"A fitting ending to the Skye O'Malley Legacy!"

I must say as much as I've enjoyed the Skye O'Malley series, I'm very sad to see this last book being written, but what a fitting tribute to Madame Skye and her progeny. This book made me laugh and it made me cry.

Bertrice Small broke this book up into three distinct parts. One section is Fancy's story, one is Diana's story and one is Cynara's, all three are Jasmine's granddaughters. So we get three stories within one story, a big bang for the buck! We are also treated to bits and pieces of the ancestral history from Jasmine, Skye's granddaughter.

Fancy lived in America and had married well, or so she thought until she was accused of murdering her husband on their wedding night. She's immediately hustled off to her grandmother Jasmine in England. There she meets her two cousins Diana and Cynara. All three not only look like triplets but they all bear a striking resemblance to their ancestor, Skye. Fancy goes to court and catches the eye of King Charles. She proceeds to have an affair with him but she knows that nothing can ever come of it as he's already married. She only knows she never wants to marry again but will she change her mind?

Diana falls in love with identical twin brothers but knows she will have to choose one of the brothers. The problem is which one will she choose? That's when she decides to secretly test both brothers in an effort to find out which of them loves her for herself. That, in itself, is quite a task but she's up to it and knows she will finally find her happiness.

Cynara is more of a challenge. Her nickname is Cyn and she's decided that she must have Harry Summers, the Earl of Summersfield whose nickname is Wickedness. She does everything she can to attract his attention, but his childhood and his parents' ill fated marriage have put him off marriage and high born women in particular. Can Cyn finally change his mind? Only time will tell.

I read this book in a matter of hours. I simply could not put it down. I am sad to see the end of the O'Malley legacy but I have hopes that maybe Bertrice Small will see fit to write Mair Leslie's story when the time is right! As always, I eagerly look forward to Bertrice Small's next story!

Reviewed by Kathy Boswell
Posted December 26, 2002

Summary

Vixens is the tale of three of Skye O'Malley's great-great-granddaughters. Fancy Devers, Fortune and Kieran's youngest child, who arrives in England surrounded by scandal and mystery. Diana Leslie, Patrick and Flanna's daughter, who finds herself caught between identical twin brothers. And Cynara Stuart, Charlies, the not-so-royal Stuart's last child; a headstrong girl who falls in love with the wrong man. Or is he? These three beauties, first cousins, set the court of King Charles II on its ear in their determination to find their happily-ever-afters.