Title: Windswept
Author: Sabrina Jeffries writing as Deborah Martin
Series: Wales Series
Pages: 344 
Genre(s): Historical, Regency
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Welsh widow Catrin Price is haunted by a family death curse. Any man whom she marries without first drinking from an ancient Druid chalice sold by her ancestor long ago is unquestionably doomed. But when she hunts it down to purchase it, the chalice’s former owner ends up dead. Who will believe her innocent with the man’s treasure in her hands? Now she lives in fear of discovery, afraid to trust, afraid to give away her heart…

Evan Newcome, a scholar struggling to overcome a difficult past, travels to Wales to find the mysterious woman last seen with his murdered friend. So when the lady proves to be a beautiful yet shy creature who shares his love of Welsh mythology, he’s torn between believing her guilty and trusting the passion blazing between them. But as unscrupulous men seek the chalice for their own devious purposes, will Catrin and Evan let their wall of mistrust stand between them? Or will they defeat their enemies together and embrace the love intended for them since time immemorial?

This is another of Sabrina Jeffries’ reissues from her days writing as Deborah Martin. These books aren’t as light and humorous as her later works but still retain her unique writing style and delightful love and passion.
This is the second book in the Wales series, after Stormswept, but each book does stand alone. Evan featured in the first book as a young boy, and the couple from Stormswept - Rhys and Juliana - feature in Windswept albeit slightly older.

I’m already a huge fan of Sabrina Jeffries so immediately the writing style appealed to me. It’s descriptive without being flowery and pulls you into the story from the first page.

I also adored Catrin from the very first page. I could hugely relate to her and I loved the way that she was portrayed as very strong but also shy and a little bit geeky. It also made me laugh that she often cried throughout the story (but not in an annoying, weak way) as I am also a complete watering pot on occasion. Okay, all the time!

Now, don’t get me wrong with what I’m about to say next but I didn’t really like Evan quite as much as I did Catrin. I did like him, but there were times that he annoyed the socks off me. I don’t mind that he had a temper and I understood why he jumped to conclusions at times. I just really didn’t like the ultimatums he kept giving Catrin - for good things as well as bad. She can do this or she can do that. Um - how about she can do whatever she wants?! It just irked me some, if I’m honest.

I honestly did like him and I liked the pair together. It was nice the way that each thought they were unworthy of the other for the same reasons - it was cute and I was happy when they got their happily ever after. And that first scene at the lake - oooft!

The mystery element was also a nice touch. There was a small cast of characters to play with but I honestly wasn’t sure who was the ‘big bad’ until it was revealed at the end. It’s not a whodunit as such but it was a nice gentle mystery that only added to the love story as a whole.

I did really enjoy this book and would recommend it to fans of historical romances, Sabrina Jeffries or those who just want to read a love story with a little something extra.

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* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

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The first wedding night that Lady Juliana St. Albans spent with the dark and daring Rhys Vaughan was intoxicating, the heady culmination of her new husband’s driving hunger and her own awakened sensuality. When he mysteriously disappeared the next morning, she waited for him in hope and desperation. And when he was finally proclaimed dead in a shipwreck, she bitterly mourned the loss of her love.

The second wedding night that Juliana spent with Rhys Vaughan was six years later, after he returned to claim her just as she was about to wed another. This Rhys was different—bolder, harder, and convinced that she’d betrayed him. Only their blazing passion remains from their years apart. But is it enough to light their way through the maze of mystery, menace, and mistrust—to the love they once shared and would have to find again?

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This is one of Sabrina Jeffries earlier works - first published in 1995, I think, and written under the name Deborah Martin. It’s been given a look over, a polish up and has been re-released.

One of the joys (of many) of this book is the sheer depth of the characters. It’s not unusual for the main characters, and even some of the secondary characters, to be multi-layered and have a realism that you can identify with. What’s more unusual is when the ‘baddies’ have that same layering. Darcy is our antagonist in this tale but he’s also got redeeming qualities, shows true feelings and made the reasons for his actions understandable if not above reproach. Sure he was selfish but he was written so well that I did feel pity for him at times.

Julianne and Rhys themselves were such well-rounded characters, too, and painfully perfect for each other, even if, at times, neither could see it (or would admit to it). I can definitely understand the conflict within the story - the betrayals done and those thought to be done. It really was a tangled weave and fascinating to see how the characters reacted and made the way to the perfect ending.

The Welsh setting was also done really well and while it was a key component to the story, it never overshadowed and remained interesting throughout. It would be interesting to hear what any Welsh readers thought, though.

Deborah Martin books tend to be a little darker and less humorous than Sabrina Jeffries’ later works. Having said that, I didn’t feel this one as dark and atmospheric as others and as it focussed primarily on the relationship between characters rather than the backdrop of political machinations, it retained a nice, light, readable feel.

I absolutely devoured this book and found myself wanting to tell people about the outcome when I was finished. It’s got it all - exemplary writing, superb plotting and a love story that will make any romance lover’s heart sing. Definitely recommended. 5 stars.

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400 pages

Welsh series:

   

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