Julia Templeton, The Bargain

The Bargain

Julia Templeton

Berkley, Nov 2006, $14.00

ISBN: 0425214052

In 1069, William's most trusted vassal merciless Renaud de Wulf is leading a force through Northumbria burning all the villages and destroying anything in their way. Saxon Aleysia Cawdor is despondent because she and her twin brother Adelstan had come so close to regaining the family hold, Braemere, from the Norman butcher Baron de Pirou who killed their parents in cold blood, but now there is no hope, as Renaud never fails.

When his men capture Adelstan, Renaud is shocked as he is a teen who looks pretty not masculine making him wonder how this lad killed de Pirou and retook the fortress. Renaud accuses Adelstan of treason when an arrow is shot past his head. He goes after the twin only to find "Temptation" pleading with him for mercy for her sibling as she explains why de Pirou was killed and that her Scottish fianc Laird Duncan Macmillan will come for her. They make a deal her body for her twin's life. As they seal their deal over the feel of the flesh, they fall in love, but neither wants to admit how much their beloved enemy means to them until it seems too late as the Scot led by Duncan and the Danes assault Braemere.

The Bargain is a heated historical that brings to ardent life the Conqueror era. The novel is refreshed by the erotic relationship that eventually turns to love between the lead adversaries even as Renaud works to strengthen his control. Fans of late eleventh century romances with torrid love scenes will enjoy the star-crossed tale.

Harriet Klausner