The Lord of Merewood Keep
Medieval Trilogy, Book 1

C.H. Admirand

Publisher:
The Dark Castle Lords

Release Date:
March 15, 2007

Genres:
Erotica
Historical Romance

ISBN:
eBook
9781921347054

Bookmark Rating:

Reviewed by
Jennifer Ray

Review Posted:
June 2008

With the death of her parents, Lady Jillian is left orphaned with her aunt and uncle, at whose hands she suffers terribly.  Beyond the beatings that have left her scarred and slave work, she is subject to years of taunts and insults, making her feel ugly and worthless.  Now they attempt to claim her birthright for themselves, and she must move to stop them before she loses all.

The warrior Garrick seems to be her last chance at freedom, and she enters a marriage bargain with him, promising her lands to him in exchange for the marriage and freedom.   

Garrick had intended marriage to another, with more of a dowry, but cannot refuse the beautiful Jillian when he witnesses her trials.  And the lands she promises will help his own people recover from the war that ravaged his keep and left his people struggling. 

But with the marriage only hours old, Garrick discovers the land Jillian promised is already lost to him.  Did his wife betray him, or was she betrayed herself?  Without the land, Garrick’s promise to provide for his people is worthless, leaving him with a choice of vows to break:  his marriage to Jillian or his promise to his people. 

I have been very interested for some time in reading some of the books from The Dark Castle Lords.  The promotion for this new publisher has been strong and eye-catching, and they have certainly attracted a roster of fine authors to their company.  Unfortunately, while a reviewer gets to read many great books, they don’t always have control over when they read them.  So when I was offered the opportunity to review THE LORD OF MEREWOOD KEEP by CH Admirand, I jumped at the chance, since review books always get moved to the top of the reading stack.  I was very lucky that this was a book I would have eventually purchased had it not been submitted for review, as I thoroughly enjoyed this story. 

I have not read Admirand’s work before, but this will definitely not be the last book of hers I read!  This author knows how to weave an intricate storyline without tripping herself up on the plot, and all the pieces fall into place easily in the end.  Her characters, both lead and supporting, are very real from page one, and engender empathy even when they are not always making the best choices. 

Like Garrick, for instance.  He doesn’t always do or say the right thing, but his motivations are always pure.  His word and his honor are paramount, and his responsibilities to the people under his protection are every present in his mind and heart.  Those responsibilities make him feel he hasn’t many choices, and consequently his actions aren’t always agreeable, albeit they are always understood.  His internal conflict over failure to provide for his people and his marriage vow to Jillian, who he has come to love, are heart-wrenching. 

Through all that Jillian has suffered, she hasn’t lost her faith in humanity or her capacity for love and tenderness.  Always considering others’ needs before her own, she is an admirable heroine, and a perfect mate to the honorable Garrick. 

Admirand does something interesting with several scenes that happen ‘off-camera’, so to speak.  Several events occur that we are not privy during the action, but instead are recounted by the characters that experience them.  While I would have loved to see several of these scenes as they unfolded, the way the author set the stage before these scenes and the follow up afterwards allowed my own imagination to easily ‘see’ the events even with out the details. 

I would recommend THE LORD OF MEREWOOD KEEP to lovers of historicals, and know that I will be reading more from both CH Admirand and The Dark Castle Lords soon!

Note:  This review was originally written by Jennifer Ray for another review site.  It is being reposted at Wild on Books.

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