Nicole Jordan, Fever Dreams

Fever Dreams

Nicole Jordan

Ballantine, June 2006, $6.99

ISBN 0345467876

Guardian of the Sword Alex Ryder has loved Lady Eve before he received knighthood and she married Lord Seymour. He failed to act on his feelings so he lost her. When her abusive spouse died, Alex decides to court his beloved, but quickly realizes that Eve mistrusts males having had a bad experience with her late husband.

Eve's sister Claire Montlow wants only happiness for her special sibling and believes Alex is the person who can provide that to her. She concocts a devious scheme in which she asks her sister to serve as a matchmaker between her and Alex. Claire assumes this will awaken Eve's heart to the love that Alex offers. As Eve rejects Alex's pleas of love, someone tries to kill her. He will risk his life to keep his beloved safe, even though she rejects his song of love.

The latest Guardian romance is a fun tale that series fans will enjoy. The storyline is at its best when the hero is a swashbuckling hero rescuing his woman, but at times slows down with Eve's constant lament that she's not in love until she becomes a woman in peril. Regency readers will appreciate the machinations of Claire as she sees what her sister cannot accept. Overall, this is a fine entertaining historical romance that adds to the legends of the Guardians of the sword (see WICKED FANTASY).