by Hope Tarr
A Blaze red hot romance with a late
Medieval Scottish setting
Hope Tarr's Bound To Please,
a Medieval Scottish romance debuts a new category of Historicals in the
Harlequin Blaze line. The story behind the romance is quite moving but
one historical inaccuracy detracts from one of the finer Medieval
literary allusions. Characterization, an intriguing plot and visual
imagery make Bound To Please
a very good read for fans of red hot romance.
Ten years ago, in 1450 Scotland, Brianna MacLeod was the daughter of
the MacLeod laird. A childhood encounter with Ewan Fraser opened her
heart to the innocence and love in her heart as the two pledged to
marry each other and no one else. Now, ten years later, Brianna has
inherited her position as Laird from her now deceased father. She has
married to the man her father chose and now stands as a widow. Her
previous marriage, a marriage of duty, never inspired her heart. Always
a hard worker, Brianna is saddled with all the responsibilities of her
job and her heart is closed off. Nothing of the innocence or
playfulness of her youth remains. Brianna kidnaps Ewan and chains him
to a bed. Determined to get pregnant and bear a child from the two
rival clans, Brianna once more feels the need to fulfill her duties of
laird to bring peace. Love has nothing to do with it. Also, Ewan's twin
brother Callum has been accused of murdering her father. As Ewan
becomes her captive, Brianna finds herself attracted to him and he to
her. In a game of love play, can they break through all the conventions
and duty that bar them from love and open hearts? Can physical love
lead to something more?
The characters are rich and multi-dimensional. Smart, spunky, dedicated
and recognized for her role as laird, Brianna is a medieval feminist
scholar's fantasy of the kind of heroine she might discover in a
Medieval text. The initial encounter between Brianna and Ewan stirs the
heart with its innocence and beauty. The plot is fast paced and yet
full of intriguing subplots and secondary characters to make the reader
want to learn the fate of the couple. Having a woman laird in a
position of power was certainly refreshing in a Medieval set romance.
Every detail is well placed, especially in the plotting of Brianna's
father's death. The author makes nice twists and turns in the
captive/captor motif as Ewan and Brianna struggle for control. Through
an alternating lose and gain of power, their hearts and bodies become
truly unchained.
Medieval enthusiasts might notice an incongruity between the setting of
the story and Caxton's publication history in the sections describing
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. A few added details describing the beauty
of a manuscript version or change in the date of the main action of the
story would have made this a superlative sexy Medieval read for both
Medievalists and lovers of red hot romance. This is not a big issue for
the vast majority of readers, but this literary history detail troubled
me while reading at the same time as other story details delighted with
their precision.
Bound To Please is
a very good choice for readers craving a scorching romance in a
historical setting where the heroine is assertive and not easily
overshadowed by the men around her. Mixing innocence of heart with
determination, Briana will do anything to achieve peace and Ewan will
stop at nothing to achieve both his freedom and her pleasure and deeper
love. Medieval romance readers unaccustomed to Blaze as a line might
find this romance beyond their steaminess comfort level. Bound To Please, metaphorically and
literally, has vivid imagery of a woman of breaking through the body
and the sense of duty to reach the playfulness and level of love and
desire often deadened by societal and gender obligations. Bound To Please is a fun
historical
fantasy read with a Scottish flair for Blaze and spicy historical
romance enthusiasts.
Publisher: Harlequin
Blaze (July 2008)
Harlequin Blaze Historicals
