"Hot and Humorous, A delightful new fantasy/time travel by this gifted author"
GEORGE AND THE VIRGIN is a wonderful example of one
of my absolute favorite kinds of romance, humorous, and
hot, hot, HOT! Readers who enjoy the works of Sandra Hill
and Nina Bangs will love this new time travel by Lisa Cach.
No stranger to the sub-genre, the author of THE CHANGLING
BRIDE, BEWITCHING THE BARON, and OF MIDNIGHT BORN, throws
in a bit of fantasy for
spice, as a modern hero with metaphoric dragons to slay,
trades them in for a real one and gets more than he ever
bargained for! George Arlington is a good hearted guy with a larger than
life profession. He'd parlayed a theater degree into a
lucrative career as the pro-wrestler known as "The Saint".
As far as wrestling went he was one of the good guys, maybe
even a role model, but lately he hadn't been feeling too
good. True he was recovering from a job related injury, but
it was the negative press he'd been getting recently that
had really laid him low. His professional stunts weren't
meant to be tried at home, but that is exactly what two
young boys had done, and now their mothers were publicly
holding George to blame for their injuries. George would
never intentionally hurt a child, but he knew how these
mother's felt. He'd have taken anyone apart who'd caused
his niece, Gabby, harm. He looked out for his sister Athena and her child, and they
looked out for him. That is why George had succumbed to
Athena's suggestion that hypnosis might help him recover
his equilibrium, and bring him some peace of mind. There
must have been some special magic in Athena's new crystal
indeed, for the hypnotic trance sends George to a place and
time that is far more real than a dream state ought to be. In medieval Markesew, another woman is casting her spell
with the very same stone. The appearance of "Saint George"
is the answer to Emoni's prayers. A dragon slayer is the
very thing she needs. Twelve years ago, she had watched
helplessly as her best friend, Alizon, was escorted across
the causeway to Devil's Mount. She'd been chosen in the
annual lottery, the latest virgin sacrifice to appease the
hunger of a demanding dragon. Eleven more had followed in
her footsteps, and this year Emoni's own daughter, born in
that year and named for her lost friend, would be eligible
for the lottery. Believing this all to be part of a waking dream, George
sees the symbolism in his appointed task. Slay the dragon,
solve his worries. No Problem! All he had to do was get
past the old crone guarding the castle that housed the
beast, and all his troubles would be solved. He hadn't
counted on the fact that the crone was a beautiful and
passionate young woman in disguise, or that his desire for
her would be the true test of his resolve. She would prove
much harder than a virgin-eating dragon to subdue. Luck had been on Alizon's side all those many years ago.
She had gone to her fate without looking back, but she had
not wished to die. In the end her strength had won out, and
the dragon had taken another. Now she was mistress of the
Mount. Disguised as the crone, she had led the subsequent
virgins away, giving them refuge and a livelihood. All
these years she had reveled in the delicious irony of
profiting from the sheep the villagers had valued more than
their young women. The dragon had become her ally. George and his good intentions would put an end to her fine
arrangement, if he succeeded in his mission. But that was
not going happen. She was intelligent and resourceful.
She'd outwitted both the town and the dragon. She could
easily outwit this foolish mortal of a man. That is if she
could just fight her own growing attraction for him. The
man was definitely not a saint, but Alizon imagined that
heaven could be found in his arms. Perhaps he isn't a saint, but Alizon is definitely the
answer to George's prayers. As an outsider, he sees her
situation much more clearly than he'd seen his own. He
realizes, and strives to make her see, that she must put
the pain of the villager's betrayal and her own vengeance
behind her, if she's to become whole and have a life of her
own. Pure Pleasure! As George uses his wisdom, and his own
formidable forms of persuasion, to convince Alizon to let
her demons go, he realizes that he must let go of his own
if this amazing fantasy is to become his reality. I highly
recommend this entertaining and thought provoking tale. Copyright © 2002
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted July 17, 2002
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Sometimes, slaying the dragon is the easy part.
The medieval village of Markesew was besieged, its virgins
demanded in tribute to a filthy dragon, so when St. George
the Dragonslayer arrived from modern times -- in his silver
pants and lace-up boots -- his task was clear. Being a
professional wrestler didn't qualify him for the job, but a
sword and imagination were all he needed... or so he
thought, until he came up against the mysterious mistress
of Devil's Mount.
Twelve years ago Alizon had been sent to die in the jaws of
the serpent. Too tough for dragon teeth then, she'd never
surrender to some foreigner in shiny hose now. She feared
first for the secret world she'd built atop her mountain...
but as St. George approached, Alizon realized it was not
the dragon's armor he had come to pierce, but the scales
around her own ferocious heart.
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