Awaken, My Love (Brava Historical Romance) (Paperback)

by Robin Schone (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Stuck in a marriage that lacks passion, thirty-nine year old Elaine Metcliffe wakes up one morning in a different country, a different time and a different body. At first, she assumes she must be dreaming, but when she awakens the next morning in the same place, she realizes something terrible has happened. She is in the body of Morrigan, wife of Charles Mortimer, Lord Arlcotte. Elaine is afraid to speak and give away her true identity, but after being bullied by both an abusive maid and her own husband, Elaine fights back. Where is she? And what has happened to her own body in the twentieth century? Elaine can only wonder why the pious young Morrigan remained a virgin through her first year of marriage to Charles. She desperately needs time alone to find a way back to her own body, but Charles is determined to awaken the passion in his young bride. For Charles, the change in Morrigan is nothing less than a miracle. Convinced he is married to a cold and frigid woman, he is delighted when Morrigan responds to his amorous advances. He dreams of exploring the limits of sensuality with her-- and is not going to let her revert back to her old ways! As he slowly seduces his own wife, Charles begins to forget the torment she has put him through. Perhaps they will finally be man and wife in every sense. Here in the nineteenth century, Elaine finds her own passion being awakened in a way she has only fantasized about in her old life. It may be the Victorian age, but Charles has studied the ways of the Tantric traditions and shows her that true happiness is in the complete fulfillment of all her earthly desires. She is falling in love with him-- in both heart and body. But when the real Morrigan pops up again in a different body and threatens to expose her as a mad woman, Elaine fears for the happiness-- and sensual pleasure-- she is only just beginning to discover with Charles. The sensual nature of Awaken, My Love makes it unique. The language is a little more explicit and the love scenes are more graphic than most romance novels. Robin Schone does an excellent job of weaving eroticism into the story and many readers will be delighted with the result.Tantalizing, passionate, erotic! Awaken, My Love is a bold and memorable story! Robin Schone's debut novel is the beginning of a very promising career! Her explicit love scenes will make you blush! Combining the erotic with the romantic, Robin Schone tests the boundaries of romance fiction in the 90's! Not for the faint-hearted! A well written and imaginative tale of a twentieth century woman and a nineteenth century man exploring the ultimate in carnal pleasures!Kristina Wright -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Robin Schone's debut romance was an immediate sensation and a perfect introduction to her groundbreaking style. In this new edition of her classic tale, unavailable until now, she offers her trademark blend of suspense and passion...with a surprising twist.

Fantasy Made Flesh

When thirty-nine-year-old Elaine Metcliffe awakens one morning, she is astounded to find herself in a strange bed, in another century--inhabiting the body of another woman. In this, her "new" life, she is married to English baron Charles Mortimer--dark, breathtakingly handsome--and bent not only on seducing the resentful young woman he believes her to be, but educating her in practices of physical pleasure Elaine has never dared to imagine. Torn between fidelity to the passionless husband she left behind and the exquisite temptation Charles offers with every touch, Elaine will discover that the dark magic responsible for her transport to this time and place is no match for the carnal delights that make her want to stay...

"Robin Schone knows how to write sizzling erotic love scenes." --Romantic Times on The Lover

Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; Author's Ed edition (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575669072
• ISBN-13: 978-1575669076
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #89,436 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars There Might Have Been a Good Book in There Somewhere, October 25, 2002

By	Sires (It's a Toss Up Right Now) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This was the second book by Robin Schone I have read. The first one was My Lady's Tutor. I thought it was rather stulifying with an over the top villain. I had heard that this book, Schone's first, was liked by people who found her others tiresome.

Overall it was stulifying with an over the top villain.

Things I liked about the book:

1. The heroine in the beginning. Middle-aged, dumpy Elaine in a dull marriage gets a second chance in the body of Morrigan, a thin twenty-one year old upper class lady. Yay, good for Elaine.

2. The initial confusion that Elaine had after she was propelled into the past and a less than happy situation. Elaine's attempt to edge into the role of Morrigan. I can even accept Hattie the Harridan, which at first was a rather fun twist on the motherly old family retainer who protects the heroine. Hattie is a beldame with a taste for the more punitive aspects of the Christian religion and clearly has dominated Morrigan.

Things I didn't like:

1. Whether you are right or left handed has everything to do with the body and has nothing to do with who is living in your head. This could have been an interesting situation, but instead it is just an annoying distraction.

2. I do not believe that a 39 year old modern woman who has been married for 17 years has NEVER been french kissed. I just do not believe it.

3. Why does the hero put up with his wife's obnoxious relatives who clearly she does not even like?

4. Oh, no, another over the top villain. This one is really over the top. Sorry, I don't buy the villain at all. Schone's villians strongly suggest that she has some gender issues.

Why are all of the females in this book (aside from the heroine and her maid) two dimensional monsters? Why does the author equate being overweight with either being sexually unfulfilled and/or ill mannered and evil? Did it ever occur to Elaine while she was staring at her hairy legs that attacking those hairs with a straight razor might make everyone think she was, well, unhinged?

By the time it got to the climax, I just didn't care. The author had made too many blunders, the plot was weak and the only character who appeared to be more than two dimensional was Elaine.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THIS WASN'T RAUNCHY! ROBIN SCHONE IS TERRIFIC!, July 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Awaken, My Love (Paperback)

I am thrilled to have finally found an erotic romance that isn't raunchy and crude. I am 30 years old and I have been reading romance books for about 14 years. Everytime I have attempted to experiment with a more adult read, I was turned off by the crudity and lack of substance in the characters. In my opinion author's like "SUSAN JOHNSON, THEA DIVINE, BEATRICE SMALL & VIRGINIA HENLEY" have not been able to grasp the concept of what erotic romance is. They tend to just write about alot of crude sex scenes with faithless people that are in lust with each other and nothing more. I don't like to be told that characters are falling in love, I want to be able to see it happening. I don't enjoy reading a so called romance novel in which the two main characters have no respect for one another, or where one of the character's is humiliating and degrading the other. What I really liked about Ms. Schone was that she took the time to develop her characters and their relationship with one another on all levels. I agree with the reviewer that said this is not for the faint hearted romance reader. If you are looking for a really good sensual adult book that is tastefully done, this is it. Way to go Ms. schone, keep up the good work!

P.S. If you were wondering why I didn't give this a 5 Star rating? It was because I had a little trouble with the mystery in this story, but I still strongly recommend this book!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Schone's first book and I think her best, December 2, 2003

By	"readinganddreaming" (Green Country, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Awaken, My Love (Paperback)

I don't usually read Robin Schone books. Well, actually, I have read all of her books, but have decided they are too dark and explicit for my tastes. But after getting rid of Gabriel's Woman and The Lover (yes - I had to keep The Lady's Tutor), I had let Awaken My Love, Schone's first novel, sit unread for well over a year. Now, after reading it, I think this is the best of Schone's books. As are all of her books, it is far from the norm as far as romance writing goes. It is very entertaining reading although it has a most unusual time travel twist. I usually don't care much for time travel stories but this is a definite exception.

Charles Mortimer, Lord Arlcotte, is the extremely appealing hero. He has a very strong personality, alpha extreme, but is just so downright cool that you want to melt as you read about him. He has a great problem on his hands. His young bride has never let him even touch her since their marriage a year ago. No matter - he is determined to have a heir. He decides she will come to his bed and learn to like his touch. He WILL warm his cold frigid wife. After their joining however, he is quite discouraged. She apparently despises him. Imagine his surprise when he finds his wife emerging from her bath. Charles knows something is awry - Morrigan has not taken a full bath since their marriage. She is different somehow and although he is still angry over her distaste of him, he cannot seem to resist tormenting and teasing her. He is continually drawn to this oddly different Morrigan and is encouraged to proceed with her education despite her protestations. He can see the difference in her eyes - he senses she will now accept his advances.

Elaine Metcliffe is a twentieth century gal, thirty-nine years of age, who is a computer analyst married to a really boring guy. They have been married for years and he has never been too interested in their love life and has no desire for children. One morning she awakens to find herself in another time and another body. Her body is no longer the slightly chubby body close to forty - it is a very young and slender body of a woman named Morrigan. An old hateful nag is apparently her maid - one who acts like a mad, religious zealot, constantly shouting about Morrigan's sins and her need for cleansing and forgiveness. Attempting to adjust to this highly distressing change of events, Elaine (Morrigan) asks to take a bath and all hell breaks loose. Insisting on a bath and then dressing in one of Morrigan's many beautiful gowns, gains the attention of everyone in the household. Morrigan has only worn one ill-fitting gray dress for the past year. She has never desired to wear any of the beautiful clothes her husband gifted her with as her trousseau upon their marriage. And certainly she has never taken a bath! Elaine is startled when she sees an extremely handsome and obviously very virile man standing in her room as she is finishing with her bath. Soon she discovers this is now her husband and he is very angry with her for some reason.

So begins the sensual education of Morrigan (and actually Elaine as well since she is a sexually repressed twentieth century woman). Highly intrigued by her husband's lessons, she also feels unfaithful to her twentieth century husband. Charles, on the other hand, is alternately thrilled at his wife's apparent sexual awakening and angered by her denial of it. But he has become very determined in his quest and will brook no argument. This portion of the book, which is the majority of it, is overlaid with tenderness as Charles comes to appreciate and cherish his strange wife. This is what sets Awaken My Love apart. Although nothing is spoken of love early on, the leads' relationship develops slowly into one of trust and respect. It is that which drives the overall tone of the book. Yes, true to Robin Schone, the sensual scenes are just that - very sensual and numerous. They rate a 5.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for sensual rating guidelines). I can think of only one other book I have rated 5.0 in this matter. I had read in the reviews of Awaken My Love that it was not as sensual as Schone's other novels. Well, yes - it may not be as explicit as her other novels, but it is still highly sensual - make no mistake. It still rates far above the average romance novel in this aspect.

Elaine is somewhat too meek in her role as Morrigan. Sometimes, I wanted to shout "Speak up Elaine!". Her inability or lack of willingness to stand up for herself was the only irritating thing about the story. Occasionally she would demand attention or her way but far too seldom. But this was not a story full of disagreements or misunderstandings. It is the story of a relationship, written in a definite spicy manner, but a precious one all the same. I am sure there is some hidden psychological yearning behind the heroine's age and it feeds well into a fantasy of once again living in a body eighteen years younger yet with the wisdom of a thirty-nine year old woman. It only adds to the overall charm of the book. I have read that this is an expensive book once you find it. It is well worth the effort to find it and only a few dollars more than you expect to pay for a used paperback. It is a definite keeper.