must do the right thing. However, the betrayal he finds at home will surely devastate him almost as much as leaving behind the female he loves.

The key to this delightful historical romantic fantasy is that the lead couple seems genuine, critical for the siren- mermaid to come across as a real person that blends nicely into the Dark Ages in the Scottish Isles. The story line is fun to follow regardless of the isle that the action occurs on. Fans will appreciate this charming adult version of the Little Mermaid and readers would like to see more stories set in this realm.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted May 4, 2004

"Three seductive love stories, three passionate couples, all linked by one of the most romantic myths of all..."

Summary

Shana Abé has entranced countless readers with her passion- filled novels of adventure, intrigue, and romance. Now the author of The Secret Swan delivers a gift from the sea: three hauntingly beautiful tales connected by a legend, a locket, and a love beyond time.

531 a.d.: The tiny island of Kell is said to be enchanted, inhabited by an extraordinary creature who comforts shipwrecked sailors passing into the next world. Prince Aedan of the Isles believes in no such nonsense?until he awakens on Kell itself and meets the sensuous siren who rescued him from the sea.

1721: Ronan MacMhuirich, Earl of Kell, is the target of an unlikely assassin: Leila, a mysterious woman from an exotic land. But his irresistibly beautiful would-be slayer is in just as much danger as Ronan when she falls for this man with a magic of his own.

2004: What do you do when you inherit a Scottish island you never knew existed?and find yourself pursued by a handsome stranger who wants to buy it from you? That?s what happens to Ruri Kell when she accepts Iain MacInnes?s invitation to visit her birthright, and listens to a proposition as sinfully tempting as everything else about him.