Sandy M’s review of Dreams of Lilacs (Di Piagets, Book 16) by Lynn Kurland
Historical Romance published by Jove 29 Apr 14
I wasn’t sure I was going to like a book in this series with no time traveling. I mean, I’m a huge time travel romance fan. But I’m also a huge historical fan and a huge Lynn Kurland fan. So no idea where my doubt came from. Ms. Kurland taught me a well-learned lesson.
While it’s usually Ms. Kurland’s voice that I love about her books – right behind the paranormal aspect – in this case it’s her characters that take the number one spot for me. Isabelle, in her mind, is the unattractive daughter of Rys de Piaget, second to her sister for whom all the suitors visit their home. She loves a bit of adventure and can pretty much do most anything her brothers can do. When she receives a missive demanding her presence in France or her family will be forfeit, Isabelle doesn’t hesitate. She does what a woman needs to take care of those she loves.
Which leaves her without her memory after the ship she’s on is lost during a storm. With no idea who or where she is or why she’s there, that’s when Gervase de Seger comes upon her as she’s being accosted on the road in the middle of nowhere. But what he sees is a raggedy young boy who needs rescuing, so after chasing off the bandits, he drags the boy home and puts him to work. Gervase is a bit on the thick side at first, ignoring clues that would lead him to the truth of Isabelle much sooner. Even after he realizes he has a woman instead of a boy, he has her working in his kitchens and scrubbing his floors. It takes a bit longer for him to come to his conclusion it’s Isabelle de Piaget who’s charmed everyone far and wide. Eventually including himself. Which means he’ll be dead in no time, once her family discovers what he’s done with the youngest daughter.
Gervase has his own mystery to solve. Someone is still out to murder him, especially since whoever it is failed the first time around, leaving him to die in a fire. Thank the heavens for one of his brothers coming along to save him, though he suffers to this day. Isabelle, however, doesn’t truly see that part of him. He’s a man she could easily fall for, but keeping her identity hidden after her memory partially returns is her first priority. She still doesn’t know why she’s in France, even though she has a grandmother and a brother nearby.
I love these two characters so much. They complement each other very well, and their banter, subtle though it is, is fun. I also love a scarred/injured hero, and Gervase captured my heart immediately. He’s no longer the ladies’ man he was at court, and you can see his fondness for his brothers though he tries to hide it. Isabelle is perfect for him. She takes no flak and has learned well from her family. It’s quite nice to catch up with the de Piagets. We get to see quite a few of them again in this story, and lots of amusement ensues.
So did I miss the time travel? Maybe. A little bit. But did I need it? Not one iota. This is a wonderful historical romance from one of the best in the business.
Grade: B+
Summary:
Isabelle de Piaget is determined to elude her overprotective family with a hasty escape to France. But instead of making a surprise visit to her brother there, she is shipwrecked on the French coast with no memory of who she is or how she came to awaken in the dark, forbidding castle of an equally brooding lord.
Gervase de Seger rescues—very reluctantly—the bedraggled urchin he finds on the road and puts her to work where he can ignore her. Unfortunately, he soon realizes that her brother is an intimidating lord who is going to be absolutely furious when he learns that his beloved sister has been laboring as a scullery maid. Yet Isabelle may be the one who holds the key to solving Gervase’s most pressing problems: that someone has been trying to finish the task of separating him from his title and his lands.
Finding the truth propels Gervase and Isabelle from the buried secrets of half-ruined keeps to the glittering French court, and to the realization that love can blossom in the most perilous circumstances—and in the most unexpected places of the heart…
No excerpt available
Other books in this series:
