Rating: 
Summary: The Secret Swan is a winning romance....
Review: This is the first book I have read by this author and now I will be looking for the rest of her work. Ms. Abe has a wonderful way with her prose. My heart ached at the beginning for the young Amiranth. The use of flashback was extensive, yet very well done--not an easy task to pull off. If you like medieval romance with well drawn characters and a nice plot, I reccommend this book whole heartedly.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This was an amazing story. I have found after reading every single one of Ms Abe's books that she writes passionate and wonderfully exciting medieval tales with just the right amount of mystery. She gives you everything. This was the story of Lady Amiranth St. Clare loving Tristan Geraint since the moment she saw him at the age of 9 years old. She thought all her dreams had come true when it came to pass years later that he had offered for her hand in marriage. At 15 her heart was bursting with joy, only to have it trashed so thoroughly, mere days after the wedding. Fate, had many lessons for them both to learn and this story runs the gamat of emotions from childhood love, heartbreaking rejection, adolescent arrogance, family betrayal, unspeakable tortures, forgiveness and the reawakening of love lost. What more can you ask of a story? Fabulous book - great new author. Thank you Shana for a wonderful story! I look forward to your next offering!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This was an amazing story. I have found after reading every single one of Ms Abe's books that she writes passionate and wonderfully exciting medieval tales with just the right amount of mystery. She gives you everything. This was the story of Lady Amiranth St. Clare loving Tristan Geraint since the moment she saw him at the age of 9 years old. She thought all her dreams had come true when it came to pass years later that he had offered for her hand in marriage. At 15 her heart was bursting with joy, only to have it trashed so thoroughly, mere days after the wedding. Fate, had many lessons for them both to learn and this story runs the gamat of emotions from childhood love, heartbreaking rejection, adolescent arrogance, family betrayal, unspeakable tortures, forgiveness and the reawakening of love lost. What more can you ask of a story? Fabulous book - great new author. Thank you Shana for a wonderful story! I look forward to your next offering!
Rating:
Summary: OH SO GOOD!!
Review: This was the first book I've read by Shana Abe and this slightly cynical, long-time romance fan was astonished, touched and impressed by the experience. Successfully walking that fine line between romantic melodrama and genuine emotion which trips up so many writers, Shana created characters you could believe in and root for, then set them within the confines of a historically rich, accurate medieval world. Reading this book wasn't just reading, it was moving into another world for a few hours. That's really good historical writing. The quality of the romance and the well-matched, fully-developed hero and heroine made it even better. KUDOS to Shana Abe. You've earned a new, appreciative fan here! If you've never read medieval romance or Shana Abe, do yourself a favor and give this one a try. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A [real] good read!
Review: Tristan Geraint, Earl of Haverlocke, married fifteen year old Lady Amiranth St. Clare. He immediately deposited her at his remote Safere estate and left for the glory of war. Eight years later, after escaping the French prison he had dwelled in the entire time, he returned to Safere a changed man. All he wanted now was the love of a wife he had spurned long ago, a home, and no more killings. Lady Amiranth had loved Tristan for years before they married. On the day of their union, she found out that he only married her because the king demanded it. She never even had time to show him how happy they could be. He left only days after the ceremony. Time passed. Eight long years went by. Everyone at Safere was either gone or dead from the plague. Lily, the cousin Amiranth resembled so much, had succumbed to The Black Death only two months before. She was alone. "Amiranth, Countess of Haverlocke" was placed upon Lily's stone. Taking the place of Lily, the king would think Amiranth dead and no longer press her to remarry. She was alone, but she was free! That was, until Tristan unexpectedly returned! Playing Lily, she nursed the feverish Tristan back to health and they departed to one of his larger estates. The countryside was hostile. No town would allow them entrance for fear of plague carriers. And when they finally reached Glynwallen Castle, Tristan found out that Liam had done more than just take over his title! ***** A [real] good read! Viewers, Historical Romance stories get no better than this one! It's not only highly recommended, it is extremely recommended! I loved it so much, that it will never leave my possession! Awesome! *****
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: When her husband of days heads off for the war against France, Amiranth resolves to wait for him--she can teach him to love her when he returns. But when he fails to return, year after year, Amiranth comes up with a new plan--she'll take her dead cousin's identity and seek a new life in a convent. Her husband Tristan's return after eight years in a French prison disturbs Amiranth's plans--but she resolves to continue, despite the rekindled love that Tristan creates within her. Eight years in a French dungeon has changed Tristan. Over those years, he learned to hold onto his few memories of Amiranth and cherish them in ways that he had never done during their week together. He dreams now of returning to what was taken from him--his lands, his wealth, and most especially his wife. When he finds that his wife has died in the plague sweeping England, he knows he must go on--but Amiranth's cousin Lilly is strangely attractive, and strangely familiar to him. Author Shana Abe takes these two tortured characters through a rebirth--of their lives and their love for one another. But love alone is not enough. Can Amiranth trust Tristan with her heart and her body again, after all that has happened? And can Tristan learn to give up what he most wants? In 1300s England, even survival is not guaranteed, and Amiranth and Tristan must learn to work together to hold onto both love and life. THE SECRET SWAN was a 2002 RITA Award finalist and understandably so. Abe's writing is smooth and satisfying and she provides both emotional depth and enough plot twists to keep the reader fascinated.
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