Untamed

by Pamela Clare
 
French and Indian War romance: dark, sensual, action-packed with danger
   

Pamela Clare's UNTAMED, second in her MacKinnon Rangers trilogy, is a romance for historical romance lovers who crave darker, more sensual romances within a vivid historical period.  Set during the French and Indian Wars (also called The War of Conquest in Canada) at Fort Ticonderoga, Pamela Clare takes readers into the heart of alliances formed as a warrior with the British becomes a prisoner of the French.  An alpha hero to the max, Morgan MacKinnon must reckon with Amalie Chauvenet who challenges him with her innocence and insights.  Suspenseful and emotional, UNTAMED is a romance that combines historical acuracy with exciting drama.

Exiled from Scotland to the new frontier, MacKinnon's Rangers, a band of brothers and Highland Warriors, were raised by the Native American Mahicans. Rumors of their eerie battle prowess precede them. They are chi bai, everywhere and nowhere. Their tracks just disappear but their feats are legendary. With their forged loyalty from brother to brother and to the Mahicans, no one can stop them. When British General Abercrombie attacked Fort Carillon in New France with the MacKinnon's Rangers by his side, Amalie lost her father, Major Chauvenet and Lieutenant Rillieux blames the MacKinnon Rangers specifically for his death. Now, at the fort of Ticonderoga on the New York Frontier, the French have taken Morgan MacKinnon prisoner. The French want him dead but their Abenaki allies want to torture him with an agonizing death.

With mix of French and Abenaki heritage, Amalie Chauvenet has every reason to hate the enemy barbarian before her. When she sees the simple wood rosary hanging from Morgan's neck, Amalie captures a glimpse of the man behind the legends. Tortured by his failures and the loyalty to his brothers, Morgan refuses water, determined to end his agony. Amalie provokes him, reminding him that causing one's own death is a sin but inside she is troubled just as much by her attempts to save him. Is she not committing an equal sin to save him only so that he can be killed in an agonizing fashion? When the convent-raised Amalie comes to Morgan in such innocence, her questions and beauty make him want to live. But can his growing love for her make him question his vow to escape and return to his brothers? When he is given the opportunity to choose between the pledge to the woman he loves and upholding his oath to MacKinnon's Rangers rather than spying on them, how can he choose between honor and love?

The second in the MacKinnon Ranger's series after SURRENDER, Pamela Clare's historical romance UNTAMED is magnificent! Dark and sensual, and full of dramatic tension, UNTAMED takes readers right into the drama of the 18th century North American frontier during the French and Indian Wars as the central action focuses on the fort of Ticonderoga (once called Fort Carillon), the then border between the British Colony of New York and the French Colony of Canada. Pamela Clare takes the reader right to the heart of the divided loyalties of the time period in her portrayal of the divided loyalties of the American Indians who fought on both sides of the conflict as well as into some of the other unusual alliances of the time period.

As an exiled Highlander fighting with the British, and a Catholic fighting against other Catholics, Morgan MacKinnon defies common definition. The warrior Morgan is all alpha male from his body to the power within him. Driven by loyalty and his wits, fiery emotions accompany his sense of honor. Amalie Chauvenet's innocence reaches out to the man within Morgan, from the excitement that her closeness brings to his body to the inspiration she brings to him. As Morgan encounters one heart-stopping danger after another, Pamela Clare gives readers a romance that intrigues with its plot twists while taking readers on a rich emotional journey as the hero and heroine's love for one another cuts across war time loyalties. Pamela Clare's UNTAMED has a unique lush flavor of sensuousness combined with a deep sense of inner honor to the moral codes within both the hero and heroine. Pamela Clare draws the reader into the very hearts of her characters within a vivid historical landscape that will challenge them to the core. One feels the danger of the villains and the forces against them throughout the story as their love draws them closer and closer to each other. UNTAMED is stunning in each and every detail and a book I plan on rereading just to be able to savor the author's beautiful prose!

Publisher: Dorchester - Leisure Books (November 2008)

Reviewed by Merrimon, Merrimon Book Reviews