A Crystal Heart

by Katherine Deauxville

Book Overview

Wed by arrangement, Emmeline desperately needed to provide her aged husband with an heir. Niall fitzJulien had been a wild knight when he entered the ladys bedchamber. Ten years later, King Henry II... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821749285
• ISBN13: 9780821749289
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Zebra Books
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 7.1" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

dark, sensual, riveting, period historical fiction

One of the most respected authors in the romance field for two decades, best-selling author Maggie Davis a.k.a. Maggie Daniels a.k.a. Katherine Deauxville has delivered gems, from mysteries to adventures to alien romances, and everything in-between. Possibly, that wide of variety saw it hard for publishers to brand her. However, readers knew of the talented author. I first learned of this marvelous writer when a friend would buy her - whatever the name - on auto-buy. She asked me if I had ever read Davis and I admitted I had not. The woman looked at me like "poor thing". I went out and bought about four or five Deauxville novels. This was my first. The first of many! I am so thrilled to get this is a new collectors edition for my keeper shelf because my copy is really dog-earred! Originally published a decade ago by Kensington Books, it was marketed as Historical Romance. Well, it does have romance - boy does it! But by today's standards this novel is actually Historical Fiction. Maggie Davis is one of the strongest period writers, delivering a richly researched novel that carries the reader back into a rougher time for women, when they were forced to do whatever it took to survive. Beautiful Emmeline is married to a very old man, a product of the period when a woman didn't have many choices in life. Fortunately, the man is well positioned, the head of the Guild. Only, she needs that all-important heir to cement her hold on her life. With a husband that clearly cannot do the deed, she is forced to send a servant out to pay a man to give her what she needs most: a son. She envisioned a quick coming together that would result in a child. Instead, she gets a night of passion and love that touches her soul, her heart. Even so, she knows this newfound love can never be, and steals away in the dawn before the knight can awaken. Niall fitzJulian, the new lord of Castle Morlaix, has been haunted for a decade by the flame-haired beauty who touched his heart, then disappeared. He hunted for her. Wanted to find her. Now, he is a cold man, keeping that heart behind shutters of iron. Only, life comes full circle, and as he is taking the oath from his serfs and villiens, he sees the very woman he has so long desired. Emmaline, now widowed, hopes this fierce warrior has forgotten her as she kneels before him to give homage. She soon learns she's not so lucky and now must pay the piper. A strong novel, a riveting novel, one which burned into my mind, and made me want to write, is now in this special collectors editions for the many fans who kept asking for copies.

so much detail and emotion!

THis was a fabulous read. I really felt for the characters, their pains, their emotions and the sacrifices they each made in finding each other.The historical details especially is what I miss so much in the current historical romances. This is so rich. When I want to read a historical - I want HISTORY to actually be there.So thrilling.

Great historical detail, but....

This relatively short paperback (317 pages) took me a long time to read, because it was so packed with historical details, which I savored. This was the first work I read of this author, and since I really enjoyed her humor and descriptive ability, I definitely plan to read more by Deauxville. She certainly researched this period, and wove in the details quite well. However, I found it difficult to relate to the main characters, Emmeline and fitzJulien. I disliked both of them, which is the reason for 4 stars instead of 5. I wanted to tell them both to grow up and get over themselves. They seemed distant to one another, until the end. If we could give 1/2 stars I would give this book 4 1/2.