"Enthralling Historical"

While author Karen Robards has successfully ventured back and forth from the sub genres of historical romance and romantic suspense, her primary strength still lies in historical romance.

Continuing in the saga of the Banning sisters, Ms. Robards explores the life of middle sister, Lady Claire Banning Lynes. It is 1813 England, near Claire's home, Hayleigh Castle, when she finds herself hunted by would-be kidnappers and clinging to the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean. But her descent to the beach is fraught with disaster, as she is mistaken for a spy and captured by Colonel Hugh Battancourt. At first reluctant to believe that Claire is not the sought after Sophie Towbridge, changed circumstances force him to reevaluate his opinion.

Rarely do historical romance authors introduce heroines who fall in love with someone else while still entered into an unhappy marriage. Ms. Robards has deftly handled this matter, rendering Claire a believable character, as a young woman who tries her best to resist Hugh's charms, though her marriage to David is a loveless one.

But Claire's resistance begins to wear thin as she is forced to share Hugh's cabin as they make the Channel crossing to France. While romantic tension mounts quickly in their swaying cabin, the tension of a war torn country is all too apparent when the ship reaches French shores.

Sensual love scenes, undercurrents of espionage, and the hope for another installment in this series, will leave the reader searching for future and past releases by this powerful writer of historical romance.

Reviewed by Sheri Melnick
Posted September 28, 2002