"Sleeping Beauty with a Paranomal Twist"
Another triumph for Tracy!
HEART OF THE DOVE confirms what we all suspected
after reading her debut novel, T0UCH NOT THE CAT - Ms.
Fobes is destined to become a para-romance legend! Her way
with a descriptive phrase draws you right into the story.
She empowers her heroines without emasculating her heroes.
No simply "feisty" heroine here, she's ready and able to
protect her hero if she must. He is confident enough to
accept her strength, courageous enough to defend her as
well. Sleeping Beauty with a Twist
1593: Beautiful witch, Morgana Fey, is faced with a
terrible choice: relinquish her magical crystal dove to
greedy warlock, Edward Drakewyck, and his cohort Henry
Clairmont, OR watch her beloved die a painful death. She
chooses love, her reward - eternal sleep. As her sight
fades she has a vision which will provide her with a means
for revenge. Before she succumbs, she curses the families
with a prediction of the future. She will awaken when a
Drakewyck witch and a Clairmont knave shall love, and thus
recover the dove and destroy her enemies. Edward warns all
who will come after him against loving a Clairmont in a
note to be passed down to each successive generation. 1896: Another young and beautiful witch covertly practices
healing magic in a secluded glen bordering her property and
that of the Clairmont family. Lucinda Drakewyck has been
troubled by a vision. A mysterious man and woman seem
entwined in her fate. The man with a crippled hand, she
sees as her protector, a man she could easily love. The
woman a powerful enemy who will destroy them both, if they
allow themselves to love. A crystal dove is at the heart
of the conflict. A chance meeting that day
in the glen brings Lucinda face to face with her hero. He
is dark and brooding and has a crippled hand, he is also
rude and departs without an introduction. Startled at seeing a part of her vision in the flesh,
Lucinda returns to her home and confides in her Uncle,
hoping for reassurance. Instead she is given the family
spell book, complete with a description of Morgana, the
nature of the curse, and Edward's warning. He also gives
her the crystal dove. Lucinda now knows her vision to be
true. She knows she must seek out her protector, but that
she must a all costs resist loving him. The hero, Richard Drakewyck, a Crimean war veteran, is home
at last physically damaged and mentally suffering from
survivors guilt. He too had been faced with a terrible
choice. His actions resulted in an injury to his hand and
the death of his dearest friend. He is determined to live
alone in a derelict tower, a rundown section of his family
home. He wants to be left alone to brood, but there is
something about the young lady in the glen that intrigues
him inspite of himself. Having connected with her hero, Lucinda now must test the
power of the dove in order to be prepared for her
confrontation with her mysterious enemy. Her test
backfires, the power of the dove creates a conflagration
that draws Richard back to the glen. The force of the
reaction has caused Lucinda to drop the dove and as the
pair find it simultaneously, their hands touch. The dove
glows and elsewhere in the glen, in a secluded grave, a
soul is awakened. An "accident" caused by Richard's wild young sister
involves both Lucinda and the victim, a mysterious stranger
named Faye Morgan. At last all the parties necessary to
fulfill the prophesy are together under one roof. Will
Morgana have her revenge at last, will Lucinda and Richard
be able to resist love, or will the heart of the dove be
one that heals? I highly recommend this novel. Copyright 1999
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted October 8, 2001
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Lucinda Drakewyck, one of a long line of Drakewyck witches, has foreseen her own death. Desperate for answers, she calls upon the magic in her cherished crystal dove, hoping for visions of the warrior whose love would first save her then destroy them both. When wounded Crimean cavalry officer Richard Clairmont walks into her secret forest glen, Lucinda recognizes him as her promised hero. Destiny has determined that only he can rescue her from a ghastly fate, and yet Lucinda fights the attraction between them, knowing if they love, both their lives are forfeit. Richard Clairmont doesn't believe in love, magic, or even himself. A captain in Her Majesty's Eleventh Hussars, he charged into the mouth of Hell and returned scarred forever. But from the moment he meets Lucinda Drakewyck, sunshine enters his life, throwing light on the shadows in his heart and making him question the possibility of magic. Together, they must stand against a malevolent presence and test the true power of their love.
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