Carroll, Susan. The Dark Queen: A Novel.CARROLL, Susan. The dark queen, a novel. Random House, Ballantine. 533p. c2005. 0-345-43796-9. $13.95. SA Combining historical romance Historical romance is a subgenre of the romance novel literary genre. Definition Historical romance is set before World War I.[1] Many historical romances include contemporary attitudes, as, for example, the heroines often have far more education than was the and feminist magic, Carroll conjures a juicy story of love and betrayal. The prime mover prime mover: see energy, sources of. Prime mover The component of a power plant that transforms energy from the thermal or the pressure form to the mechanical form. is France's Catherine de Medici Medici, Italian family Medici (mĕ`dĭchē, Ital. mā`dēchē), Italian family that directed the destinies of Florence from the 15th cent. until 1737. , a power-hungry queen. Worried that the Huguenots will overcome her reign and that of her son, Catherine uses dark magic to kill her enemies. Ariane Cheney, a wise healer healer Mainstream medicine A romantic synonym for physician. See Traditional healing. who lives in a small corner of Brittany, is caught in the intrigue. The fact that Ariane's mother was a friend of Catherine, and betrayed by her, does not escape Ariane's attention. She sees her main job to be protecting her homeland, Faire Isle, and her two younger sisters. Complicating the situation, Ariane is fighting off the advances of Renard, a feisty nobleman of the region. Ariane helped Renard when he was lost in the woods, and he feels that she is his destiny, a prophecy that his grandmother relayed to him. To get him off her property, Ariane agrees to accept Renard's token ring A local area network (LAN) access method developed by IBM. Conforming to the IEEE 802.5 standard, Token Ring uses a token ring access method and connects up to 255 nodes in a star topology at 4, 16 or 100 Mbps. , which she can use to call upon his help. Little do all these characters realize the extent that their lives will interweave--and change destiny. This fast-paced plot with its well-developed characters is sure to capture the reader's attention. Although Carroll clearly asserts that her story has historical connections but is a fantasy at heart, readers will enjoy the historical context as they eagerly turn the pages to the next set of events and romance. And, even though bloodshed and sex are part of the tale, the author handles both aspects discreetly enough to keep teenage readers, especially girls, enthralled en·thrall tr.v. en·thralled, en·thrall·ing, en·thralls 1. To hold spellbound; captivate: The magic show enthralled the audience. 2. To enslave. without guilt or discomfort. Dr. Lesley Farmer, Lib. Svcs., CSULB CSULB California State University at Long Beach , Long Beach, CA S--Recommended for senior high school students. A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries. |
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