GYPSY LOVER

Author: Connie Mason ISBN: 0843954620 5/2005 HISTORICAL Publisher: DORCHESTER
Time Period: 1813

"You are nothing but a gypsy!" So the haughty Lord Lonsdale accused Dante at the reading of his grandfather's will. To the astonishment of the ton, the late marquis had disinherited the petulant lord, leaving his vast estate to a darkly handsome Romany horse trader. Acres of land, fabulous wealth, rich manor houses—all these were his for the taking, provided Dante would also take the bride his grandfather had specified. "You stole a kiss from me the first time we met." So claimed lovely Lady Esme Harcourt. The arrogant gypsy had swept her into his arms at a country fair, awakening both her desire and her disdain. Though her hand might be promised to the new Marquis of Alston, she swore never to wed a man whose birth put him so far beneath her. But no matter how she protested against Dante as her husband, her heart had already accepted the free-spirited Rom as her wild… GYPSY LOVER

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I have read many Connie Mason books and always find that her books are superb. GYPSY LOVER is a passionate tale of love and deceit, with a very nice twist that I never saw coming at the end.

Dante (and with a perfect name like that, how can he not be wonderful?) is our hero in GYPSY LOVER, and a very worthy hero, indeed. He is dark, secretive, and alluring. Lady Esme literally fights her feelings for him every step of the way. When she finally figures out how she feels about him, she does a very nice little about face, only to be rewarded with Dante's distrust of her—and who could blame him? It is exciting watching these strong-willed characters overcome their prejudices to be with one another.

GYPSY LOVER has a nice smooth plot, fascinating characters, and kept me guessing the entire book as to who its villain is. When I finally figured it out, it was only a page or two before Esme herself found out, and I was pleasantly surprised. Worthy of an honorable mention as well, are Ms. Mason's trademark love scenes. Dante and Esme have a smoldering love affair that literally took my breath away. While they are explicit, the love scenes were nothing that I haven't come to expect from a Connie Mason book. I don’t think that GYPSY LOVER would have been the same without them.

I was mildly disappointed with GYPSY LOVER on one count. I hated the way that Esme treated Dante in the beginning of the book. I think that what I disliked most was the fact that Dante—being the strong, alpha male that he is—allows her to treat him like something that she has stepped on, without so much as a blink, and even starts to fall in love with her after only a handful of conversations in which she is degrading him most of the time. There does come a point where Dante says enough is enough, but I felt like it was a little later in the book than it could have been.

Despite my one concern, GYPSY LOVER is a wonderful story that kept me glued to its pages and will delight Connie Mason fans everywhere.

Kristal Gorman