Bewitching the Baron

by Lisa Cach

Valerian has always known before that she will never marry. While the townsfolk of her Yorkshire village are grateful for her abilities, the price of her gift is solitude. But it never bothered her until now. Nathaniel Warrington is the new baron of Ravenall, and he has never wanted anything the way he desires his peoples enigmatic healer. Her exotic beauty fans flames in him that feel unnaturally fierce. Their first kiss flares hotter still. Opposed by those who seek to destroy her, compelled by a love that will never die, Nathaniel fights to earn the lone beauty's trust. And Valerian will learn the only thing more dangerous than bewitching a baron, is being bewitched by one.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Witches, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Lisa Cach grew up in a farm near Portland, Oregon, a place she loves although she'd always trying to leave it. Wanderlust has led her to sail the Sargasso Sea, teach English in Japan, and trek the leech-infested jungles of Borneo. She has degrees in both English and psychology, two subjects that were fun to learn about but that guaranteed her low-paying jobs. Her father, she admits, may have been right about the MBA.

Lisa started to writing romances in her parents' basement during snatched moments from work. Since her writing career began her free time has become less and less as her novels become more and more popular. She's loved romance novels since Junior High School, and at least now she doesn't have to worry about getting caught reading one. Lisa married, and bought with her husband a home in Seattle, Washington. She describes her personal paradise as "...a pile of books, a plate of brownies, and the free time in which to enjoy them".

Reviews

[Carissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first 100 or so pages were good, but then I skimmed the rest.

[Paranormal Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hero has been banished to a country estate after a very public scandal involving a dead lover and a bastard child. Overall, he's a kind natured man but honestly a tad selfish as well. He doesn't think so much about the consequences his actions wrought and repeats past mistakes by taking a lover of lower rank with no intention to marry them.

The heroine is a local witch that the villagers somewhat rely on because of her healing abilities but never trust. They are very quick to accuse her of all sorts of heinous crimes and try to kill her by drowning in the lake. The hero never judged her as others had, not even when he witnesses her magic first hand. He honestly didn't know he loved her until the end but it's very apparent throughout the book that he cares for her and finds a bonding between them via their equal loneliness. It was a nice book and I always recommend Lisa Cach as a marvelous author.

[Rayne Rockwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked up this book, I confess that I thought it was going to be a simple, guilty pleasure romance novel. In its own way, it kind of was, however, in addition to the romance, there were many other, deeper elements that made this book impossible to put down. Social classes, witch hunts, and all the other drama that went along with life in late 16th century England make this a book that, while not exactly great literature, a very compelling read.

[Desi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, enjoyable, emotional. I quite liked it. And I adored the raven. I never knew they could talk, (Cue YouTube playlist of video after video of talking ravens. Curse you book! I swear that diversion almost took more time than reading the darn thing).

Lines I like-

“She was too cautious of his affection to risk putting another load upon it.”
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“She knew everything that had happened today, but it was as if the connection between that knowledge and her heart had been blocked. She could summon no emotion, no thought for the future, no care for where she was or was not.

“Valerian." She heard her name and turned her gaze from the flames.

Nathaniel sat across from her, his muddy knees not four inches from her own. There was distress showing in his eyes, though he was trying to keep his face calm. She vaguely wondered how he could summon so much feeling.

"Your breeches are dirty. You should change them," she said.
He glanced down, then back at her, the distress in his eyes deepening, and then dissipating, his face relaxing. She could see his emotions so clearly. Perhaps he had taken on hers for the time being, and that was why she could not feel."
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“She tried to smile at his jest. "I am not used to being the princess who stands aside to watch."

"No, you are the sort of princess who would think of giving the dragon an herbal enema, and would probably ask me to hold his tail up while you administered the foul concoction."

The corner of her mouth pulled up in a lopsided smile. "I am sorry that I have made such a poor companion these last days.”

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently reread this book and just fell in love with it all over again. Lisa Cach's writing is just so wonderful. I can't even describe it but reading this book takes me back to when the world was a lot more mysterious and unknown. I don't necessarily mean all the way back to the time period of this book but back to when writing a book with this feeling was a thing...before 2000..where we still believed in something of the unknown, unlike nowadays. There are so many poignant and wise statements in this book. I have a huge collection of historical romance novels but this book stands out on its own because it is not formulaic. It has heart and, as cringey as it may sound in modern times, I feel Lisa Cach wrote it from her heart and it really resonates to the point where I can only rave about it and cannot put into words how much of a touching story it was. I highly recommend reading this book.

[Lynn Calvin]

ereader ebook

[Seema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story, witchcraft and healing mixed in people's mind, heroine was a lovely character, hero not that interesting.