Tag: Historical Romance

I needed an easy read this week because I was falling behind on my schedule, so I went to the downstairs bookshelf and looked for another stand alone by my favorite author, Bertrice Small. This novel was the most unique one out of every book I have read by her. I have never read a book from her that was not based in the United Kingdom and Europe, this one taking place in what is now present day Syria. 

We travel all the way back to the third century BC, to the city of Palmyra and the surrounding desserts. The city is under Roman rule, which is a sore spot for its monarchs, although they are mostly left in peace. Young Zenobia, of a desert tribe, sees her mother tortured and killed by Roman soldiers, thus laying the groundwork for her lifelong hate of the entire Roman population. When she becomes queen of Palmyra through marriage, she plans and waits for the right time to overthrow the city’s Roman rulers and bring total and complete authority back to the Palmyran rulers. The story is loosely based on the real life queen Zenobia, of whom I discovered after doing some research online when I was curious if Palmyra had been an actual city in history. Not only was Zenobia a real person, but several of the other characters existed in real life, which gave Mrs. Small the amazing opportunity to use them as inspiration for this exciting tale of politics, revenge, and romance. 

As with most of her novels, I was left wanting more. I would have loved to see what happened to Zenobia and her husband in another tale, as we are left with them discussing plans for a new adventure at the very end. It also left me hungry to learn more about this strong willed and ambitious queen that lived so very long ago.

If you read and enjoyed A Moment in Time, which I reviewed way back in January, then you may like The Innocent, which takes place around the same time period, also in England and Wales. The main female character, Eleanore or Elf, spends nine years in a convent living a very happy and comfortable life there with the nuns while she learns all about her faith in preparation to take her final vows. However, she is forced to leave the convent when her brother, the last male heir to her family’s estate, dies without children and decides to make his beloved sister his heir rather than his wife or her family. She doesn’t go without a fight, even protesting against the king himself, so determined is she to become a nun. 

I knew when I picked this book up that the plot would involve something more beyond  removing a young woman from her convent and marrying her off. For a short period of time, it looks as though there is going to be no conflict beyond this. But if you have read any book by Bertrice Small, you know that she never lets anything be as simple as that. There is usually a happy ending, but it doesn’t come without frustration, struggle, or some other barrier. In this case, there is evil lurking in Elf’s life, someone believes that the young, innocent woman has done her wrong, and she will not stop her vendetta until Elf is dead. You’ll need to read to see how Elf overcomes those who seek revenge on her and what becomes of the estate that has suddenly been put in her charge.

Although technically this is not part of the O’Malley saga, it is considered Skye’s Legacy, I bunch this novel in with the previous six because the heroine who is the reason behind all the other books is still very much involved in the adventures we experience here. If you read Wild Jasmine, you will know that at the end of the book Jasmine had run away from her chosen husband, Jemmie Leslie. Still mourning the loss of her lover, she felt it insensitive and forward of the king to force a marriage on her. To avoid being forced into this marriage the clever Jasmine plays a trick on her intended by disappearing from her grandmother’s home before he comes to renew their acquaintance. The story starts to open up when after almost two years of searching Lord Leslie finally finds her. She is furious to have been found, and equally agitated to hear from everyone around her that it is time for her to remarry, and on top of that, that there is no better man for her than the one the king happened to have chosen. 

As I mentioned above, this is technically the first book in the Skye’s Legacy series. It consists of six books, exactly the same number of books that are in the O’Malley series. I am going to take a break from reading about the descendants of Skye O’Malley for a little bit, seeing as this is a good stopping point as we enter a new era of strong, adventurous women. I won’t be able to stay away for too long, Bertrice Small’s books are just too good!

If you have been reading the O’Malley saga, you will know that Skye’s youngest daughter, Velvet, spent some time in India due to a mistake which led to her being kidnapped. While she was there, she caught the eye of the ruler, fell in love with him, and had a child. When Velvet was forced to return to England she was also forced to leave her child behind. The daughter was raised as a princess, leading a life of privilege and luxury in which she lacked for nothing. However, due to a dangerous situation, just as she has started to become a young woman, her daughter has been given no choice but to leave India and join her family on the other side of the world. 

This is one of the more exciting and fascinating books in the series, in my opinion. We get to see Yasamans early life in India before she lands in England, at which time she becomes known as Jasmine, and then from there it is nonstop intrigue, romance, tragedy, and adventure. She is similar in both character and great beauty to her grandmother, her intelligence, kindness, mystery, and passion for love and life make her intriguing to the people around her and the men who fall in love with her. I have always felt that if it could get funded and someone was ambitious enough to try to turn these books into films, that this would be the movie I would look forward to most, even as I always look forward to reading this book again. If you don’t get enough of Jasmine in Wild Jasmine, you get a great deal more of her in the sequel, Darling Jasmine, which I will be reviewing next.