Saturday, April 7, 2007

Sunday's Oldies but Goodies......


Greetings, all!




And the pick this week for the Oldies But Goodies review is......




A Rose in Winter
By Shana Abe

Released January, 1998


The first time I read this book was 2001. I happened upon it while looking for some books for my boys at a local used book store. (Okay, so I wandered away from the children’s section ~ it couldn’t be helped.)

I was hooked before the prologue was over.

A Rose in Winter is the story of Lady Solange, the daughter of the Marquess of Ironstag, and Damon Wolf, orphan and future Lord of Wolfhaven. Solange and Damon have known since childhood that they were meant to be married, but Solange’s father has other ideas. The Marquess of Ironstag instead marries off his daughter to the Earl of Redmond, having to threaten Damon in order to win Solange’s cooperation.

And so begins eight years of Hell for Solange. Redmond is evil, and Solange is trapped, until one night when everything changed. Redmond dies, and Damon appears at the gates of Redmond’s estate in France with news of her father’s death. Solange uses the opportunity to escape back to England with him, and along the way, both of them re-discover what it truly means to be soul-mates.

I will not give away the ending. I will only say that all is not as serene as it appears, and Damon and Solange will have to overcome a lot of mistrust and hurt feelings between them before all is said and done.

This book is the reason I love a good historical romance. The story of Solange and Damon will break your heart, even as you see the two of them healing the rift that separates them after so many years. The heat level in this book is very sensual, with both characters falling in love all over again.

If you love a good, solid historical romance, then Shana Abe is your girl. You can visit her website at
www.shanaabe.com and view her booklist. Ms. Abe also has links to amazon.com for each book should you make up your mind to purchase one. (or several!).


Ms. Abe has graciously agreed to stop on by today (YAY!) so please, if you have read this book, let her know ~ ask a question ~ or just pop in and say hi.




Happy reading!

8 comments:

Kimber Li said...

Good morning! I'm awake. I really am. I did sleep in and Lady Bronco did beat me to the draw. But, I am awake now and on my second cup of coffee.

Excellent review, Lady! I love a good historical and this one looks to be full of adventure. When Shana stops in, I hope she tells us what's new!

Kimber Li said...

P.S. Please, Bog Buddies! Remember to recommend your favorite books and authors right here in the comment section. We'd love to expand our booklists on the Enduring Romance website. Please, read our criteria to the left on the front page. If we use your recommendation, we'll list your website, blog, or MySpace on the front page of our website.

Gwyneth Bolton said...

Great review, Lady Bronco! I'm not normally a historical reader. But every now and then, I'll read one. I'll have to check this one out. It sounds like it is full of angst. And I love angst... :-)

Gwyneth

Kimber Li said...

Gotta have angst to have a story.
;)

LadyBronco said...

Hi Gwyneth ~ Thanks for stopping by. :0)

This story definitely qualifies as being full of angst. The byplay between Damon and Solange will, at turns, make you laugh, cry, and even make you angry.

It's just a great story. :0)

Anonymous said...

Hi, Everyone! I'm so sorry to be late! It turns out I lost the URL for the site--totally typical of me, LOL.

Anyway, thank you so much for your kind comments about ARIW. It was my very first published book, so it's kind of sentimental for me. And as for angst, yup, there's definitely plenty in there!

I tend to sprinkle it liberally upon my characters, LOL. I think it makes the stories more poignant.

LadyBronco said...

Hi Shana!

Thanks so much for stopping in - I appreciate you taking the time to say hi. :0)

Anonymous said...

I'm happy to stop by! It gives me a bit of a breather on this third Drákon book I'm working on now. :-)

Besides, I really appreciate that you've reviewed A ROSE IN WINTER, and that you enjoyed it. It seems like I wrote it about a billion years ago, LOL. Funny how life just keeps leaping forward, isn't it? It wasn’t really *that* long ago that I got that wonderful call from my agent saying ARIW had been accepted for publication. It just seems like it was. When I flip through it now, I remember it like I’m visiting an old friend. *s*