"Moonstruck Madness"by Laurie McBain
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Release Date: Feb 1, 2011 (first published 1977)
Source: sent by publisher
My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Summary from goodreads.com:
She's one thing by day, something else altogether by night...
After escaping the slaughter of her clan at a young age, Scottish noblewoman Sabrina Verrick provides for her siblings by living a double life, until the night she encounters the Duke, and her secret and all she holds dear is threatened...
He's so disillusioned, he's completely vulnerable...
With his inheritance at stake, Lucien, Duke of Camareigh, sets a trap for the Scottish beauty with the piercing violet eyes, never imagining what will happen when the trap is sprung...
As their lives become irreversibly entangled, Lucien and Sabrina become each other's biggest threat, as well as their only salvation...
My Review:
This book was originally written in 1977, and wow, have times changed for historical romances! And boy am I glad!
Lucien is not the type of hero who should be put on a pedestal. Most of the bad things that happen to our heroine are his fault, but he wants to be praised when he fixes them again. The book timeline goes a little like this: fight (and we're talking Ronnie and Sammi on Jersey Shore style fighting, not playful banter) jump into bed, fight, jump into bed, repeat. This style of story just isn't for me. I understand that a lot of readers are into alpha males, even though I'm not, but Lucien is another breed altogether.
The part of the book where Sabrina has amnesia and actually believed she was in love with Lucien was my favorite part. This was a happy, loving romance! But of course, it was based on forgetting all the unforgivable, deal-breaking things that Lucien had done.
Main Characters: 2/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 3/5
Romance: 1/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Bottom Line: This book was definitely written in a stylized way, that I really don't see used any more. I'm sure there are readers who like to read about this rough sort of love, but it's not for me. This book made me appreciate the world of today's historical romances even more!
Since the book was published in 1977, I wanted to post the original cover:
(cover pic from goodreads)
I adore this cover!! I love this illustration style, and I can't resist a book with a horse on the cover. I love the gothic feel, like the heroine is going to meet a handsome heroic stranger on a dark spooky night. I'm not sure this is really an accurate portrayal of the story inside the book, but I'd definitely pick this one up.