TEST
Miranda is a tautly-crafted, finely-tuned Regency-era historical filled with spies, suspense, amnesia, and two men vying for the love of the heroine. There are lovely lords, ladies, lairds, and madwomen, Bedlam and the Highlands.
The problem with this book is the heroine. Perhaps because she has amnesia for most of the story I had difficulty getting to know her heart, soul, and mind. And, without that, a romance just doesn’t work very well for me.
The story opens with Miranda being saved from a warehouse explosion by a handsome Scotsman. She has no idea who she is, or why she is in a burning warehouse. Turned over to Bedlam by a crooked constable, she is retrieved by Ian MacVane, her Scots savior, who says she is his betrothed. Little does she know that Ian MacVane had been sent to the warehouse on a far different mission, not to save her, but to kill her.
Because of Miranda’s amnesia, she spends most of the book reacting. First to Ian’s caring and nurturing. Then to his fierce handsomeness. Then to his gentleness with his mad mother and orphaned charge. Then to the possibility that Ian is a liar and another man was really her betrothed.
But things get really sticky when Miranda goes in search of her father in order to find herself. Her two warriors want something from her. Is it love or information? The addition of Lady Frances, a secondary character with hidden strengths and motives adds more intrigue to the story. But while the story itself is exciting and intriguing, Miranda remains a blank slate. And when she isn’t a blank slate, she’s a reactor, not an actor, in her own life.
As she discovers her old self, she discovers she was rather a drag. Beautiful, intelligent, but emotionally dead. While Ian has awakened in her a new self, one of caring and love, this reviewer was bothered both by the emotionally dead Miranda and the reactive Miranda.
Ian, on the other hand, is a very appealing hero, Wounded, mercenary, full of revenge, he is not alive until he meets Miranda. Although he is not what he presents himself to be, he is a good man. Miranda’s only saving grace in my mind was that she healed him, and in so doing, managed to heal herself.
Also problematic is that Ian and Miranda are separated for much of the story. In a romance, my favorite parts are when the hero and heroine are together, learning about each other, changing due to the power of love. The first half of this book contains enough scenes with both Ian and Miranda to satisfy me in this area. After that, however, they are separated – both physically or emotionally – too often.
Then too, there is an awful lot of court intrigue, rockets, and treason going on that detracts from the romance. The book reminds me of Laura Kinsale’s Midsummer Moon in this regard. But this reviewer wished the story had veered differently after the quite diverting first half.
All in all, Miranda is a decent read. But I felt Ian deserved a better heroine after all he’d been through to earn her love.
Grade: C
Book Type: European Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 01/08/96
Publication Date: 1996
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.
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On the “Steals and Deals” page, why write AAR “loved'” this historical romance? A “C” is lukewarm to me.
This was an intern mistake. Thanks!