Lair of the Lion by Christine Feehan

Lair of the Lion by Christine Feehan


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lair of the Lion is the first historical I've read by Christine Feehan. It's hard to believe I read my first Feehan book last January. Since then, I've glommed her backlist. She's one of my favorite authors now. This isn't one of my favorites, but it was a good, enjoyable book. I think my problem is, I really don't care for gothic romance, in general. I think too much time is built on going into the mystery and the dark forces out to get the heroine. I like my romance to focus on the attraction and the unfolding relationship between the hero and the heroine. If the story can do that and have some tension and suspense at the same time, I'm all for it. I think Anne Stuart does this better than any other author, so I usually love her gothic romances. But I digress.

There were elements to this story I really enjoyed. I liked that Ms. Feehan wrote a historical that was set in Italy, not the usual UK setting. I liked that her characters were Italian and had the aspects of this culture. I think she did a great job of establishing the scene: the ever-present air of menace, a remote occasion, a heroine who doesn't know who she can truly trust because danger is all around her. I also liked the medieval setting.

As usual, I love her heroes and heroines. In this story, Isabella really shines. What a strong heroine she is. She was brave enough to go to the beast's lair to get help for her brother from their enemy. Several times, she put herself in danger to protect others, her selfless love for Nicolai. But she also showed a lot of pluck, telling this big, scary guy off with no qualms, when he deserved a good tongue-lashing. Nicolai was as scrumptious as most of Feehan's heroes. Tortured to boot. I almost felt like he could have been in this book more, because he was usually hiding in the shadows or dealing with threats. But when he was in the book, and interacting with Isabella, it was great. Oh, yes. And the passion. Check. That's always there in a Christine Feehan book. Well-done in that regard. And the secondary characters were well-drawn and added significantly to the story. Ms. Feehan kept me guessing who was behind the sabotage that was occuring. I didn't guess the right people, and that's always nice when it happens.

So, I won't go on and on about this book. I don't have that much to say. It was an interesting premise, with the curse that destroyed generation after generation of marriages and wives, because of a terrible event in the past. That dark legacy hanging over the people in Don De Marco's holding. Isabella being the key to their salvation. I didn't quite get all the nuances of Nicolai's condition, but it was interesting, nonetheless. And I love cats, so it was very nice to see all the lions and how dangerous they were. Very unique spin on the Beauty and the Beast story, without trashing the essential elements of this tale. Not my favorite by Ms. Feehan, but a very good book. I'll keep this one and add it to the collection.

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