Thursday Thoughts - 7 - Book Review - Enemy Enchantress by Amy Ruttan

This is my third book review for an Amy Ruttan latest release. As I just celebrated my second blogiversary on Feb. 5th, this means Amy is smokin' hot when it comes to delivering new goodies to savour.

I know. She is amazing.


1 - You can check out all her reviews in My Book Reviews archive.

2 - Enemy Enchantress is the first book in Amy's three-book Enchantress series. In Enemy Enchantress, the heroine is a Anglo-Saxon Age Sidhe, born with one foot in the earthly realm and one in the realm of the fairy folk of yore. Not the tiny fairies we think of today, but a lordly race of otherworldly beings. She knows her kind is losing ground to the new cult of Christianity, and must take care to remain one step ahead of those who would see her burn for witchcraft. Especially when she's turned over to her enemies, the Saxons as a bride for one of their own.

3 - Part of Eternal Press's Fantasy Romance category, Enemy Enchantress gives us a Saxon hero with Norse blood who fights for his king and marries to secure peace with the same unshakable sense of duty. The heroine foresees a Saxon husband in her future, but the hero's tall Viking stature clouds her faith that she's foreseen the truth after all. Could her powers be waning under the force of the Saxon God?

4 - Enemy Enchantress is a 200-page novel. As a fan of the 300- to 400-page-length novel personally, a quick read like this just makes me want twice as much. Amy, why do you tease me so...? We won't even get into the 50-page Masque of Desire. That's cruel and unusual punishment...

5 - We meet Lord Edwin, loyal fighter for King Alfred in Anglo-Saxon Britain. The Treaty of Wedmore forces Edwin to bow to his king's command. He must take a Mercian bride to foster peace between their people. As he braces himself to couple with whomever he finds chosen for him, Edwin discovers a brilliant, ethereal warrior woman in the woods. He is instantly enchanted by her in every way.

6 - Aislinn draws a sacred circle in the forest and prepares to cast a spell, a prayer to guide her. She has been promised in marriage by her father to a Saxon lord. Her private meditations are disturbed by a mesmerizing, dark warrior with icy blue eyes and an unsettling way of looking at her. Why must he fire her blood so? Now that she's laid eyes on him, why must she submit to a man who was an enemy only a heartbeat ago?

7 - Amy gets a Three heat index from Eternal Press: "Frequent, explicit love scenes described using graphic and direct language." The love scenes are always perfectly intertwined with the storyline. She's a master at keeping character development front and center during every scorchy scene.

8 - Amy pulls us into Mercia and Wessex with absolute authority. I haven't felt this at home in one of my favorite time periods since I first opened the pages of Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave. Thank you, Amy. *mhua* *mhua* Thank you.

9 - Yes, this book has lots of steamy scenes. But it also has sword fights - yes! - witchcraft - *chewing nails nervously* - ancient healing arts - *sitting on the edge of my seat* - political maneuvering between noble houses - *wiping sweat from my brow* - brave individuals entering marriage as a peace offering - *heart breaking for their courage and loyalty* - and main characters in real jeopardy *thud*. All I can say is...thank God there are four more books in this series.

10 - Amy really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

"Edwin’s voice was cold, his eyes dark and full of fire as he glared dangerously at Lord Cedric. 'Lord Cedric, I appreciate your hospitality, and I know you are a well respected thane and my friend, but kindly remove your hands from my wife.'

Lord Cedric stared at Edwin, his eyes narrowed as if weighing the options. It seemed like an eternity to Aislinn before he released his grip on her arms.

Lord Cedric began to chuckle uneasily. 'Come now, Edwin. Surely it does not matter which Mercian bride you get? I do not mind that you have bedded her and just think, you can have another virgin.'

'I am not some chattel to be traded, Lord Cedric,' Aislinn said hotly, finding her voice and her courage again. 'I am married to Lord Edwin and your religion states that a man and wife shall remain married forever, until death do they part.'

'Come now, my lady,' Cedric laughed coldly. 'You are a heathen. What do you know of religion? Besides can you honestly say you love Lord Edwin?'

No, she could not say that. She didn’t know yet if she loved Edwin. She wanted him, she desired him. He was a respectful man, a great warrior, but did she love him? She didn’t know, and could not answer that. Fortunately Lord Cedric saved her from answering. He took her hand and held it to his chest. She could feel his heart beating.

'I will keep you safe and in luxury all your days. I will honor you always.'

'Lord Cedric, I am married to Lord Edwin.' Walking away from them, she headed towards the stairwell, hoping that she would be able to find a serf who could direct her to where Edwin and she were staying for the night. She did not look at Edwin as she left. She didn’t want to see his face because she couldn’t express how she felt and she did not want to hear Edwin say that he did not love her either. Even though it was too soon, she knew it would hurt too much if she heard Edwin say it."

11 - Amy's upcoming Enchantress releases:

Sorceress From the Sea, Book 2

Edwin's brother Alfwyn rescues a woman from the sea, only to embark on a passionate adventure with Scottish witch Morag, fighting to escape a demonic warlord and to protect her new love.

Healer of the Heart, Book 3

Bridgit of Mercia, a healer, rises above her father's calculated arranged marriage for her to haunted widower Lord Cedric. But can she protect herself from her father's wicked plan to sell her into a second marriage? Or convince Lord Cedric that her betrayal is not of her own doing?

12 - Amy also writes for Cerridwen Press and Ellora's Cave.

13 - I leave you with an excerpt from Enchantress: The Fey. Enjoy!

"Aislinn's hand curled under the pillow and her hair spread around her head like a halo. He walked to the side of the bed and brushed back her silken strand, tucking it back behind her ear.

By Loki, her ear is pointed. He took a step back when he saw that pointed tip through the red curls.

Aislinn stirred and then opened her eyes. She sat up and covered her ears with her hair. She looked panicked, frightened.

'What did you see?'

'Why are your ears pointed?'

Her face fell. '’Tis nothing, my lord.' She waved the question off.

He sat down on the bed beside her, taking a delicate hand in his. 'It is not nothing, Aislinn. Are you fey?'

She nodded. 'I am Sidhe, an enchantress of the Sidhe. One of the last in this world.'

'So that is why the abbot at the monastery said you were a blasphemy.'

Her gray eyes flew open in shock. 'You heard that?'

'Aye, and I am to say that this,' he again pushed back her hair to reveal her fey ear, 'is the reason he called you an abomination. Being Sidhe is nothing to me. I was worried he found a devil mark or something.'

Leaning forward, she smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. 'I do have a devil mark you know.'

Cocking an eyebrow, he chuckled huskily. 'You do, do you? Well then perhaps I should try to find it.'

'Oh please, my lord. That could prove to be quite exhilarating.'

Brushing her cheek with his knuckles, he gave her a kiss. 'Good. I look forward to finding this devil’s mark on your person. Now, where can it be? Is it here?' He began to tug at the laces of her nightgown, pushing it down her shoulders.

A soft sigh escaped her lips. This would be the first time he would get to really see her naked. Swallowing, he took a steadying breath. He was going to enjoy this. They had not been together since their wedding night, when she had mounted him. How different this would be. He was going to take his time with her and leisurely make love to Aislinn in a comfortable bed.

She tried to pull the gown back up her shoulders, but he took it in hand, pulling it off over her head.

'Lean back, I need to find this mark.' She smiled at him and laid back against the pillows, naked save for the sheet that covered her from the waist down. Well, he would change that momentarily. He peeled off his tunic. She reached out and ran her fingers down his chest, her touch firing his blood. Her fingers traced over the pale puckered battle scar on the right side of his body.

Sucking in a deep breath, she sat up and pushed him down, straddling him against the mattress. The light from the fire licked her body like a lover. Like he wanted to. He ran his hands down the curve of her back to her hips.

She leaned over him, her hair brushing his skin. She kissed him and bit his lip playfully. 'Do you see the mark yet?'

'Well, I cannot tell with you holding me down.' He quickly sat up, grabbing her wrists and pinned her to the mattress. 'That’s much better. Where should I start to look for the mark, my lady?'

She grinned and shrugged. 'Usually the mark is hidden someplace where people do not usually see it.'

He began to kiss his way down her body, brushing his lips against her hot skin. He could hear her sighs of pleasure, feel her body tensing under him. 'No, no mark there.' He let go of her wrists and slid further down. 'None here either.'

'Sweet Freya,' she cried out. She looked at him, her gray eyes glowing and glazed in passion.

He couldn’t remember anyone else he had been with. All he could remember, all he could think of was her. Past dalliances were a blur of meaningless couplings to satisfy an urge. This was something more, something deeper that was beginning to grow and unfurl.

She reached out to him. 'Any mark there?'

He smiled. 'I did not look.'

Leaning over, she kissed him. 'Well, you’re just going to have to check again.'

- Amy Ruttan, 2009

Join me next week when I review Susan Helene Gottfried's Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes - Year 1.

Thursday Thoughts - 6 - My Internet Footprints

Just as a person's bookshelf will tell a lot about a person, the sites frequented by a person as she surfs the net is also a good snapshot into her inner life. If you look closely, you can find my internet footprints in the February snow.

1 - Art Renewal Center

This is where I find many of the art pieces which appear on my Sidebar Art Gallery - but not all.














2 - Ballet.co

This site salvaged my sanity when my husband and I first moved to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia from Toronto, Ontario ten years ago. I could read reviews of current ballet productions from companies all over the world. And it has a sizeable article archive, too.















3 - Convicts to Australia

This site is one example of web research I love to do for my various works in progress.











4 - Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com

I refer to both of these sites more times than you might suspect...







5 - Empire Theatres

A great site to find out what's on the screens, where and at what times they're playing.












6 - Facebook

This is my Facebook page. Just love Facebook. It keeps me in regular contact with so many of my friends and family members who aren't in hugging distance. Come and find me! I'm listed as Julia Smith.















7 - Internet Movie Database

What would I do without this site? I shudder to think. Although I have a somewhat photographic memory when it comes to remembering actors and where I saw them last, I rely on IMDB constantly when I want to check out an actor, director, etc. and what else they've done.

My favorite part of IMDB is the User Comments section attached to each film. Just love reading other viewers' reactions to films.













8 - Life Paths Animal Totems and Earth Medicine

This isn't the only animal totem site I go to, but it certainly is a comprehensive resource, as long as your totem is covered by this site. Otherwise, I simply Google search the animal in question and go where the results take me.












9 - The National Ballet of Canada

This one's a no-brainer...













10 - Poetry Forms and Terminology

A site I go to when I feel a poem coming on, and need to find a form to give it structure.












11 - The Quote Garden

I love including quotes in my cards to people. This is where I find many of them.












12 - Richard Armitage Online

My favorite fangirl site. I hit GB.net pretty regularly, too.














13 - YouTube

I'm listening to my YouTube playlist right now. Take My Hand, Precious Lord by Elvis, actually.

Thursday Thoughts - 3 - Life as I Love to Live It

1 - The writers' retreat organized by my local chapter of Romance Writers of America is a huge highlight of my year.















2 - A visit to my friend Donna's in Toronto. What could be more lovely? I used to be her daughter's live-in nanny, and now her daughter is 23. Time flies, doesn't it? But it always feels good to sit and catch up, enjoy coffee together and eat her homemade cookies with edible gold.












3 - One of best things when we lived in Toronto was the availabilty of cult movies. On a recent trip to The Big City my husband made sure he stocked up on the essentials.


















4 - Hanging out on Queen Street West is also a must when we're in Toronto. Especially because my good friend Chris manages Bakka-Phoenix Books at Queen and Spadina. The city was tearing up the intersection during that visit.














5 - Is there any place I'd rather be than in the lobby of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, a glass of champagne in my hand, my dear friend Jacquie by my side and a performance of the Sleeping Beauty ballet just moments away...?

Not really, no.














6 - Well...there's always meeting friends at a funky coffee shop and whiling away an hour or two over cafe au laits and delectable yummies. That's good, too.













7 - It's always exciting to discover the creative things my friends get up to. Like these fun tea cozies my friend Pam knitted, as well as little hats that looked like pumpkins and strawberries.














8 - Since I haven't been invited to the Oscars yet, last year's evening on the town at Haliwood - a Halifax Oscar-themed fundraiser - felt like the next best thing.


















9 - My gram's funeral was held this summer in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. This was a beautiful angel candelabra behind the altar. It was a perfect service officiated by a handsome young priest of whom my gram would have heartily approved. A clear, blue-sky day, surrounded by family and uplifted by love - no one could ask for a better farewell.














10 - My dog Xena is a light in my life that can't really be explained. I just love her.















11 - Last year was a particularly sad year for saying final goodbyes - but it was also an odd dream-come-true year where so many things on my wish list came to me. I'm a life-long horse lover without a horse. But I had a serious Barbie horse with a horse trailer and realistic tack, and I had pretend horses I rode whenever we went for a family walk in a park or in the woods. I even groomed these pretend horses in their pretend stable in the backyard.

I've always wanted to go to Vienna to see the Lippizan stallions at the Spanish Riding School. And what do you know - the Lippizans came to me, here in Halifax!
















12 - Another thing I've always longed to do was see the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride. Once again, who showed up right here in my fair city? You guessed it!

I've always had a thing for war horses and cavalry, and both the Lippizans and the RCMP Musical Ride are basically cavalry maneuvers.



The RCMP unit even did a charge at the end. A total thrill! In this next clip (which has no audio) the Charge comes at the 1:15 mark.
















13 - I took this shot of a sunset at Lawrencetown Beach in very chilly November, a year ago. This is a beach on the Atlantic Ocean, 20 minutes' drive from my house. I played here as a child, and I head out there as an adult because it's one of my favorite places on earth. Ten minutes of walking this beach, and I promise you - all is right with the world.