Lynn Kerstan
Heart of the Tiger (2003)
Author: Lynn Kerstan
Genre: Romance (Historical Regency)
Plot Summary:
Miranda Holcombe stirs the passions and marriage inclinations of all who encounter her, but after a riding incident on her fifteenth birthday that nearly killed her, she has turned down every proposal in favor of caring for her invalid father and plotting revenge against the Duke of Tallant who destroyed her family. Meanwhile, the Duke's younger brother Michael returns from India with similar plots and a similar chip on his shoulder. He, too, is instantly drawn to Miranda, but neither of them is willing to give in to their attraction until everything they've lived for suddenly evaporates. SPOILER: When someone else winds up killing the Duke, Miranda is the top suspect, but Michael makes a false confession to save her. He is soon released, but Miranda then wishes to make a false confession herself in order to end her pain. Instead, Michael carefully coerces her into marrying him, eventually leading to Miranda's admission of what really happened to her twelve years ago and the opening of her heart.
Geographical Setting: India (briefly) and England
Time Period: 1823
Series: Big Cat Trilogy #2
Appeal Characteristics:
Characterization is key to this novel, as much of the story hinges on the test of wills and evolving relationship between Michael and Miranda. Secondary characters are well-drawn and amusing, but they ultimately fall away in favor of the main characters' deepening connection. Although the entire plot takes place over the course of only a few weeks and involves many interesting twists, the pace is somewhat leisurely because in between detailing the main characters' machinations, much time is taken to elucidate their setting and emotional states. Just-post-Regency England is evoked through description of sights, smells, sounds, and especially social interactions, and the different world of Michael's Punjabi friends makes a nice counterpoint. The writing is sharp, insightful, and poignant, wrestling as it does with the contradictions embodied by the characters and treading lightly but with feeling as it explores how people move on after trauma.
Read-alikes: If you're not yet ready to leave Lynn Kerstan's nuanced characters and detailed setting behind, then you should try one of the other books in the Big Cat Trilogy--The Golden Leopard shows how antiquity dealer Lady Jessica Carville ends up with Lord Hugo Duran, and The Silver Lion follows Helena Pryce as she seeks to destroy a corrupt politician with the help of the Earl of Varden, and also ties up some loose ends from the previous books. If you liked the figure of a broody, discontented noble brought under a woman's spell and a long build-up of tension, try Elizabeth Hoyt's somewhat spicier The Raven Prince, in which Anna Wren becomes the Earl of Swartingham's secretary only to become something more. Readers who enjoyed the suspense element in a historical setting and the romantic possibilities of a "marriage of convenience" might look at Amanda Quick's The Paid Companion, which has Elenora Lodge pose as a jilted earl's bride-to-be and help him search for his uncle's killer. For fully fleshed-out secondary characters, truly romantic situations, and a leisurely plot, take a look at My False Heart by Liz Carlyle, whose half-Flemish refugee heroine finds herself presented with an alluring stranger on a rainy night. If you'd like to try a contemporary romantic suspense novel that features a pair of lovers struggling with their feelings, look at Murphy's Law by Marilyn Pappano, which has police detective Jack Murphy suspect his lover, Evie DesJardiens, of betraying his partner to her death, but still unable to deny his feelings for her.
Red Flags: some explicit sexuality, rape, incest
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