Challenger To Honor (Mira)

Rating:
Summary: Delightful historical romance
Review:
In 1840 New Orleans, Celina Vallier visits Rio "Silver Shadow" de Silva to persuade the "Master of Arms" not to duel her brother Denys. Rio says it is a matter of honor as Denys challenged him, but Celina counters that he made the disparaging remark about her. To her shock, Rio says Denys was not his target, but the sibling immediately stepped into the void that her fiancé failed to do. He also says there is one way she can persuade him to accept disgrace by refusing to duel her brother. Her innocence is worth the price to save Denys' life.

Rio is stunned by Celina's courage and is even greater shocked by the attraction he feels to the spunky woman. However, he knows he must not lose sight that she is a pawn in his personal war of vengeance with her fiancé Count de Lerida. Celina sees Rio as her possible escape from a marriage with the odious Count. Of course the Count is a great manipulator of people who will not sit idly by.

This opening act of the Masters of Arms series is a delightful historical romance starring two likable lead characters, and a fine support cast that adds depth to mostly the French New Orleans' lifestyle and a nasty villain. Besides the strong protagonists, the will written story line enables the audience to feel they are in the city in 1840 as a rich tapestry of history is cleverly interwoven into the fabulous plot. This is quite a treat for Americana fans and a challenge for Jennifer Blake to top this tale with her next honorable rogue novel.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Impressive romance!
Review: A nice tight plot; an interesting setting, and well-rounded lead characters who fall in love almost against their wishes, does make this a good read! I never read anything by this author although I know she's been writing for many years. I'll have to look over her backlist.

I hope the whole series will be as interesting as this book, but I have my doubts...only because series romances never seem to live up to their promise. They pretty much begin to repeat themselves. Still, based on what I liked about this novel, I'll probably give Caid's story a look-over.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Heroes in Romance Fiction
Review: Gorgeous, tortured, desperate heroes who lack social respectability, but more than make up for it in honor, strength, and passion---what could be better? In her new series, Jennifer Blake brings to life the maitre d'armes of New Orleans, men who taught young aristocrats the skills in swordplay that would help them survive the duels that were common affaires in French Creole society. Young gentlemen revered the swordmasters the way modern teens idolize rock stars or sports heroes. But while the swordmasters were as cultured as any Creole and were fiercely loyal to one another, Creole families would never have allowed the maitres d'armes access to their debutante daughters.
Enter Celina Vallier. Celina is no ordinary young belle. When her brother is embroiled in a duel with Rio de Salva, a swordmaster who is guaranteed to win, she doesn't sit at home wringing her hands and waiting for the outcome. She takes action, making a deal with Rio that jeopardizes her reputation, her future and her life. For there is more at stake than the outcome of the duel. She and Rio are both battling enemies and events that threaten to destroy them.
As always, Ms. Blake's characters are valiant, shrewd, passionate and strong. The odds against their happiness are great, but their determination to win is greater. They deserve to win. And you deserve to spend a few days engrossed in the sparkling world of antebellum New Orleans that Ms. Blake has recreated just for you. Buy it today!


Rating:
Summary: A Long Awaited Return
Review: I was introduced to Ms. Blake by a fellow reader of romance. Her stories always managed to transport me back in time to the steamy, lazy, southern days. I loved to read about New Orleans during her golden era and the men and women who lived and loved during that time. I was thrilled to find out that Ms. Blake was back to penning her historical romances and that she was starting off a new series with the title "Challenge to Honor." As a result I pre-ordered it and anxiously awaited it's arrival. I was sad to find out though that within the cover of this book was basically a re-telling of some of her older stories. Just names had changed not much else.

Celina Vallier is a pawn in life. Her father wants to marry her to a Spaniard that she finds repulsive but she is a good daughter and is willing to do as told. This was not a problem until she met and made a deal with Rio de Silva for safety of her brother Denys. She promises Rio her honor and the fact that they are instantly attracted each other. Rio makes her feel alive and he listens to her. It's only a matter of time before she is in his arms. What she doesn't know right away is that Rio wants revenge against her fiance. This does not stop them from falling in love with each other. But Rio is not suitable for her in social circles, and if he dares to make public his love for Celina he could loose all that he has worked for. Will he choose love or will honor win out?

Ms. Blake still manages to create vivid characters whom stand out from other characters that readers of historical and other genre's of romance incounter. We are introduced to several of them as the groundwork for the upcoming series. Although I enjoyed this read I felt that it fell a little short due to the fact that there was really nothing "new." This is not to say that this is not a worth while read...it is but it I hope that the future books in this series tend to be a little more fresh and new. Less formula would help. In any event Ms. Blake has returned to her fans with a read that will transport us back to a magical time in New Orleans that no longer exists with characters the reader will care about. I look forward to Caid's story in the future and recommend Ms. Blake's latest effort.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

Rating:
Summary: Too much like an earlier work
Review: Reading the first 100 pages of this book or so I was utterly confused. I felt for sure that I had read it before but the copyright date was 2005. So I kept on, the story in CHALLENGE TO HONOR is different from Ms. Blake's PRISONER OF DESIRE, but so many things about them are similar as to make this latest work seem just a quickly rehashed version.

In CHALLENGE TO HONOR Celina goes to Rio to prevent him from killing her only surviving brother in a duel. The price of his capitulation is her virginity. Rio targets Celina in a slur in order for her soon to be betrothed to challenge him on the field of honor--his plan is thwarted when her brother refutes the slur and demands a duel instead of the Count de Lerida. Even before Celina offered herself to save her brother, Rio had no plans to kill the young man, he is after more ruthless quarry. Celina becomes a pawn as the Count and Rio struggle for revenge against each other.

Taken alone, this novel gives an energetic story filled with intrigue and plenty of sensuality. However, I was distracted by all the coincidences with the earlier novel to find this a truly engaging read. In both, the heroine uses her sexuality to get what she wants from the hero. In both, there is guilt overriden by desire. In both, there is the undercurrent of the Mexican War, both being set directly before the US annexed Texas in 1845. Both heroes have dealings with Mexican emissaries to New Orleans. Both villians are looking to play the Americans and the Mexicans for financial gains. Both villians are looking to use the heroine for revenge against the hero, and bring about his death. Both begin with the thwarting of a duel. In fact, I think both climax scence take place in a quadroon's home.

While I found this novel entirely unoriginal and decidely not worthy of Ms. Blake's repitoire, it is only because I read the earlier novel and it has always been one of my favorites. If you have not read PRISONER OF DESIRE than I think you will find this a delightful read, a dashing hero and courageous heroine. If you have read the previous novel, perhaps you might skip this one and look forward to Ms. Blake's next foray into the next Masters at Arms novel.

Rating:
Summary: Too much of some things, too few of others--OK overall
Review: This book is readable and would be OK for beach-side, airplane trips and when you don't mind being interrupted. Several times I put it aside to do something else. I sped through the last couple of pages to get it over with. All of that says that while the book has its moments, they are few and far between. Ms. Blake includes a lot of historical detail--which is interesting in some cases. It often seems she develops dialogues and descriptions simply to use the results of her research. One remark can result in a paragraph of thought process by the character, describing the significance of the comment. This sounds rather interesting--but it loses something in the writing.

New Orleans in the mid-1800s involved a torturously complex heirarchy of societal rules. Reading about it in detail can become a tedious history lesson--and makes that one seem pretentious and ridiculous. (Yes, all society is in one way or another--but that one really outdid itself!) The heroine is portrayed as a sheltered flower--but the author has her doing things a young woman of the time would not have done--always causing trouble for the hero as a result. The hero was interesting and I liked him--but again the details of the code of swordsmen in the era becomes overdone after awhile. The sensual scenes are mild. Ms. Blake gives the hero an unaccountably wild craving for the heroine--even though what they do together doesn't seem to warrant it. In fact, the biggest lack in the book is that the hero and heroine have so little chemistry. I wish the author would put as much effort into developing the reasons for the romantic attraction between characters as she does into explaining the details of society at the time. There's got to be more than shining hair, sparkling eyes and white skin on a heaving bosom!

As with all series--especially openers--this one tosses in various characters that you know will show up in another book sometime soon. I'll probably read at least one more of the series--so I'm not completely down on Ms. Blake's writing. I just think there is too much trivia in this latest work and not enough interesting story. This one won't be saved for re-reading and I'll buy the next one used.