From the time they first meet at a masked party, Maris Winter drives Ethan Gray mad. A familiar scent she exudes-the scent of tobacco-is the same as that of a woman who held a gun to his head once in a dark warehouse. After setting up an assignation he is confident will net him the lady dressed as a peacock, he is angered and frustrated to find she has flown the coop, leaving only her feathers behind.
Maris, who has mistaken Ethan for her contact, agrees to meet him to retrieve a key he is supposed to give her-only to realize before she keeps their assignation that he is not the man in the tiger mask she is looking for.
This taut and well-executed tale of revolutionary romance opens by grabbing our attention and holds it well throughout the book. When Maris and Ethan are assigned to work together, and discover a mutual attraction, things heat up, but a bit of shared history-Ethan tried, but was unable to save the life of Maris' father-and Ethan's belief that Maris suffers from hero worship where he is concerned, impede the lovers' progress.
In addition, Maris finds herself in the position of having to protect the very man they are set to
find-even at the cost of Ethan's love and her own love of country. A few phrases that sound too modern for the setting strike an off-key note, but some well-plotted twists and turns ending in a series of final revelations are worth following to the conclusion of this romantic and adventurous story.
Reviewed by Lee M
Copyright © 2006 CK2S Kwips and Kritiques. All rights reserved.
