Tag: great villain

Historical Romance Review: Lovespell by Deana James

By IntrovertReader on May 23, 2021 • ( 1 Comment )

black steel helmet near black and gray handle sword

*Lovespell,* Deana James, Zebra, 1984, Pino cover art

4 1/2 stars

*** Spoiler alert ***

Lovespell is yet another great romance by the eclectic Deana James, who wrote wonderful, complex novels like Captive Angel.

The Plot

Gillian is an English fletcher who poses as twins, the male Gil & female Gillian. A Norman knight named Brian is badly beaten and his armor has been stolen by an errant squire. He is rescued by Gil who cares for him and helps him heal. Brian is a man often too proud for his own good. His honor demands he must pay recompense to Gil for saving his life so he helps him/her make arrows. To satisfy his life debt, Brian must help Gillian bring the arrows to arm the English, the enemies of his people.

In due time Brian figures out Gil’s true identity. He falls for her, as she does for him. This is just the beginning of their love story.

There are many misadventures along the way, as a cast of multi-faceted secondary characters soon takes the stage, adding more drama, romance, and tragic elements to this story. The man who stole Brian’s knight returns, and he’s not quite the evil character Brian first thought he was.... Read more “Historical Romance Review: Lovespell by Deana James”

Historical Romance Review: Lady of Fire by Anita Mills

By IntrovertReader on May 18, 2021 • ( 2 Comments )

*Lady of Fire*, Anita Mills, Onyx, 1987, **Gregg Gulbronson** cover art

“I Roger…do swear on this sacred relic that I will be Eleonore of Nantes’ man, to champion her causes and give her her justice, yea, even to the end of my life.”
LADY OF FIRE

SPOILER ALERT ⚠

5 Stars

Anita Mills’ Lady of Fire is one of my most beloved historical romance novels. I fully admit that it has its flaws, especially toward the end. Even so, I adore it.

The Plot

Lady of Fire takes place in Normandy, not long after William the Bastard has conquered England. Eleonor of Nantes is a renowned beauty, hungered by many, and bartered as a political pawn. William’s son Henry desires her as his wife, but it’s the man she believes to be her half-brother, Roger Fitz Hugh, for whom she’s destined.

Roger knows Eleonor is not his sister and has always loved her. Eleonor doesn’t know, yet she desires Roger. This fact may be off-putting to some. But, knowing from the outset that they’re not siblings, it was easy for me to overlook this semi-incest.

For complete disclosure, let it be known that I love blond heroes.... Read more “Historical Romance Review: Lady of Fire by Anita Mills”

Historical Romance Review: A Lady Bought with Rifles by Jeanne Williams

By IntrovertReader on April 11, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

*A Lady Bought with Rifles*, Jeanne Williams, **Pocket Books**, 1977, Ron Lesser cover art

[He] might after a season let me go, but I had a frightening dread that if he possessed me long enough, he would drain me till I became his thing, his creature—that I wouldn’t go, even if he allowed it…
A LADY BOUGHT WITH RIFLES

Spoiler Alert ⚠

3 1/2 Stars

A Lady Bought With Rifles is an amalgam of great writing and stupid characterization. I was extremely frustrated reading it because it could have been one of those legendary bodice rippers that old-school fans would be talking about to this day.

The Heroine

Upon her father’s death, the British-raised Miranda is called back to her father’s ranch in Mexico. There she meets two strikingly different American men, Trace, a tall, dark, and mysterious pistolero, and Court Saunders, the foreman of Miranda’s newly inherited mines and lover to her resentful half-sister, Reina. Blond, panther-like, and roguish, his sensual presence is almost irresistible.

The sisters both inherit the ranch. Miranda, being a foreigner, is aghast by the circumstances of the ranch and mines, particularly how the indigenous Mexicans are treated, how the evil Reina treats her, how gorgeous hunk Court pursues her…and just about every other thing she can find to complain about, rightly or wrongly.... Read more “Historical Romance Review: A Lady Bought with Rifles by Jeanne Williams”

Historical Romance Review: The Innocent by Bertrice Small

By IntrovertReader on April 9, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

*The Innocent*, Bertrice Small, Ballantine, 1999, Elaine Duillo cover art

SPOILER FREE REVIEW 🙂

1 Star

The Innocent, The Evil And The Boring

It was a bad sign that Bertrice Small’s The Innocent features one of her dullest romance covers ever. The lone positive was that it was designed as one last created by legendary artist Elaine Duillo for her dear friend Bertrice.

Taking a break from Small’s usual romances where the heroine is captured by some salacious sultan and enslaved in his harem, The Innocent is a rather ho-hum medieval. The heroine is a former nun named Eleonore, who goes by the ridiculous name Elf. Elf is a paragon of virtue, saintliness, and sweetness and is totally dull. She is made to marry Ranulf, an equally boring character who patiently introduces Elf to the arts of love.

There’s an evil villain, a hired killer, who falls in love with Elf for her purity and goodness, but all I could wonder was WHY? She, like most Small heroines, is perfect beyond belief.

Ok, I lied when I said the reason behind the cover was the sole positive aspect of this book. The villainess, Isleen, is such a caricature of slutty evilness, she’s hysterical.... Read more “Historical Romance Review: The Innocent by Bertrice Small”