Sasha Lord: In My Wild Dream

In My Wild Dream: D-

Kassandra & Cadedryn Caenmore

Wild series #5

For years, Kassandra has dreamed of a strong Scottish laird, surrounded by a cloak of evil, whom she's destined to marry. When the dreams begin to change, and a dream-world knife follows her into the waking world, she fears for the man in her dreams and persuades her half-sister, Princess Kalial, to take her to court where she may find and help him. Kassandra's intended turns out to be Cadedryn, a powerful warrior dedicated to regaining the land and title his murdered father lost when he married for love rather than politics. Determined not to repeat his father's mistake, Cadedryn rejects Kassandra, pronouncing his intention to marry the landed Lady Corine. Abandoning her courtly accoutrements, Kassandra pursues Cadedryn by posing as peasant. Soon, Caderyn falls for the fiery, flame-haired commoner he knows as Kaitlynn, threatening the plans of Lady Corine-as well as other, more sinister forces.

The fifth of Ms. Lord’s Wild series is of Kassandra, “wild child” and of Cadedryn. They are…interesting.

Let me give a prologue-y sidenote before I begin:

I understand that in the medieval times, girls married in their early to mid-teens, from fourteen to seventeen. Anything older = spinster!! This age gets progressively later as time passes. So when a girl is sixteen in medieval time, I immediately equate it to modern day of maybe twenty six, twenty seven. Therefore, a girl of marriageable age ought to be …not quite so childish and at least, be somewhat mature.

Perhaps this is my mistake: maybe girls in the medieval times at age sixteen were still… girls, not quite women. Weird. (But didn’t everyone die a lot younger back then? So their sixteen is like today’s thirty five… no? Oy…!)

Okay, back to the review.

Kassandra is a “wild child,” raised in the woods, running about the woods with her wild animal pet, weasel Triu-cair. She is also the half-sister of Kalial (now Kalial McTaver from book one). With her strange prophetic powers, she sees her beloved soulmate in her dreams. It gives her a precious sword and asks her to look for him.

Being a romantic, she is determined to search for this mystery man. She convinces Kalial to take her to the city (I forget which but the King is there) and on her trips, she meets an infuriatingly annoying man by the name of Cadedryn. He, of course, is her hero, something she doesn’t realize.

Cadedryn is in the city to regain his family’s name, something that was lost when his father disobeyed the King’s orders to marry a woman – he, instead, chose to marry the woman he loved and in turn, the King stripped the Caenmores of their wealth. To Cadedryn’s horror, his father was murdered when he was a young boy, and Cadedryn went to live with Laird McCafferty and his son, Curtis. It’s been Cadedryn’s desire to regain his family’s honor by proving himself as a worthy warrior and by marrying advantageously. By meeting the king and agreeing to an arranged marriage, he feels he will right the wrongs of his father.

When Cadedryn falls for the wild Kassandra – surprise!

Things get a little twisted when Cadedryn mistakenly believes Kassandra has a twin sister, and he falls for both… and someone is trying to kill both of them…

Kassandra acts like a sixteen year old – foolishly in love with her romantic notions and heady with the desire for love, yet it is clear that she is not a strong enough heroine. I just can’t picture her to soothe Cadedryn when he is in need of her arms and yadda yadda yadda. She is fickle. Young. And holy cow, she really does sound like a modern teenager going through growing pains.

Skip this melodramatic bore.

Susan Carroll: The Dark Queen

The Dark Queen: A
Ariane Cheney & Justice Deauville, Comte de Renard
Dark Queen Series 1

Susan Carroll starts her Dark Queen series with the introduction of the eldest of the Cheney sisters, Ariane Cheney.

Ariane Cheney is slightly spinsterish, as most responsible, eldest siblings in romances tend to be. She is a Daughter of the Earth, a healer or a witch, but in the nicest sense of the word. Her mother was Faire Isle’s legendary healer and Ariane is struggling to fill her mother’s shoes while raising her younger sisters, dealing with a stubborn suitor, and battling the all-powerful queen of France, Catherine de Medici.

Justice Deauville is the Comte de Renard and has decided on marrying Ariane. She isn’t interested since she wants to marry for love, but he continuously pursues her as she tries to figure out the mystery surrounding the injuries of a wounded captain of the Navarre army. Renard backs off, only if Ariane accepts a ring that he gives her; he tells her that the ring will let him know should Ariane ever need him. If she succeeds in calling for him three times, she must marry him.

Ariane agrees, and goes back to trying to figure out if Catherine de Medici has surreptitiously killed Captain Remy’s queen, Jeanne of Navarre. As Ariane investigates the situation, Catherine sends witch-hunters onto the island after Ariane and other wise women.

Will Renard get Ariane? (yes, he will; it's a romance...remember??) What will happen to Captain Remy? And evil Catherine de Medici?

Read and you’ll find out. Renard is lovable – who doesn’t love a man who knows what he wants and pursues it? Ariane is sensible and when she realizes Renard might be that man for him…

An intriguing start to the series, The Dark Queen is a very fast read with compelling characters.

Elizabeth Vaughan: Warsworn

Warsworn B+
The Chronicles of the Warlands #2

Xylara and Keir

In a fascinating sequel to Warprize (2005), Lara, the Queen of Xy, and Keir, warlord of the Firelanders, are on the way to his people's homeland. When scouts report that a walled village of the Xy has denied them entry, Keir and his troops are ready to annihilate the village. Lara intervenes, and discovers that a plague has killed nearly everyone inside. When she begins to sicken, Keir helps heal her. As the plague hits the entire army encampment, taking hundreds of lives, Keir’s second conspires to displace him. Readers will be delighted to learn more of the customs of this unique civilization, and they will enjoy the growing love between Lara and Keir. It is refreshing for the conflict in a romance to eschew petty misunderstandings and present, instead, life-and-death situations through which together the hero and heroine become stronger. The emphasis is on the emotional rather than the physical in Vaughan's unusual and thoroughly enjoyable tale. Diana Tixier Herald (amazon.com – booklist)

*SPOILERS about the first book, Warprize*

Warsworn continues in the journey of Lara and Keir as they make their trip back to the Plains, Keir’s home.

The readers now know that a warprize is not a sex slave, or even a slave for that matter. It is a treasure, something that is treated preciously because of its worth. A warprize usually offers the tribe a type of a special revolution – a gift that brings benefits and change. Lara, met with this information in the last book, was able to give herself freely to Keir, knowing that he prized her – and she was given special status because of her uniqueness.

They are traveling to the Plains when they pass by a village where a plague has overcome them. Keir, out of love and fear for Lara, is against entering this village to find out more about the illness, but Lara is determined to try and help find the cure to whatever illness has caused the destruction of an entire village.

She goes in and lo behold, falls sick. Not having discovered the cure, she knows she must kill herself so that the illness isn’t taken back to Keir and the soldiers.

However, Keir is unwilling to let her go and she is retrieved…bringing the illness to the entire tribe. And when Keir falls sick…

I felt that this was a good sequel to Warprize, but I don’t feel that it surpasses it. This book is a little gritty, with lots of death. There is also a loss of many beloved secondary characters, something that I felt brought about realness to the book but not necessarily happiness. (And I don’t really have a problem with people dying…) As with the first book, there were some scenes that melted my heart, like when Keir saves Lara (*sigh*).

When Lara insisted on going in and discovering the cure to the illness – or at least offering her help – I wanted to strangle her. Why?! She had everything going for her! Why would she jeopardize it? But the fact that she did go in, knowing that she might not survive, is a trait that is indicative of her character – compassionate and full of desire to heal. Keir’s anger with her was just and made him that much more drool-worthy. *sigh* (Seriously, he’s a hunk. I want him…)

It’s a good tale, captivating and exciting and I’m excited to read the last installment of the series.

Elizabeth Vaughan: Warprize

Warprize: A-
The Chronicles of the Warlands #1

Xylara and Keir

Even though she is the daughter of a king, Xylara refuses to wait idly for a marriage that will benefit the Land of Xy and so becomes an accomplished healer, a useful skill when her country is drawn into war with the Firelanders. Even though her half brother, the present king, does not want her treating the enemy, Xylara feels she must--both for the honor of Xy and for simple humanity. When her brother suddenly surrenders to the Firelander Warlord, Xylara is stripped of all her possessions and sent to the conqueror as a slave referred to as "Warprize." As Xylara learns to live with the masterful Warlord, she begins to understand the very different social structure and beliefs of those she has seen as uncivilized. Vaughan's brawny barbarian romance re-creates the delicious feeling of adventure and the thrill of exploring mysterious cultures created by Robert E. Howard in his Conan books and makes for a satisfying escapist read with its enjoyable romance between a plucky, near-naked heroine and a truly heroic hero. Diana Tixier Herald (amazon.com – booklist)

The first of the Warland series, I completely fell in love with Ms. Vaughan’s creative fantasy world. The heroine was refreshing, the hero was heroic (and completely lovable), and the adventure they embark on is wonderful.

Xylara is the daughter of the king, making her an elite. However, she has chosen the path to be a healer, loving the fact that she can use her skill to serve her people. Xy is fighting a rebel group called the Firelanders, and she acquires permission to heal the enemy soldiers as well; she refuses to stand by and watch soldiers die for the lack of treatment.

The warlord of the Firelanders agree to cease fighting in exchange for Lara and she willingly sacrifices herself for her people. Her love for people (hers and even for the Firelanders) is wonderful and gives depth to her characters, something rare in romances. To her surprise, Keir, the warlord, is handsome and treats her with the utmost respect.

This story focuses on Lara’s adaptation to the Firelanders and her insecurities about being seen as the slave. It is in written in her point of view, which is also a little different from the traditional romance.

A great start to the trilogy, there were some scenes in the book that I read over and over again, just because it was so dreamy. Fantastical and exciting, I enjoyed this read immensely and when I finished, I immediately started on the next book because I wanted to be with Lara and Keir as they continue their journey together.

Penelope Williamson: Keeper of the Dream

Keeper of the Dream: A


Published in 1995, Keeper of the Dream by Penelope Williamson is a hard book to find. However, the search is well worth the results! It is an epic tale between the Norman warrior Raine and Welsh princess Arianna set in 1157.

Raine takes over Arianna's home and wants to become lord over it - something that is very significant to him because he is the bastard son of an earl. Arianna comes from a loved Welsh family and is a seer - someone who can look into the future and/or the past.

It is decided by the King Henry that Raine, aka the Black Dragon, and Arianna are to wed in order to keep the two feuding countries at peace. And it is through this marriage that Arianna and Raine discover a powerful and everlasting love, one that stands through the trials of time.

Williamson's book has all the elements of a good romance: a tortured but determined hero who is self-made, a sassy and bold but compassionate heroine, and a love that is determined to prevail.

An excellent read and an even better love story, this saga-esque six-hundred page whomper will leave you satisfied, yet wanting more.