Helpful Score: 1
Good book. I couldn't put it down after I started reading it.
From Publishers Weekly
Take two headstrong protagonists with divergent backgrounds and throw in a dash of mysticism and some weighty historical events, and you get this meaty, occasionally overwritten romance set in Elizabethan England. Beautiful but impulsive Catherine Spencer is a court maiden with an impressive pedigree and an even more impressive dowry, one that rough-edged Patrick Hepburn, a Scottish lord with the gift of prophetic visions, would like to get his hands on. When the marginalized king of Scotland implores Hepburn to envision the fate of the English crown after Queen Elizabeth's death, he sees Cat in his mind's eye, implicates her in his destiny and vows to apprehend and "tame" her, as his entrée into English nobility. The cultured Englishwoman and the blunt Scot inevitably clash at first sight, with Hepburn calling Cat a "spoiled little bitch" and Cat dubbing him an "offensive swine." Gradually, however, the sparring pair capitulate to lust and love. History is not just backdrop; invoked in key narrative threads, it keeps the plot taut and textured. Henley (Undone, etc.) succeeds in creating an atmosphere of impending social cataclysm that enhances the lovers' sense of urgency and embeds their English-Scottish union in a more epochal context. As twists of fate contrive to keep the two apartintrigue, backstabbing, the bubonic plaguereaders will hanker for them to live happily ever after.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Take two headstrong protagonists with divergent backgrounds and throw in a dash of mysticism and some weighty historical events, and you get this meaty, occasionally overwritten romance set in Elizabethan England. Beautiful but impulsive Catherine Spencer is a court maiden with an impressive pedigree and an even more impressive dowry, one that rough-edged Patrick Hepburn, a Scottish lord with the gift of prophetic visions, would like to get his hands on. When the marginalized king of Scotland implores Hepburn to envision the fate of the English crown after Queen Elizabeth's death, he sees Cat in his mind's eye, implicates her in his destiny and vows to apprehend and "tame" her, as his entrée into English nobility. The cultured Englishwoman and the blunt Scot inevitably clash at first sight, with Hepburn calling Cat a "spoiled little bitch" and Cat dubbing him an "offensive swine." Gradually, however, the sparring pair capitulate to lust and love. History is not just backdrop; invoked in key narrative threads, it keeps the plot taut and textured. Henley (Undone, etc.) succeeds in creating an atmosphere of impending social cataclysm that enhances the lovers' sense of urgency and embeds their English-Scottish union in a more epochal context. As twists of fate contrive to keep the two apartintrigue, backstabbing, the bubonic plaguereaders will hanker for them to live happily ever after.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Elizabethan era romance & suspense. Dress designer for Queen E, Cat Spenser is young & wild.
Lord Steward of Scotland, Patrick Hepburn is gifted with foresite. A tangled web of deceit & danger.
Lord Steward of Scotland, Patrick Hepburn is gifted with foresite. A tangled web of deceit & danger.
Blurb on back of book:
The Spitfire
A dress designer for Queen Elizabeth, Catherine Seton Spencer is cursed - or is it blessed? - with unbound impulsiveness. Secretly venturing into the heady streets of London, she casts off the reins of propriety in a search for excitement and true love. Little does Cat know that her bold curiosity will lead her to the man destined to claim her ...
The Savage
Rough-hewn and roguish, Patrick Hepburn, Lord Stewart of Scotland, is a man of strength and cunning. Possessing the gift of foresight, he tells the ambitious King James that the throne of England will be his. As reward, the king promises him a wealthy bride to help him regain his family fortune, and sends him to London as an emissary to the court - where he finds the beauty who has haunted his visions.
The Stratagem
Divided by loyalties and society, but bound by a desire that drives them into each other's arms, Cat and Patrick find themselves in an intricate web of deceit and danger that threatens to topple the throne - and tear the lovers apart ...
The Spitfire
A dress designer for Queen Elizabeth, Catherine Seton Spencer is cursed - or is it blessed? - with unbound impulsiveness. Secretly venturing into the heady streets of London, she casts off the reins of propriety in a search for excitement and true love. Little does Cat know that her bold curiosity will lead her to the man destined to claim her ...
The Savage
Rough-hewn and roguish, Patrick Hepburn, Lord Stewart of Scotland, is a man of strength and cunning. Possessing the gift of foresight, he tells the ambitious King James that the throne of England will be his. As reward, the king promises him a wealthy bride to help him regain his family fortune, and sends him to London as an emissary to the court - where he finds the beauty who has haunted his visions.
The Stratagem
Divided by loyalties and society, but bound by a desire that drives them into each other's arms, Cat and Patrick find themselves in an intricate web of deceit and danger that threatens to topple the throne - and tear the lovers apart ...
A dress designer for Queen Elizabeth, CAtherine Seton Spencer is cured with unbound impulsiveness. Little does Cat know that her bold curiosity will lead her to the man destined to claim her. Roguish Patrick Hepburn, Lord Stewart of Scotland, is a man of strength and cunning in need of a wealthy bride to help him regain his family fortune.
A dress designer for Queen Elizabeth, Catherine Seton Spencer is cursed-or is it blessed?-with unbound impulsiveness. Secretly venturing into the heady streets of London, she casts off the reins of propriety in a search for excitement and true love. Little does Cat know that her bold curiosity will lead her to the man she is destined to love...
Wonderful story! Highly recommended!
I love Henley, she doesn't disappoint here...
Romatic fiction
"Insatiable" is Medieval DeWarenne Series, Book 2
Although it does not come up as such, this book was later renamed.
A dress designer for Queen Elizabeth, Catherine Seton Spenser is cursed -- or is it blessed?--with unbound impulsiveness. Secretly venturing into the heady streets of London, she casts off the reigns of propriety in a search for excitement and true love. Little does "Cat" know that her bold curiosity will lead her to the man destined to claim her.....
Rough-hewn and roguish, Patrick Hepburn, Lord Stewart of Scotland, is a man of strength and cunning. Possessing the gift of foresight, he tells the ambitious King James that the throne of England will soon be his. As reward, the king promises him a wealthy bride to help him regain his family fortune, and sends him to London as an emissary to the court -- where he finds the beauty who has haunted his visions.
Divided by loyalties and society, but bound by a desire that drives them into each other's arms, Cat and Patrick find themselves in an intricate web of deceit and danger that threatens to topple the throne--and tear the lovers apart.
Although it does not come up as such, this book was later renamed.
A dress designer for Queen Elizabeth, Catherine Seton Spenser is cursed -- or is it blessed?--with unbound impulsiveness. Secretly venturing into the heady streets of London, she casts off the reigns of propriety in a search for excitement and true love. Little does "Cat" know that her bold curiosity will lead her to the man destined to claim her.....
Rough-hewn and roguish, Patrick Hepburn, Lord Stewart of Scotland, is a man of strength and cunning. Possessing the gift of foresight, he tells the ambitious King James that the throne of England will soon be his. As reward, the king promises him a wealthy bride to help him regain his family fortune, and sends him to London as an emissary to the court -- where he finds the beauty who has haunted his visions.
Divided by loyalties and society, but bound by a desire that drives them into each other's arms, Cat and Patrick find themselves in an intricate web of deceit and danger that threatens to topple the throne--and tear the lovers apart.
The Spitfire: a dress designer for Queen Elizabeth, Catherine Seton Spencer is cursed--or is it blessed?--with unbound impulsiveness. Secretly venturing into the heady streets of London, she casts off the reins of propriety in a search for excitement and true love. Little does Cat know that her bold curiosity will lead her to the man destined to claim her...
The Savage: Rough-hewn and roguish, Patrick Hepburn, Lord Stewart of Scotland, is a man of strength and cunning. Possessing the gift of foresight, he tells the ambitious King James that the throne of England will be his. As reward, the king promises him a wealthy bride to help him regain his family fortune, and sends him to London as an emissary to the court--where he finds the beauty who has haunted his visions.
The Stratagem: Divided by loyalties and society, but bound by a desire that drives them into each other's arms, Cat and Patrick find themselves in an intricate web of deceit and danger that threatens to topple the throne--and tear the lovers apart...
The Savage: Rough-hewn and roguish, Patrick Hepburn, Lord Stewart of Scotland, is a man of strength and cunning. Possessing the gift of foresight, he tells the ambitious King James that the throne of England will be his. As reward, the king promises him a wealthy bride to help him regain his family fortune, and sends him to London as an emissary to the court--where he finds the beauty who has haunted his visions.
The Stratagem: Divided by loyalties and society, but bound by a desire that drives them into each other's arms, Cat and Patrick find themselves in an intricate web of deceit and danger that threatens to topple the throne--and tear the lovers apart...
Wonderful book! Very detailed in the names of the time period.
