Ecstasy’s Fury by Linda Benjamin is a Civil War-era historical Zebra romance featuring a strong female protagonist determined to become a doctor and her tumultuous relationship with a Union captain.
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Ecstasy’s Fury by Linda Benjamin
Rating: 
Published: 1982
Illustrator: Walter Popp
Imprint or Line: Zebra Historical Romance
Published by: Kensington
Genres: Historical Romance, Civil War Romance
Pages: 480
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Amazon
Reviewed by: Blue Falcon
TOTAL SPOILER ALERT ⚠
The Book
This review is of Ecstasy’s Fury by Linda Benjamin.
The Plot
Ecstasy’s Fury begins in Virginia in 1864, during the Civil War. Dr. Ben Hamilton works tirelessly to help wounded and injured Union soldiers. Assisting him in this quest is his daughter, Eustacia, a.k.a. Stacey, 17, the book’s heroine. Stacey wants to be a doctor, just like her father.
One day, Ben sends Stacey to get some medical supplies. She meets Union Captain Joshua Steele, the book’s hero, on her trip. They make love almost immediately after the meeting. Joshua soon leaves Stacey, telling her that the encounter was a mistake.
Fast forward seven years.
Stacey, now 24, lives in New Mexico with her uncle, Sam Curtis, a doctor. (Both Ben and Stacey’s mother, Beatrice, have passed.) Stacey is not a licensed doctor yet but does medical work, much to the town’s dismay, especially Martin Randolph, the bank president and Stacey’s “fiancé.”
Rumors of Joshua’s demise, however, are greatly exaggerated. Joshua is alive and living in Colorado, where his mission is to find and kill a former friend who betrayed him. Joshua travels to New Mexico, and it is there that he meets Stacey again.
The path to love is fraught with problems for Joshua and Stacey. Among the issues they have to deal with are Joshua’s vendetta against his former friend and Joshua’s health issues. Plus, there is a vengeful killer who vows revenge after Joshua kills the other man’s stepbrother.
Eventually, Joshua finds the man he wants to kill, disposes of him and the vengeful killer, and he and Stacey realize they love each other and have their Happily Ever After.
The Upside
Stacey is a strong character. I love strong females who know what they want and are willing to work for it, and Stacey wants to be a doctor.
Joshua is driven by his hatred, and Ms. Benjamin does a good job describing his feelings throughout the book.
The Downside
Character development is lacking. Even though the characters are strong in their own way, Ms. Benjamin didn’t make me care for them as much as I wanted to.
Ms. Benjamin’s writing style for Ecstasy’s Fury is short and choppy.
Sex
The love scenes are mild and nowhere near hot or arousing.
Heat Level
There are on-page love scenes, which makes the steam factor qualify as lukewarm.
Violence
There is a great deal of violence in Ecstasy’s Fury. There are shootings, killings, three attempted rapes of Stacey, multiple assaults, and threats of violence. The violence is mildly graphic.
Bottom Line on Ecstasy’s Fury
Linda Benjamin’s Ecstasy’s Fury is a very average book. It’s not bad enough to be truly horrible, but not compelling enough to be good.
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| Overall: | 2.3 |
Synopsis
Stacey Hamilton had eyes as green as an aspen, hair as golden as sunstruck wheat–and a spirit as wild as the wind that swept the New Mexico canyons. It was a time when women could be either midwives or housewives, but Stacey was determined to be a doctor–and still be a woman who would know love’s splendor and a man’s protective embrace.
Fierce and handsome Joshua Steele was riding the trail and had no time for women. But when he saw the sensuous lady doctor, his blood pounded with the need for her–a need that could only be cured by a night of blazing rapture. Though she craved endless love, Stacey was drugged with desire. Joshua drove her beyond the bounds of reason, and into the raging whirlwind or Ecstasy’s Fury.
Ecstasy’s Fury by Linda Benjamin
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