"By Arrangement"
Based on rave reviews I bought my first Madeline Hunter
novel BY ARRANGEMENT -- her debut and the first book of
her medieval series. I was not disappointed in the least
as the series as a whole was fabulous, totally stand-alone
yet connected by the main characters. This first book was
an invigorating story, extremely well researched, and
packed with enough suspense to keep you turning the pages
way into the wee hours of the morning. Lady Christiana Fitzwaryn, a nobly born young woman and
ward of the King had been betrothed but not to the handsome
Knight of the Realm she believed herself to be in love
with. No, horror of horrors, her guardian King Edward III
betrothed her to a mere merchant. Though with time she
would discover David de Abnydon to be a most unusual
merchant! Christiana was livid -- insulted that her status would be
devastatingly lowered by a marriage so beneath her class.
Her brother Morvan was also furious, but without wealth,
powerless to stop such an unusual arrangement made by his
king! David de Abnydon was an intelligent and very wealthy self-
made man. He hadn't planned to marry, but if negotiating a
bride, sight unseen was the price to get what he was truly
after -- so be it! He never thought that with Christiana,
he'd be so lucky to have found a treasure in what he
initially thought would be a liability! The author injected a nice bit of intrigue here while this
reviewer tried to fathom why the very handsome, very
wealthy David de Abnydon would have 'bought' a bride with
apparently nothing to gain. Christiana had no dower and
the phenomenally high bride price - sight unseen -
certainly piqued my interest. Now for a medieval period
this was certainly an intriguing and very unusual plot
line. For this reviewer I found this to be a highly imaginative
and creative debut that catapulted this author into the
spotlight of the leading 'who's who' of the historical
romance genre authors. The plot was historically well
researched and the level of sensuality in the romance area
was superb. Christiana was dealt with realistically. First
as the insulted noblewoman, then by the author's deft touch
she was gently brought around to realize her great
fortune. It was such a joy to see her finally seeing David
as the caring, gentle and divine lover, who was more than
just a merchant, but a very real, devastatingly handsome
and caring man! All the secondary characters as well as
the leads were very well fleshed out, their motivations
clear and the portrayal of life during medieval period
perfectly rendered. When initially released this landed on
my 'keeper' shelf to be re-read many times over! Lucky
for the romance enthusiast that you now have a chance to
snag a copy now that it is being re-issued. VERY highly
recommended. Marilyn Rondeau -- RIO, Reviewers International Organization
Reviewed by Marilyn Rondeau
Posted May 24, 2006
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