TEST
I never used to think a bland medieval was possible. The time period is so lush, the possibilities for drama and conflict so numerous. The temptation would be to overdramatize, if anything. Then I read The Enchantress, the second book in the Highland Treasures trilogy, and discovered that the bland medieval is not a mythical creature after all.
Lauren Percy’s family was scattered in different directions when the English king beheaded her father. Nichola, Laura’s Scottish mother, sent her three daughters to different parts of Scotland in the hopes of protecting them from the vengeful king and other, more sinister figures. Apparently the Percy family are the guardians of the Treasure of Tiberius, a mysterious, perhaps even mystical piece of treasure. The girls are allegedly in possession of three different pieces of the map, which they are to guard with their lives.
Lauren herself is sent to the convent of St. Duthac in the northern Highlands. However, a terrible storm erupts while she is sailing there, and she has to take shelter at another convent to the south. Because this other convent is in disarray when she arrives, and because Lauren should have been called The Organizer instead of The Enchantress, she stays there to set things back in order without bothering alert the people at St. Duthac’s apart from sending a brief note with one of the sailors on the ship.
Lauren’s presence isn’t missed at first because the provost at St. Duthac’s dies shortly before her scheduled arrival. Her coming is such a secret that nobody knows about it until Gilbert Ross, the new provost, discovers the correspondence between his predecessor and Nichola Percy. Panic-stricken about what might have happened to Lauren, he sends his brother, the laird of Ross himself, to hunt her out.
William Ross finds Lauren soon enough and assuming that she’s a prisoner, he kidnaps her. She in turn assumes he’s one of the shady characters her mother has warned her about. The usual hijinks ensue, with various Spontaneous Acts of Stupidity on Lauren’s part, such as running away from William in the middle of a Highland blizzard. Eventually things settle down once they sort their stories out and Lauren is delivered safely to St. Duthac’s. She promptly begins to feel useless because this convent is too well organized to need her guiding hand. She begins to feel hopeful, however, when she finds out that William plans to bring his niece, the daughter of the former Ross laird, to the shambles that is his castle. Gilbert, playing matchmaker, promptly maneuvers her into staying and overseeing matters at the holding. More hijinks ensue, with Lauren and William alternately growling and nibbling at each other.
When I finished the book, I felt that it should have been a short story. Even at only 310 pages, there was far too much filler and not enough actual plot. I, for one, found it hard to believe that Lauren would endanger herself and disobey her mother’s wishes by staying at the other convent for as long as she did. The conflict between Lauren and William felt far too contrived as well. He hates all little rich girls because of a bad experience in his past; she, well, I can’t think of a very good reason for Lauren’s continual sniping. The biggest indication of their love seems to be the overwhelming lust they feel whenever they see each other.
Then there’s the whole Treasure of Tiberius plot thread that receives scant coverage in this book. All we find out is that two villainous monks are after it and will stoop to anything to get it.
That being said, there’s nothing really awful about The Enchantress. The writing isn’t brilliant, but it isn’t bad either. The people are familiar, if slightly worn, variations of stock romance characters, and although they aren’t the brightest bulbs in the box, they’re not offensive. Any person of average intelligence should be able to figure out any and all surprises well in advance, but there aren’t any plot twists that don’t make sense. Those who haven’t read the previous book in this series will have no trouble catching up on the ongoing story; McGoldrick manages to weave in the fragments of past stories into the current one quite skillfully.
So if you’re not averse to reading a book that’s kind of like a Seinfeld episode without the neurotic New York humor (nothing happens – at least, not much of consequence), you might want to give this book a try.
Grade: C-
Book Type: Renaissance Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 07/11/00
Publication Date: 2000
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.