The Royal Hunter

August 6, 2001
Kauffman (Your Wish Is My Command) continues to mix fantasy, sex and touchy-feely wisdom in this breezy time-travel romance about the Royal Hunter, a 23rd-century Australian mercenary who travels to 21st-century Connecticut to fetch Eleri Trahaern, the Royal Healer. Devin Archer, a hard-boiled hottie with a chip on his shoulder, was hired by Queen Catriona as she lay dying and pregnant with the successor to the Welsh throne of Llanfair. Only Eleri can save Catriona's son, but she fled Llanfair and the century 29 years earlier to protect her unborn daughter from the royal family's enemies. With the help of Baleweg, a Yoda-like mystic, Devin steps through a triangle of time and encounters Talia, Eleri's daughter. Talia, an animal rescuer, was orphaned at the age of six, and although she's always possessed the ability to feel an animal's pain, she knows nothing about healing and very little of Llanfair. While Baleweg trains Talia to open her heart, Devin protects them from Emrys, a wizard who was cloned from Baleweg but who still hasn't learned how to play well with others. Despite Devin's reserve, he is strongly attracted to Talia, and together they learn how to embrace the power of love. Kauffman's whimsical tale stretches the bounds of the believable, but she anchors her readers with sensuality, humor and compassion.

September 15, 2001
What would you do if a tall, dark, and handsome man with an Aussie accent showed up at your doorstep? How about if he said he was from the future and meant to take you there? Talia Trahaern is just as skeptical yet unable to look away. She has created a life for herself in Connecticut, albeit a lonely one. Then Devlin Archer shows up to tell her that not only is he from the future but that she's the Royal Healer and must come heal their dying, pregnant queen. Devlin is determined to complete the job, for which the queen will pay him handsomely, but the trick is, he can't take Talia back to the future unless she comes willingly. Understandably, this will take some doing. He's up to the challenge, however; although he's not certain why, she fascinates him. Talia and the reader are in for a great adventure, beginning with her budding relationship with an alluring stranger and ending with saving a kingdom.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)