Lady Danger (Warner Forever) [Mass Market Paperback]

Sarah McKerrigan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Warner Forever | Publication Date: April 1, 2006

Raised to fear no man, Deirdre of Rivenloch never backs down from a clash of steel or a threat to her lands and family. But when she tricks Sir Pagan Cameliard into marrying her in order to save her younger sister, she's faced with a new kind of enemy: a husband who would turn her resistance into a fire that heats her blood...and who would use all his cunning to make her cry his name in ultimate abandon. For Pagan has made his own wedding vow. he will best his sword-wielding bride in the field by day and make hersurrender in his arms by night. Her heart will be his.. even if it means being conquered by hers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sarah McKerrigan is an avid traveller, the wife of a rock star, the mother of two children and the mistress of a pug named Worf.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Forever (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446616176
• ISBN-13: 978-0446616171
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,092,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

SARAH McKERRIGAN (pseudonym for Glynnis Campbell)

When Sarah isn't writing historical romance, she's the voice of several cartoon characters, the wife of a rock star, and the mother of two nerdy kids.

Sarah started her eclectic career as a ballerina in her hometown of Paradise, California, where she became the city's Gold Nugget Queen. She graduated from CSU Chico with a degree in Music with Distinction, singing arias by day and playing rock and roll at night.

Moving to Los Angeles with her college sweetheart, Sarah co-wrote music for award-winning science films for WARDS and BIOMEDIA ASSOCIATES, then joined the CBS RECORDS all-girl rock band, THE PINUPS, appearing on MERV GRIFFIN, DANCE FEVER, and LAUGH TRACKS. She showed up as the drummer in TOM JONES' video of "It'll Be Me" and recorded vocals for several children's albums with BECKWITH AND TOWNER.

While working as a typographer in a graphic arts studio, she continued to perform in Los Angeles nightclubs. Meanwhile, as Glynnis Talken, she wrote selections and provided voices for the best-selling JUMPSTART line of educational computer games, lent her voice to TIME-WARNER audiobooks, including A DRAGON-LOVER'S TREASURY OF THE FANTASTIC and STAR WARS audio adventures, playing everything from a rubber duckie to a Jedi knight, and landed the lead role as JULIE WINTERS in the MTV animated series, THE MAXX. Her mystic speeches and death screams can currently be heard on BLIZZARD's Games of the Year as The Rogue in DIABLO and DIABLO II, and as Sarah Kerrigan in STARCRAFT.

A lifelong love of towering castles, trusty swords, and knights (and damsels) in shining armor prompted Sarah to try writing historical romance. Her premiere novel, MY CHAMPION, was a finalist for a RITA, the romance industry's equivalent of an Oscar, for "Best First Book." Her subsequent MY WARRIOR, MY HERO, and A KNIGHT'S VOW received multiple awards and critical acclaim.

Under the nom de plume of Sarah McKerrigan, Glynnis has written three medieval romance novels for Warner Books featuring strong warrior wenches: LADY DANGER, CAPTIVE HEART, and KNIGHT'S PRIZE.

Sarah's husband of 23 years is Richard Campbell, vocalist/bass player who has performed with Natalie Cole, Badfinger, Tiny Tim, Joe Cocker, Ashford & Simpson, Edgar Winter, Ringo Starr, Simon Kirk, Peter Frampton, Three Dog Night, Chuck Negron, Dave Mason, and is currently touring with America. Her daughter Brynna has created her own major, Entertainment Industry Promotion, and is pursuing a singer/songwriter career, and her son Dylan is attending college as a percussionist.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, Independent Heroine who Stands Up For Herself, April 13, 2006

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lady Danger (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is exactly the type of story I adore. The woman is not a shrinking violet that screams and waits for a guy to rescue her. She doesn't pine away in a tower, watching the world drift by because she's too feeble to actually take control of her own life. Instead, she picks up her sword, grabs the dagger out of her boot, and takes a stand for what she believes in.

The heroine is Deidre, eldest daughter of a Scottish Lord. She and her two sisters have been managing the castle as their father slips into senility. Along comes Pagan Cameliard who has been given control of the castle and a sister's hand in marriage. The girls don't like this, but Deidre accepts it as her fate. She may have to marry him for political reasons, but she doesn't have to like him - or yield to him in bed.

What follows is the kind of story I love. She's a bit arrogant, having had control for so long, and has trouble realizing Pagan is actually a match for her. He's a bit arrogant too, thinking women are brainless twits. Both of them get a rude awakening that at first bothers them, then intrigues them. She realizes that Pagan is actually an amazingly good fighter and worthy of her respect. He realizes that Deidre does have a sharp mind and a well toned body, and that he is drawn to both. I love the combination of verbal jousting and physical swordplay. It's like watching scenes from Conan or Alias come to life.

I really do enthusiastically give this book five stars, as it is so much in the style that I appreciate, but I will call out a few minor items that nagged at me. Pagan is a man of honor and shows it in several ways - but on the other hand he quickly attempts something DIShonorable that really, really bugged me. It really had an impact on how I felt about his character. Also, it irks me that often in romance stories the guy has slept around with every girl he's met, is comfortable and well skilled in love as being "normal". The woman, on the other hand, is a frigid ice queen that has never even been kissed. It's the whole "new car smell" stereotype that the Victorians concocted and still affects teenagers in modern times! It really concerns me that we perpetuate these ideas that women have to be pure and chaste while guys are only "real guys" if they've slept with anything that moves. Why would sex be natural for a male, but unnatural for a female?

In any case, these are issues I have to face in most romance novels so I was able to get past them here. In general the book was brilliant, was a quick and fun read, and I'd love to see more stories come out in this style.

UPDATE:

Another reviewer suggested The Wolf and the Dove was far better than Lady Danger. WolfDove was written in 1974 so I tried to give it some leeway - but I was *really* upset by much of it. The woman is raped by one guy. Then she is CONTINUALLY raped by a second guy who is the "hero"!! Her solution is to nag this guy literally every day until he marries her. His reward - she now actively participates in sex instead of just laying there!

Her only "drawing feature" for these guys - mentioned repeatedly - is how beautiful she is. Other women are actively scorned for being "not curvy enough" or infertile. I'm not even mentioning the many technical writing issues - just the characters themselves were very upsetting to me as a modern reader. I really hope women don't think that a guy who continually rapes them in any era is someone they should nag into marriage. She should have run. Immediately.

Lady Danger is FAR far better than that book. Deidre stands up for herself, she protects her people, she is intelligent and respected for her skills. Pagan actively refuses to take her unwillingly because, as a knight, he swore an oath! Knights did actually take those oaths seriously most of the time. If one didn't, he wouldn't be the guy I'd want as a hero in a romance novel.

Deidre is exactly what I would want to be in a woman in that time period - and Pagan is exactly the man I would want to stand by my side.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprised and impressed., October 20, 2006

By 

Emlyn54 (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lady Danger (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)

Seems like I've been reading a lot of really poorly written period romances lately while I wait for the next offerings from Mary Balogh, Lisa Kleypas and Stephanie Laurens. I'd about given up trying anyone new after so many disappointments. But after reading the blurb about this book, I couldn't resist and boy, am I glad I didn't. Great original characters, great stories, great writing, great everything! I quickly bought the follow-up book, "Captive Heart" (Colin and Helena's story), and liked it just as well, if not better than Pagan and Deirdre's story. The only downside...having to wait until next spring for the final book in the trilogy, the last sister, Miriel's story.

These sisters are totally unique to so-called romance fiction, at least in my experience (which is fairly considerable), especially Helena. They are warriors all, and as written by the remarkably talented Ms. McKerrigan they are totally believable. God, it's so nice to have truly strong and capable female protagonists for a change. Add to that the fact that the author managed to create men who come to value their ladies strength, bravery and sense of honor as they would any other true warrior, and to my mind you have the perfect love stories. Ms. McKerrigan also manages to write very sensual love scenes without going over the top. They flow so naturally and carry a true visceral punch. She's done absolutely everything right, except making us wait so long for Miriel's story.

I'm not going to go into storylines. Read the books. I promise you will not regret purchasing both "Lady Danger" and "Captive Heart". If I could give them more than 5 stars, I would. And I'm not one to gush over books. Most of those I read (30+ per month) I don't bother to review because I can't find anything nice to say about any of them, especially when others seem to like them so much. I'm from the old school...if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Thank God Ms. McKerrigan has allowed me to say so many nice things. Happy reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!!, May 10, 2007

By 

Kamarina - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lady Danger (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really liked this book! It was well written, and keeps your attention. Once you start reading you cant put it down till you finish.
I highly recommend this book, as well as her other 2 novels in this series!