Rating: 
Summary: Compelling reading, cliche theme, soap opera mentality
Review: I found this tale of the headstrong young noblewoman who was pledged unfairly to a stranger, a handsome, tough young warrior lord, to be a pleasant story and entertaining reading, but not very original. It reminded me of the formats used in mid-afternoon soap operas. As the story unfolded, I kept thinking how Mellyora, the heroine, was downright stupid for always wanting to run away or to strike out at the very people who could help her situation, who could at the very least make her life comfortable, and who were the very same people who could dispose of her in many unpleasant ways! Although she was an educated, intelligent young woman, she acted like a 12-year-old, spoiled, naive brat through most of the story, endangering not only herself, but her family, her friends, and her godfather's kingdom. Then, miraculously, after their first sexual encounter, she sees the light as she falls totally in love with her "lord" and becomes a model wife and lady. Give me a break!And another thing, although I did find it easy reading, some of the dialog should have been thought out a little better. For instance, during a break between battles, one grizzly ruffian, a mercenary warrior aligned with the bad guy, says to another warrior: " The Normans brought this form of primogeniture here - they understand that a male must inherit." Its unlikely you would catch anyone talking this way in a casual conversation, much less in a conversation among battle-hardened ruffians. Three stars at best, this is a formula romance novel in a formula medieval setting, that just doesn't come up to more than ok - definitely not great.
Rating: 
Summary: What a truly awful book
Review: I hadn't read any other of her books and this one doesn't make me want to. The characters were awful, the romance was awful, the pace was awful...the history was good. But it was interesting to note that while the history was good, there were terrible anachronisms everywhere. Our esrtwhile heroine compares herself to the female lion who does the hunting for her mate. Why a girl in 12th centruy Scotland would know anything about lions in particular is unclear. But the role of female lions was unknown until farily recently and would have been as unknown to the woman as the life styles of today's rock and role stars. THe book is absolutely full of idiotic examples of the same kind of thing. It made me wonder about the accuracy of ANY of the history included. Cross me off of Ms. Drake's list.
Rating:
Summary: I DID NOT LIKE IT
Review: I have got all of Shannon Drake's and Heather Graham's books that she has written,so I pretty much know what her writing style is like. I don't know if it is because I've gotten older or that I'm just tired of the same old *hero meets lady,conflict and distrust,forceful seduction, lady falls in love with hero,forced apart,reconcile,(at the very end)*I was so bored that I flipped through 90% of the book and the only reason I finished it was because I didn't want to feel as if I had wasted all my money. I think you would have to be an advid history buff to enjoy this book.There was VERY little romance. This will not be one of my keepers.
Rating: 
Summary: Dramatic & captivating...
Review: I have to say that I really enjoyed this novel. From page 1,
this book pulls you in...and onto the battlefield. And what a leading man Shannon Drake/Heather Graham created in Waryk de Graham... Highly recommend this book .
Rating:
Summary: Dramatic & captivating...
Review: I have to say that I really enjoyed this novel. From page 1,
this book pulls you in...and onto the battlefield. And what a leading man Shannon Drake/Heather Graham created in Waryk de Graham... Highly recommend this book .
Rating: 
Summary: History, History...
Review: I haven't read a book by Shannon in years. I thoroughly enjoyed this Scottish tale. I love it when a story gives a lot of historical information and this book does that. I found the story to be fast paced...with good characters. (Elenora was too nice, a typical mistress wouldn't be so kind) I found Waryk to be kind of dense...he continued to distrust Mellyora to the very end. I'll be looking for the books I've missed over the years by Ms. Drake. This was a worthwhile read in my estimation.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read for history and romance buffs
Review: I haven't read a romance in awhile but love a good historical one. Shannon Drake is the best at Scottish historicals which I love! This is a MUST READ. I absolutely loved it and only wish I had saved previous books by Shannon Drake/Heather Graham so that I could reread them. I'll never throw another one away!
Rating: 
Summary: SHE done better!
Review: I love Shannon Drake.But,she went over board with the viking issue.Every page ,you needed to read about Mellyora being a viking.It really got very boring.After the first chapter ,we got the point she was a viking.I have read all her books,she's awesome,but this book was boring and to much to the point of viking history .what happen to the romance?
Rating:
Summary: A Decent Though Somewhat Typical Shannon Drake Novel
Review: I will admit, this book like every other Shannon Drake book had me hopelessly hooked to the point I was staying up to all hours of the night reading it. However, I am finding that Mrs. Drake is using the same writing style and story line to almost all of her books. Girl forced to be with guy, girl tries to escape guy several times, girl betrays guy several time, and finally girl falls in love with guy. The one thing that really got me about this book, however, is how Mellyora just couldn't accept that she was beaten. I admired her strength and was thankful that Mrs. Drake did not put in a weak pushover as her heroine but the author took Mellyora's defiance too far. It was as though Mrs. Drake realized that she had made her own character so stubborn she was forced to add in the threat of Mellyora losing the Blue Isle whether she married Waryk or not just to ensure the two lovers acknowledged their feelings in the end. When I was nearly finished the book, I was practically screaming for them to admit their love for eachother. Don't get me wrong, I loved it like I love all her other books but the characters were made too stubborn and prideful. Another pet peeve I have with Shannon Drake is she seemed to have taken an entire scene from Come the Morning and stuck it in her follow-up book, Conquer the Night. By chance, I found and read Conquer the Night first which then promted me to hunt down the first book. I was utterly shocked when I read the scene where Waryk and Mellyora first made love. Waryk stupidly makes the mistake of assuming his bride had taken lovers before him (just like Arryn did with Kyra!) When he finally realizes his mistake, he demands from Mellyora, "Why didn't you tell me?". That sounded extrodenarily familiar, so I went back and checked with the time Arryn took Kyra's virginity in Conquer the Night and sure enough, Arryn said words that greatly resembled Waryk's. Now, Mrs. Drake strikes me as being a very talented writer so I was perplexed as to how she couldn't have found a different, more creative approach to a similar situation. Both books are worth reading but don't enter the series expecting much of a difference between the books.
Rating:
Summary: A Shannon Drake book is alway good.
Review: King David figures out a way to solve two problems: reward his champion and marry off the heiress of a seaside keep. The problem is neither one is excited about the idea. The champion, Lord Lion, has a mistress he wants to marry but the thought of the land that comes with the heiress helps sway him. The heiress (Mellyora) however, has always had her way, and wants no part of Lord Lion. Lion realizes early on that he REALLY likes Mellyora but it takes her most of the book to realize that she REALLY likes Lion too. I'd take Lion any time and I wanted to shake Mellyora to bring her to her senses. Maturity is not one of her virtures. You can always rely on Ms Drake's books being colorful, making you feel like you're right there in the middle of the story.
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