CAPTIVE HEART

Author: Sarah McKerrigan ISBN: 0446616168 10/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: WARNER
Time Period: Medieval - 1136

She can fight like a man. Now she'll learn to love like a woman. A warrior born and raised, Helena of Rivenloch is desperate to save her youngest sister from a fate worse than death: marriage. After trying-and failing-to murder the groom, she does the next best thing. She takes his right-hand knight, the dashing Colin du Lac, as her hostage. And discovers that her new "captive" is chivalrous to the core, highly amused by her behavior, and far more dangerous than any warrior she has ever fought. Du Lac is soon trading quips instead of sword thrusts, exchanging glances that turn to kisses, and laying siege to Helena's innocent heart. But du Lac has no use for a warrior wife and Helena will not wed-even though she surrenders to her passion every night in his arms…

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I have to admit, CAPTIVE HEART and I got off to a rather rocky start, mainly because I had problems trying to decipher just who Helena was supposed to be. Throughout the first half of the book she came off as rather stubborn and nearly TSTL, causing me more than once to lose interest in the storyline. But once the action began to pick up during the second half of the story, I began to see Helena as the warrior maiden I think the author wanted me to see, a woman who is physically strong and determined, yet at the same time somewhat naive and vulnerable. If Helena had come across to me that way from the beginning, CAPTIVE HEART and I would have gotten along much, much better.

CAPTIVE HEART is the second in the series of books about three medieval warrior maidens, the first sister of which, Deirdre, had her story told in LADY DANGER. Several characters, including all three sisters, appear once again in this story, which I'm sure those who read LADY DANGER will be glad to see returning. The author mixes in quite a bit of humor throughout the story, but where McKerrigan really excels in her writing is in the book's dramatic and battle action scenes. Not to mention, the loves scenes between Helena and Colin were sensual and hot, hot, hot!

Sarah McKerrigan has a wonderful medieval voice and a great flare for the dramatic, and I have no doubt that fans of Xena-type stories will fall in love with this series. However, I would love to see McKerrigan write a darker, more serious medieval romance featuring less humor and more complex characters because she certainly has the talent and skill to pull it off. I'm way overdue for one of those types of medieval romances (i.e. Marsha Canham's romantic, action packed medievals with strong female characters), and I think Sarah McKerrigan would be just the author to fix that. One can only hope.

Nancy Davis