Road trip!! Road Trip!!
http://www.deborahsimmons.com/
Yes, my little Petunia’s we have us a road trip! To top that off, it’s a road trip in Medieval
times! You know what that means don’t you? No flushing toilets! It takes a very talented author to write a romance where there are no Port-a-potties. I do admit that the problem of romance novel excretion has always lurked in the back of my mind when I'm reading. It takes some of the sensual feel of the story away. There are even some characters who do not see to have bodily functions. Back to the book.A long, long time ago, there was an author by the name of Deborah Simmons. In my humble opinion, she has never received the recognition she deserves. She is also an author in a long list of authors who do not have all the rights to alllll their books, which means that she cannot benefit from the use of her all of backlist. Anyway, I am especially fond of her Regency novels. The Vicar’s Daughter being one of my favorites. So, Ms. Simmons has a special place in my heart, even though I don’t believe she has written anything new in a long time. I have never given up hope of seeing something new from her. Back to the book.
Taming the Wolf, is the first book in the de Burgh family series. There are seven brothers and they are all big…everything is big, wink, wink. This also means there are seven books, plus the father novella.
When the story begins, Lady Marion Warenne of Baddersly is running away, but before she can find a safe haven trouble comes knocking. A gang of hired killers attacks Marion and her traveling companions. She is the only one who survives. Ta-ta-ta-taaah…the de Burgh’s to the rescue. Two of the de Burgh brothers come to her aid and take her back to the family compound. However, there is a problem, (other than the attack). She has a head injury and doesn’t remember who she is, or why she was running. She does know that her life was/is in danger. The de Burgh’s give her refuge.
While she is residing at the castle, she starts to regain her health, but not her memory. Time passes; she becomes quite happy and content staying with the de Burgh family. She becomes friends with all of the brothers at the compound and they grow to love her – like a sister. Then one day her bubble burst, and the uncle she was running away from discovers where she is and demands her return. This news is brought to the castle by the eldest son, Dunstan de Burgh. Dunstan and Marion have never met, and they don’t necessarily get along at first meeting. In fact, you might say, they irritate each other. It is a case of instant lust, resist, lust, resist. It is a wonderful conflict. It’s also a case of who draws the short straw when Dunstan “volunteers” to return Marion to her uncle. At this point the road trip begins, and the story steps up a notch.
Marion and Dunstan are constantly trying to outsmart each other. Marion’s intention is to escape from Dunstan, and Dunstan’s intention is to return her to her uncle. It’s great fun to watch these two circle each other.
There is a strong sense of the time period this story takes place in. You can feel it in the air, see the dirt, grit, and danger. There are some wonderful vivid narratives, which bring this period to life. After reading this story, I crossed the medieval period off my list of places I wanted to time-travel to.
There are numerous villains hanging out in this story. There is even one who could be a future hero, but turns out not to be. Ms. Simmons does a good job of tricking us when she introduces this character. Thankfully, this wasn’t the first time I had read this book, so I wasn’t all that surprised. It’s like watching The Sixth Sense more than once, you see all the signs you missed the first time.
I did have an issue with Taming of the Wolf. Marion tries to escape a number of times. I can understand the first few times, but she doesn’t give up. She puts herself and others in danger with each attempt, she becomes a TSTL heroine. It became tiring, and I found myself becoming irritated with her.
But for the most part this was a delightful book. In the pages a strong, stubborn, alpha male by the name of Dunstan existed. Walking by his side was a charming woman (when she was not running away). In addition, it has a great intro to a bunch of big males, aka the de Burgh boys. I enjoyed reading this book. It was a nice visit to an old friend.
Time/Place: Medieval England Road trip
Sensuality: Hot
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