Thursday, October 8, 2009

Beauty's Curse-Traci E. Hall

Beauty's Curse
Traci E. Hall
Medallion, Nov 2009, $7.95
ISBN: 9781933836560s

In 1193 her family demands Galiana Montehue marry soon or else they will arrange a marriage for her. So far she has found no one appealing as her incredible beauty has become a curse that has hardened her to all these shallow charmers. Galiana takes a walk with her twelve year old twin brothers when they engage in a snowball fight in the near forest.

Abruptly a man with a sword threatens her siblings. Galiana throws a rock at him, hitting his head and knocking him out. The knight’s men grab her to take care of their injured leader. When he awakens from his comatose state he is blind. As she nurses him back to health including his sight, they fall in love, but the royal spy Wallis O'Rourke must find the Breath of Merlin artifact to save the land from an evil ancient magic and marry the woman he loves before her father cuts off his head and other body parts.

With hints of Camelot, this is a terrific medieval romance as King William’s espionage agent falls in love with his beautiful nurse while he is unable to see her “curse”. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Galiana cast the first stone and never slows down until the final confrontation with her raging dad wanting his blood for her abduction. The twins put in-law relationships in perspective when they call him “her rapist”. Traci E. Hall provides an exhilarating late twelfth century tale as the Montehue brood wants vengeance against the man who loves their daughter.

Harriet Klausner

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