Trapped at the Altar

May 12, 2014
Feather’s dress-up drama set in 1684 has plenty of zest, but not enough to compensate for its flaws. Ariadne Fairfax is the tiny, feisty daughter of a titled family that fell from grace in England’s Civil War. Now she makes her living by smuggling. Ari is betrothed to the man who was raised as her foster brother, Ivor Chalfont. Although Ivor is muscular, hairy, authoritative, and her dearest friend, Ari doesn’t want him as her husband. Instead, she yearns for a poet by the name of Gabriel Fawcett. Though she gives Gabriel her virginity, she can’t escape Ivor’s steely determination to honor family obligations. There are some interesting moments when newlyweds Ivor and Ari frankly discuss Ari’s divided loyalties, but these are too few to overcome the clichés, the stock plots, and the cheesy caricatures that pass for characters.

June 15, 2014

In order to unite their two feuding outlaw families, fiercely independent Lady Ariadne Fairfax is betrothed to her second cousin Ivor Chalfont, with whom she had been raised. She rarely gives the matter a thought until her grandfather demands that they ratify the contract and wed. Although secretly in love with another, Ari has little choice but to obey. When Ari's grandfather dies unexpectedly, the family elders make sure that she and Ivor marry--immediately--and then head to London to reclaim both families' rightful places at court. With Ari pining for another and Ivor needing to be sure Ari is not with child, their marriage starts out chaste. Yet if Ivor succeeds in his plan, it won't remain that way for long. VERDICT Exceptional plotting, smart protagonists, and enough treachery, bloody religious strife, and political intrigue to bring the turbulent times of the late Restoration vividly to life make this fast-paced, adventurous romance (set during a seldom-used period) a memorable read. Feather (Twelfth Night Secrets) lives on Chesapeake Bay.

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