DANGER IS SWEET

Author: Cornelia Amiri ISBN: 1587493969 8/2004 HISTORICAL/PARANORMAL Publisher: Awe-Struck E-Books

From ancient druid lore, springs the tale of a mysterious, dark warrior, a fiery Pict Princess, and the shadowy secret standing between them. Bethoc, a Pict Princess, looses her father and her betrothed in the massacre of McAlpin's treason. After a failed attempt to slay the Scot King, Kenneth McAlpin, she is forced to wed the king's cousin, Malcolm. Malcolm must somehow forge a strong enough friendship with the Pict princess to get her to help him guard the Scot's greatest treasure, the Stone of Destiny, as they carry it to Scone. For Kenneth means to be crowned in Scone on the jewel of destiny. Both Malcolm and Bethoc's friendship soon turns to love. But just when their relationship develops to the point where Bethoc declares her love for Malcolm, he reveals an unbelievable, dark secret.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

In DANGER IS SWEET, Cornelia Amiri takes you back to ancient time, amid the turbulent power plays for the crown between the Picts, Scots and Vikings. Kenneth MacAlpin is one of those men, and in his quest to secure the crown of a united Alba, he calls upon the services of his trusted cousin, Malcolm.

However, things do not go as smoothly as planned. After the death of the remaining seven earls of Caledonia during a feast thrown by MacAlpin, which leaves his way clear to the throne, an assassin attempts to slay him. But Malcolm spies his cousin's would-be killer before an arrow is loosed, and discovers upon capture the assassin is a woman.

Bethoc, a Pict Princess, has come seeking revenge, having lost both her betrothed and father during "MacAlpin's treason." If caught, she knows her sentence is death. But with nothing to lose, she could care less. When Malcolm intervenes to save her life, MacAlpin decides the best way to protect himself from this determined lass is to handfast the feisty maiden to Malcolm. While neither Bethoc nor Malcolm wishes to be saddled with the other – each for different reasons – their relationship soon becomes more than just prisoner and captor, for the two must unite to protect the magical Stone of Destiny on it's dangerous journey to Kenneth's crowning in Scone. And as Malcolm unwillingly falls in love with Bethoc, he must also fight a battle from within: Whether to reveal himself to his beloved, or leave her and return to the place he rightly belongs.

Cornelia Amiri has done a fine job of interweaving the paranormal and mythical into this action-filled romance. Rich in historical detail and descriptive battle scenes, Amiri impressively captures the tone of 843 AD Scotland (or what we might imagine it to be). The main characters are well-drawn; however, the more the relationship grew between Malcolm and Bethoc, the more I felt a lack of real sexual tension between the two. The sparks were there, but just never seemed to blaze for me. The storyline, however, kept me interested, and DANGER IS SWEET proved to be a quick, easy and enjoyable read with a somewhat different ending.

If you like your historical romances touched with the paranormal and filled with plenty of action, then you are sure to enjoy DANGER IS SWEET.

Nancy Davis