Intimate Enemies: A Novel

Sensuality: 7

Beautiful Scotswoman Lauren MacRae first met the Englishman Arion du Morgan as a child, when he saved her life. Years later, they meet again as adults when she repays the debt by saving his life during battle with a common enemy, the Vikings. Their families have always been fierce enemies, each claiming ownership of the Isle of Shot. As leader of Clan MacRae, Lauren risks the anger of her clan when she accepts Arion's proposal to join forces in a desperate attempt to save the island from being conquered by the Northmen. The uneasy alliance forces them into each other's company, and Lauren and Arion find themselves falling in love. There are huge obstacles, however, for Lauren is promised to another, and her sense of honor and duty to her clan and absent fiancé compel her to deny her feelings for Arion. Their sacrifices may be for naught, for someone Lauren trusts schemes to betray her, and both she and Arion may die if they don't find a way to meld the forces of Scot and English against the powerful traitor.

This is an intense novel with a heroic hero willing to give his life and all he owns for the love of one woman. What's unusual is that Shana Abé has created a heroine who matches the hero not only in honor and inner strength, but also in her power and control as leader of her clan. The setting of a wild, unsophisticated island off the coast of Scotland is vivid, the secondary characters interesting, and the villain chilling in his betrayal. Intimate Enemies is classic historical romance at its best. --Lois Faye Dyer