"A Great Anthology"

TAPESTRY is a collection of all new stories by Lynn Kurland, Madeline Hunter, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Karen Marie Moning. In each of the four novellas a tapestry is a focal point in one way or another. Usually one or two stories in an anthology stand out, but in Tapestry, all four of the stories were great.

The first story is To Kiss in the Shadows by Lynn Kurland. After the deaths of the members of her entire family, Lady Lianna Grasleigh has been brought to the medieval British court of King Henry. She is now the wealthiest heiress in England, but the ladies of the court treat her with extreme contempt due to the scarring of her face from pox. Lianna hides her face and her heart behind the tapestry needlework that is always with her. Jason of Artane is a knight whose reputation is dark, due to his association with the reclusive Lord Christopher of Blackmour. Jason does not seem to notice the scars on Lianna's face, and when the other ladies of the court poison her food, he cares for her during her illness.

In An Interrupted Tapestry by Madeline Hunter, Lady Giselle has only a cherished family tapestry to remember her family's former honor. Giselle and her brother Reginald are the only family members left, and Reginald has been kidnapped for ransom. Giselle has no one to turn to in London except Andreas von Bremen, a German merchant and member of the Hanseatic League, an alliance of German traders. Andreas had lived briefly with Giselle's family ten years earlier, and both of them find that feelings long buried may resurface.

Dragonswan by Sherrilyn Kenyon is the story of historian Dr. Channon MacRae, whose fascination with a unique museum tapestry began as a child and led her to a Ph.D. The tapestry spans ten feet and tells the story of a dragon from its birth to a battle with a warrior. No one knows where the story originated, but Channon is still fascinated as an adult. As she stands in the museum examining the masterpiece she meets Sebastian, a most intriguing man, drop-dead gorgeous, with a unique faded green tatoo spiraling and curling over half of his face, and the most singular greenish-gold eyes. Sebastian draws Channon into a long-past world, where the secrets of the mysterious tapestry can be revealed.

In Into the Dreaming by Karen Marie Moning a Scottish warrior from 928 AD is captive in the land of Fairy, held by the evil Unseelie King. Aedan MacKinnon has been tricked by the evil king into giving five years of his life for the lives of his clansmen. But the evil king has not told Aedan that five years in his kingdom are five hundred mortal years. At the end of that time Aedan will have one month in his home, and if he cannot find love and be loved in return, he will never be free of his torment. So the Queen of Fairy and her court weave a magic tapestry with the image of Aedan MacKinnon to draw the right woman to him, and save him. Jane Sillee is a modern-day writer, haunted by dreams of a dark, handsome Scotsman. Jane receives a strange package which contains a tapestry depicting her dream Scotsman in perfect detail. Jane goes to sleep to dream of her Highlander, and awakens in Scotland in 1428.

This is an anthology to get and keep. Every one of the stories was a treat, and the characters were compelling and larger than life.

Reviewed by Cynthia Meidinger
Posted August 7, 2002

Featuring: "To Kiss in the Shadows" by Lynn Kurland [Jason de Piaget and Lianna of Grasleigh] - Jason of Artane has his heart set on a noble quest, but his plans change when he meets a mysterious young woman who hides behind her tapestry frame yet manages to capture his heart.

Summary

Woven from the color and pageantry of the Middle Ages...

From the burning passions of bold and beautiful women...

From the brave hearts of strong and courageous men...

TAPESTRY

Welcome to the world of chivalry and honor, of danger and desire, of legend, and of love... These four original novellas bring to life all the romance and adventure of the Middle Ages, with the common thread of a rich medieval tapestry woven through each tale by an acclaimed master of historical romance...