THE LILY BRAND

Author: Sandra Schwab ISBN: 084395552X 5/2005 HISTORICAL Publisher: DORCHESTER/Leisure
Time Period: France and England - 1815 & 1816

Troy Sacheverell, fifth Earl of Ravenhurst, was captured in France. He'd gone to fight Napoleon, but what he found was much more sinister. Dragged from prison to an old French manor on the outskirts of civilization, he was purchased by a rich and twisted widow. But more dangerous still was the young beauty who claimed him as hers. Lillian wished to flee Camille, her stepmother, but none escaped the Black Widow's web. And on her nineteenth birthday, Lillian became Camille's heir. Her gift was a plaything: a man to end her naiveté, a man perfect in all ways but his stolen freedom. Reluctantly Lillian did as she was told, marked that beautiful flesh and branded it with the flower of her name. As she did, she saw there was no place to run. No matter if she should flee, no matter where she might go, she and this man were prisoners of passion, inextricably joined by The Lily Brand.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Wow, this is a weird one. Of course I like weird, so naturally I love THE LILY BRAND. Weirdness, or darkness, set amongst a time when perfection and proper decorum was the way most lords and ladies were thought to have lived their lives, in a historical romance is something uncommon. Sure, you may have read about the horrors of war or even a bit of the seamy side of London, but I doubt you have ever read anything like this. It's quite repulsive, actually, when you really think about it, but it's also vague enough that a lot of the torture is in a reader's overactive imagination.

It takes a while to really figure out what has happened and is happening to the characters in this book. The writer gives away some of the truths, but at times, only half of them. Piecing it together is a bit tedious, and sometimes I wish it would pick up and resolve itself enough that the hero and heroine have more time being happy. However, it's just not that kind of story. It's sad and moody, and makes you wait until the bitter end before anyone has any closure. Some may find that a bit too much. Some may even think it a bit slow and maudlin, but I find it's worth holding your breath for the ending to come around and make things better.

Strange and touching, beautiful and horrific at the same time, THE LILY BRAND is a book unlike any other. It's not perfect, and can be frustrating when it repeats haunting phrases over and over, but it's also one of the best stories I feel thankful to have read.

Shannon Johnson