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Castle Keeper
The Mystic Castle's Highest Honor
The Raven Prince
Elizabeth Hoyt
ISBN-10: 0446618470
ISBN#-13: 9780446618472
Warner Books 2006, 356 pages
Little Battleford, England 1760
$6.50 US $9.50 Canada
Selected by Teresa
November 2006
Anna Wren is a widowed woman barely scraping by, she decides that she must seek out employment if she is to continue to provide for her mother-in-law and their maid. She has a chance encounter with the Earl of Swartingham's estate manager and finds out that the earl is in need of a new secretary. Before he knows it, she has talked him into hiring her.
Edward De Raaf, Earl of Swartingham, has come back to his childhood home Ravenhill Abbey in the hopes of filling the once happy place with happiness again. His temper has cost him yet another secretary and he informs his estate manager that he must find a secretary by the next day. Little does he know that his new secretary is a woman, a very capable and tempting one at that.
The tension between them is palpable as Edward finds that he cannot stop becoming aroused when around Anna. Anna in turn is also very affected by Edward, and is not intimidated by his temper. She gives as good as she gets, and Edward respects that about her.
Edward and Anna are not your typical protagonists. Edward is scarred, physically and emotionally, by the smallpox that took the lives of his parents and brother. Anna is a plain woman, whose husband's infidelity has hurt her immensely. These two people have known much sadness and betrayal and must learn to trust each other and their feelings as they grow closer.
The sexual attraction between them becomes unbearable, and Edward feels he must assuage his lust in a brothel rather than lose control and unleash his desires on the respectable Anna. If only Edward knew that he was having a similar effect on her. When he leaves for London, Anna has the opportunity to act on her fantasies. This sets up a scorching masquerade that practically seared the pages as I read.
THE RAVEN PRINCE was unlike any historical romance I have read, and it thoroughly enraptured me. Each character was singular, sometimes quirky and always entertaining. Throughout the novel there was a fictional story titled The Raven Prince that was just as enchanting (and for those of you who know your mythology, was the story of Cupid and Psyche in a different setting). Anna was a delightful heroine, kind and compassionate helping others even when it was difficult. Edward, whose bark was worse than his bite was a terrific hero whose physical flaws seem to disappear as the novel progresses.
Elizabeth Hoyt makes a spectacular debut with her engrossing and sexually charged novel. The love scenes are definitely enough to satisfy readers who like their sex more on the erotic side, although there is plenty of emotion that goes along with it. She has the perfect blend of heat and heart and I practically devoured the book. In a market where most historical romances seem to be the same old Regency with different names and faces, THE RAVEN PRINCE is a jewel among so much paste and glass.
