Customer Reviews

Captive Heart

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Helena of Rivenloch is angry; angry at the world but most especially angry at the man that has come to their castle in order to marry her younger sister. The night before the wedding, Helena sneaks into the groom's bedroom and tries to stab him, only she is thwarted by his most trusted protector; Colin du Lac. Helena finds herself locked in the dungeon away from everyone so that a wedding can happen without interruption. Biding her time, she laughingly discovers that Colin is chivalrous and would never willingly harm a female captive. So, she does what any other warrior would do; she kidnaps him hoping to stop the wedding.

Colin du Lac can't believe that Helena actually thought she would be able to stab her sister's affianced groom. Not having a choice, Colin puts Helena into a cell in the dungeon so that she won't interrupt the vows between her sister and his overlord. When Helena cries out in dismay, Colin opens the door but too soon realizes that the joke is on him. Especially since he is the one now held at knifepoint and led away from the castle.

Helena vows to return Colin once the wedding has been cancelled. She has no idea that the sister she is protecting is not the sister being wed. Misconstrued information and mistakes plague Helena every step of the way, but one thing is certain, she wants Colin du Lac and she is not happy about that one bit.

Captive Heart is a solid, well written historical set during the time of arranged marriages and political unrest. Helena's intentions are honorable, even though the way she goes about trying to save her sister could be termed a bit comical. Her heart was in the right place and I think that is when she started making mistakes. Add a rascally Norman knight that set her heart aflame and Helena didn't stand a chance.
Sarah McKerrigan has a good story with Captive Heart. I love the time period in which the book is set and found it totally captivating. I can't wait to see if the third sister in this series gets her own novel!

Talia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I have always adored stories with independent, sword-swinging female characters, and was thrilled when I came across the trilogy written by Sarah McKerrigan. The first book, Lady Danger, tells the story of the eldest of three sisters - a mature, deliberate woman who strives to defend her family while falling in love with a worthy knight. She looks out for her two younger sisters.

Now, in this new tale, you hear the second sister's story - the wild, impetuous one.

I love the literary device of having these stories interweave. In Lady Danger, you hear bits and pieces of what is happening to Helena and Colin. They are "off stage" most of the time. In this book, you now get to hear what was going on, and learn more details about the overall storyline. It really does help to read Lady Danger first, so that the situations and characters are familiar to you.

I wondered how much I would really relate to Helena after reading Lady Danger. While Deirdre (the eldest sister) really appeals strongly to me, I shared her exasperation with Helena. Helena never thought first, would dive into dangerous situations and drag others with her. Colin feels exactly the same way - but of course he is also drawn to her impetuous nature.

The plotting is great, and I love the intricate worlds that are created. The personalities are both nicely developed and also quite different than those of the first book. Sarah isn't just churning out "book after book" with cookie-cutter heroes and heroines - they are very unique people. Again, for me, as much as I hate to admit it, I'd rather read variations of Lady Danger every year for the rest of my life :) Those characters really were powerful to me. I don't relate as well to reckless not-thinking main characters. But I realize that's my personality. I'm sure others will adore Helena and her act-first trait.

If I have any complaint, it's that the dialogue is an odd mix of modern slang and "Forsooths" which make it seem like a renaissance fair with costumed actors. You do tend to fall into the rhythm of that soon enough, though.

Highly recommended - and be sure to keep an eye out for the final book in the trilogy, about the youngest sister!

In 1136, the Warrior Maids of Riveloch object to Pagan Caeliard arriving to take over the estate that they and their third sister Miriel have tended though King David sent his loyal knight to do so. Instead Helena and Deirdre plan to interrupt the nuptials. However, a drunken Helena is locked away by Pagan's top assistant Sir Colin du Lac.

The wedding goes on as planned, but a sober Helena revises her plot to prevent the marriage. She takes Colin prisoner using her wiles; she will offer him in exchange for Pagan leaving. However, her scheme further falls apart as she is attracted to her prisoner and worse he informs her that his liege wed Deirdre. As they fall in love, Helena fears for her independence if she marries the enemy.

The second Warrior Maids tale is a fine medieval romance starring a capable warrior woman and the kind knight who loves her. The story line parallels much of the time line that occurs in LADY DANGER so that readers of the first novel will see some of the secondary events take center stage in this story, but newcomers will have a stand alone tale. Sarah Kerrigan provides a wonderful historical romance that will gain her many sub-genre fans, who like this reader looks forward to the final sister's tale where the "Shadow" will hopefully be revealed (though the betting favorite is).

Harriet Klausner

Ok I normally do not pick up other romance books other then Desires and etc.. but I saw this book the other night and read the back and thought ok I will give it a try since I am into books about warriors and Scotland etc. I got it home not realizing it was the 2nd book in the series and let me tell you I couldn't put the book down!!!!!!!!! I loved it! The book is a wonderful length book and when I got done took me 2 days time to read it but I wanted to read more of Helena and Colin if it was not for the fact that I needed sleep I would have read this book in a day. I really hope the other books are as wonderful to read as this one and it had some wonderful humor in the story line as well where you just couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. If you like warriors and swords and warrior women with knights beside them this is the book for you. You also get a look into the two sisters lives in this book as well. I loved it and I hope that Sarah McKerrigan writes more about this story line.

This effort is a success. I was half expecting McKerrigan's second book to be less exciting and less satisfying than her first. But, fortunately, I was proved wrong. McKerrigan does a marvelous job of creating two unique characters, wholly different from her first ones, and giving them their own exciting adventure. Their path toward falling in love is also well-done. They are both warriors by nature and therefore look at romance and love as a battle. That was a subtly creative twist. I also liked the fact that McKerrigan brings these characters back into the lives of her first characters and tells the ending of the first book through their eyes. That decision worked. The story is seamless, so a reader wouldn't have needed to be familiar with the original story. But those of us who've read the first book will appreciate the different perspective Helena and Colin have on the events at the end of Lady Danger. Her characters' dialogue stays true to the period, an important aspect of historical writing in my opinion, one that so many romance authors forget. McKerrigan writes authoritatively in that "language" revealing that she's done her research. All in all, this is a fun, well-written novel. I eagerly look forward to the final sister's story.

I had high hopes for this book when I first read the synopsis, but quickly found to be lacking in just about every respect. The only positive view I can provide on this book as that the author has imagination. Unfortunately, she should have left it to someone else to write.

The writing is awful, the characters cringe worthy and the script unrealistic (and I have allowed for this being a romance novel and therefore a fair distance from reality).

Very disappointing and wish I had my money back! Obviously each to their own, but I find it had to understand how anyone could give this book a positive review.

In a really good condition. The story itself turned out to be a good one, I do love romantic books but this one combines a good dose of laugh with a love story

Another great novel for the amazing author Sarah McKerrigan. It is a must buy! You can't put it down!

I actually read this one before Lady Danger, I picked it up at the airport in El Paso, Texas for something to read on the fligh home.
I fell in love with these books. They are well written, and keeps your attention! I just ordered Knights Prize, and I cant wait to devour that one! I highy recommend these books in this series!

Sorry to say it, because it looked good when I first read the back of the book for a preview, but this was quite a disappointment. Even more unfortunate, it was my first read of a McKerrigan book. It was extremely anachronistic in almost every sense of the word. The romance was almost laughable at times and left me thinking, no two persons - or even one - could possibly think this way.

The dialogue was horribly forced more often than not, and the play of wits and intrigue between characters left me wanting more, much more. Even the 3rd person narrative seemed awkward at times as the author tossed around words like "twixed", "twas", and "tis" I presume to give it a flair of the time portrayed.

The hostage scene that encompassed the first half of the book grew old quickly as well, with the supposed knight (the hostage) roaming around free to do his own bidding for his captor. It all seemed so fake and sometimes laughable.

Not sure if I will read another McKerrigan book, but I probably should, just because I know there must be better works by her.

E. Ironside