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في ظلال البرج
DESTINATION: FRANCE
ATTRACTIONS: GREAT FOOD, WINE, ROMANCE...AND ROHAN SAINT YVES
Here, in the fragrant province of Perigord, lay the mystery of Sabine's past -- the scandal and secrecy of her mother's banishment, and of her father's true identity. And in the vineyards of her ancestors, also lay a future ripe for the taking with Rohan Saint Yves, a man Sabine discovers can love as fiercely as he hates...
ATTRACTIONS: GREAT FOOD, WINE, ROMANCE...AND ROHAN SAINT YVES
Here, in the fragrant province of Perigord, lay the mystery of Sabine's past -- the scandal and secrecy of her mother's banishment, and of her father's true identity. And in the vineyards of her ancestors, also lay a future ripe for the taking with Rohan Saint Yves, a man Sabine discovers can love as fiercely as he hates...
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1993
5 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Sara Craven
493 books267 followersAnne Bushell was born on October 1938 in South Devon, England, just before World War II and grew up in a house crammed with books. She was always a voracious reader, some of her all-time favorites books are: "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, "Middlemarch" by George Eliot, "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë, "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell and "The Code of the Woosters" by P. G. Wodehouse.
She worked as journalist at the Paignton Observer, but after her marriage, she moved to the north of England, where she worked as teacher. After she returned to journalism, she joined the Middlesbrough Writers' Group, where she met other romance writer Mildred Grieveson (Anne Mather). She started to wrote romance, and she had her first novel "Garden of Dreams" accepted by Mills & Boon in 1975, she published her work under the pseudonym of Sara Craven. In 2010 she became chairman of the Southern Writers' Conference, and the next year was elected the twenty-six Chairman (2011–2013) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Divorced twice, Annie lives in Somerset, South West England, and shares her home with a West Highland white terrier called Bertie Wooster. In her house, she had several thousand books, and an amazing video collection. When she's not writing, she enjoys watching very old films, listening to music, going to the theatre, and eating in good restaurants. She also likes to travel in Europe, to inspire her romances, especially in France, Greece and Italy where many of her novels are set. Since the birth of her twin grandchildren, she is also a regular visitor to New York City, where the little tots live. In 1997, she was the overall winner of the BBC's Mastermind, winning the last final presented by Magnus Magnusson.
She worked as journalist at the Paignton Observer, but after her marriage, she moved to the north of England, where she worked as teacher. After she returned to journalism, she joined the Middlesbrough Writers' Group, where she met other romance writer Mildred Grieveson (Anne Mather). She started to wrote romance, and she had her first novel "Garden of Dreams" accepted by Mills & Boon in 1975, she published her work under the pseudonym of Sara Craven. In 2010 she became chairman of the Southern Writers' Conference, and the next year was elected the twenty-six Chairman (2011–2013) of the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Divorced twice, Annie lives in Somerset, South West England, and shares her home with a West Highland white terrier called Bertie Wooster. In her house, she had several thousand books, and an amazing video collection. When she's not writing, she enjoys watching very old films, listening to music, going to the theatre, and eating in good restaurants. She also likes to travel in Europe, to inspire her romances, especially in France, Greece and Italy where many of her novels are set. Since the birth of her twin grandchildren, she is also a regular visitor to New York City, where the little tots live. In 1997, she was the overall winner of the BBC's Mastermind, winning the last final presented by Magnus Magnusson.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 13, 2018
Re Tower of Shadows - Sara Craven gets the final book in the Postcards From Europe Series and she takes us to her absolute favorite setting outside of England, France.
More specifically the natural region called The Périgord, which is called the cradle of mankind, due to the place being inhabited by various peoples for over 40,000 years. The famous caves at Lascaux can be found here, as well as a LOT of medieval style towns and villages.
(As The Perigord area, now called the Dordogne département of France, was the area which was fought over by the English and the French in the Hundred Years War, as well as the Romans, the Gauls and whole hosts of others over the millenia.)
Eleanor of Aquitaine ruled here and through her marriage to Henry II, the Angevin Empire was established and the rulers of Great Britain were loathe to let it go.
SC brings the best of her considerable knowledge of the area to full fruition in this story, as she skillfully intertwines medieval history, local folklore and a touch of the Gothic romance into this tale of a young woman's quest to find her father and answer the mystery of her mother's seekrit origins.
The book opens with the h being informed that the man she thought was her father, really was not. On the occasion of his death, his bitter sister, the h's aunt, informs the h that her mother was an impregnated tart when her brother begged the woman to marry him. She was outcast and penniless and to the aunt's bitter remorse, he did marry the h's mother and vowed to raise the h as his own child.
Unfortunately while the h's birth certificate lists the h's mother's husband as her father, in reality the man disliked the h and kept her at a far distance. Especially after the h's mother died when she was 14 and the h soon went off to uni and managed to get a degree in languages with minimal support.
As the h is clearing out the last of her mother's belongings, which her husband couldn't bear to part with during his life, the h finds her mother's jewelry and a legacy which were specifically left to her. The legacy is two pictures, a wine label, a medallion and the deed to a house ominously called Les Hiboux or the Owls in English.
Since the owl in folklore is a harbinger of death and doom, the h feels a little shudder at the name. However, she needs to know where she came from and who her father is. So the h takes some time off from her freelance translation service and off we go to the Périgord of France.
The h is enjoying the journey and we get lots of lovely travelogue along the way. The Périgord is a great wine region with Bergerac (a blend of reds) and Monbazillac (a sweet blend of white wines) being the major vintages of the area. There is a little winery tour and the h is given instructions to the winery depicted on her mother's wine label. A place called La Tour Monchauzet, it is symbolized by a tower and a rose.
The h makes her way to La Tour Monchauzet and when she is driving up the tree tunneled approach, she is startled by an animal crossing the road. She pulls over to catch her breath and then is even more startled when an older woman driving by takes one look at the h and crashes into a tree. The h runs to get help and the first person she comes to is the H, he takes one look at the h and is instantly hostile, tho he and his helper run to assist the injured woman.
The H summarily kicks the h off the estate and the h decides to go to her mother's house. The house has power and water and the garden is tended, so clearly someone has been maintaining the place for the last 25 years. The young man who takes her to her house tries to tell her that the H and his family won't be happy, but the h wants answers and no haughty, supercilious aristocracy is going to put her off.
The H shows up later, with a large cash inducement for the h to leave the area and we find out that the H is stepson of the brother of current estate owner, the local Baron. The h threatens the H with a rock and tells him to get off her land. The H goes and then the h is invited to the winery estate by the current Baron's wife, the older lady who crashed.
The h isn't at all sure she wants to go. But in the usual high-handed way the Baronne sends her secretary, a nice local girl whose mum has the h's furniture in storage and was the h's mum's BFF, to escort the h to the winery.
The h goes and gets told by the witchy Baronne and her equally witchy bovine niece that the h's mother was the daughter of the winery's master vintner and that she was engaged to the current Baron's brother.
Les Hiboux was bought by the fiance for the h's mother at her behest. Until she ran off two weeks before the wedding and caused trauma and heartbreak to the poor man. Apparently after the h's mother ran off, the poor fiance had a nervous breakdown. As he was the H's stepfather and couldn't care for him due to his illness, the H had to go live with his grandfather and everybody hates the h's mother.
The h firmly denounces the fact that her mother was a tart and she denounces the two women as being slanderous. She tells the H off a bit too, but then she meets the Baron himself, who is the only one who seems happy to meet her. The elderly Baron is in a wheelchair, from an accidental fall from a horse after the h's mother left the area. Indeed, it seems the whole family was cursed after the h's mother left.
It is with a sense of foreboding that the H relates the tale of the tower on the wine label. The tower still exists on the estate, tho it has fallen into disrepair. It is said to be the place where a jealous husband locked up his wife to spin thread and starve, after he saw a rose from her lover pinned to her bodice.
The starving wife supposedly threw the rose out the window to her lover when he came searching for her, one ending has the lover rescuing her from the tower and the other ending has the lover missing the rose and riding off and the woman dying, while her husband remarried a more submissive wife and had lots of kids later on.
The H and h find themselves maneuvered into a sightseeing outing and after some thoughts where the h doesn't like the feelings the H brings out in her, she decides to go off on her own. The H shows up for the outing anyway and they spend the day doing the Dordogne tourist trek. There is a confrontation with the wanna be OW, the Baronne's niece, who claims the H is hers and the h is a tart like her mother.
The H clarifies that he doesn't want the little witch, but he does have plans for the vineyard, which the h will help him to accomplish. Then we get a local dinner with the h's furniture storing friends, it includes a lot of regional specialties, including a libido enhancing aphrodisiac garlic soup and some divine pig found truffles the area is famous for.
The H and h have a huge lurve mojo moment and the h is in love, the H is very romantic in a French H sorta way and he regretfully takes his leave the next morning to work at the vineyard. The h hears the ominous hoot of an owl for the first time since arriving at Les Hiboux, so we know that doom is at hand.
Which is exactly the case as the h gets a note from the H to meet him at the derelict, crumbling tower. The h doesn't like the place, she visited once before and tho she originally thought the tower should be restored and used to promote the vineyard's wines, now she finds it full of shadows and sadness. The h goes to the tower and gets locked in.
After some tense hours later, where the h finds some roses and throws them out the window in the hope that the H will rescue her, the door opens and it is the Baronne herself. The elderly woman is mad at the thought that the h will steal the H from her niece and she determined to lock the h up, just as she did to the h's mother, who supposedly had an affair with the woman's husband.
The h is shocked, she thought that the h's stepfather was her dad and her mum did not want to marry him for whatever reason. Now we find out that the h's father is actually the Baron, the H explains this as he comes to rescue the h. We all go back to the winery estate and the whole story comes out.
The h's mother was sent to Paris to study commercial art. Both brothers were in love with her and it was thought that such a match would be unsuitable. Then the h's mum's father became ill and she returned to care for him and to care for the H and the Baronne's niece as children. The H's stepfather was a widower and could court the h's mother and they agreed to marry.
But the Baron, his brother, still wanted the h's mother and hounded her until he finally raped her at the tower when she told him to take a hike. Then the Baronne locked the poor lady up because she was jealous and insanely possessive about her husband and niece. The h's mother said enough with these crazy people and fled to England. Where she found she was preggers and married her husband. What the mother felt for any of the men is unknown, SC never gives us the h's mum's input on the story.
The Baron, who can now walk after seeing the h, tries to claim that the h's mother loved him, but srsly I doubt it big time. She insisted that his brother not be told of what went on, but of course the man found out about the attack and it was this that caused his breakdown. He went to live at the h's mother's house, he always believed the h's mum would come back and he never spoke to the Baron again, tho he continued to run the vineyard and encouraged the H to come take over when he couldn't any longer.
The Baron wants to acknowledge the h as his daughter and leave everything to her, that way they will avoid the inheritance tax on the estate when he passes. The h believes the H only wants her for the vineyard and the winery, he figured out who her father was well before she did and never said anything, so she tells the H that their affair was just a fairy tale fling and she goes home to England, after rejecting her father's offer of formal acknowledgement.
The h has a big time mopey moment and then has to go back for her furniture storing friend's wedding. The H is there, but only to visit, he is now the heir to his grandfather's much bigger winery and vineyard and the La Tour Monchauzet people can sort out their own issues alone. The Baron has recovered his health and his wife had to go to a mental hospital for treatment. The bovine witch niece has disappeared into the HP mists.
The h and H end up together again when the H kinda carries her off, the h realizes that he really doesn't want her for potential inheritance and that he really loves her as she loves him for the big, owl free and new life HEA.
This one was pretty good on the gothic aspects, okay on the romance and excellent on the travelogue with the usual guidebook at the end. The h's search for her origins was really well done and the whole atmosphere of impending doom, symbolized by an owl haunted house and crumbling tower that will never be rebuilt, is the stuff of a highly entertaining and interesting HPlandia outing.
More specifically the natural region called The Périgord, which is called the cradle of mankind, due to the place being inhabited by various peoples for over 40,000 years. The famous caves at Lascaux can be found here, as well as a LOT of medieval style towns and villages.
(As The Perigord area, now called the Dordogne département of France, was the area which was fought over by the English and the French in the Hundred Years War, as well as the Romans, the Gauls and whole hosts of others over the millenia.)
Eleanor of Aquitaine ruled here and through her marriage to Henry II, the Angevin Empire was established and the rulers of Great Britain were loathe to let it go.
SC brings the best of her considerable knowledge of the area to full fruition in this story, as she skillfully intertwines medieval history, local folklore and a touch of the Gothic romance into this tale of a young woman's quest to find her father and answer the mystery of her mother's seekrit origins.
The book opens with the h being informed that the man she thought was her father, really was not. On the occasion of his death, his bitter sister, the h's aunt, informs the h that her mother was an impregnated tart when her brother begged the woman to marry him. She was outcast and penniless and to the aunt's bitter remorse, he did marry the h's mother and vowed to raise the h as his own child.
Unfortunately while the h's birth certificate lists the h's mother's husband as her father, in reality the man disliked the h and kept her at a far distance. Especially after the h's mother died when she was 14 and the h soon went off to uni and managed to get a degree in languages with minimal support.
As the h is clearing out the last of her mother's belongings, which her husband couldn't bear to part with during his life, the h finds her mother's jewelry and a legacy which were specifically left to her. The legacy is two pictures, a wine label, a medallion and the deed to a house ominously called Les Hiboux or the Owls in English.
Since the owl in folklore is a harbinger of death and doom, the h feels a little shudder at the name. However, she needs to know where she came from and who her father is. So the h takes some time off from her freelance translation service and off we go to the Périgord of France.
The h is enjoying the journey and we get lots of lovely travelogue along the way. The Périgord is a great wine region with Bergerac (a blend of reds) and Monbazillac (a sweet blend of white wines) being the major vintages of the area. There is a little winery tour and the h is given instructions to the winery depicted on her mother's wine label. A place called La Tour Monchauzet, it is symbolized by a tower and a rose.
The h makes her way to La Tour Monchauzet and when she is driving up the tree tunneled approach, she is startled by an animal crossing the road. She pulls over to catch her breath and then is even more startled when an older woman driving by takes one look at the h and crashes into a tree. The h runs to get help and the first person she comes to is the H, he takes one look at the h and is instantly hostile, tho he and his helper run to assist the injured woman.
The H summarily kicks the h off the estate and the h decides to go to her mother's house. The house has power and water and the garden is tended, so clearly someone has been maintaining the place for the last 25 years. The young man who takes her to her house tries to tell her that the H and his family won't be happy, but the h wants answers and no haughty, supercilious aristocracy is going to put her off.
The H shows up later, with a large cash inducement for the h to leave the area and we find out that the H is stepson of the brother of current estate owner, the local Baron. The h threatens the H with a rock and tells him to get off her land. The H goes and then the h is invited to the winery estate by the current Baron's wife, the older lady who crashed.
The h isn't at all sure she wants to go. But in the usual high-handed way the Baronne sends her secretary, a nice local girl whose mum has the h's furniture in storage and was the h's mum's BFF, to escort the h to the winery.
The h goes and gets told by the witchy Baronne and her equally witchy bovine niece that the h's mother was the daughter of the winery's master vintner and that she was engaged to the current Baron's brother.
Les Hiboux was bought by the fiance for the h's mother at her behest. Until she ran off two weeks before the wedding and caused trauma and heartbreak to the poor man. Apparently after the h's mother ran off, the poor fiance had a nervous breakdown. As he was the H's stepfather and couldn't care for him due to his illness, the H had to go live with his grandfather and everybody hates the h's mother.
The h firmly denounces the fact that her mother was a tart and she denounces the two women as being slanderous. She tells the H off a bit too, but then she meets the Baron himself, who is the only one who seems happy to meet her. The elderly Baron is in a wheelchair, from an accidental fall from a horse after the h's mother left the area. Indeed, it seems the whole family was cursed after the h's mother left.
It is with a sense of foreboding that the H relates the tale of the tower on the wine label. The tower still exists on the estate, tho it has fallen into disrepair. It is said to be the place where a jealous husband locked up his wife to spin thread and starve, after he saw a rose from her lover pinned to her bodice.
The starving wife supposedly threw the rose out the window to her lover when he came searching for her, one ending has the lover rescuing her from the tower and the other ending has the lover missing the rose and riding off and the woman dying, while her husband remarried a more submissive wife and had lots of kids later on.
The H and h find themselves maneuvered into a sightseeing outing and after some thoughts where the h doesn't like the feelings the H brings out in her, she decides to go off on her own. The H shows up for the outing anyway and they spend the day doing the Dordogne tourist trek. There is a confrontation with the wanna be OW, the Baronne's niece, who claims the H is hers and the h is a tart like her mother.
The H clarifies that he doesn't want the little witch, but he does have plans for the vineyard, which the h will help him to accomplish. Then we get a local dinner with the h's furniture storing friends, it includes a lot of regional specialties, including a libido enhancing aphrodisiac garlic soup and some divine pig found truffles the area is famous for.
The H and h have a huge lurve mojo moment and the h is in love, the H is very romantic in a French H sorta way and he regretfully takes his leave the next morning to work at the vineyard. The h hears the ominous hoot of an owl for the first time since arriving at Les Hiboux, so we know that doom is at hand.
Which is exactly the case as the h gets a note from the H to meet him at the derelict, crumbling tower. The h doesn't like the place, she visited once before and tho she originally thought the tower should be restored and used to promote the vineyard's wines, now she finds it full of shadows and sadness. The h goes to the tower and gets locked in.
After some tense hours later, where the h finds some roses and throws them out the window in the hope that the H will rescue her, the door opens and it is the Baronne herself. The elderly woman is mad at the thought that the h will steal the H from her niece and she determined to lock the h up, just as she did to the h's mother, who supposedly had an affair with the woman's husband.
The h is shocked, she thought that the h's stepfather was her dad and her mum did not want to marry him for whatever reason. Now we find out that the h's father is actually the Baron, the H explains this as he comes to rescue the h. We all go back to the winery estate and the whole story comes out.
The h's mother was sent to Paris to study commercial art. Both brothers were in love with her and it was thought that such a match would be unsuitable. Then the h's mum's father became ill and she returned to care for him and to care for the H and the Baronne's niece as children. The H's stepfather was a widower and could court the h's mother and they agreed to marry.
But the Baron, his brother, still wanted the h's mother and hounded her until he finally raped her at the tower when she told him to take a hike. Then the Baronne locked the poor lady up because she was jealous and insanely possessive about her husband and niece. The h's mother said enough with these crazy people and fled to England. Where she found she was preggers and married her husband. What the mother felt for any of the men is unknown, SC never gives us the h's mum's input on the story.
The Baron, who can now walk after seeing the h, tries to claim that the h's mother loved him, but srsly I doubt it big time. She insisted that his brother not be told of what went on, but of course the man found out about the attack and it was this that caused his breakdown. He went to live at the h's mother's house, he always believed the h's mum would come back and he never spoke to the Baron again, tho he continued to run the vineyard and encouraged the H to come take over when he couldn't any longer.
The Baron wants to acknowledge the h as his daughter and leave everything to her, that way they will avoid the inheritance tax on the estate when he passes. The h believes the H only wants her for the vineyard and the winery, he figured out who her father was well before she did and never said anything, so she tells the H that their affair was just a fairy tale fling and she goes home to England, after rejecting her father's offer of formal acknowledgement.
The h has a big time mopey moment and then has to go back for her furniture storing friend's wedding. The H is there, but only to visit, he is now the heir to his grandfather's much bigger winery and vineyard and the La Tour Monchauzet people can sort out their own issues alone. The Baron has recovered his health and his wife had to go to a mental hospital for treatment. The bovine witch niece has disappeared into the HP mists.
The h and H end up together again when the H kinda carries her off, the h realizes that he really doesn't want her for potential inheritance and that he really loves her as she loves him for the big, owl free and new life HEA.
This one was pretty good on the gothic aspects, okay on the romance and excellent on the travelogue with the usual guidebook at the end. The h's search for her origins was really well done and the whole atmosphere of impending doom, symbolized by an owl haunted house and crumbling tower that will never be rebuilt, is the stuff of a highly entertaining and interesting HPlandia outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2018
The romance in this one is not all that convincing/interesting, but the travelogue and heroine's quest to find the truth of her mother's past was compelling.
The heroine's French mother married an Englishman whom the heroine thought was her biological father. He wasn't. Her mother was six-months pregnant with another man's child when she married. The heroine finds this out after her father's death. She also finds a deed to a house in the Dordogne area of France, two photographs, and a wine label with a rose and a tower on it.
Heroine travels to Dardogne, finds the house, the hero (he was the stepson of the man her mother was supposed to marry) and other blood relatives. She does not receive a warm welcome, but over time (a couple of weeks) the H/h fall in love while discussing the Hundred Years War and eating garlic soup.
There is a last minute black moment when the heroine thinks the hero is only marrying her because
I have to say that I'm glad that the H/h will not be living in the vicinity of the heroine's family. Her bio-father really messed things up
The dark backstory really over shadowed the romance, but that seems fitting for this part of France where history is right in your face. Read this one if you're in the mood for a travelogue and thoughts on medieval history and tragic love.
The heroine's French mother married an Englishman whom the heroine thought was her biological father. He wasn't. Her mother was six-months pregnant with another man's child when she married. The heroine finds this out after her father's death. She also finds a deed to a house in the Dordogne area of France, two photographs, and a wine label with a rose and a tower on it.
Heroine travels to Dardogne, finds the house, the hero (he was the stepson of the man her mother was supposed to marry) and other blood relatives. She does not receive a warm welcome, but over time (a couple of weeks) the H/h fall in love while discussing the Hundred Years War and eating garlic soup.
There is a last minute black moment when the heroine thinks the hero is only marrying her because
I have to say that I'm glad that the H/h will not be living in the vicinity of the heroine's family. Her bio-father really messed things up
The dark backstory really over shadowed the romance, but that seems fitting for this part of France where history is right in your face. Read this one if you're in the mood for a travelogue and thoughts on medieval history and tragic love.
April 25, 2020
After the man she knew as her father's death, Sabine learns that her mother was already pregnant with her when she married...so Sabine has no idea who her real father is. Armed with clues to her mother's past, Sabine heads off for the Perigord in France, where her mother has left her a house. Once she arrives, she is distraught to learn that her mother is not well thought of, thanks to her running off and leaving a tremendous amount of heartbreak behind. Rohan St. Yves is particularly vehement about her leaving, but there's a chemistry and a building romance between them that Sabine isn't sure she wants to deny. But the truth of her past will come out and Sabine won't like what she learns, or how it makes her distrust the man she's coming to love.
So I love the feel of this story, with its sort of horror-story feel. It's not scary but it has a creepy tone to it, which I always enjoy. Add to that the mystery of Sabine's mother's past and the wonderful touristy information provided by the story (makes me want to visit France when I never felt the need before), and this story stacks up nicely. The romance feels a bit on the sudden side, as Sabine is talking about being in love with Rohan after their first kiss and they don't really get to know each other that well before they're talking about a life-long commitment. But that just supports the fact that Sabine doesn't trust Rohan when it comes down to it and why she turns her back on him. The mystery of the past, involving Sabine's mother was probably the part that just didn't sit right with me. Turns out her father is not who she expected and that he raped her mother. And when her mother turned up pregnant, she had to leave behind the man she loved and was engaged to marry, thus causing no end to heartbreak and tragedy for the family. What I didn't care for here is that Sabine is prepared to forgive her father, the rapist immediately...without any sort of recoil at first. After knowing how it ruined her mother's life (and his unstable wife's) and how selfish it was, not to mention criminal, I had a hard time getting behind her with getting to know the guy. I mean, she's not enthusiastic about it, but she also doesn't tell him to go to hell, saying she doesn't want to cause any more harm or hurt...it's a worthy sentiment and I appreciate that Sabine doesn't embrace him or want to be acknowledged...but it still didn't sit quite right.
So I love the feel of this story, with its sort of horror-story feel. It's not scary but it has a creepy tone to it, which I always enjoy. Add to that the mystery of Sabine's mother's past and the wonderful touristy information provided by the story (makes me want to visit France when I never felt the need before), and this story stacks up nicely. The romance feels a bit on the sudden side, as Sabine is talking about being in love with Rohan after their first kiss and they don't really get to know each other that well before they're talking about a life-long commitment. But that just supports the fact that Sabine doesn't trust Rohan when it comes down to it and why she turns her back on him. The mystery of the past, involving Sabine's mother was probably the part that just didn't sit right with me. Turns out her father is not who she expected and that he raped her mother. And when her mother turned up pregnant, she had to leave behind the man she loved and was engaged to marry, thus causing no end to heartbreak and tragedy for the family. What I didn't care for here is that Sabine is prepared to forgive her father, the rapist immediately...without any sort of recoil at first. After knowing how it ruined her mother's life (and his unstable wife's) and how selfish it was, not to mention criminal, I had a hard time getting behind her with getting to know the guy. I mean, she's not enthusiastic about it, but she also doesn't tell him to go to hell, saying she doesn't want to cause any more harm or hurt...it's a worthy sentiment and I appreciate that Sabine doesn't embrace him or want to be acknowledged...but it still didn't sit quite right.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2013
The most severe case of insta love I've ever read. She was madly in love by their third meeting or maybe it was the 2nd meeting. Oddly readable though. I was interested in finding out who her father was.
March 4, 2018
It's 1993 and a time when all those middle-class aspirational types were investing in property in France (a fact which is referred to in this offering from the late, great Sara Craven). The premise is as follows: upon the death of her father, Sabine inherits her mother's casket of jewels and finds hidden in the lining the deeds to a French house (every middle-class aspirational type's dream). Going there to investigate the matter, she immediately finds there is some mystery surrounding her birth and along the way falls in love with the dashing Rohan.
There's a lot going on in this book which mark it out as a great novel from Mills & Boon. First of all, there are lots of references to earlier styles of romances (or Romances with a capital R as I should properly term them, I suppose). There are nods to eighteenth-century conventions in the first chapter with it starting off a bit reminiscent of Mansfield Park and the finding of the papers in the jewel casket is precisely what happens in Charlotte Smith's 'romance' Emmeline, or the Orphan of the Castle from 1787, and these papers go towards proving the heroine's identity. There are also fairy tale elements with a bit of Rapunzel being thrown in there. One of the real strengths of the book is when the heroine admits that she's idealised her love affair with the hero but that it's all just a 'fairy tale' (this is at the point when they have the inevitable disagreement before their ultimate reconciliation at the end).
The exploration of France is wonderful (the descriptions of food are orgasmic, and being as I'm always very interested in the food on offer, this ticked a big box for me). I had to laugh when the heroine offered to cook the hero 'something English' and it was after this that the obstacles to
their love are thrown up (nothing's going to put a hero off more than the offer of egg and chips after an entire novel of confit de canard and creamy garlic soup).
The heroine's story at the end (as in the story of her identity) is also a real strong point in this novel. I won't spoil the ending, but it's dark. Much darker than you'd expect from a Mills & Boon, but shows how this author was able to pull off a convincing romance, with lots of romantic elements and all the pleasures of bricolage, whilst still referencing social reality. Great stuff.
There's a lot going on in this book which mark it out as a great novel from Mills & Boon. First of all, there are lots of references to earlier styles of romances (or Romances with a capital R as I should properly term them, I suppose). There are nods to eighteenth-century conventions in the first chapter with it starting off a bit reminiscent of Mansfield Park and the finding of the papers in the jewel casket is precisely what happens in Charlotte Smith's 'romance' Emmeline, or the Orphan of the Castle from 1787, and these papers go towards proving the heroine's identity. There are also fairy tale elements with a bit of Rapunzel being thrown in there. One of the real strengths of the book is when the heroine admits that she's idealised her love affair with the hero but that it's all just a 'fairy tale' (this is at the point when they have the inevitable disagreement before their ultimate reconciliation at the end).
The exploration of France is wonderful (the descriptions of food are orgasmic, and being as I'm always very interested in the food on offer, this ticked a big box for me). I had to laugh when the heroine offered to cook the hero 'something English' and it was after this that the obstacles to
their love are thrown up (nothing's going to put a hero off more than the offer of egg and chips after an entire novel of confit de canard and creamy garlic soup).
The heroine's story at the end (as in the story of her identity) is also a real strong point in this novel. I won't spoil the ending, but it's dark. Much darker than you'd expect from a Mills & Boon, but shows how this author was able to pull off a convincing romance, with lots of romantic elements and all the pleasures of bricolage, whilst still referencing social reality. Great stuff.
August 14, 2024
Painfully shit, low-effort, tedious romance which one suspects was grudgingly written over a weekend to fit the 'Euromance' brief.
The heroine and hero go from 'god I hate you' to 'oh darling I love you, my love, my life, my soul-mate, marry me' over the course of five seconds and for seemingly no reason what-so-ever. Talk about whiplash, I've got a pillow wrapped round my neck as a temporary brace.
Cringingly shit moment near the end when her true father is revealed, the sight of his daughter cures his disability and triumphant angels sing as he rises from his wheelchair and walks, before lovingly telling his daughter that he raped her mother. I mean it sounds hilarious, but alas this is one rib-achingly crazy moment in an otherwise dull-brown turd of a travelogue in which we have to read reams and ream about viniculture and cave paintings.
The heroine and hero go from 'god I hate you' to 'oh darling I love you, my love, my life, my soul-mate, marry me' over the course of five seconds and for seemingly no reason what-so-ever. Talk about whiplash, I've got a pillow wrapped round my neck as a temporary brace.
Cringingly shit moment near the end when her true father is revealed, the sight of his daughter cures his disability and triumphant angels sing as he rises from his wheelchair and walks, before lovingly telling his daughter that he raped her mother. I mean it sounds hilarious, but alas this is one rib-achingly crazy moment in an otherwise dull-brown turd of a travelogue in which we have to read reams and ream about viniculture and cave paintings.
October 11, 2020
This Sara Craven romance just misses. It's hard to see the romance develop because it just springs forth like mushrooms, as both she and he declare immediate love at first sight. Given how awful everyone was to her on that first visit to the chateau it's no wonder she is vastly confused.
There are several subplots that are poorly resolved (which is not like Sara Craven!); for example Antoinette starts out determined to marry Rohan, to the point of threatening heroine Sabine, yet somehow she just fades away when her aunt goes off the deep end.
Also, Sabine learns her father raped her mother yet Sabine visits him and promises to view him as family. I would think that would be harder to forgive yet Sabine does so.
There are several subplots that are poorly resolved (which is not like Sara Craven!); for example Antoinette starts out determined to marry Rohan, to the point of threatening heroine Sabine, yet somehow she just fades away when her aunt goes off the deep end.
Also, Sabine learns her father raped her mother yet Sabine visits him and promises to view him as family. I would think that would be harder to forgive yet Sabine does so.
February 20, 2018
Sabine travels to France to unveil the true identify of her biological father. There, she meets Rohan and falls in love of him.
After the first chapter, I though the novel would be interesting to read, but the second chapter rid me of this notion! I found the events and emotions too much to believe so I skipped some pages! Really! In the first time Sabine and Rohan met they hardly exchanged any words and in their second encounter Sabine was so scared of him she left a rock to him. Yet, in their third meeting she though she loved him so much and wanted him to make love to her! What logic! What nonsense! Unbelievable! Not recommended at all for sanity.
After the first chapter, I though the novel would be interesting to read, but the second chapter rid me of this notion! I found the events and emotions too much to believe so I skipped some pages! Really! In the first time Sabine and Rohan met they hardly exchanged any words and in their second encounter Sabine was so scared of him she left a rock to him. Yet, in their third meeting she though she loved him so much and wanted him to make love to her! What logic! What nonsense! Unbelievable! Not recommended at all for sanity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2020
I love it when I find a gem to add to my top 10 favorites of all time and I also love a great travelogue. Sara Craven transports the reader to the French country side. Total immersion.
Tower of Shadows was perfect in every sense of the word and refreshing in a way. Rohan and Sabine were perfect together and I'm always a fan of love at first sight.
Another story I enjoy from the Postcards from Europe series is "No Promise of Love" by Lilian Peake.
Tower of Shadows was perfect in every sense of the word and refreshing in a way. Rohan and Sabine were perfect together and I'm always a fan of love at first sight.
Another story I enjoy from the Postcards from Europe series is "No Promise of Love" by Lilian Peake.
October 22, 2020
It's instalove, but I don't mind. I have a feeling Sara had just deep toured France because this book is more about that than the couple. Still, I really liked it! It was a touch on the Gothic romance side, with hidden towers, secret babies and a brooding, angry hero. Yeah, it could have been waaay better, but Harlequins are only allowed so many pages!
January 29, 2022
Heroine...run....run away. FAR AWAY, your mom had the right idea! Bolt!!! Hero can trail after if he wants, but you gotta go. Very dramatic story, that doesn't really end on that happy reveal or family bond. Just darkness and I guess hero and heroine getting together. Skip it.
September 9, 2019
A bit of HP meets Nine Coaches Waiting. Surprisingly the hero is far more considerate of the heroine's state of consent than many HP.
July 22, 2022
More travelogue than romance and a bit too gothic for me.
October 2, 2025
DNF: Yet another step sibling romance tho at least these two weren’t raised together. gave me enough ick to check the reviews which put the nail in the coffin for this one
September 29, 2020
Here, in the fragrant province of Perigord, lay the mystery of Sabine's past -- the scandal and secrecy of her mother's banishment, and of her father's true identity. And in the vineyards of her ancestors, also lay a future ripe for the taking with Rohan Saint Yves, a man Sabine discovers can love as fiercely as he hates..
May 18, 2020
DESTINATION: FRANCE
ATTRACTIONS: GREAT FOOD, WINE, ROMANCE...AND ROHAN SAINT YVES
Here, in the fragrant province of Perigord, lay the mystery of Sabine's past -- the scandal and secrecy of her mother's banishment, and of her father's true identity. And in the vineyards of her ancestors, also lay a future ripe for the taking with Rohan Saint Yves, a man Sabine discovers can love as fiercely as he hates.
ATTRACTIONS: GREAT FOOD, WINE, ROMANCE...AND ROHAN SAINT YVES
Here, in the fragrant province of Perigord, lay the mystery of Sabine's past -- the scandal and secrecy of her mother's banishment, and of her father's true identity. And in the vineyards of her ancestors, also lay a future ripe for the taking with Rohan Saint Yves, a man Sabine discovers can love as fiercely as he hates.
August 5, 2015
3.5 stars
It'a fine fine fine fine. I love stories where hero hates heroine 'cause they like her so much. Haha! But not really. This one is too sudden like suddenly they're kissing in the middle of the woods when they were supposed to be hating each other. Guys are so weird! The ending was confusing too. Haha. Suddddeeeeeennn!!!
It'a fine fine fine fine. I love stories where hero hates heroine 'cause they like her so much. Haha! But not really. This one is too sudden like suddenly they're kissing in the middle of the woods when they were supposed to be hating each other. Guys are so weird! The ending was confusing too. Haha. Suddddeeeeeennn!!!
August 3, 2018
Re-read this book for my Around the World in 80 Books Challenge as I needed to start in my country of residence.
February 5, 2016
Lots of sadness and misery in this book. Rather depressing read actually.
November 14, 2016
Star Rating: ★★½☆☆
May 11, 2023
لم تكن بذلك العُمق والسرد الكافي لكي تُسمى رواية. قد تكون وجبة خفيفة تُقرأ بين الكتب الثقيلة الكبيرة.. جيدة رغم مبالغتها العاطفية.
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June 27, 2018DESTINATION: FRANCE
ATTRACTIONS: GREAT FOOD, WINE, ROMANCE...AND ROHAN SAINT YVES
Here, in the fragrant province of Perigord, lay the mystery of Sabine's past -- the scandal and secrecy of her mother's banishment, and of her father's true identity. And in the vineyards of her ancestors, also lay a future ripe for the taking with Rohan Saint Yves, a man Sabine discovers can love as fiercely as he hates..
ATTRACTIONS: GREAT FOOD, WINE, ROMANCE...AND ROHAN SAINT YVES
Here, in the fragrant province of Perigord, lay the mystery of Sabine's past -- the scandal and secrecy of her mother's banishment, and of her father's true identity. And in the vineyards of her ancestors, also lay a future ripe for the taking with Rohan Saint Yves, a man Sabine discovers can love as fiercely as he hates..
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