Once Abrielle was a proud, exceptional lady coveted for her bearing, her breeding, her wit, and her beauty. But when her stepfather is denied his rightful title and the wealth that accompanies it, Abrielle finds herself suddenly disgraced. Only one would still have her, the oafish and grotesque Desmond de Marlé. Yet no one else can rescue her once-proud family's honor, so she is left with no choice but to accept the cruel and hateful de Marlé's offer of marriage . . . even as she yearns for another lover.
Dashing, handsome, tall, and kind, Raven Seabern is quite unlike any man Abrielle has ever encountered. From the very first moment their eyes meet, he intrigues and mesmerizes her—and dancing in his arms at a royal banquet leaves her weak with the desire to surrender. But their love can never be, for Abrielle is betrothed to a monster. And the well-being of everyone she cares for demands that she honor her promise.
Still, the fire lit that night will not be doused. Raven knows he has found the true one and must never let her go—though secrets, deceptions, dishonor, and unimaginable peril will surely be their fate if they follow the dictates of their hearts.
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"A historian romance novel about Abrielle and Raven. Abrielle's family has fallen on hard times financially and they believed that the King was going to honor her step-father and deceased father during a ceremony wherein Abrielle's step-father would receive money and property, but this didn't happen. It was at that ceremony that Raven Seabern fell in love with Abrielle. Later, Desmond de Marle proposes to Abrielle. Abrielle finds him vile and untrustworthy, but feels she must marry him to save her family from poverty as Desmond inherited all of his deceased brother's property who just happened to have been previously betrothed to Abrielle prior to his suspicious death. During the wedding celebration, Gabrielle is taken aback by Raven's presence. Fortunately, he was also present when Abrielle is running from the drunken Desmond on their wedding night when he intends her harm. Raven seems to always be there, watching her, protecting her. When she finally is forced to marry Raven by her step-father, she isn't happy because she doesn't trust Raven and believes that he is only after her dowry. Little does Abrielle know that, when Raven discussed the marriage with Abrielle's step-father, Raven told him not to transfer Abrielle's possessions into his name. Abrielle's step-father is truly honored by Raven but Raven asks him not to tell Abrielle because he wants Abrielle to come to trust him on her own with no influence. A true love story with the traditional happy ending."
— Mary (4 out of 5 stars)
“Elbrick's bright British voice is well suited to the eleventh-century setting, and her treatment of the sometimes heavy-handed prose is tender enough to make the excessive summary of action seem just as engaging as the dialogue.”
— AudioFile" I love listening to the Scottish dialect so much I have listened to this book 3 times already. "
— Mer, 7/3/2024" this book is not very good, but she wrote it in her last days so maybe thats why. "
— Acenali28, 2/18/2014" I was extremely surprised I enjoyed this book. Maybe I liked it because of Raven and Cordelia (I didn't really like Abrielle's character at all), my two favorite characters, or maybe I just liked the whole historical fiction aspect. I did not like the fact that Woodiwiss made Abrielle's mother become pregnant; that was random in my opinion. I also thought the ending was a little gushy and I thought Mordea's entire character was also random. "
— Pepagrace, 2/6/2014" Her writing style was so bad it was hard to finish half this book even though the main story lines were not bad. "
— Saral, 2/4/2014" After Rose In Winter, I was extremely disappointed with the quality of writing in this book. Details, descriptions and vocabulary were inconsistent, mediocre and repetitive. Were it not for the brevity of the novel, I would not have bothered to finish reading it at all. "
— Andreacw, 1/30/2014" I love me some Kathleen Woodiwiss. But after reading her other works and then Everlasting, I wonder how much of this novel is actually hers. It seems to lack her usual humor, wit, and general style. I was sadly disappointed. "
— Arec, 1/18/2014" I've always loved Kathleen Woodiwiss and her lovestories but this one was boring and I could barely force myself to finish it. "
— Mistelle, 1/16/2014" Whenever I am in the mood for a good historical romance, I pick up Shanna or Rose in Winter by Woodiwiss. However her later books disappoint. I decided to read this one hoping for some earlier glory, but alas, I was disappointed. This will be the last Woodiwiss for me. "
— Ginny, 1/11/2014" Loved it! One of the best books I've read in awhile. Definately a Must read! "
— Tarah, 1/6/2014" alright, it was kind of lame. The fact that she kept getting kidnapped or whatever and Raven was always there to save the day was stupid. I dont' know what to think, it was sort of cheesy. I liked some parts, but all in all, it was just okay. "
— Mikael, 12/15/2013" I really had to force myself to finish this one. KW tried really hard to recapture the magic of her early books; but this one just didn't... "
— BamaGal, 12/14/2013Kathleen E. Woodiwiss (1939–2007), creator of the modern historical romance, remains one of America’s most successful and beloved storytellers, with more than thirty-six million copies of her novels in print. She is the author of over a dozen enormously successful masterworks of romantic fiction, all of them New York Times bestsellers. Her final literary work, Everlasting, was published in 2007.