Secret Fire

by Johanna Lindsey

Kidnapped for the pleasure of her arrogant admirer, Prince Dimitri, a young Russian aristocrat, beautiful Lady Katherine St. John finds herself torn between rage toward her captor and passion

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Regency, Adult

505 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1987

About the author

Johanna Helen Howard was born on March 10, 1952 in Germany, where her father, Edwin Dennis Howard, a soldier in the U.S. Army was stationed. The family moved about a great deal when she was young. Her father always dreamed of retiring to Hawaii, and after he passed away in 1964 Johanna and her mother settled there to honor him.

In 1970, when she was still in school, she married Ralph Lindsey, becoming a young housewife. The marriage had three children; Alfred, Joseph and Garret, who already have made her a grandmother. After her husband's death, Johanna moved to Maine, New England, to stay near her family.

Johanna Lindsey wrote her first book, Captive Bride in 1977 "on a whim", and the book was a success. By 2006, with over 58 Million copies of her books have been sold worldwide, with translations appearing in 12 languages, Johanna Lindsey is one of the world's most popular authors of historical romance.

Johanna's books span the various eras of history, including books set in the Middle Ages, the American "Old West" and the popular Regency England-Scotland. She has even written a few sci-fi romances. By far the most popular among her books are the stories about the Malory-Anderson Family, a Regency England saga.

Johanna Lindsey died on Oct. 27, 2019 in Nashua, N.H. She was 67.

Reviews

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot really explain why this is a favorite Johanna Lindsey book since the premise is rather offensive. A rich, playboy Russian prince sees a woman on the streets of London, and tells his servants to abduct her since he's currently without a bedmate. They actually kidnap her and take her back to Russia. Ugh! What? Yet I love this book.

I did not agree with what Dimitri did to Katherine. He was arrogant and thought the world belonged to him. He was a prince of Russia, and they had lots of power. They literally owned people (serfs tied to the land and the houses of the rich for their whole lives). In his mind, he could have whatever he wanted. All he had to do was crook his finger and women jumped into his bed. Well Katherine is not a looker, and since she snuck out of the house dressed in her maid's clothes, he thinks she's no better than a serf. He cannot understand why she's not dying to be his lover of the moment, since they always leave his bed happy and well-cared for. She keeps saying that it's a horrible mistake, that she's a gentlewoman, and demanding to be taken back home, or at least to the English embassy. He thinks she's full of it. And he is floored that she reduces his attempts at seduction, not to mention angry. He's no rapist. He wants a willing woman in his bed. When makes an offhand comment out of anger to that effect to his servants, that they take as an edict to give him exactly what he wants. They dose the poor woman with an aphrodesiac that makes her experience severe agony if she doesn't do the deed. Well, he must help her out, and not allow her to suffer, right? Okay. I can buy that one time. Second time around, she is still not hip about being a bedbunny, even if he is a great and wonderful prince. So he deliberately has them dose her again! I thought that was beyond the pale. The first time, it wasn't a decision that he made, but a misunderstanding. But the second time around, he definitely was at fault.

After the second time, something changes in their relationship. Dimitri starts to see Katherine is a woman that should be respected and cherished, although he still doesn't believe she's a Lady. Katherine's heart softens towards Dimitri and she falls in love with him. Although there's a hiccup where one of Dimitri's imperious aunts orders Katherine caned and treated like the lowest servant when Dimitri is called out of town. He comes back and is livid on her behalf. He then proceeds to nurse her with tender loving care. Of course, this helps to melt the armor around poor Katherine's heart, and he in there.

I'm reading this book and thinking, get the heck out of that place with these crazy folks. Katherine doesn't really lose the desire to go home, despite falling in love with Dimitri. In her mind, he's so far above her (when I think he should be licking her feet personally) that she thinks the relationship is doomed. She'll enjoy her time with him until the ports unfreeze and she can go back home.

Okay why did I like this book so much? It was unique and original, and interesting. It kept my interest. I learned some things about Imperial Russia I didn't know, and it kindled my interest in Russia. Dimitri is a character that you become intrigued by, warts and all. I wanted this spoiled man to grow up and be a worthy hero. Katherine is a spectacular heroine. She might be plain and small, but she's got the heart of a lioness. She has no problem standing up for herself. You root for her to get herself out of that situation. And frankly, I could have cared less if she ever saw Dimitri again. He clearly didn't deserve her, even though she loved him. I guess the epilogue won me over. Also you could see towards the end of this book how much she had come to mean to him. So I grudgingly decided that it was okay for him to have Katherine, as long as he married her and made her a very happy woman for the rest of her life.

Well, I don't know if I have clearly explained why I like this book so much. But I do, despite some of the crazy and very un-PC events that occur in it.

[Willow · Rating 1 out of 5]

While most Johanna Lindsey books are the same, with the same snooty heroine being abducted and tied up by the same witless hero. This book is at the top of my list for most hated. That’s because the two main characters are just two obnoxious bunholes. Seriously, I wanted Godzilla to show up and eat them.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

None of you are ever allowed to read this book, but oh my god, is it fantastic. To borrow terminology from SBTB, it is the oldest of Old Skool romances, complete with a forced seduction via aphrodisiac, a kidnapping to Russia, the heroine being forced to work as the hero's sister's maid when she refuses to be his mistress, a second round of the aphrodisiac, a caning, and a secret love child. It is TERRIBLE. It is GREAT.

And really, none of you are ever allowed to read it.

[Ren Puspita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Revised rating to 2 stars..


Many friends suggest me to read this book. They said this book is good.
But after read it, I feel... tired :(This book tortured me a lot, both physically and mentally.Never get so emotional when read before.

I don't get about the captivate things (and rape, yes what Dimitri do to Katherine is rape). What make me curious is why Dimitri is not realize that Katherine is noble instead maid? And then what happen to Katherine, her abused condition, make me almost cringed..
The good part of this series is Katherine determination to get out from Russia. She is though, ass kicker, and can't be intimidated. For Dimitri, even though he's Alpha, he's not my favorite hero :(. Worse hero, heh! Don't like with what he'd done to Kate and not help her, when she need him.

I dunno if I will read another Johanna Lindsey's book, because of this book (with all captive and abused things). But I'll give a try ^^

Revised : Will never read her books. All about rape, abuse and pillaging are getting old!

[manic_reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. Hated it. I lose interest in it when the heroine is abducted, threatened, drugged and then basically raped by the hero. All because he thinks shes just a maid.How nice.
He calls it "helping" because she in pain and she basically gives in. He coldly thinks of giving her to his footmen to "help" her. Oh how thoughtful

I started skimming through it in disgust as the heroine was abducted, now to Russia, and then this quote by the heroine- "Blast you Dmitri, dont be such a gentleman.Listen to my body, not my words. Take me"

wtf?! If I could give it zero stars I would. Disgusting

[AℳY♔Queen of Fat cats♔Ain't no lie Baby Byebyebye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bwhahahaha so many misunderstandings, these two had just to talk and then there wouldn't be a book. Pregancy and virgin trope are like Lindsey's trademark and I was expecting those. Even though this isn't the best from Lindsey sensei in comparison to the other book I read, Where the crawdads sing, the character development was great as only Lindsey sensei knows how to. It was sexy too!!! As a character-driven reader with a pull for smut this was my cuppa.
5 this isn't perfect but still good stars!

[Melluvsbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this *might* be my favorite by Johanna Lindsey so far?

The premise, where the hero steals her off the street and assumes she’s a maid… *chef’s kiss*

The way she did the dubcon/noncon was fun. I did wonder why this hero, (given his station in life, time period, and culture) was so against a little forced seduction? It was never really explained why he was so woke (well, as woke as you can be when you drug a girl to get your way… 😬😬). That was really the only thing that bugged me.


Bottom Line? First book of the year was 4.5 stars! Not too shabby!

[Wendy, Lady Evelyn Quince · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secret Fire

Secret Fire was, I think, the second Johanna Lindsey romance I read, and it cemented her works among my favorites. Published in 1987, this book was written during Lindsey’s peak years of output.

The cover is another Elaine Duillo gem, this time featuring white, cream, and brown hues, appropriate for the wintery Russian setting. There’s also a blond male cover model whom I’ve been searching for for years. Forget Fabio and his long-haired colleagues; it’s this guy I have often imagined as the hero of many love stores I’ve read. He’s a perfect model for the ultra-gorgeous hero of Secret Fire, Dimitri.

The Plot

Dimitri is a half-Russian, half-English Prince who is in England to visit family and smooth over a scandal his sister has gotten into by engaging in an affair with a married man. The uber-sexual Dimitri doesn’t mind his sisters’ affairs, only that she’s so flagrant about them. So he decides to bring her back to Russia on his ship and perhaps find a dutiful spouse for her.

Meanwhile, Lady Katherine St. John, the eldest daughter of an Earl, is enraged to find that her sister has decided to run off and elope. Although Katherine has a father and brother, it’s upon her dainty shoulders that familial responsibilities lie. She concocts a plan to exchange garments with a maid and search the London street for her sister.

As she’s walking about, Dimitri’s carriage is stuck in traffic, and he happens to see Katherine. Although she’s short and rather plain with dull brown hair, there’s something about her that appeals to Dimitri. A prince who’s gotten anything and everything he’s ever wanted with a snap of his fingers, Dimitri sends a servant off to procure the woman for a night of passion.

Katherine dismisses the man, but he won’t take no for an answer. Before Katherine knows what’s happening, she’s kidnapped and finds herself trapped in strange quarters. Her adamant refusals prompt Dimitri’s servant to ply her with “Spanish Fly” to make her willing for the prince’s touch.

When Dimitri finds out what’s been done, he’s disgusted at first. He was just looking for a quick tryst, not a sex marathon. Dimitri figures he’ll have to let his men have a go with her, as Spanish Fly makes a woman insatiable. Then he enters the room, and those thoughts go out the window. For while Katherine might not be the most beautiful woman in the world, she certainly is one of the most sensual visions he’s ever witnessed, naked on the bed and writhing in desire.

And so begins Secret Fire, with a night of pure ecstasy for both Katherine and Dimitri.

The Prince in Pursuit

However, the next day Katherine is back to her old self and threatens Dimitri’s servants with arrest, as she is the daughter of an Earl. No one believes her, of course. What would an Earl’s daughter have been doing roaming the London streets alone and wearing the clothes of a servant? Still, to prevent any scandal, his servant has the brilliant idea of locking Katherine in a chest and taking her with them to Russia.

When Katherine finds herself at sea, she demands to be returned home. Dimitri had not expected to find her aboard the ship but is pleased. Despite his past hundreds of amours, their night together was one of the best in memory, and the lady had been a virgin, to boot!

Dimitri pursues Katherine with an ardor he hadn’t imagined possible. Of course, Katherine rebuffs him at every turn. She’s no common trull, but a lady deserving of respect. Dimitri ignores Katherine’s claims of nobility, mostly because he wants to believe that he can easily have his Katya. He knows he has to marry a noble Russian woman to produce an heir for his line, but Katya can be his mistress in the meantime.

Over the seas and rivers, through Europe and into Russia, Dimitri tries what he can to seduce her back into his arms.

But Katherine has a will made of steel. Even though she wants him just as much as he wants her.

"[He] wanted her. Incredible fantasy. This fairy-tale prince, this golden god wanted her. Her. It boggled the mind. It defied reason. And she said no. Stupid ninny!"

Final Analysis of Secret Fire

I loved Katherine. Like Georgina Anderson from Lindsey’s Gentle Rogue, she has a habit of talking to herself, a trait I share, to my husband’s annoyance. Katherine’s fiercely proud, stubborn, and resilient. She’s not my top Lindsey heroine, but she is up there with the best. One of my favorite scenes is after Dimitri’s aunt decides to discipline Katherine, and Dimitri’s horrified reaction to it all, combined with Katherine’s stiff-upper-lip reserve.

Dimitri is as equally stubborn and proud as Katherine. But nowhere near as brilliant. That’s ok. His charm and godlike looks make up for it!

This is another of Lindsey’s excellent romances that I’ve re-read many times. Secret Fire is an absolute wonder, the hero, the heroine, the plot, the writing, all of it.

5 stars

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Is the highest I can give this book. It could have been saved by a different h. The woman was a shrew the whole book and she got away with it. Even Russian are scared of her. The MC had very little chemistry and less romantic. A different h and this book might have been saved.

I'm sorry JL but this was just bad

[KC · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think royalty romances are for me. The heroes are almost always major buttholes, and this one was no exception. I had other issues with this book, too, as I will explain.

*some spoilers*

1. Dmitri's second forced seduction of Katherine:

Once was pushing it already, but twice?! Dimitri's second forcible seduction of Katherine involved drugging her with the Spanish fly (he ordered it done). He commanded it out of anger and regretted it afterwards, but his desire to hurt someone he supposedly cared about smacked of immaturity and diminished my opinion of him. The drug causes extreme discomfort if one isn't sexually appeased. Placing Katherine in that position was about retribution and power, not about sexual enjoyment which is how I viewed the first seduction.

That first seduction of Katherine didn't bother me as much as it wasn't Dmitri's idea, but that of his servant. Granted, he did go along with it: taking advantage of Katherine because he was lusting after her and justifying how it was either that or letting her suffer. How "generous" of him. At least his intent was to pleasure, not to punish. So my displeasure really boils down to Dmitri's character. He's a bit spoiled and reckless.

2. The extreme Russian promiscuity, particularly of Dmitri's sister, Anastasia:

I know this is romantic fiction/fantasy, but it is still a historical romance. The depiction of the very loose Russian sexual mores seemed unbelievable considering the time period the story is set in (Victorian Age). I found it difficult to believe they could act that way and not be ostracized to some extent, if not in Russia then in England where part of the story takes place.

3. Finally, I'm not a fan of how long Dimitri and Katherine were separated:

It took almost a year for Dimitri to reunite with Katherine. Yes, he was delayed by an illness for 1.5 months and Katherine did evade him, but after that the delay seemed contrived.

I first read Secret Fire years ago and liked it more then than I do now. My tastes must either have changed, or I didn't catch these red flags the first time.

If this is your first venture into reading Johanna Lindsey and want to read other examples of the forced seduction theme and a more likable male lead, try Hearts Aflame or Prisoner of My Desire.

[Izzah ꒰Duchess of Cabria ಇ ⭑✧ ᴏɴ ᴘᴀᴛʀᴇᴏɴ ✧ ⋆꒱ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most Johanna Lindsey it can get while restricted by the settings of the era

❗ Before you read this review and think "Hey, maybe I should read this too. $10 is not that much, right?" I would like to say that I don't dare recommend this book. If you still decide to shrug and go ahead, I do not take responsibility for the ensuing rage read or fuming DNF ❗

The infuriating plot... that I devoured like the last piece of cake after a three month diet


・
・
・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read 3 novels by Johanna Lindsey, So Speaks The Heart, Prisoner of My Desire and now Secret Fire. I've come to realize Lindsey is the queen of forced abductions and also of forceful ignorance.

Russian prince Dimitri, a second son now elevated to the status of heir after the death of his brother, is in the midst of securing his marriage to princess Tatiana and begetting an heir when he is called to England to get his highly improper sister, Anastasia, back to Russia. Lady Katherine St. John is no beauty but she is fine with that. She is a very practical woman who has never been in love but knows she will have time to marry as soon as she sees her brother take his responsibilities and her sister marry. Until then, she is the ruler of the household.

On the day that Dimitri catches sight of her, Katherine has switched outfits with her maid in order to follow her sister incognito since she fears her sister is planning to elope with a fortune hunter. Dimitri decides to get his second-in-command serf, Vladimir, to catch her. Unfortunately for Vladimir, Katherine won't go down without a fight. No one believes she is who she says she is, and Vladimir decides to drug her with the nymphomaniac aphrodisiac. You can imagine what happens next.

Despite the fact that most of Dimitri's serfs believe Katherine, Dimitri's own sister believes Katherine, Dimitri decides she is really only an actress and then perhaps a bastard. I find this the most agonizing aspect and it was what also made me dislike So Speaks The Heart: the hero, after abducting the lady heroine and forcing her to be his serf, basically plugs his ears and goes la-la-la I can't hearrrr you when the heroine shows she is actually a lady. And when he declares his love at the end, he admits deep down he was playing dumb because he didn't want to believe. Arghhh.

Also, the misunderstandings didn't work for me because it happens each time because Dimitri runs away for no reason.

Overall, Secret Fire is a mixed bag. Exhilarating beginning half before it begins to take a nosedive. For all that, I plan to make my way through Lindsey's backlist because I feel like I'm going to love some of her stuff.

[Jena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 2022

I normally don’t read plain Jane heroine stories, because most of the time, I m not convinced that a super hot and mega rich H would fall for someone so bland, but I totally believed in this couples deep love AND his obsessive lust for her.

It wasn’t a case of him falling for her personality🙄 (like what most authors try to shill. When someone likes you only for your personality, thats called friends only🙄. Without animal attraction, there is no romance.)
But this H genuinely was so crazy hot for this very average, nothing to look at woman.

Wish more plain Jane stories were like this. The h might be plain, but to the H she’s perfect in every way, and this girl couldn’t give 2 shits if the H was hot or not. She was plain, and didn’t give a crap about that fact.
No whiny, insecure heroine here!



This is a bodice ripper with forced seduction, kidnapping, drugging, enslavement, but JL never writes cheating books.

[Ángela Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es el primer libro que leo de Johanna y me ha sorprendido gratamente. La novela se lee muy bien gracias a su narrativa y a la variedad de sucesos que le ocurren a la prota. La relación entre los personajes evoluciona muy sutilmente entre discusiones y atracciones. Por otro lado, he sentido que, algunos de sus personajes, quedaban faltos de más protagonismo; me he quedado con ganas de saber más sobre ellos… Un libro muy amento que te engancha prácticamente desde el principio.
Una recomendación: mejor no leer la sinopsis.

[Lynsey A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing beats these old Johanna Lindsey classics. I wish she still wrote books like this and her other earlier works. Although, I didn't really care for the drugging but all in all still a good read. I love a good pregnancy and secret baby theme. I forgot how sweet the ending was with Dimitri hunting everywhere for Katherine (although, I love that he calls her Katya). I do think Katherine was a bit abrasive at times. I didn't notice it so much as a young teenager reading this book.

Glad I read this again. Stayed up until about midnight to finish it. :)

[Jennifer Leighton]

Read this EONS ago... I don't remember much other than the heroine is given a drug to make her horny and the "hero" has to help her through it. Wasn't that nice of him. *rolls eyes* LOL

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 1 out of 5]

Много се забавлявах с част от ревютата - едно казва, че през 80-те години това би било 5 звезди, но днес - само 1.

Не, не, не! И тогава, уважаема читателко, би било 1 звезда! Не заради промяна в модата на романтичните тропи, а поради факта, че историята е страшно зле написана. Имаме безмозъчна и инатлива героиня, че и лицемерка. Имаме не по-малко безмозъчен герой, който е толкова вял, бездеен (все други му вадят кестените от огъня) и безидеен, че разсмива. И също е лицемер - през цялото време, не само когато се случва едно от най-омразните ми неща в любовен роман. Сватбата става мислима само ако героинята се окаже крехка синьокръвна аристократка, иначе е немислимо. Какво имат срещу по-бедните слоеве тези писателки? Ами че това си е измислица, не може ли просто героите тук да са и малко по-широко скроени?

Да, Линдзи тук е смятала хонорара, докато е писала.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book hit on a lot of my romance pet peeves. spoiler The heroine is kidnapped, drugged, raped (yes, Johanna it is rape if she says no, or if she's intoxicated and can't truly consent, or if she is coerced), tied up and almost suffocated in a trunk, carried off as a prisoner in a foreign country, treated like a whore, displayed as the man's mistress, drugged again and raped again. And through it all she's attracted to the man who is behind it all. During the second rape, she decides she loves him. She's beaten so badly she is unconscious for two days, and there are no consequences to the shrew who made that happen. She becomes pregnant from the rape, and the hero refuses to marry her because she's "beneath" him! When he finally figures out that she's told him the truth all along about who she is (because God knows he's the kind of man to fall in "love" with a woman when he doesn't even think he knows her true name and doesn't trust her), then she's good enough to marry. By then she has the good sense to run away, but when he finally catches up to her, she has to apologize, and she's just thrilled that he truly wuuuvs her. /spoiler When are romance writers going to write about women with some sense of self esteem, some backbone, some real spirit, instead of just saying they are strong women and then showing them wilt like hot lettuce the first time the guy breathes on them? When are they going to write about men who actually have the character to make amends when they realize they've acted like a-holes, instead of just saying they feel guilty until the next time they decide they deserve to be jerks?

A memorable story, and I couldn't entirely hate it because at least it pulled me in enough to rip through those pages to find out how it all ended. But I had to take an extra Prilosec while reading it and I ground my poor teeth a lot.

[Seffra · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+ stars!!
Oh boy, did I love this book. I honestly can't express how much I loved this story. This being my first Johanna Lindsey book, I didn't really know what to expect but whoa..did this hit it out of the ball park? YES, it did! It was such great storytelling with such great characters. I loved Katherine for her strength. She had such a strong personality and didn't take shit from no one! Even when she was so in love with Dimitri, she remained strong and true to herself. Dimitri on the other hand, I was a little iffy about. Me and him had a love/hate relationship. He thought he was a god and that he was always right and never in the wrong. He also always thought he was the wronged one even though HE was the one who made Katherine endure so much. But, I guess that's why I love him. He was such a flawed character who was only right when he had Katherine with him. She always brought him down ten notches and boy were they hot. I loved them as a couple as well as apart (her more so that him) but I REALLY enjoyed this book and I think I found an author who can soon become my favourite!!!

[KatieV · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, but am not too fond of the plain Jane heroine. Personally I prefer one who is considered pretty by most, although she doesn't have to be completely perfect. The way some characters reacted in this made me think she was borderline ugly. I did like that she challenged Dimitri, but would have liked to see them do something other than argue.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn’t recommend reading this, because what happens to her will probably offend a lot of readers. It is not ‘woman friendly’.

I’ve read this in the 90’s and I liked it then. And I still like it. He is besotted and she is a fury.

[Annie ⚜️]

Some of her early stuff was really questionable. Here we have a good example of some Stockholm syndrome love.

[T from Istria 💛💚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this! Although the hero did some pretty horrible things plus the not-believing-heroine-to-be-an-earl’s-daughter and instead insisting on her being a whore (a virginal whore!) and then an actress (duh!) was very stupid so minus many stars for H but the heroine, oh she was splendid so many stars for her.

The historical descriptions of Russia were fantastic! I usually skim over things like that, but I enjoyed the unusual setting and how the writer portrayed life there.

Things that bothered me where details like she was away, presumed dead to her family, stayed by herself in Russia somewhere after leaving him and gave birth (how, who helped her, where did she stay?) and then came home after a year with a child, and see, no problem at all to be an unwed single mother, it was explained as very usual for ladies to go to the continent and return w babies who were orphans that they took in. So all the other HRs that we’ve read were ladies were ruined or compromised and it was a catastrophe - it was irritating. But nvm it’s just fiction.

[Lady Whitbrooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 4.5 stars but I rounded down because the ending was quick and tidy. Overall a good book interesting, a twist. A different culture ect. Plot 8 (1-10) steaminess 7(1-10)

[Hanife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bu yorum aynı zamanda Romancekolikte yayınlanmıştır.


Öncelikle kitabı bana öneren İpek ablama çok teşekkür ederim. Johanna çok sevdiğim bir yazar. Bu kitabında da beni yanıltmadı ve sayfaları hızlıca çevirdiğim harika ve heyecanlı bir okuma süreci geçirdim. Kimi zaman ağlamamak için kendimi zor tuttum kimi zaman ise karakterlerimizin atışmaları yüzünden kahkahalar attım. Sinirden patlayacak dereceye gelip yeter ama uzattın diye sıkıldığım yerlerde olmadı değil! Bir çoğu kızımızın haklı şekilde olan inadı ve gururu yüzündendi.

Hikayemizin içerdikleri;

Dimitri; Beyaz atlı prens gibi mübarek bir Rus prens. Sarı saç kahve rengi göz. Soy Vikinglere dayanıyor. Özenilmişte yaratılmış boy pos endam yerinde bir varlık! Ama bir sorunu var her istediğini elde etmek zorunda!

Katherine; İdealist, gururlu, dik başlı, oldukça da inatçı, ama uzun süre küs kalamayan, kendi kendine konuşmayı adet edinmiş, eşsiz bir güzelliği bulunmasada harika gözlere sahip bir kadın. Dimitri'nin isteme hatasına düştüğü kadın aynı zamanda.

Vladamir; Katherine'i kaçırma akılsızlığında bulunan ve bu yüzden kitabın sonuna kadar kızdan çeken bir adamcağız. Dimitri'nin en güvendiği adamlarından biri.

Sonya; Dimitri'nin zalim bir hükümdar gibi davranan teyzesi. Aynı zamanda kızımızı ona çalışanlarında karşısında karşı çıktığı için değnekle vurdurulmasını sağlayan ve bunun karşılığında biz zavallı okurların isteklerine rağmen hiç bir ceza almayan zülmeden kadın.

Anastacia; Dimitri'nin İngiltereye gelmesine sebep olan şımarık prenses kız kardeşi.

Hikaye kontu kızı olan Katherine'nin, kız kardeşinin nişanlısıyla kaçacağından şüphelenip, onu hizmetçi kılığında takip edip, yabancı bir adam tarafından ahlaksız teklifi ret ettiği için kaçırılması ile başlıyor.

Dimitri, kız kardeşinin birinin yatağında yakalanıp, skandal çıkarması dolayısıyla İngiltereye tam da müstakbel eşine kur yaptığı dönemde gitmek zorunda kalmıştır. Kardeşiyle aracında yolculuk yaparken, sokakta bir adamı başından savmayan kadını görür ve onu ister. Hemen adamına kızı ona ayarlaması talimatını verir.

Emir kulu olan Vladamir ise kızın reddi karşında şok olmuştur. Prensini biri nasıl reddebilmiştir ki! Bu yüzden kızı kaçırır. Gün boyunca dil döker ama kız yolundan geri dönmez. Vladamir en sonunda kızın yiyeceğine afrodizyak koymakta bulur çareyi. Bu sayede Dimitri kızı ilacın etkisinde bulur. Kız durumun da farkında değildir ve hasta olduğunu sanıyordur. Dimitride telaşla adamına kızın neden hasta olarak odaya konulduğunu sorar ve durumu öğrenir. Dimitri ise malesef ki durumdan istifade etmiştir. Kızı düşük seviyeden bir kadın sanıyordur. O yüzden hiç kızın saf, pak olacağına kafa yormamıştır.

Ertesi sabah kızın uyanmasıyla tehditlerde başlar ve Dimitri Rus Prenslerinden biri yazın İngiltereyi ziyaret edeceği için Rusların ismine herhangi bir leke gelmesini istemiyordur. Bunun için kızı da beraberinde Rusyaya götürür. Yolculuk boyunca Katherine'in reddedişiyle aralarında ki tutku daha da çoğalmıştır. Rusya'ya vardıklarından sonra da olaylar peşi sıra ardına gelmeye başlar. Acaba Dimitri Katherine'in gerçek kimliğine inanıp onu elinden kaçırmayı göze alabilecek midir?

[Tapasya · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lots of books in my shelf which are on hold or unrated. So I'm trying to clear my shelf. This is one of these books which was DNF. So I finally decided to read it.

Secret Fire is nothing epic. It was OKAY. I had many problems with the book. 1) Dimitri (the H) was a jerk. There will be a too big list for pointing out his jerk stunts. 2) The long separation between them. 3) Katherine (the h) not telling Dimitri about his child. 4) The constant reminder that the h is not beautiful was irritating. I have a huge problem with this. Fine that she is not beautiful but every other person who meets her is like 'ohh...what does Dimitri found so attractive about her?' Ugh....

On the plus side I did enjoy their bickerings. I liked Dimitri and Katherine together. And I liked Katherine. She had spunk and at times I thought Dimitri didn't deserve her. So despite lots of crazy bits and over the top stupidity I liked it.

[Loucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce livre est dans ma bibliothèque depuis des années... et ne la quittera pas. Ce n'est pas mon préféré de J.L. mais je le relis de temps en temps. J'ai bien aimé les héros et l'histoire, qui change des romans "Régence" habituels, entre autre en faisant voyager les héros.

[Imina Razzaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have mid-terms!!!!!

I dont need to be up all night reading a book, promising myself one more chapter and then it's back to work. No one should have to lie to themselves as much as I have in the last 24 hours. If I fail it is your fault Lindsey!

[Tiffany S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to love Johanna Lindsay when I was in high school. I don’t think this was one I ever read. I can see why I liked her writing though

[Sonia N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a few reviews and all I have to say is that I loved Dimitri and Katherine’s story 💖