BUGGY

Opening Line: "Nicholas leaned back in the wooden tub, closed his eyes, let the hot water soak the chill from his bones."

Well, that's it I'm no longer a Pamela Clare virgin. Although I may just become an addict now. And lucky me, I have SO much good reading to look forward to.

This was easily one of the best historical romances I've read. Now I know why everyone keeps recommending Pamela Clare. I just can't seem to bring myself back from the frontier of 1763, nor do I want to, and then there’s Nicholas... Sigh

There isn’t much I can say really that hasn’t been said already, Ride The Fire is an epic read, with characters that will stay with you long after you’ve finished. By the end I couldn’t believe how far they’d come and what they’d been through. And the detail paid to historical accuracy here is simply amazing. Down to the smallest of facts, including actual soldiers, battles, forts, and sieges. You’ll have no trouble being transported away and imagining yourself there. And how fun was the inclusion of “Ben” in the closing chapters?

In regards to the romance (big sigh) Bethie and Nicholas are just perfect; with a realistic, slow building love forming between two equally wounded souls. I love a tortured hero and Nicholas is about as good as it gets without being a bully (as most tend to come off before they fall in love) and I appreciated how his dark secrets weren’t given away all at once either. I was on pins waiting to hear exactly what had taken place after he was tortured and why he continued to live amongst the Wyandot. Surprisingly though it wasn’t his brutal torture but the scene where he drops to his knees in front of his mother and begs forgiveness that got to me. There were no TSTL moments on the heroine’s part here, no dumb misunderstandings to plod through or exaggerated conflict it was all just beautifully done.

I should also mention that while this is the third part of a trilogy I read it as a stand alone with no problems whatsoever. I have of course just ordered the first two books because I can’t seem to find anything else to read that even comes close to capturing the magic I found here. Cheers