Lady Danger: The Warrior Maids of Rivenloch: Book 1

An exciting and charming tale of perseverance, endearment, and adventure by a courageous and proactive woman and her bold and devoted husband!

Lady Danger is the first of a trilogy of novels set in the 12th century Scottish Lowlands in the reign of King David. I confess, I devoured this entire novel in one sitting one rainy afternoon, curled up in front of a fire in my favorite reading chair, so my sheer enjoyment of it may be colored by the setting in which I read it. (That said, I read the majority of "Captive Heart," Book 2 in this series, in a doctor's office and enjoyed it just as much, so I suspect I would have enjoyed the first book just as much without the rain, the wine, the fire or my favorite chair.) This light-hearted, fast-paced historical romance was an utterly enchanting read--the perfect entertainment for a quiet afternoon. While not the weighty, intellectual fare of Crime and Punishment or The Doll House, Lady Danger's strong female lead kept me entralled as the entire novel unfolded and left me eager for the rest of the novels in the trilogy. In Lady Danger, we meet the Warrior Maids of Rivenloch, three sisters who cooperate to keep their land and people well in their piece of heaven in the chaos that reigns across the border under the regin of King Stephen. Rivenloch survives and prospers in peace, until word comes that King David has granted the keep and one of them as a bride to Norman knight Sir Pagan Cameliard as reward for his service in the Crusades and for his loyalty in times to come. Certain that she is the one with the strength needed to "manage" Pagan so that the sisters can continue to run Rivenloch for their aging and incapacitated father, Deirdre is determined to sacrifice herself what she is certain will be an unwanted marraige. But from their very first meeting, sparks fly between Pagan and Deirdre and Pagan. Unwilling to be "managed," yet drawn irresistably to Deirdre all the same, Pagan, at first, has trouble reconciling his own ideas of what marriage should look like with the strong, beautiful, independent woman he has married; however, through sometimes heartrending, sometimes hilarious plot twists and turns, Pagan and Deirdre forge a union that ensures the future of Rivenloch will be both strong and eventful. Previous reviewers of this novel bemoan the lack of strict adherence to the historical record in the details of Lady Danger. In my opinion, Glynnis Campbell's work is well researched, and where possible, both events and characters conform to what is known, but there is a great deal more about this time period that we don't know. I applaud Campbell's use of artistic license in these cases to fill in imagined, yet realistic detail to render a vivid portrait of clan life in Medieval Scotland. For those who are looking for more scholarly, footnoted works, may I refer you away from historical romance literature and over the nonfiction literature? In my opnion, if you are expecting strict adherence to historic detail and timelines, you should be disappointed if you read literature in this genre. Lady Danger is a delightful work of historical fiction that delivers all the imagination, romance and colofully rendered versimilitude the genre promises. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading more from this author.

The story kept me engaged is it took me through with increasing tension. I had to keep reading. Yet more exciting is the tapestry descriptions and situations that truly placed me in the time and place historically. I could swear I could feel the air and smell of the dirt in the plants and the trees and the cooking and the sweat described by this author. Glynnis Campbell shows true mastery.