Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent book from a not well-known era in Britain, 8 Aug 2002
"To Burn" is my first book by Claudia Dain and I hope the others are as good as this one. There are not many historical romances set in the era of Roman Britain and I find it very exciting and brave from the author to write one.This is the story of Melania a Roman Briton aristocrat and Wulfred a conquering Saxon warrior.
The plot is quite simple but it doesn't mean that there is not much action in the book. I find the historical background a bit lacking but it doesn't spoil the story. Melania is a proud Roman who becomes Wulfred's captive after the Saxons defeat her father and nearly destroy her Roman villa. She is very stubborn , full of her importance as a Roman and she wants to die because she hates the Saxons and she doesn't want to live among them. She fights Wulfred at every turn, she swears at him, she calls him stupid barbari, oaf and at the same time she fights her growing attraction to him. Wulfred is a strong warrior, proud of his being a victorious Saxon against Rome. He hates Rome, its culture, its beauty and its reputation in the Ancient world.
He wants to kill every Roman, he wants to destroy everything reminding him of Rome. The author concentrates the story around the two leading characters. Their fights are exciting and entertaining.They are both strong and stubborn and very well matched in everything. They represent two different worlds, two different beliefs and they hate their weakness for each other. Wulfred starts to desire Melania, to notice her intelligence, her bravery and her strength. Melania opens her eyes and heart to Wulfred's strength, his honourable behavior and his attractivness. Slowly they fall in love with each other and they bury their contradictory beliefs for their mutual happiness.
"To Burn" is a wonderful story about two people who find happiness together against all odds. The author proves that love can conquer everything. I loved this story.I wish there were more romance books around set in the era of Roman Britain, in the era of the Celts,Saxons and Vikings.I hope historical romance authors will write more books about these nearly unknown periods in history.
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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dain not only burns, she shines!!, 31 Oct 2002
I have long admired Dorchester Publishing, finding I read more and more of their writers such as Melanie Jackson and Trish Jensen. They are fresh, super storytellers and Dorchester gives them the leeway to shine. And Claudia Dain not only shines in this novel, she burns!!! What a super read!!There is a trend toward the light whimsical historicals and I utterly adore to leader of this pack Lynsay Sands. But while I cannot wait for one of her new books to come out, I also love 'heavy' historicals such as Danegeld by Susan Squires (both Dorchester writers), and Claudia Dain gives one super strong historical. Writing of a period that many have overlooked in the romance market: the void left as the Romans pulled out of England and the Saxons rose to power - she paints the canvass not only with strong bold, sure strokes, but with vivid colours. I have been in writers chat several times with Dain, and found her a lively person with a super sense of humour, but she also loves history, and being a history lover myself, I was intrigued recently as she discussed To Burn. So naturally, I rushed out to buy it and am very glad I did. She gives us two very strong alpha leads. She is Melania, the roman woman who detests the loathsome Saxon. He is Wulfred, the Saxon who kills her father and destroys her villa and hates all things Roman. She calls him Oaf, he calls her snake and they utterly HATE each other. He finds her hiding in a bolthole, and sets it afire to force her out. In Valiant, almost Viking mentality, she accepts dying there, because it would be on her own terms, not his. He plans on killing her, but sees that is just want she wants. A quick death in warrior fashion. And since he hates her and all she stands for, he perversely denies her the death she so wants, and makes her his slave intending to break her spirit before he grants her death. But he finds breaking her spirit an impossible task. She is constantly provoking him with diatribes against him and all things Saxon, she scratches, kick and bites anytime he gets near, deliberately trying to provoke his temper into murdering her. She continually tries to kill herself. Not as a Ophelia whiner I-cannot-face-life, but as a strong warrior wanting life and death on her own terms, and if she cannot have life as she knows it, then will faces death with open arms. So Wulfred spend more time tries to stop her, than breaking her spirit. These are two well-drawn, uncompromising characters for an uncompromising period in Britain's history. And this will be a book you will remember long after you put it down. Thank you the super book, Claudia!! And I am off to buy the rest of your works!! WISE Writers and Readers Book of the Month for June 2002
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
To Burn burns!!!!, 12 Sep 2002
... There is a trend toward the light whimsical historicals and I utterly adore to leader of this pack Lynsay Sands. But while I cannot wait for one of her new books to come out, I also love 'heavy' historicals such as Danegeld by Susan Squires (both Dorchester writers), and Claudia Dain gives one super strong historical. Writing of a period that many have overlooked in the romance market: the void left as the Romans pulled out of England and the Saxons rose to power - she paints the cavass not only with strong bold, sure strokes, but with vivid colours. I have been in writers chat several times with Dain, and found her a lively person with a super sense of humour, but she also loves history, and being a history lover myself, I was intriqued recently as she discussed To Burn. So naturally, I rushed out to buy it and am very glad I did. She gives us two very strong alpha leads. She is Melania, the roman woman who detests the loathsome Saxon. He is Wulfred, the Saxon who kills her father and destroys her villa and hates all things Roman. She calls him Oaf, he calls her snake and they utterly HATE each other. He finds her hiding in a bolthole, and sets it afire to force her out. In Valiant, almost Viking mentality, she accepts dying there, because it would be on her own terms, not his. He plans on killing her, but sees that is just want she wants. A quick death in warrior fashion. And since he hates her and all she stands for, he perversely denies her the death she so wants, and makes her his slave intending to break her spirit before he grants her death. But he finds breaking her spirit an impossible task. She is constantly provoking him with diatriabes against him and all things Saxon, she scratches, kick and bites anytime he gets near, deliberately trying to provoke his temper into murdering her. She continually tries to kill herself. Not as a Orphelia whiner I-cannot-face-life, but as a strong warrior wanting life and death on her own terms, and if she cannot have life as she knows it, then will faces death with open arms. So Wulfred spend more time tries to stop her, than breaking her spirit. These are two well-drawn, uncompromising characters for an uncompromising period in Britain's history. And this will be a book you will remember long after you put it down. Thank you the super book, Claudia!! And I am off to buy the rest of your works!! WISE Writers and Readers Book of the Month for June 2002
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