HISTORICAL
ROMANCE
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ROMAN
ROMANCE
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Romulus and Remus: the
traditional founders of Rome.
On
Palatine Hill, they were nursed by a wolf, Lupa,
in Latin
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Cato the Younger
(95 BC–46 BC)
a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower
of the Stoic philosophy. He is remembered for his legendary
stubbornness and tenacity (especially in his lengthy conflict with
Gaius Julius Caesar), as well as his immunity to bribes, his moral
integrity, and his famous distaste for the ubiquitous corruption of the
period.
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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Merrimon Book Reviews
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Sold and Seduced
by Michelle Styles
Rome,
69 B.C. Lydia Veratia has always led a respectable life.
Lydia's father is known for his status and political connections and
yet, he has taught her the family business. With an emotional
closeness to her father and her dedication to work, Lydia is
intelligent and practical and nothing like the frivolous Roman ladies
who occupy themselves with frivolous matters. Lydia Veratia is a
determined woman, a woman determined to keep her
dignity despite the one mistake she made --- a mistake for which she
takes responsibility, even if it means agreeing to marry Sea Wolf, a
man known for his temper. Sea Wolf is a man known for his prowess at
sea, a man who could wrestle the very wrath of the mighty oceans. Now
he has a greater ambition --- to become a senator and he will do
exactly what he needs to be elected --- even if means marrying the
daughter of a family whom he does not trust. Once married, Lydia
makes every attempt to return home to her father. Exasperated by
her attempts to flee, Aro offers her a deal. If she does not plea
for his kisses three times within seven days, he will release her from
the obligation of the marriage contract and give her the independence
she craves. Lydia thinks she can win easily but Aro has other
plans for her. Can he seduce her and win her heart?
SOLD AND SEDUCED
is a
beautiful story of a woman learning to let go of her family and look
inside herself and a man coming to terms with the real desires of his
heart. Once the apple of her father's eye, Lydia
worships her father. Although she stands up and takes
responsibility for her mistakes, a small part of her still cannot help
look back at her family with a hope of return. Can Aro prove
himself worthy in her eyes? As Aro wrestles to gain her trust and
loyalty, an outside threat endangers his plans. Only by trusting
one another with their darkest secrets can the two have any hope
against the looming danger that threatens to ruin their chances for
happiness.
Michelle Styles once again delights with her
ability to
set a scene that brings readers into the period and her
characters. Michelle Styles packs her historical romance
with just the right amount of historical details to bring this ancient
history to life. In SOLD AND
SEDUCED, one easily visualizes the rooms and the layout of the
romance's landscape from the atrium to the businesses along the coast.
Although most readers are familiar with images of the Roman ruins and
and diagrams of the atrium, when reading SOLD AND SEDUCED, the ruins come
alive in the mind's eye, not as ruins but fresh, new and
populated with real people of the period, not current day
tourists.
In SOLD AND
SEDUCED, Michelle Styles moves from the intriguing innocent yet
brave heroine in A NOBLE CAPTIVE
to a different kind of heroine, bringing variety to her Roman
romances. Like Helena in her previous romance, Lydia is strong
and determined but in SOLD AND
SEDUCED, Michelle Styles now moves from the temple sibyl right
into the heart of a Roman family of influence. Through language
and inner thoughts, the reader feels Lydia's reserved demeanor and the
atmosphere of
the patrician background throughout the first part of the
romance. As Lydia discovers her heart's desire, a delightful
twist, both
humorous and flirtatious, emerges between the couple when Lydia
feels free to respond to him. Those who have come to love Michelle
Styles wicked villains will certainly be intrigued by the the
characters and twists at the end. In SOLD AND SEDUCED, Michelle
Styles gives historical romance readers what they crave --- a strong
sense of history, and one integrated into the very crux of the romantic
conflict, mixed with just a dash of a fairy tale task to ramp up the
stakes of the romance. Delightful!
Publisher:
Mills and Boon Historical
Romance (April
2007)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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