"Intimate and passionate romance"

After the demise of his father, Stuart Asygarth returns from Russia to succeed as the new Viscount Mount Villiars only to discover his uncle Leonard has snatched away a cherished statue from him. When Yorkshire sheep-farmer Emma Hotchkiss extracts a payment from him through chicanery for the sheep his carriage ran into, he decides to threaten her into a scheme to hoodwink his uncle into surrendering the statue. The game of betrayal and deception turns personal when Stuart seduces Emma into bondage and saunters into her heart....

Ms. Ivory's latest historical romance extrapolates her style of anachronistic prose and focused character study. UNTIE MY HEART is heady seduction and lush passion that sizzles with erotic virtuoso from her spicy descriptions which assails the senses. Her intelligent and charming protagonists are sprouting constant surprises and revelations through intimate sharing of their personal lives and thoughts that gives readers an insightful understanding and room for budding attachment. Emma is a widow haunted by the drunkard of a husband; Stuart is disillusioned by his father's abuse. Their relationship brims with warmth, compassion and the healing of wounded souls that is starkly poignant.

So much so that it makes you forgive the uneven pacing and the lack of sub-characters in her novel. Ms. Ivory's characters are so thoroughly developed through their revelations that you feel keenly associated with them. It's as if they untied their hearts and let you enter their wondrous private world of love and redemption.

Reviewed by Desmond CHan
Posted December 14, 2002

Summary

Stuart Aysgarth, dark, exotic, rich, and powerful has just arrived from Russia after a twelve year absence from England. He returns to much turmoil over the title itself--his uncle has convinced others that Stuart, the son and heir, doesn't exist. But nothing proves so challenging as the turmoil resulting from his run-in with a local sheep farmer, Emma Hotchkiss, who will have fairness from him, even if she has to steal it.