Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Surrender to an Irish Warrior by Michelle Willingham
Historical medieval romance released by Harlequin Historical 01 Sep 2010

I haven’t read Michelle Willingham’s entire backlist yet, but I’m at the point where I’m getting pretty darn close.  So I feel fairly confident when I say that her latest Harlequin Historical, and the last in her long-running MacEgan Brothers series, is possibly her best work to date.  That being said, it’s a book that isn’t going to appeal to every reader thanks to it’s very heavy subject matter and tone.

The back cover copy is, I suspect, purposely vague but rest assured my plot description pretty much adheres to the first chapter.  Trahern MacEgan makes his living as a bard/storyteller.  However when he learns that his betrothed is killed when Vikings raid her village, he swears vengeance.  He’s tracking the killers when a young girl, barely 13, stumbles into his camp.  She recognizes him, and begs him to help her sister, who she fears is dying in a nearby hunting shelter.

Morren O’Reilly lived in the same village as Trahern’s beloved.  She survived, but was the victim of a brutal gang rape.  She’s miscarrying the baby that was the result of the events of that terrible night, and her sister, not knowing of the pregnancy, runs for help and fetches Trahern.  What follows is Trahern’s promise to protect Morren and find the men responsible for the raid.  In turn, Trahern needs Morren’s help in identifying them.

The only way to describe this story is heavy.  It’s a heavy read featuring two deeply emotionally damaged people who have lived through unspeakable pain.  Even though the author does not write these events in graphic detail, the mere suggestion of what Morren endured is beyond horrifying and haunting.  From the time I started the first chapter, to the time I finished the last, I was stuck on an emotional roller coaster, feeling the pain that these two people felt, and marveled that they were still able to put one foot in front of the other.  Even the secondary character of Morren’s sister isn’t spared from this angst, having witnessed exactly what happened to her sister.

Besides the internal conflict, there’s the mystery of who was behind the raid.  This is largely what propels the plot forward, and is what literally sucks all the air out of the room when the Big Reveal happens.  When a story can floor me like that, and in a good way, I know I’m reading something special.  Ironically, this is actually when the story stumbles a bit for me.  As amazing as the resolution to the mystery was, I felt that the heroine started to behave a bit out of character.  Especially when compared to what had been motivating her throughout the entire story.

That said, this blip on the radar wasn’t enough to diminish how accomplished I thought this book was.  It’s certainly not going to be a book for everybody.  It’s dark, heavy, and emotionally-gutting.  Certainly those attributes can, and in this case do, make the happy ending all the more sweeter and rewarding, but it’s still a tough read.  I was exhausted after the first chapter, and that feeling stayed with me for a long time.  It’s a departure in tone from previous books I’ve read by this author, and it’s a risk that I largely think she pulls off.  Yes, I had quibbles, but not enough to overshadow all that is so good.

Grade: B+

Summary:

An Irish warrior with a thirst for revenge…

Trahern MacEgan—his body is honed for fighting, his soul is black and tortured. Women want to tame him, but he has loved once, and now is lost.

A woman who has suffered in silence…

Morren Ó Reilly—she has known pain and shame, but holds her head high, even though she shrinks from a man’s touch.

Their passionate redemption

Can Morren be the light to Trahern’s darkness, and can she be made whole again by her surrender?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of The Captive by Joanne Rock
Historical Romance published by Harlequin Blaze 01 Apr 10

I’ve enjoyed many of the Blaze historicals, but it helps to walk into these with a firm understanding of what they are.  Like contemporary Blazes, these are quick, fun, sexy reads.  If you’re looking for juicy historical detail?  Yeah, these probably aren’t what you’re looking for.  That said, this latest offering from Joanne Rock did deliver some surprises.

Lady Gwendolyn is a Saxon widow with no desire to remarry.  However, she might not have much choice in the matter.  Her parents are dead, and she’s thrown herself at the mercy of her odious former guardian because he’s the lesser of two evils when compared to her in-laws.  It’s to his benefit to marry her off again, so our gal is just sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It drops in the form of Wulf Geirsson, a Viking warrior, who storms the castle and decides to take her captive.  Our boy is in need of a distraction, and one look at Gwen is all it takes.  Distracted he is.  Oh, and horny.  But as these two fall in love, they are confronted by old enemies.

Of all the Blaze historicals I’ve read, this one is one of the better ones when it comes to delivering a nice sense of place and historical detail.  I liked that Gwen put up a fight, I liked that Wulf, while a warrior, was gentle enough to earn her trust.  I got a real sense of the conflict that was standing in the way of their happily-ever-after.  The love scenes sizzle (a requirement for a Blaze book) and I believed in the romance.

What I found harder to believe in was the resolution to one bit of the conflict.  Frankly, it smacked of a cop-out, especially after this villain had demonstrated how determined he was to be a thorn in Wulf’s side.  There’s also a small matter of a traitor not being dealt with.  Since this traitor toyed with Gwen, I found it shocking that Wulf didn’t deal with this minor detail in some excruciating fashion.  Uh, especially since by that point he was madly in love with her.  Seriously, I can’t see a Viking just letting that one go.

While the ending didn’t tie everything up in an always satisfactory manner, this was still a solid read, with enough historical (and naughty) bits to keep me flipping the pages.  There is a loyal band of Viking lovers in historical romance fandom, and for those readers this book is definitely worth a look.

Grade: B-

Summary:

What’s a little bondage between enemies?

Women should be sweet, mild mannered…docile. Unfortunately, Lady Gwendolyn, a rich Saxon widow, is none of those things.

And Viking warrior Wulf Geirsson wants her desperately! One glimpse of the brazen beauty scrambling over the castle ramparts, and he knows he has to have her. Especially when she takes a tumble and lands at his feet.

But Wulf quickly finds that taking Gwendolyn and keeping her are two different things. And once she decides to engage in a seductive assault of her own, he’s the one captivated….

Read an excerpt.

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Taming Her Irish Warrior (The MacEgan Brothers #5) by Michelle Willingham
Historical romance released by Harlequin Historical 01 Oct 2009

Michelle Willingham continues her Irish medieval series about the MacEgan brothers with this latest entry, featuring the youngest of the lot, Ewan.  I’ll admit I have a huge soft spot for younger brother romance heroes with a need to “prove themselves” to their older siblings (siblings that usually tend to cast long shadows).  Ewan fits that mold, and while I found him appealing at times, his stubborn nature, coupled with the equally stubborn heroine didn’t always make the romance sing for me.

Ewan is the youngest of five brothers, and while the oldest one is a King, Ewan’s prospects are pretty slim.  It’s imperative that he weds a lady of means, preferably one with some land to her name.  He sets his sights on Lady Katherine of Ardennes.  Unfortunately for him, Katherine has the kind of beauty (and dowry) that inspires a number of suitors.  As a lowly younger son, one with few prospects, he’s got his work cut out for him.

Katherine’s older sister, Honora St. Leger has already survived one disastrous marriage.  After her husband dies, she finds herself thwarting the unwanted advances of her odious son-in-law.  So she returns home to her father and sister to regroup.  For years Honora has secretly honed her fighting skills among her father’s warriors.  In fact, it was Ewan who helped to train her.  She wants to rid the poor peasants of her vile son-in-law, but to do so she needs to raise an army.  There’s also the small matter that the villain terrifies her.  On top of that, her father is pressuring her to remarry, which Honora would rather be skinned alive than do.  That is until Ewan shows up.  He’s there hoping to win the hand of her properly feminine sister, and Honora knows she lacks everything he needs in a proper wife.  So how come these two cannot stay away from each other?  And what will they do with the villain comes calling?

There are a lot of potential pitfalls in the story that will likely turn off some readers.  For one, we have the heroine who likes to disguise herself as a man and play warrior woman.  Then we have a hero who is wooing one sister while lusting after the other.  It all sounds a bit….distasteful.  For the most part Willingham does a good job working the angles.  Chicks in pants playing with swords can annoy, but it fits Honora’s personality well.  Once determined to prove herself to a father who had little use for her, she now welcomes her skills as a means to protect herself – which come in especially handy during the course of her marriage.  Where this story stumbles a bit is with the conflict revolving around Ewan’s wooing of Katherine.

It’s very apparent early on that Ewan is smitten with Honora.  She infuriates him, puzzles him, vexes him, and she drives him totally mad with lust.  As the reader, this is very easy to see and understand.  Unfortunately it takes Ewan a while to realize it.  From a historical standpoint, I get it – making a good marriage match was everything, especially if you were a younger brother with little to no prospects.  He needs an heiress for a wife.  He needs the land, the dowry, the whole deal if he wants any sort of semi-comfortable life for himself and his future children.  So it’s easy to understand why he doesn’t throw Katherine over within the first 50 pages, but it does drag on for the bulk of the novel.  And then there’s the small matter of Honora pushing him away because she’s not what he needs, never mind she’s exactly what he wants.  It was kind of sick actually.  “Darling, I know you lust after me, but go!  Go marry my sister!”

Ultimately something happens that forces their hand, Ewan has to finally make his choice, and the villain must be dealt with.  Still, the couple keeps tap-dancing around their feelings for each other, and the belief that neither is what the other one needs continues to linger.  By this point I found myself getting a bit exasperated with them both.

Willingham continues to write interesting medievals, and it’s to her credit that she delivers a readable story featuring plot devices that generally are harder sells for me.  If you’re a reader who is a sucker for a chick in pants or heroes who start out the story wooing another woman?  This one will surely deliver what you crave.

Grade: C+

Summary:

When did Ewan MacEgan grow to be so overwhelmingly strong and disarmingly sexy? He intends to wed Honora St. Leger’s demure sister—but why should that matter to her? Honora would rather wield a sword than a mending needle and, as a widow, she knows there is little pleasure in the marriage bed….

Ewan MacEgan has set his sights on a wealthy bride but, tantalizingly, he finds himself drawn to the forbidden Honora! One touch and he is longing to awaken her sensuality, for he suspects she will be as passionate in bed as she is on the battlefield!

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of The Warrior’s Forbidden Virgin by Michelle Willingham
Historical romance short story ebook released by Harlequin Historical Undone 01 Sept 2009

Michelle Willingham is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors for the Harlequin Historical line, and with her second Undone short story, she’s one step closer to landing on my auto-buy list.  Alright, I’ll admit – it doesn’t exactly hurt her cause any that she has written one of my very favorite types of heroes in this story

Sir Ademar of Dolwyth is a very handsome and skilled knight.  Unfortunately he’s not terribly outgoing with the ladies, and has trouble formulating this thoughts into speech.  Part of the reason is that he’s painfully shy, the other part being that his father branded him a dimwit from a very young age.  He’s madly in love with Lady Katherine or Ardennes, and has traveled a long way to throw his hat in the ring of potential suitors.  Too bad she’s in love with someone else.

Katherine fancies herself in love with Ewan MacEgan.  However, he’s in love with her older sister Honora.  Katherine feels betrayed, to say the least.  She’s bitter, angry, but clearly sees the truth written all over Ewan’s face.  He loves her sister, not her.  In her despair she’s wandering around the battlements in the rain when Ademar happens upon her.  He wants to comfort her, but the words won’t come.  Instead of sending him away, she asks him to stay.

What follows is Katherine realizing that her “love” for Ewan was nothing more than a crush, and her seeing Ademar for who he truly is.  A good, brave man, who would lay down his own life to protect and love her.  I’m a complete and total sucker for a shy romance hero who is unsure of his worthiness for the heroine, and on that score I fell hook, line and sinker for Ademar.  I was ready to run away with him myself before I was even past the first few pages.  Katherine took some time to grow on me, mostly because she was pining for another man, and there were moments where I felt like she was using Ademar – but ultimately she comes around and realizes what a wonderful guy he is.

This story actually runs parallel to Willingham’s upcoming full-length Harlequin Historical, Taming Her Irish Warrior, which tells the story of Ewan’s and Honora’s romance.  While I have yet to read it, this short story reads like it literally could have been dropped in the middle of that book if the author didn’t have to adhere to a word count for the HH line.  As it is, this story stands alone very well, and gives the reader a taste of what the full-length novel will be like, which will surely entice a fair number of readers.

Grade: B

Summary:

Sir Ademar of Dolwyth does not think beautiful Lady Katherine of Ardennes would ever consider him for her husbandespecially since she is in love with someone else! But when Katherine’s heart is broken, Ademar is there to offer her comfort…and passion. For though the Norman knight cannot tell Katherine how he feels, he can show her without using any words at all….

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of A Night For Her Pleasure by Terri Brisbin
Historical romance short story ebook released by Harlequin Historical Undone 1 Jun 09

Sooner or later, it happens to every reader. The ol’ “It’s Not You, It’s Me” affliction that sometimes happens when we pick up a new story. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, it just isn’t for you. That’s exactly what happened to me with A Night For Her Pleasure.

Simon, Count of Rennes has just married his fair, innocent bride, Elise. The wedding feast is well underway, but instead of celebrating his marriage, he’s fretting about the wedding night. While noble, Simon sees himself as brutish and rough. He fears he will frighten, scare off, and scar his virginal wife, who he is already hopelessly captivated with. In turn, Elise is fretting about pleasing her husband. Her mother’s advice on the marriage bed essentially consisted of lie back and take it. Then her cousin shares with her a very enlightening conversation she had with Simon’s former mistress. Needless to say, Elise is a bundle of nerves because she has absolutely no idea what to do or what to expect. All she knows is that she loves her husband.

Enjoyment of this story pretty much hinges on how tolerant the reader is of virginal heroines. Certainly Elise isn’t all bad. At least she doesn’t get wide-eyed, point at Simon’s naughty bits and exclaim, “You’re going to be that there?!?!” Still, I found myself getting annoyed by her reticence and her constant referral to Simon’s naughty bits as his “privy parts.” 

A Night For Her Pleasure also serves as a prequel to the author’s new series for Harlequin Historical, The Knights of Brittany. Certainly, almost all of these Undone stories are parts of series, but in this instance I felt it was a bit heavy-handed. The inclusion of those Knights dangerously bordered on info-dumping and they didn’t serve any purpose in this story other than to be series-bait.

All that said, I think this story will be more enjoyable for readers looking for a hot, historical read but who don’t necessarily enjoy the recent trend towards franker language. In other words, if you want hot without reading the F-bomb or the C-bomb, this story will most definitely scratch your itch. It reminded me of the older, sexier historicals from back in the day, before the erotic romance boom as we know it firmly took hold. For this reader though, I think I probably would have preferred it if Simon had married his mistress.

Grade: C+

Summary:
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Brittany, 1066
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Elise saved her family from ruin by marrying Simon, Count of Rennes. Yet this is no mere marriage of convenience–Elise has already fallen in love with her new husband. Intending to please him, Elise sets out to be the bold and seductive woman she thinks Simon desires–even though she’s an inexperienced, innocent virgin.
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On this their wedding day, Simon is determined to skillfully arouse his new wife and initiate her into the pleasures of the bedchamber, although he fears a woman so feminine and delicate could never love a nobleman as rough as he.
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Once their wedding night arrives, Simon and Elise will both discover ecstasy beyond their wildest imaginings….
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Read an excerpt here.

Other books in this series:

by Michelle Willingham

I’ve always loved medieval settings, particularly anything Celtic. When “Braveheart” hit the theaters, I was mesmerized by Mel Gibson in a kilt (What’s not to like?). I was also traumatized when the heroine of the movie died within the first hour. Although it became the driving motivation for the character of William Wallace, my writer’s brain kept wondering, “What if Murrin had lived?”

It would have been a historical romance, that’s what. And like any lover of historicals, I grew up on Scottish medievals. Whether reading a time travel by Karen Marie Moning or a Jude Deveraux medieval, I scarfed them up like chocolate. When I had the chance to visit Ireland for the first time, I fell hopelessly in love with the country. I stood atop the ruins of a medieval abbey and pictured an Irish warrior rescuing his own maiden from the marauding Normans.

That was the beginning of my Irish medieval mini-series, the MacEgan Brothers. At first, many publishers didn’t want to take a chance on medieval Ireland. Medieval Scotland, yes. But Ireland? Thankfully the editors at Harlequin Mills and Boon were more than willing to take a look. And though my sexy warriors wear trews (leggings) instead of kilts, they still wield swords and fight for their women.

There were some differences between Ireland and other medieval settings. For one, castles weren’t part of the landscape until the 12th century. Fortresses were called ringforts and the Norman invaders built ringwork structures. Usually these were based atop a hillside with a ditch or fosse, and a wooden palisade wall kept out wild animals or invaders. Eventually, as the Norman influence spread, some of the nobility began constructing wooden and then stone castles. Ironically, one of the Irish castles I visited for my research, Trim Castle, was where several “Braveheart” scenes were filmed.

There were also artificial islands called crannogs. I visited a re-enactment village at Craggaunowen, near Shannon, Ireland, that boasted its own crannog. The structure had a long bridge leading to a ringfort surrounded by water. Inside were thatched stone huts, and the interior was much more primitive than I’d ever imagined. Even so, the wild intensity of these locations inspired a multitude of stories.

Last, one interesting bit of research led me to information on fostering. Irish parents would typically send their children to a close relative after they were weaned. The children would be raised by their uncle, cousin, or a family friend. Girls were fostered until the age of thirteen and boys were fostered until seventeen. This gave girls the opportunity to meet future husbands at a different tribe or clan, while boys could make alliances with other branches of their family. And while I’ve often dreamed of shipping my children off to a distant relative for a few years, I can’t imagine living without them for that length of time. It was a medieval custom, however, and one that provided a way for me to write an unusual secret baby plot, in The Warrior’s Touch.

Mary Reed McCall, author of Templar’s Seduction and Sinful Pleasures, has written this post for The Good, The Bad, & The Unread. Mary is one of the preeminent medieval romance writers in the US.

Reading her bio, I’m struck by how much her background sounds like Jo, from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women: avid reader, involved in drama productions and played instrumentS as a kid, writes, loads of sisters and no brothers.

But then she diverges a tad from Jo: she’s even more highly educated, studied in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), has degrees out the wazoo (one of them in Russian), and who knows what else. Oh and she’s a TEACHER!

So, without further ado, please join me in welcoming Mary Reed McCall to our happy little blog family!

The Appeal of Medieval Romance
by Mary Reed McCall

I’m often asked by readers why I’ve spent the last ten years writing medieval romance or, conversely, why don’t I try writing a Regency-set historical, since they seem to be so popular in today’s marketplace.

The answer to the second question is an easy one for me: while I enjoy reading the occasional Regency-set (as opposed to the shorter length “Regencies” of many now defunct publishing lines) romances, I’ve never had an affinity for the time period. In other words, thinking about people and situations and coming up with stories in that setting just doesn’t get my juices flowing. I could probably be a more profitable writer if I was able to write lovely, light-hearted Regency romance – but the fact is, there are others who truly love the Regency era and already do that far better than I could ever hope to, and I’m wise enough about my own limitations not to try to force a square peg into a round hole.

Would I/could I write a Victorian? Maybe. I haven’t shut the door on that possibility yet. I cut my romance-reading teeth on JANE EYRE, after all. But my heart is really in the medieval era – and the span of time within that thousand years is probably from about 1100 – 1350. All of my medievals thus far have landed somewhere in that time frame, and though I can’t do it justice in a single blog, I’ll try to give you a little insight into what it is about writing medieval romance that really floats my boat.

It’s my humble opinion that few other time periods lend themselves to stories filled with passion, intrigues, supreme emotional stakes, great physical danger, betrayal, redemption as well as the medieval era. And those are all the kinds of things I love in a romance.

In the medieval era, men and women experienced a kind of equality that had vanished by later historical eras (medieval peasant and/or merchant women worked beside their men and could own businesses in their own right, while ladies of noble birth could own land and were expected to possess the skill to defend their castles and manage their estates during their lord’s absences). Yet culturally women were considered the “gentler” gender, and men were expected to defend and protect their lady’s honor at all costs. They wore costly, beautiful gowns and headpieces, adorned themselves with jewels and ribbons – and contrary to popular belief they were actually quite fond of bathing. I could do a whole blog on the elaborate bathing rituals many medieval people of the noble classes enjoyed, but for the sake of space I’ll just mention that they even had canopies built for their round tubs, to hold in the scented steam and keep out drafts as they bathed. Because of the Crusades, the West benefited from an influx of exotic spice and herbs, and medieval people put it all to good use in the creation of elaborate foods and personal fragrances.

Add to that the fact that men were trained from the cradle, almost, to wield a variety of weapons (so they had nicely developed arms, backs, chests, and shoulders!), that death could come in an instant, whether through the volatile political climate of kingdoms, power struggles, sieges, and religious wars, disease, or the hot-tempered noble down the way that you’d managed to aggravate past the point of good sense – and you’ve got a heady, life-and-death mixture of conflict, ambition, high-stakes, and the potential for passionate yet chivalrous love.

Powerful, sometimes deadly, passionate men and strong, intelligent, and beautifully-dressed ladies…what’s not to like?

So that’s the brief version of what draws me to writing medieval stories. How about you? What’s your favorite historical romance era, and why?

Mary Reed McCall has very kindly agreed to give away a signed copy of her newest (and very enjoyable!) medieval romance novel – The Templar’s Seduction. We will pick a winner out of the comments here. Enter until Friday June 29, 2007 @ 2am CST. You may enter as many times as you wish, please make sure to give a valid email address if you are entering the contest. Good Luck!