Amy Tolnitch, A Lost Touch of Bliss

A Lost Touch of Bliss

Amy Tolnitch

Medallion, Feb 2005, $6.99, 320 pp.

ISBN: 1932815260

In 1191, Cain Veuxfort fell in love with Amice de Monceaux, but after seeing her betray his feelings with someone else, he heeded the advice of his mother and married someone more fitting to be the wife of an Earl. However, he never forgot the woman he still loves five years later.

Cain needs Amice's skill as a Spirit Goddess to send a ghost that haunts his castle on to the next realm. To get her to even come to Wareham Castle, he offers her ownership of Villa Delphino on the Italian coast. Seeing this as a chance to escape an unwanted marriage, Amice accepts Cain's terms though she has doubts because she still loves the man who betrayed her heart. At Cain's castle, their love remains strong and is encouraged by his brother and uncle, especially since he is a widow and even his mom cannot argue as she died a couple of years ago. Still both blame the other and unless they talk to clear the air, their relationship will remain failed just like the two star-crossed lover-ghosts that haunt the castle.

The ghosts, especially the female spirit, turn A LOST TOUCH OF BLISS into a unique, paranormal, medieval romance. The lead duet, in spite of Amice's abilities to communicate with the ghosts, are typical of the sub-genre; however the support cast to include his two relatives, her mentor, and the specters add twists and lan to the fine tale. Fans of historical and those of otherworldly will appreciate this second chance at love in which the present (that is twelfth-century present) and the deceased share so much in common.

Harriet Klausner