Memories Schmemories Part IV, Entwined by Emma Jensen

No website, check out book list at: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/j/emma-jensen/

Sad to say, Emma Jensen is one of those authors who is no longer writing. She wrote 13 books, and won numerous awards, starting with traditional Regency and progressing to longer historical books. Whenever you picked up a Emma Jensen book, you knew that you would be getting a book with plenty of witty dialog and humor in it.

I would say that if you want to read one of Jensen's books, Entwined is probably one of her best, although I remember some of her Regencies being pretty humorous. This story has two wonderful characters: the hero, Nathan, is scarred and partially blind, and Isobel, the heroine, is loaded with the typical loathsome family (at least the men). Her father and brothers are selfish drunken guys and Isobel is close to being a martyr. Also, for those of you who cringe when they read "och" and "dinna fash yourself," be prepared for some Scottish slang. However, there is also some wonderful Gaelic in this book; I just wish I could hear it instead of read it. I love hearing Gaelic, but I digress.

Nathan was incredibly sexy and he fell in love with Isobel at first smell. Everything about him is based on scent, sound and touch. He can only see Isobel in a vague blur... and at the end of the book he does not miraculously regain his sight. Isobel was a strong heroine. She has a wee bit of temper and isn't afraid to stand up to Nathan. One of my favorite parts was the continual bantering between the two main characters. I love witty dialogue. (This is not the same as I love you, I hate you dialogue.)

There is a secondary murder plot going on and the thought crossed my mind that maybe this was one of the first of those "friends who spy for their country" books. This was written in 1997 and I'm not sure when that phenomenon flooded the publishing world. Some of the secondary characters obviously are intended to have their own books, but the main thrust of the story is the romance between Nathan and Isobel.

The weak parts of the book are Isobel's father and brothers. They are important to the plot in the beginning, because they are the reason she marries Nathan. However, the brothers show up later and I'm not sure why... that plot-line doesn't seem to go anywhere. I also felt the ending was just a little rushed. I would have liked to see things tied up a little bit neater... However, now that I've read this book, I feel the urge to read some of her others and ignore my growing TBR pile (but I won't.)

So, if you've never read Emma Jensen, take the plunge - try this one or one of her traditional Regencies: Best Laid Schemes, A Grand Design, His Grace Endures and Fallen (a sequel to Entwined)

Time/Place: Regency England
Rating: or Couldn't make up my mind
Sensuality Rating: Hot