Bakers Dozen 10

So I couldn't do this list with out also adding The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss.  As I stated in the previous post, this was one of two books that Kristi suggested.

The story is set in the year 1066 in England during the transition from a Saxon England to a Norman England.  The fierce warrior Wulfgar is in charge of an army to claim the land and residents of Darkenwald in the name of William, the Conqueror.  But the conniving Ragnor gets there first, killing the Lord of Darkenwald, and he wishes to posses his beautiful daughter Aislinn.  Fortunately for Aislinn, Wulfgar takes possession of Darkenwald and becomes their new Lord.  Refusing to bow, she becomes Wulfgar's slave and mistress.  Through out the story Aislinn and Wulfgar struggle with their feelings for each other but you see their love blossom.

Also I loved the the plot twist of Wulfgar's vengeful and evil sister, Gwyneth.  Her presence in the story makes for an interesting plot and drama.

I have to say when I first read this story and The Flame and the Flower I actually preferred the other one more.  Only because the speech is written how we would perceive 1066 English would be spoken.  So as a 16 year old it was a little hard to follow.  As I've gotten older though, this has become another one of the books that I pick up on a frequent basis and re-read over and over again.

If you are interested in reading historical romance, you can not go wrong with Kathleen E. Woodiwiss.

Bakers Dozen 9

The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

This book was recommended to me years ago by Kristi when she found out that I was starting to get into romance novels.  In fact I remember her saying point blank, "If you love romance novels you have to read The Flame and the Flower and The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss."  So I remember going to Boarders and buying them right away and LOVING them.  Kathleen E. Woodiwiss is definitely the queen of historical romance.

This book is set in the 1800's in post revolutionary war America.  The story starts of with Heather, going with her abusive aunts brother to London to hopefully get a job at Lady Cabot's school for women.  But the man has other plans and tries to rape Heather.  Scared and frightened she runs from him after she accidental stabs him and comes across two men whom she thinks is a part of law enforcement but turns out they went out on their Captains orders to find a "pretty wench to spend the night with."  After spending a couple of nights with the Captain Brandon Birmingham she flees back to her aunt.  Unfortunately, Heather is with child and is forced to marry Brandon.  They set sail to America where the antagonist Louisa is and she finds out that the conniving women is Brandon's former fiance.

The drama builds into a wonderful crescendo, and you can not put the book down.  Seriously, every few months I find myself picking this book up and re-reading it from front to back cover repeatedly.  I would love to go on and on about how much I love this book but I have to be honest words just don't describe how awesome this book is.