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Historical Romance Review: Hearts Enchanted by Penelope Neri

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book review historical romance
Hearts Enchanted by Penelope Neri
Rating: four-stars
Published: 1984
Illustrator: Pino
Imprint or Line: Zebra Historical Romance
Published by: Kensington
Genres: Historical Romance, Medieval Romance
Pages: 574
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks, Open Library (BORROW FOR FREE)
Reviewed by: Blue Falcon


Historical Romance Review: Hearts Enchanted by Penelope Neri

TOTAL SPOILER ALERT ⚠

The Book

Penelope Neri is one of the more versatile authors I’ve read from Kensington’s Zebra imprint. Neri’s first two books were set in England in the 1700s. Her third book was set in 19th-century Hawaii. Her fourth, Hearts Enchanted, takes place in Medieval England in the 13th century.

For the most part, the books have worked, some better than others. Hearts Enchanted is one of Penelope Neri’s “better than others.”

The Plot

Hearts Enchanted begins with an introduction to the hero, Brian Fitzwarren, a part-French, part-English, part Welsh Lord. He is gifted by King Edward I with land called Striguil, which is on the border between England and Wales. It is there that Brian meets the heroine, Lady Maegan Ruthven.

Brian actually doesn’t meet Maegan, he spies on her bathing and immediately becomes attracted to her, despite the fact that their people are at war with each other. This comes to a head when Maegan’s father and three brothers are captured making war against an English Lord. King Edward I summons Maegan and gives her an ultimatum. She must marry Brian or her male relatives will be killed. Naturally, Maegan agrees to the marriage, although she hopes to leave Brian eventually.

As their marriage goes on, Maegan and Brian are in lust with each other–they’re clearly sexually attracted to each other–but they don’t want to fall in love, as both have been hurt by lost loves. Maegan’s fiancee died. Brian was betrayed by the woman he previously loved, who married his stepbrother for power and wealth. Maegan and Brian also don’t trust each other because of their ethnic backgrounds and Maegan’s belief that Brian is unfaithful to her. He’s not, by the way.

The woman Maegan believes Brian is having an affair with, Lady Moina, is his cousin. She is trying to help Brian regain his rightful title and lands from his evil stepmother, stepbrother, and faithless ex-fiancee. Eventually, Brian regains his lands, title, and most importantly, the love of Maegan as they realize that they truly do love each other, and that overcomes their initial hatred and mistrust of the other person.

The Upside

Hearts Enchanted is a good book, with lots of chemistry.

The Downside

There are some formulaic parts. Namely the fact that, once again, Ms. Neri puts the heroine in peril when she has to be rescued by the hero. This is something that happens in virtually every one of Ms. Neri’s books. This is rather annoying as her female characters are pretty strong women mentally. Yet they always seem to be dumb enough to get into a perilous situation that they need their men to get them out of.

Sex

Quite a few semi-hot sex scenes, but none approach erotica.

Violence

There are a few violent moments, but none too graphic.

Bottom Line on Hearts Enchanted

Hearts Enchanted by Penelope Neri is a nice book for those who like medieval romance. 

Rating Report Card
Plot
4
Characters
4
Writing
4
Chemistry
4
Fun Factor
4
Cover
4.5
Overall: 4.1

Synopsis

PASSIONS ENFLAMED
The moment Lord Brian Fritzwarren saw the saucy, slender wench bathing in the river he could not staunch his desire. Her fresh, sun-warmed skin beckoned for his touch. Her flawless, seductive face invited him to rain fiery kisses along her delicate curves. That she was his enemy’s daughter no longer mattered. The masterful lord resolved that somehow he would claim the irresistible beauty as his own.

WILLS ENTHRALLED
While she frolicked in the sparkling water, tawny-haired Maegan felt she was being watched… then she met the smoldering gleam in Brian’s smoke gray eyes. Her cheeks flushed with shame—but her blood pounded hotly in her veins as he boldly gazed upon her body. Shivering with fear and delight, Maegan fought what she instinctively knew: she could never let herself love her foe, but their paths would forever be entwined, their lives entangled, their HEARTS ENCHANTED.

Hearts Enchanted by Penelope Neri
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Midnight Captive pino

Historical Romance Review: Midnight Captive by Penelope Neri

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book review historical romance
Midnight Captive by Penelope Neri
Rating: five-stars
Published: 1989
Illustrator: Pino
Imprint or Line: Zebra Historical Romance
Published by: Kensington
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 512
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Blue Falcon


Historical Romance Review: Midnight Captive by Penelope Neri

SPOILER ALERT ⚠

The Book

This review is of Midnight Captive, a standalone Zebra historical romance from March 1989 by Penelope Neri.

The Plot

Prologue

Midnight Captive begins ominously.

A man finds a cache of gold and wishes everything he touches would turn into it. Hearing him, the Devil appears and makes the man a bargain. If the unnamed man sells his soul to the Devil, the Devil will grant his wish.

The man agrees. He later realizes, however, that such a bargain has unintended consequences.

This is the theme running through the book.

Part One

We meet Krissoula Ballardo, the heroine of Midnight Captive, and her business partner, Hector Corrales, in Spain.

Their business: rolling rich men and stealing from them.

When they see Esteban de San Martin, the hero, they try to rob him. This plan fails. Rather than have Krissoula arrested, Esteban blackmails her. He needs her to help him get revenge against his uncle, Felipe Aguilar, in Esteban’s home country Argentina.

Felipe is the brother of Esteban’s late father, Alejandro. There is significant bad blood between uncle and nephew.

We also learn about Krissoula’s past, which involves a happy childhood and much-less-happy young adulthood.

As part of Esteban’s plan, Krissoula must lure Felipe into proposing marriage to her.

However, he discovers that she and Esteban are lovers, leading to major trouble for both Krissoula and Esteban.

Esteban is severely beaten by Felipe’s henchmen. Meanwhile, Krissoula and her duena Sofia de Alicante y Moreno must flee. They end up being kidnapped by revolutionaries who want to overthrow the Argentine government.

Part Two

They escape their captivity. Krissoula and Sofia make their way to the Argentine barrios, where Krissoula has to fight off the predatory intentions of Antonio Malvado, the “godfather” of the barrio they’re staying in.

Those efforts end up for naught, however, as Sofia becomes seriously ill, and Krissoula has no choice but to go to Malvado for help. She also plans to kill Malvado for his contribution to the death of a friend of hers.

Esteban–now recovered from his beating–discovers that Krissoula is with Malvado. After a violent battle and a chase, he rescues Krissoula from Malvado’s evil clutches and kills him.

Krissoula and Esteban marry, have one child, officially adopt two others, and unofficially many others. They open an orphanage for the homeless, parentless children of the barrio.

Krissoula and Esteban have their Happily Ever After.

Upside

The Heroine

A reader might read the title Midnight Captive and think the book is a “Stockholm Syndrome” romance. It’s not, thankfully.

What it is really is a story about a young woman–Krissoula is 19–who has endured major hardships and trauma in her young life, finding happiness through her own inner strength and courage.

At first, I didn’t like Krissoula–she starts the book as a thief–but as I read more, I grew to like, and later love, Krissoula. Readers will watch her grow up before their eyes.

She has a lot of similarities with another Penelope Neri heroine, Freya Jorgenson from Sea Jewel. The two stories are very different in terms of setting and culture. Yet both are about women experiencing hellish trauma at young ages and finding happiness by tapping into strength they didn’t know they had in order to survive.

The Couple

Both Krissoula and Esteban have fully realized characters. Although neither is flawless, they are very human.

They also have hot chemistry that comes from pairing a Gypsy/Spanish/Greek heroine with a Latinx hero. Esteban is my favorite Neri hero–admittedly, not a high bar to climb, as most of her “heroes” are rapist bastards, but he clears the bar easily.

I also liked the fact that both Krissoula and Esteban were willing to give a “hand-up” to the kids that needed a champion.

Ms. Neri also ties her parable from the beginning of the book into her main story. Esteban becomes wealthy but realizes that it’s no good if he doesn’t have Krissoula, whom he loves very much.

For Krissoula, she almost married Felipe–who is later killed “off-screen.” She comes to realize that though she may gain wealth by marrying, Krissoula would not be loved.

For only Esteban could provide her with the true love she has been seeking all of her life.

Ms. Neri is also a very good “scenic” writer. By that, I mean that she is very descriptive in her writing of scenes and takes me, as a reader, into her scenes.

Downside

Like the majority of Ms. Neri’s books, Midnight Captive is overlong. This is the 10th book I’ve read by Ms. Neri, and only one has come in at less than 500 pages. Midnight Captive checks in at 512 pages.

There were way too many exclamation points at the end of paragraphs and sentences.

I also felt the storyline about the overthrow of the Argentine government to be tacked on as a way to extend the page count. It was not really important or relevant to the book as a whole.

Sex

Ms. Neri knows how to write a sexy love scene–she did so in Sea Jewel–but here, the love scenes are fairly mild. They’re not Ms. Neri’s best love scenes.

Violence

Assault, battery, destruction of guns, and killings take place in Midnight Captive. The violence is not graphic.

Bottom Line on Midnight Captive

Midnight Captive by Penelope Neri is not a flawless book, but it has more than enough good qualities-including an amazing heroine–to earn a 4.89, rounded–up 5 stars from me.

5 Stars

Rating Report Card
Plot
5
Characters
5
Writing
5
Chemistry
4.5
Fun Factor
4.5
Cover
4.5
Overall: 4.8

Synopsis:

MONEY WAS SUPERIOR TO MARRIAGE

After a poor, ragged girlhood with he gypsy kinfolk, Krissoula Ballardo knew that all she wanted from life was her share of riches. But there was only one way for the penniless temptress to earn a cent: to fake interest in a man, drug him, and pocket everything he had! Then the sable-haired seductress met dashing Esteban de San Martin, and a hot unquenchable passion seared her soul. The fortune-hunting beauty knew she should flee the handsome devil — but a force more powerful made her run straight into his embrace!

RANCHING WAS BETTER THAN ROMANCE

All his life, dark, towering Esteban had been denied his father’s name; now he swore nothing would keep him from his rightful inheritance. In order to regain his vast Argentine acreage, the crafty vacquero blackmailed Krissoula, the unscrupulous wench who’d once tried to fool him. But the more he involved her in his plot, the more Esteban couldn’t deny her effect on him. Her luscious lips begged for his sensual kisses, her ripe curves invited his arousing caresses, and soon he was ready to sacrifice his carefully planned scheme for one searing moment in the welcoming arms of his exotic midnight captive.

midnight captive by PENELOPE NERI
seajewel

Historical Romance Review: Sea Jewel by Penelope Neri

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Sea Jewel, Penelope Neri, Zebra, 1986, Pino cover art

SPOILER ALERT ⚠

5 Stars

The Book

After deliberation, I decided to give Sea Jewel by Penelope Neri five stars, although I do so with some high degree of reluctance. The explanation why follows.

Sea Jewel a 5-Star Read, Albeit a Rating I Give Reluctantly

The Story: Part One

This Zebra Lovegram begins with the hero of the book, Freya Jorgenson, being born. Her father, Thorfast, is a warring Viking who wanted a son. He orders his man, Sven, to kill Freya. Sven, however, being a kind soul, chooses not to and, with the help of a captured English slave, raises Freya as his daughter.

Earlier, Sven did a similar thing. Years earlier, when Thorfast and his men went a-Viking–i.e., murdering, pillaging, and raping–they sacked an English village, killing all the males and raping the females. One of the women, Wilone, wife of the head of the earldom whom Thorfast killed, offered herself as a sexual slave to Thorfast in exchange for sparing her life and the life of her unborn child. Thorfast raped Wilone and ordered Sven to kill her and her child, which he did not do.

Wilone gave birth to twin boys. One, Farant, was a studious, bookish, quiet individual. The other, Alaric, the “hero” of this book, was more warlike, in particular after finding out what happened to his mother. Alaric vowed revenge on Thorfast and all Danes. He would get his chance many years later.

The Story: Part Two

The book fast forwards. Freya is now the head of her hall, and she, like her sire, pillages English villages. She decides to pillage the same village Thorfast did many years ago, against the advice and admonition of Sven, who is a psychic and envisions, correctly, that the raid Freya is planning will have grave consequences for her. What Freya doesn’t know is that there is a traitor, who informs the English that an attack is coming.

When Freya and her men attack, many are killed and Freya is captured by Alaric. When he finds out who she is, he decides to exact his revenge on her father through her, by raping and dishonoring her the same way her father did his mother. Alaric rapes Freya, although she fights him, and even though he is her master and she his slave, they eventually fall in love!

This relationship draws the ire of two people in particular; Alaric’s sister-in-law and former lover Kendra, who wants Alaric both for his sexual prowess and his money and power. Kendra accuses Freya of two murders that Kendra herself committed. The first time, Kendra has to withdraw her charge after being caught committing adultery. The second time, Kendra kills Farant, and Freya mistakenly believes that it was Alaric who was killed. Freya runs away and faces various perils.

The second person who disapproves of their relationship is Alaric’s uncle, Ordway, who hates all Danes for what Thorfast did to Wilone, who, after seeing her husband and other children killed and being raped, became mentally unstable and now lives out her life in a religious abbey.

The Story: Part Three

After Freya escapes, she finds out that she is with child, and faces various perils as she makes her way back from England to Denmark. Freya eventually returns to Denmark, where she meets up again with her childhood friend, Olaf, who is in love with her and they get married. Freya, however, doesn’t tell Olaf that she’s not in love with him or that she is pregnant with Alaric’s child. This truth, however, eventually comes out. Freya gives birth to twins, a son and daughter, and she and Olaf have a pleasant, if not totally loving, marriage, as he accepts her children despite their not being his by blood.

However, the specter of Freya’s love for Alaric-who she believes to be dead-hangs over their marriage. Olaf later learns that Alaric is not dead, although he doesn’t tell Freya this. He tells the truth after being mortally wounded in another Viking raid on England.

Freya then decides to return to England to be with Alaric, no matter what their relationship status is, and is accosted and imperiled, which Alaric has to rescue her from. They do eventually get married, and Freya becomes a Christian and changes her name to Marissa-the Christian name meaning “of the sea.”

Ordway, however, incensed that Alaric and Freya are marrying, kidnaps the twins and tries to kill them, he dies in a fire at the abbey, but the children survive thanks to Wilone, who saves them the same way she saved Alaric and Farant when they were babies. And they lived happily ever after.

Positives

As is the case with all of Penelope Neri’s books, the main positive is the heroine. Freya is a strong, warlike, capable heroine. She never accepts being enslaved, fighting every step of the way, although Alaric overpowers her both physically and sexually. She faces many difficulties and survives and prospers. I always appreciate the strength that Ms. Neri’s heroines have.

Negatives

The biggest negative is, of course, the fact that Freya is raped twice by Alaric and another male, and that she falls in love with the person who raped her. Since this book was set in the 9th century, the term “Stockholm Syndrome” wasn’t invented, but that’s exactly what this is. I have a big issue with that, as well as the fact of a heroine falling in love with the individual who rapes her, which, sadly, was a rather common thing in romance novels of the past.

As much as I care for Ms. Neri’s heroines, I never feel the same caring for her “heroes.” Primarily because Ms. Neri’s heroes are just slightly above vermin.

Sex

Lots of sex scenes. They are not overly graphic, but they are many.

Violence

Mildly graphic violence.

Bottom Line on Sea Jewel

In the past, I have stated that I would never give a book where the heroine is raped by the “hero” a positive grade, yet I am doing so with this book. Let me explain why I am doing so. My views have somewhat evolved. I feel now that it is important to view the books I read in their complete context, not solely based on one act. This is a very good book.

As stated, there are parts I wish would have been changed, but that doesn’t completely diminish the positives of the book. If one likes medieval romance, this book may be a good one to have.