My Hero - Glynnis Campbell
Glynnis Campbell does a great job of making each brother in her trilogy very appealing, while very different from each other. In turn, each brother is attracted to a quite different kind of woman. You can see how clearly a given brother would appreciate but not love deeply his two sister in laws. The woman he finds is the woman who is perfect for his temperment.In Garth's case, both he and the woman he meets - the widow Cynthia - have had some but little sexual experience. I really like this in a romance novel. Probably 99% of the time you have the over-sexed guy who sleeps with every female he comes across, and the frigid ice-queen woman who has never been touched or kissed. It's nice to have a book where the woman is comfortable with touching a man and being in bed with him - and the man is in the same situation.
Also, where Duncan looked at his woman and thought "beautiful angel! I must follow her!" and Holden looked at his wildcat and thought "Fierce passion! I must have her!", Garth and Cynthia are both much more soulful. Cynthia isn't the buxom perfect-hair perfect-body model. She's a wholesome, healthy, down to earth woman who doesn't mind working on wounds, dealing with sick children, and doing what has to be done. Garth is quite unlike his two brothers. The siblings are both out proving themselves, making themselves known and seen. Garth has hidden himself away, focussing on his meditations and studies.
Interestingly, the issue here is really quite separate from the main characters or anything they have "done". It has to do with Cynthia's dead husband. He, naturally, left her his wealth - and a jealous bishop felt it was supposed to go to him. That bishop is now masterminding a scheme to get rid of her. Part of his plan is to put a quiet, non-intrusive priest into her household.
Unfortunately, he chooses Garth - and Garth and Cynthia are immediately drawn to each other. They had met briefly as children, and now they are both fully grown up. In the intermediate time, both had slept with other people. Cynthia had been married to a much older man, who she cared for but never was passionate with. Garth had been dallying with a over-sexed woman who wanted 12 orgasms a day. The lusty lady was dismissive of him when he couldn't keep up, and he retreated into a monastery, feeling he was less than a man.
Much of the storyline is about Garth and Cynthia fighting their attraction as improper, and how the bishop slowly, steadily draws his net around Cynthia. It's only at the very end that everything starts to come together, the other family members come in, and the rousing finale is extremely satisfying. You really get to see how each character's personality shines and how the couples fit together properly.
I liked this couple very much. I like how they are not obsessed about physical beauty, but care about the innate traits within a person. I like how they are comfortable with the human body. The story is about their personalities connecting, not just about virgin lust. As much as I love Holden and Cambria, in many ways I found this tale the most satisfying.
Probably my only complaint here is that Holden grew up with wildly oversexed brothers who talked endlessly about their conquests. He was a soldier for several years. The chance of him having only one, single lover - and not knowing that her desire for 12 orgasms a day was unusual - is slim to none. So the whole basis of his self-isolation is very suspect and reduces, in my mind, his level of wisdom and intelligence. I wish it had been something a little more believable that had sent him into that isolation.
Still, if we're going to complain about unbelievable beginning plot twists to set up a story, then pretty much any novel is going to get poked at. Once you get past that issue, the story is very enjoyable and, as I mentioned, the ending is extremely satisfying.
Well done! Just make sure you read the other two books first, so that you get the full background and history. It all makes sense, then, why the characters are the way they are.
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