Rogue [Mass Market Paperback]

A portent arrives in the form of a raven, and Ysabella of Kinfairlie is not surprised when her estranged husband appears. Their two week marriage ended when she fled after learning Merlyn peddles religious relics when she had believed his livelihood was in textiles. She could not live with his crimes. Five years have passed since those glorious two weeks, and now Ysabella brews ale to support her sister and brother. After an explosive encounter, he leaves, only for word to come the following day of his death.

Ysabella inherits her husband's estate, Ravensmuir. During her first night in the keep, Ysabella dreams of making love with Meryln. When she awakens with proof of their passion, Ysabella seeks answers. Merlyn confesses to staging his demise because someone seeks to kill him. He hopes to flush out his aggressor by giving Ysabella his property. Merlyn demands her trust even while withholding all the information she demands. Somewhere within the keep lies a treasure men will kill for.

Clair Delacroix pens an intriguing medieval romance with THE ROUGUE. Delacroix demonstrates a remarkable creative flair with THE ROGUE as it vividly creates a marvelous fourteenth century tale. Her vividly realized characters create a fabulous world of fierce loyalty and dangerous betrayal. Ysabella's five years of struggle to provide for her family, thereby clinging to her moral and ethical values despite starvation and deprivation proves her a powerful heroine. Her common background and lack of education and breeding sharply contrasts the laird of Ravensmuir, even as they are spiritually matched. While the choice of a first person narrative distances readers from the roguish hero, it also adds a beguiling sense of immediacy. THE ROGUE comes highly recommended.

Setting - Scotland 1371 --- The story opens with our heroine, Ysabella, who was once married then left the wealthy Merlyn Lammergeier, laird of Ravensmuir, five years previously after only a fortnight of marriage. She is shunned by the townspeople after they believe she had been cast off and set aside by her husband. In order to support her sister and brother, she is forced to brew ale under the auspices of another due to arcane local ordinances. It is a meager existence but one of her choosing since she rejected and abandoned the husband she could not reconcile herself with once she believed that he dealt in stolen religious artifacts. Now, Merlyn has returned to reclaim her and though she certainly feels the passion he elicits in her she spurns him again.

The next day she is informed that Merlyn has been murdered and she is his heiress, inheriting Ravensmuir which she promptly moves her family into. Her first night in her solar and she dreams of making quite passionate love to Merlyn, only to discover the next morning that it wasn't a dream but reality. Merlyn is alive, having survived an ambush, and he asks Ysabella to continue to play a grieving widow to help him discover his assailant.

The intrigue and mystery of the book is very clever with a couple of surprises, though somewhat predictable. The reader should find the historical aspect of this novel very interesting highlighting the illicit religious artifact trade that was prevalent in that period. Ysabella's illiteracy, figuring prominently and another source of conflict in the marriage, was also an interesting historical aspect to discover in how it was dealt with during that period. Of course, Ysabella's continued obstinacy did begin to grate on my nerves as I found Merlyn to be quite charming and most deserving of a second chance and her `secret' was really quite easy to figure out. All in all, I would definitely recommend this first book in the Ravensmuir saga, and though I was introduced to the series by reading the third book first, they both stand alone and are engrossing and fabulously exciting reads by this very talented and gifted author.

Five years ago Ysabella gave her love to Merlyn of Ravensmuir, she knew the rumors, she heard the whispers but he somehow just moved her, it didn't take long for him to show his true colors, his true nature so Ysabella left Ravensmuir and left "The Rogue". Merlyn has always had to live down the reputation set by his father, he wants to be known as an honorable man, but it's hard to do especially when your own wife doesn't believe you. Well it's been five long years without her, and now he needs her, he still has deep feelings for her and it's now or never because someone wants to silence "The Rogue" forever.
You know there are so many great contemporary romances out there that I sometimes forget just how passionate historical romance can be, and this author is the Queen of historical romance as far as I'm concerned. It takes a certain kind of magic to describe to a media savvy world the interior of a 12th Century keep, to make her readers use their imagination when picturing characters of that era and no one does it better than Ms. Delacroix. So it's very fortunate we are that her Ravensmuir series is being re-released for the Kindle right now with the cover that shows Merlyn as the rogue he truly is. She takes us to her imaginary castle in a real Scotland at a long ago time, she gives us a history text book worthy plot, with Oscar worthy characters. The first thing you'll notice is the antiquated dialogue that fits right in with the times and which shows off effectively her history background. She introduces us to her historically accurate men, women and children she showcases the hard life, the cruelty but she shows us that even in the mean old middle ages love still not only survives but conquers all. Her hero and heroine are head butting, one moment and cleaving to each other the next, does it work, you bet it does. Her romance is of second chances, my favorite, it's sweet while at the same time heady and innocence mixed with potent sexuality. The love scenes are daydream like and impressionistic and then she'll hit us up side the head with in your face earthy, visceral action, but she does shade it with innuendo and adult language and it won't offend any true romance lover.
If you've forgotten the allure of historical romance or if you just want to fall in love again with the old fashioned kind of knight and lady then come back to Ravensmuir, come back to Scotland, come back to "The Rogue" and come back to Clair Delacroix. You'll be glad you did.