The Romance Studio
As the only heir left at the manor of Lyndower, Elsinora, now nineteen, knew she would one day have to take a husband to produce the next heir. The most persistent was neighbor Stryker Bloodaxe, but Elsinora knew he wanted the land more than her. She had no use for men and wanted to run the manor herself. Then her father lost both his land and his virgin daughter in a drunken game of chance. She was now the bride-to-be of a Norman swine, Dominic Coeur-du-Loup, who conquered the manor without even unsheathing his sword. At least until Bloodaxe returns as his competition for Elsinora. This is another winner for Georgia Fox. Dominic Coeur-du-Loup was the second-in-command to Thierry Bonnenfant in Book Four of The Conquerors series. This time, he’s off on his own adventure and faced with a beautiful, if not exactly cooperating, bride. Can he win her love and loyalty? The writing is superb, sexy, emotional, and well crafted. The characters are likeable, especially Dominic who has some guilty second thoughts about how he won the land and the wife. Ms. Fox has a knack for creating the kind of characters you care about, even in this risqué kind of story. Like the others in the series, The Ever Knight, The Virgin Proxy, The Craftsman, and The Good Sinner’s Naughty Nun, The Wagered Wench (Book Five) shows snips of Saxon lands after the Norman conquest and how the two cultures attempt to blend into one. The wild, sexy version of the time. I’m off to read the last installment, The Barbarian. I can recommend the whole series as the kind you’ll keep and reread.