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Ransom My
Heart
by
Princess of Genovia Mia Thermopolis
with help from Meg Cabot
Publisher: Avon A (January 2009)
When Mellana needs money for her dowry so that she can marry Jack
Mallory, a troubadour with a rebec but little money, she turns to her
youngest sister with a plan. After all, Finnula is a skilled archer, a
woman who wears leather braies and goes about the countryside tapping
deer and foxes. With Finnula's huntress skills in mind, Mellana sways
her sister to capture the richest man and ransom him to pay for her
dowry. Finnula herself is not intent on marriage for herself, having
been married for a day and then accused of her husband's murder but how
can she not help her sister, especially knowing their brother Robert is
likely to kill Jack if he discovers Mellana's condition before a
marriage can be arranged. Hugo Fitzstephen, accompanied by his squire
Peter, returns battle weary from the Crusades. With the strange death
of his father, the Earl of Stephensgate, he can now enjoy his new
title. He catches a glimpse of a modest naked bathing beauty but when
he confronts her, she slaps him in the face. To his later surprise, he
finds himself captured by this maiden! Despite Finnula's odd ways, Hugo
can't help but feel a growing attraction for her. Can he tame the one
woman not intent on marriage? As Finnula's ransom plan unravels, can
their love survive? Can Hugo survive period?
In her debut medieval romance, Mia Thermopolis, the Princess of
Genovia, straight from the fame of THE
PRINCESS DIARIES, has achieved her secret dream of becoming a
published author. With the chronicle help of Meg Cabot, Princess Mia's
romance is finally here for both PRINCESS
DIARY and romance readers! RANSOM
MY HEART has all the classic components historical romance
lovers cherish --- and then some. Some characters and events are
wonderfully reminiscent of details of Mia's own life while others add a
new twist to Mia's imagination and romance itself. Romance readers will
enjoy this tongue-in-cheek romance both for its close attention to the
genre and period as well as for the humorous, exaggerated look into the
genre's most classic scenes.
Finnula is a delightful heroine from her obsession with her leather
braies to her determination to preserve her independence, from her care
for the peasants and her poaching skills to her ability to love her
sister despite Mellana's quirks. Despite her oddities and miller
father, she is a princess at heart, a woman whose innocence and natural
empathy for others ennobles all around her. Her captive Hugo
Fitzstephen is one of a kind ---- the one man who can inspire and
challenge Finnula. He is the one man who sees the woman in her. As
romance draws Finnula and Hugo closer and closer together, unexpected
dangers pull them apart. Light fairy tale suspense abounds as plots
against the two emerge and their pasts come back to haunt them. Only
together can Finnula and Hugo save each other and the Stephansgate from
the cast of evil villains and their devious plans. One new plot wrinkle
after another leads the reader down an exciting path until the author
reveals the last shocking clue.
Hugo's practicality and common sense provides the reader with a
hilarious running commentary on the world of medieval romance. Having
been away from the estate for 10 years, this medieval man finds his
world upturned, a world where women hunt ribbons and men. Part classic
medieval romance hero and part outsider to this strange new world, Hugo
leads the reader on a journey of laughter from start to finish as he
both conforms to and unveils the romance tradition. Hugo is both very
medieval and modern in his vision of the new romance world around him.
Even in the midst of the gentle satire, by the end of romance, the
reader cannot help but be moved by these delightful characters and
their romance. RANSOM MY HEART
incorporates classic scenarios of the traditional medieval romance from
the classic captive/captor theme to the issues of marriage and land
inheritance. Combining historical detail authenticity with humorous
look into the medieval romance genre conventions, RANSOM MY HEART provides one
insider's laugh after another. Above all, RANSOM MY HEART is just a great
story full or romance, adventure and characters whose antics, values
and personalities will steal your heart and make you laugh. However,
for romance readers in particular, RANSOM
MY HEART will make you fall in love with the genre all over
again. Meg Cabot's RANSOM MY HEART
is a romance that will make you smile at the characters, the genre and
mostly at yourself.
Book description
England 1291:
He's a tall,
handsome knight with a secret. She's an adventurous
beauty with more than a few secrets of her own. Finnula needs money for
her sister's dowry, and fast. Hugo Fitzstephen, returning home to
England from the Crusades with saddlebags of jewels, has money, and
lots of it. What could be simpler than to kidnap him and hold him for
ransom?
Well, for
starters, Finnula could make the terrible mistake of falling in
love with her hostage.
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