Review: Silverhawk – Barbara Bettis

To avenge his mother’s honor, Sir Giles of Cambrai has come to England to kill his father. First, however, he’ll take sweet revenge by kidnapping his sire’s new betrothed. But when Giles uncovers a plot against King Richard, he faces a dilemma: take the lady or track the traitors. What’s a good mercenary to do? Both, of course.

Abandoned in a convent by her brother, Lady Emelin finally has the chance for home and family. Yet now she’s been abducted. Her kidnapper may be the image of her dream knight, but she won’t allow him to spoil this betrothal. Her only solution: escape

Rescuing the intrepid lady–while hunting the traitors–is a challenge Giles couldn’t anticipate. But the greatest challenge to both Giles and Emelin is the fire blazing between them. For he’s everything a proper lady should never want, and she’s everything a bastard mercenary can never have.

Series:
Release Date: July 23rd 2013
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Source: Provided by Author/Publisher via Manic Readers
Reviewer: Michelle
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

Silverhawk is a historical romance.  This book had great multilayered characters that easily carried the storyline.  Lady Emelin of Compton’s brother Lord Garley banished her to a convent after her first betrothed failed to return from war.  He uses her as a pawn in his bid to gain property, power, and riches.   However, Lady Emelin’s time at the convent has increased her empathy and when she finds a wounded knight she is determined to take him with her and help him heal.  I loved the way the author showed that Emelin kept an open heart even though she had several tragedies to occur in her life.  There was instant chemistry between Emelin and the knight, Sir Giles of Cambrai, she rescued.  The other secondary characters provided depth to the story and added interest.

This book had a good storyline, but it seemed like the author left some loose ends and then wrapped up other elements of the story in a way that was just  a little too tidy.  I was left wondering about what happened to the other wives of the Lord that Emelin was supposed to marry.  Then there was also the issue of a child, Giles’ revenge, and Garley’s misdeeds that were resolved just a little too quickly.  It was almost as if the author just decided I’m tired of writing here’s a way to wrap this up.  I was a little disappointed by that because the author was so thorough in laying out the history and building up the plot in the first half of the book.  As a matter of fact I was so well versed on Emelin & Giles’ history that I could recite it from memory.  There were a lot of twists and turns in the storyline, and the suspense kept me engaged.  The passion between Emelin and Giles’ was white hot.  I was totally vested in their characters and their love story.  So despite some of the drawbacks of the storyline I can say that I remained engaged and hanging on to every word.

I look forward to reading more from this author.