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Southern Historical #1
Destiny's Temptress
Union Spy
Shannon Greenleaf had one chance to save the gracious Southern lifestyle she'd always known - but the fiery-haired beauty had to cross enemy lines to do it. And when she did, she found herself in the bedroom of the most handsome man she'd ever seen - Blane Stevens. His broad chest and rippling muscles made her yearn for his strong embrace; his dark green eyes smoldered with a deep, burning passion. So when he held her in his arms threatening to torment her until she confessed her real mission, the defiant temptress was lost. She surrendered her innocence, vowing that she'd never reveal the truth - or let him capture her heart...
Rebel Soldier
Blane Stevens could not have been more surprised than to find the intruder in his room to be as beautiful and desirable as Shannon Greenleaf. Yet there were ways of making spies talk - and Blane was a master at getting information. He took what he wanted and asked questions later, even from the innocent, young vixen in his bed. He knew Shannon was naive in the ways of love, but Blane couldn't control the overwhelming ecstasy he felt when he caressed her velvet flesh. He would sweetly torture her with pleasure all through the night, until she became his one, his only.
Shannon Greenleaf had one chance to save the gracious Southern lifestyle she'd always known - but the fiery-haired beauty had to cross enemy lines to do it. And when she did, she found herself in the bedroom of the most handsome man she'd ever seen - Blane Stevens. His broad chest and rippling muscles made her yearn for his strong embrace; his dark green eyes smoldered with a deep, burning passion. So when he held her in his arms threatening to torment her until she confessed her real mission, the defiant temptress was lost. She surrendered her innocence, vowing that she'd never reveal the truth - or let him capture her heart...
Rebel Soldier
Blane Stevens could not have been more surprised than to find the intruder in his room to be as beautiful and desirable as Shannon Greenleaf. Yet there were ways of making spies talk - and Blane was a master at getting information. He took what he wanted and asked questions later, even from the innocent, young vixen in his bed. He knew Shannon was naive in the ways of love, but Blane couldn't control the overwhelming ecstasy he felt when he caressed her velvet flesh. He would sweetly torture her with pleasure all through the night, until she became his one, his only.
Paperback
First published February 1, 1986
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152 people want to read
About the author
Janelle Taylor
101 books242 followersThe legendary Janelle Taylor was born on June 28, 1944 in Athens, GA. In 1965, she married Michael Taylor with whom she had two children, Angela Taylor-MacIntyre and Alisha Taylor Thurmond. Ms. Taylor attended the Medical College of Georgia from 1977 to 1979 and Augusta State University from 1980-1981. She withdrew from the latter after she sold her first two novels. Today, she is the author of thirty-nine novels, three novellas, and many contributions to other collections. There are thirty-nine million copies of her works in print worldwide and she has made The New York Times Bestseller List eight times. Ms. Taylor's works have also been featured ten times on the "1 million +" bestseller's list at Publisher's Weekly.
Some of Ms. Taylor's most recent books include By Candlelight, Someday Soon, Lakota Dawn, and Lakota Winds (due out in paperback in May 1999). She has also made contributions to other books including The Leukemia Society Cookbook, Christmas Rendezvous, and Summer Love. In addition, readers can see her as co-host of the QVC/TV Romance Book Club Show.
Ms. Taylor's interests include collecting spoons, coins from around the world, ship models, dolls, and old books. She loves to fish, ride horses, play chess, target-shoot, travel (especially in her motorhome and out West), hunt for Indian relics, and take long walks with her husband. Reading, in particular books set before 1900 and current Biographies, Thrillers, Horror, or Fantasy novels, is also one of Ms. Taylor's favorite activities. She is also extremely active with charity work and was even featured on the cover of Diabetes Forecast in February of 1998.
She lives in the country on seventy-nine acres of woods and pasture with a lake and a catfish pond. She writes her novels in a Spanish cottage which overlooks a five-acre lake, a working water mill, gazebo, and covered bridge.
Some of Ms. Taylor's most recent books include By Candlelight, Someday Soon, Lakota Dawn, and Lakota Winds (due out in paperback in May 1999). She has also made contributions to other books including The Leukemia Society Cookbook, Christmas Rendezvous, and Summer Love. In addition, readers can see her as co-host of the QVC/TV Romance Book Club Show.
Ms. Taylor's interests include collecting spoons, coins from around the world, ship models, dolls, and old books. She loves to fish, ride horses, play chess, target-shoot, travel (especially in her motorhome and out West), hunt for Indian relics, and take long walks with her husband. Reading, in particular books set before 1900 and current Biographies, Thrillers, Horror, or Fantasy novels, is also one of Ms. Taylor's favorite activities. She is also extremely active with charity work and was even featured on the cover of Diabetes Forecast in February of 1998.
She lives in the country on seventy-nine acres of woods and pasture with a lake and a catfish pond. She writes her novels in a Spanish cottage which overlooks a five-acre lake, a working water mill, gazebo, and covered bridge.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 8, 2010
This was a sumptuous (albeit laborious) read, particularly as stylistically it harks back to sweeping epics of the heyday, which I really love but miss in contemporary historical romance. It weighs heavily in historical detail of the American Civil War; I know next to nothing of it, being the ignorant Australian I am, so this was all very refreshing but of course confusing at times, and I did find myself skipping the clinical descriptions. But overall I enjoyed it a lot, and am interested in checking out Taylor's backlist now.
April 25, 2021
This worked for me.
Just not in the way I wanted it to.
You see, I don’t read a lot of bodice rippers. I only read a few for fun. Because they almost always deal with the same formula.
This one was fine. The main characters sounded nice but they just didn’t have that sense of danger and excitement like the other main characters I read about in other bodice rippers.
Most of the book felt slogged and bogged down with a lot of detail. There is a lot of background focus on the war and the main characters travel around. They make love and escape from enemies. Nothing else.
This one felt a little slow, but I am glad it’s a Civil War
book.
Just not in the way I wanted it to.
You see, I don’t read a lot of bodice rippers. I only read a few for fun. Because they almost always deal with the same formula.
This one was fine. The main characters sounded nice but they just didn’t have that sense of danger and excitement like the other main characters I read about in other bodice rippers.
Most of the book felt slogged and bogged down with a lot of detail. There is a lot of background focus on the war and the main characters travel around. They make love and escape from enemies. Nothing else.
This one felt a little slow, but I am glad it’s a Civil War
book.
September 18, 2025
I bought this book for $3 at the Ripped Bodice in L.A. $3 provided me with hours of entertainment. The beginning was a little strange (Shannon creeps into the White House to try to talk to Abraham Lincoln and meets the hero instead), but I'm so glad I stuck with the book!! Shannon and Blane travel all over the south. I wasn't really sure what they did to aid the war effort (the Union), but oh well, I enjoyed reading about them.
It was funny how angry Blane was about Hawke, Shannon's half-Indian brother, thinking Hawke was her old lover when he was really just her brother. I wish there had been an epilogue. I wanted to know their baby's gender and if they planned to live in Georgia or Texas.
I thought the hero & heroine were so well-matched. I'll definitely have to check out Janelle Taylor's backlist because this was great.
It was funny how angry Blane was about Hawke, Shannon's half-Indian brother, thinking Hawke was her old lover when he was really just her brother. I wish there had been an epilogue. I wanted to know their baby's gender and if they planned to live in Georgia or Texas.
I thought the hero & heroine were so well-matched. I'll definitely have to check out Janelle Taylor's backlist because this was great.
August 10, 2018
I love all things Civil Way/Antebellum South/Reconstruction + Romance. So, this read touched a happy place for me. But, I felt 'some-type-of-way' about the heroine's double-mindedness loving the South and her old way of life and working for the Union. What's most troubling to me is I know the author was authentic in conveying the emotion/position of many, if not most, Southern whites - at that time and continuing until now. They long for the 'good old days'. It felt disingenuous that the heroine's family was developed to be not as bad as other Southern whites. The Greenleaf family paid their black workers. Did that really ever happen in the pre-Civil War south? Lastly, there was little to no dealing with the horror/tragedy of slavery. In a novel set during the Civil War!!?? I understand this is a romance but even romance isn't that sugary-sweet. All in all, it was a decent read and I'm glad I spent time with this story.
October 17, 2011
I had this book ages ago, and it's always been one of my favorite
romances. I wish I hadn't lost the book =(
November 26, 2011
Great book! I totally recommend it.
November 2, 2014
This was the first adult romance I ever read. I won't tell you when that was, but I fell in love with romance and haven't looked back since.
June 25, 2010
This story was both unique and interesting!
January 24, 2012
Janelle is a very good writer, I was pulled in at the start.
November 17, 2021
This is another fantastic novel by author, Janelle Taylor. She does not disappoint. This novel is filled with suspense and action from the start. It takes place during the civil war. Janelle captures the emotion of what it must have been like living at that time. The war was hell, especially for the civilians who were often caught in the middle. The civilians received the brunt of the conflict from both sides, the Union and Confederate. Families are against families and Neighbors are against neighbors. No one knew whom to trust. In this novel the two main characters are caught up in the conflict. Shannon Greenbriar is a Union supporting southern lady from Georgia who is trying to get back to her home and find her brother. After her requests for a meeting and pass home go unanswered by President Lincoln, she decides to sneak into the Whitehouse. There, she is caught by Major Blane Stevens (a guard and Union Spy for the President) who doubts her story. He believes she may be a Confederate spy. She manages to trick Major Stevens and gets by his defense to see the President. Instead of meeting the President, she is introduced to one of his advisors. He makes a decision for Shannon to work with Major Stevens and the Union while he takes her "home". This is where their awesome story begins.
February 17, 2020
A good story about a young Southern woman trying to find her brother who is imprisoned. She meets a spy for the Union who takes her along with him to help her find her brother. They fall in love and are tested over and over again.
May 4, 2018
I loved it.The daring Shannon.....This book made my heart pound.....
So much love and passion......
So much love and passion......
December 15, 2020
Wonderful story
Loved the adventure, mystery, and love all in one. The tons of confussions kept so much at edge. Shows how difficult times were during war. Its a great book!!
Loved the adventure, mystery, and love all in one. The tons of confussions kept so much at edge. Shows how difficult times were during war. Its a great book!!
December 14, 2025
I actually got a kick out of this. Classic old school romance, but I had a few chuckles thrown in.
June 2, 2013
Good story but the distrust between the main characters got old after awhile. It seemed like every time they managed to get through one issue, two more were created and neither of them could trust the other. I think Shannon said it best when she retorted to Blane during an yet another argument, "If I told you I was pregnant, would you ask me who the father was? Would you have any doubt it was yours?"
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews