Hearts Aflame. ( 4 Books) by Jill Hughey, Anna Markland, Catherine Kean & Nancy Morse. ARC Review.

From 9th century Paris under attack by Vikings to early colonial Kenya, the members of the Rowan family who inherit the heirloom brooch must come to terms with its terrible legacy. Four brand new stories from bestselling historical romance authors.

Rowenne  Legacy.
By Jill Hughey.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This historical romance is set way back in the year 861AD. A time of feuding kings and invading northmen.
Fia and her father, a weaponsmith are in Paris when the barbarians from the                 north attack. A terrifying time time for everyone.
Rowan of Alda and his father hear about the attack on Paris,  knowing the smith will be there they travel to the man's home to check on his wife and family. When Rowan finds out Fia is there he decides to go and bring them home.
Our hero trained under the smith and was always treated as family.  Unfortunately Fia hates him, but he must see her safe. He has much more patience than any man should have. Our heroine is a defiant young woman who certainly knows how to hold a grudge.
I am assuming that this is the start of a family saga.  Maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. There are many more characters in the book whose story needs to be told. Especially Marion's.
A really enjoyable read.

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Passions Fire.
By Anna Markland.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This story is set in the year 1175.
Matthew de Rowenne is a second son, so he has to make his living with his sword. He has been sent back to the Scottish borders to help control the rebels.  He was hoping to be rewarded with some land or maybe a knighthood.
Brigandine Lordsmith has lived as a boy all her life. It was easier to help her father in his forge. Now an army has come to the area it is safer to stay a lad.
This is a marvellous book. Our heroine is so different to the norm.  She is uneducated, her hair is chopped off and she works hard enough to have muscles. As she has always pretended to be a boy , she is not afraid to speak her mind.
Our hero believes he is cursed.  The talisman that passes to the all the second sons seems to bring death to their wives.
I loved every page, I read it in just a few hours because I couldn't put it down.

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A Legendary Love.
By Catherine Kean.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
This story starts in 1204 then moves on to 1214. The very greedy King John is on the throne and the greatest Lords in the land are getting restless.
Tavis de Rowenne  is a second son, so he has inherited the family talisman. He doesn't believe it is cursed.  His parents are living proof. His father wanted his to be betrothed to one of his allies but the introduction didn't go very well.
Lady Helena Marlowe  is helping her father as much as she can,  but the crippling taxes have put them in serious debt.
I don't want to say too much about the story line, it would spoil it for you. I will just say the protagonists get reacquainted through fire. The hero is adorable.  The heroine maybe a little spoiled.
A really enjoyable short story.

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Love Remembers
By Nancy Morse.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This last story in the box is set in 1920.
Jonathan Shane is a heart broken coffee farmer in Africa . He is doing his best to save his farm in the drought and catch ivory poachers.
Julia Rowen is a photographic journalist. She has returned to
Africa to try and recover her memories. This is where she was found wandering with a head wound that caused amnesia. 
This is a grand safari adventure. We have encounters with lions, enraged elephants and the poachers.  Our heroine is very brave to travel so far from her homeland on her own. She has a lot more strength than she realised.  Our hero doesn't know what to do for the best.
A very exciting read.

The most interesting fact about Jill Hughey is that she can sing really, really high. As in opera-singer high. But she only does that when she is not writing, working part time as a business administrator, running her two teenaged sons around, and enjoying the support of her wonderful husband. Her ideal afternoon is spent sitting on her front porch with an iced coffee as she moves the characters  in her head into her laptop. Happy reading!

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Anna Markland is a Canadian author with a keen interest in genealogy. She writes medieval romance about family honour, ancestry and roots. Her novels are intimate love stories filled with passion and adventure. Following a fruitful career in teaching, Anna transformed her love of writing and history into engaging works of fiction. One of the things she enjoys most about writing historical romance is the in-depth research required to provide the reader with an authentic medieval experience.

                                                      Website. *  Facebook.  * Twitter. *  Goodreads.*  Pinterest.

Award-winning author Catherine Kean has always loved tales of heroic knights and stubborn damsels. Her debut medieval historical romance, Dance of Desire, was the launch title of Medallion Press's Sapphire Jewel Imprint. Dance of Desire won two Reviewer’s Choice Awards, Best Medieval in industry review magazine Affaire de Coeur’s 2006 Reader-Writers’ Poll, and finaled in four contests for published romance novelists.

Her other medieval romances have also garnered accolades. Among them, My Lady's Treasure won the historical category of the 2008 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence Contest and finaled in the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. A Knight’s Reward was a 2008 National Readers’ Choice Awards finalist.

Catherine also writes contemporary romances under the pseudonym Cate Lord.

When not writing, Catherine enjoys cooking, baking, browsing antique shops, shopping with her daughter, and gardening. 

Website * Facebook * 

I'm an award-winning author of historical and contemporary romance novels. I live with my husband and our big, beautiful Alaskan Malamute who only looks like a dangerous wolf but is really a clown and the delight of our lives. I love reading, writing (of course), watching old movies, taking long walks with the dog, working out at the gym, eating out, going to museums, art and antique shows and Native American history and culture. My favorite places are New York City and the Bronx Zoo.

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Lost in a Kiss reviews for each book.

Lost in a Kiss.
An Impassioned Redemption. By Sydney Jane Baily.

Jameson Carter owns a gambling riverboat on the Mississippi, he has the ladies who work for him just to keep the men entertained while they are gambling, not in their rooms. Josephine Holland owns a saloon where the women earned a living with a little extra attention to the customers. Jameson will not take advantage of his employees ,so prefers to visit with the ladies who work for Josephine. Although the one he really wants is not available to customers. Someone is set to cause trouble. The saloon is burned, potshots are taken when Jameson and Josephine are walking in the street, and then one of Jamesons girls is shot. They need to find out who is out to kill them. 
  A light hearted fun read, with good characters and a good dose of who dunnit. I will be on the look out for more by this author.

  Love Like A River. By Jill Hughey. 

  Gratia is lonely because her new husband has been away on service to the Emperor for six months, so she goes to visit her sister. Gratia at one time fancied herself in love with the man who later married her sister. While she is visiting, her brother in law comes home from his term of service, bringing with him people who have been at the same place as her husband. One of the women is being overly friendly , she tells Gratia many things that upset her. Leo has had to come chasing across the country to find his wife. After six months away he expected to find her waiting at home. When he finds his wife she is furious with him, because of what she has heard.
  This is a very short story about Trust and learning about each other. Hard to get excited about such a short story.

  Maknab´s Revenge. By Anna Markland.

This is a stand alone novella that links to the FitzRam family series.
 A marvellous medieval romance.
Ingram Maknab is returning home to the Lowlands of Scotland and the home he was ejected from many years before. Kolbrand´s Path is his birthright and he will claim it by any means possible. Ruby Buchan is horrified when her father tells her she has to marry a man she detests just so her brother can be declared heir to Kolbrand´s Path. The man she is to marry is said to have the ear of King David. Ingram is amazed at how easily Ruby falls into his hands ,by trying to run from her betrothed. Things go far too easily . Ruby´s betrothed turns up to prove a big problem .
  I love the series that this is connected to, and this ties up a lose end. As usual with Anna´s books the history shines through to give us a true taste of the life her characters lived. With twists and turns combined with humour and a beautiful love story. I read every one of Anna Markland´s books I can get my hands on. 

  Winter Wind By Nancy Morse.

  This is a Native American Historical romance. It reads like a continuation of a series. 
Black Moon is a war chief of the Lakota people. He has been out scouting the area , and watching the ever increasing number of bluecoat soldiers and white settlers come into the lands of his people. When he returns to his village it is to hear from a trader that another tribe has suffered at the hands of the Bluecoats with many women and children being murdered. Katie is Black moon´s white wife , the daughter of a trader killed when the soliders wiped out a village he was trading in. They have been together for a few years , and have suffered the loss of their first child at birth. With this news of the bluecoats latest killings Black moon must lead his people to war. What effect will this have on his wife ?
  I found this story spends too many words describing things in a way that might make sense to the Native Americans reading it , but for me being English not so much. Possibly if I had read the books that I assume came before I would have enjoyed it more. 

  Cherished Protector of Her Heart. By Laurel O´Donnell.
  This story is a follow up to Angel´s Assassin, which I have already read. Because of that I don´t want to tell you too much about this incase it spoils the preceding book for you. I will say that if you have a man who was sold into slavery by his father as a child ,then trained as an assassin, You must expect his past to come and bite him. Our hero has won the love of a wellborn Lady, and the wedding is about to take place. The nobles that come to attend do not all have good intentions.
Definitly an entertaining read , This author never fails to please.

  The Morgans Of Rocky Ridge, Will. By Margery Scott.

  This is a historical western romance, part of the Morgans of Rocky Ridge series. 
Will has come to town to help repair his brother´s saloon after a big brawl almost destroyed it. Because it is near the independence day celebrations the hotel is full. He finds lodging with a young widow for the price of repairs to her boarding house. Will has every intention of leaving town after the repairs are finished ,and going to try his luck on the new gold fields. Virginia is struggling to cope with the repairs to her house and the grief of her young son. He has hardly spoken to her since his father died. Virginia knows her son blames her for his father´s death , and in her mind she does as well.
  This is a sweet romance set in the west in 1865. When the women felt the need to be perfect ,and the men the need to protect. I found this an enjoyable read, even though it is not really my normal reading style. It is just a little too sweet and innocent for my taste. 

  Knight´s Kiss. By Lana Williams. 

  This is a medieval romance, set in England 1249.
Sir Hugh is visiting the market city of Ermine on behalf of his friend . The lord of this city is rumoured to be having meetings with other Lords with treasonous intentions. It is Hugh´s job to find out if it is true, and if possible find out who else is involved. Lisa is a widow who brews and sells the best ale in the area. Her sister is working up at the keep for the Lord. Lisa is ordered by the Lord´s steward to find out what the visiting Knights are after, if she doesn´t do as she is told her sister will suffer.
  This is from an author I have never read before. It is quite short but is enough to tell me That I will be looking for more from her. There is intrigue ,action and a good dose of romance. I really enjoyed it. 


  TAME A HONEYMOON HEART. By Cynthia Woolf.
  This book is set in Colorado 1893 and is obviously an after the H.E.A.

Duncan and Catherine have been married for several years and have two young children. Duncan has just received a letter that could give him an inheritance. They do not need it , but to find he has family that he knew nothing about spurs his curiosity. Duncan plans for a honeymoon that they never had. That way he can meet up with some old friends and find out if he wants to claim his birthright. Catherine is enjoying the life they have now on a horse breeding ranch. She has a little secret of her own that she will not tell Duncan just yet. 

This book is a teaser to me , because I have never read any from this author before. Now I have to go and find the books that this one follows. The story that this hints at sounds really fun. Both Duncan and Cat are intriguing characters. Duncan has a history with the famous Bill Cody and his Wild West Show, and Catherine obviously has a reason to be a crack shot. I am definitely going to look for the other books.


  The authors can be reached through this link : http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lovehistoricals.com%2F&h=zAQH_hQA- Buy from Amazon with this linkLove Historicals presents Lost in a Kiss: 8 Sensual and Sweet Novellas