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Besieged Heart
BESIEGED HEART
If the castle falls to the siege of vicious Baron Ewloe, so will Princess Mara. All that stands in the way is her most trusted adviser and wizard--a man who never shows his face. He offers to meet the baron in ritual combat, but she cannot send him to certain death.
Rayne was trained as both knight and wizard; he can defeat the baron if the princess will make him her champion. Instead, she means to sacrifice herself to save her people. If she must surrender to someone, Rayne vows it will be to him--and transports her to the future to achieve it. But will she forgive him afterward?
If the castle falls to the siege of vicious Baron Ewloe, so will Princess Mara. All that stands in the way is her most trusted adviser and wizard--a man who never shows his face. He offers to meet the baron in ritual combat, but she cannot send him to certain death.
Rayne was trained as both knight and wizard; he can defeat the baron if the princess will make him her champion. Instead, she means to sacrifice herself to save her people. If she must surrender to someone, Rayne vows it will be to him--and transports her to the future to achieve it. But will she forgive him afterward?
65 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2013
16 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Blake
172 books543 followersA pseudonym used by Patricia Maxwell.
Jennifer Blake has been called a “pioneer of the romance genre”, and an “icon of the romance industry.” A New York Times and international best selling author since 1977, she is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, member of the RWA Hall of Fame, and recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Rita. She holds numerous other honors, including two “Maggies”, two Holt Medallions, multiple Reviewer’s Choice Awards, the Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times BookReviews Magazine, and the Frank Waters Award for literary excellence. She has written over 60 books with translations in 20 languages and more than 30 million copies in print worldwide.
Jennifer and her husband reside in a lakeside Caribbean-style retreat in North Louisiana where they often entertain family and friends. Always a gardener, she spends much of her time encouraging her garden to bloom with her favorite daylilies and antique roses. She also enjoys walking her two dogs, Buffy and Lucky, and indulging in needlework, painting, and travel.
Jennifer Blake has been called a “pioneer of the romance genre”, and an “icon of the romance industry.” A New York Times and international best selling author since 1977, she is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, member of the RWA Hall of Fame, and recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Rita. She holds numerous other honors, including two “Maggies”, two Holt Medallions, multiple Reviewer’s Choice Awards, the Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times BookReviews Magazine, and the Frank Waters Award for literary excellence. She has written over 60 books with translations in 20 languages and more than 30 million copies in print worldwide.
Jennifer and her husband reside in a lakeside Caribbean-style retreat in North Louisiana where they often entertain family and friends. Always a gardener, she spends much of her time encouraging her garden to bloom with her favorite daylilies and antique roses. She also enjoys walking her two dogs, Buffy and Lucky, and indulging in needlework, painting, and travel.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 29, 2015
Very short
Did not care much for the time travel.
Did not care much for the time travel.
August 14, 2016
Princess Mara stands on the battlements and watches the army that has her city under siege. Her magic adviser tells her the Baron wants her and that her only chance is to appoint a champion. But whom?
*shelve for a moment the idea that he would bother to agree to single combat when he’s already beaten them to a pulp*
The wizard says he’ll do it. Against her will if necessary and *whisks* her off to eight hundred years in the future… wait… what?
Now she’s alone in the forest and is found by a large lumberjack type who takes her back to his cabin.
This guy says his name is Rayne and he’s thoroughly modern. She freaks out at planes, doesn’t know what a gun or a sealed road is, and so on. She’s got culture shock. Stress and fear over her people have her pretty worried. He has frozen time. He tells us this but she doesn’t know because for the moment, she doesn’t realise that it’s him.
Blinks.
What?
I’ve read a few Blake novels lately and they are a bit of fun. But this one is in the huh box. It’s too short to develop any of the good ideas.
If this guy is so magically powerful couldn’t he have just moved the baron’s army a district away? He says he can’t kill them. But if he can move one person 800 years, then can he move 800 people one year, or ten miles… you know?
Oddly she comes back and after telling us how princessy she is, she isn’t. Okay that sentence confused me. She comes back and goes to her room. Leaving him to organise everything. She’s supposed to be a leader and an inspiration. Do not hand it all over to him.
If that’s the lesson she learnt cooking for him, I don’t think it was a good one.
2 stars
*shelve for a moment the idea that he would bother to agree to single combat when he’s already beaten them to a pulp*
The wizard says he’ll do it. Against her will if necessary and *whisks* her off to eight hundred years in the future… wait… what?
Now she’s alone in the forest and is found by a large lumberjack type who takes her back to his cabin.
This guy says his name is Rayne and he’s thoroughly modern. She freaks out at planes, doesn’t know what a gun or a sealed road is, and so on. She’s got culture shock. Stress and fear over her people have her pretty worried. He has frozen time. He tells us this but she doesn’t know because for the moment, she doesn’t realise that it’s him.
Blinks.
What?
I’ve read a few Blake novels lately and they are a bit of fun. But this one is in the huh box. It’s too short to develop any of the good ideas.
If this guy is so magically powerful couldn’t he have just moved the baron’s army a district away? He says he can’t kill them. But if he can move one person 800 years, then can he move 800 people one year, or ten miles… you know?
Oddly she comes back and after telling us how princessy she is, she isn’t. Okay that sentence confused me. She comes back and goes to her room. Leaving him to organise everything. She’s supposed to be a leader and an inspiration. Do not hand it all over to him.
If that’s the lesson she learnt cooking for him, I don’t think it was a good one.
2 stars
November 3, 2013
Besieged Heart by Jennifer Blake is a short story/novella originally published in 1994. This book has now been reissued in digital format by Steel Magnolia Press. The book is available as a stand alone or as part of a boxed set " No Ordinary Lovers". (http://www.smarturl.it/smp)
Princess Mara finds herself in a no win situation. Baron Ewloe is closing in on the castle and if he takes over, Mara will be forced to wed him. Her advisor, a wizard whose face Mara has never seen recommends she choose someone to champion her, but she declined. He offers himself, but Mara fears the outcome. Running away becomes a tempting way to avoid her fate. When the wizard wraps his arms around her, she finds herself 800 years in the future. When she awakens a man named Rayne is at her side. How did she get here and who is this man that takes her to his home?
A battle of wills ensures between Mara and Rayne. Rayne couldn't care less that Mara claims to be a princess and is above menial task such as cooking her own meals. He seems hard and mean, but wouldn't this be what life would be like if she didn't fight against the Baron?
For such a short story, there is great passion and romance, a good deal of character growth, and wrongs that need righted. Mara will learn to take charge of her fate as much as she is able, and learns to be brave resolve her problems by facing them and using her brains to outsmart her enemies.
Overall this is one gets a B+
Princess Mara finds herself in a no win situation. Baron Ewloe is closing in on the castle and if he takes over, Mara will be forced to wed him. Her advisor, a wizard whose face Mara has never seen recommends she choose someone to champion her, but she declined. He offers himself, but Mara fears the outcome. Running away becomes a tempting way to avoid her fate. When the wizard wraps his arms around her, she finds herself 800 years in the future. When she awakens a man named Rayne is at her side. How did she get here and who is this man that takes her to his home?
A battle of wills ensures between Mara and Rayne. Rayne couldn't care less that Mara claims to be a princess and is above menial task such as cooking her own meals. He seems hard and mean, but wouldn't this be what life would be like if she didn't fight against the Baron?
For such a short story, there is great passion and romance, a good deal of character growth, and wrongs that need righted. Mara will learn to take charge of her fate as much as she is able, and learns to be brave resolve her problems by facing them and using her brains to outsmart her enemies.
Overall this is one gets a B+
December 1, 2018
A bit dry
This rather dull tale of a person's princess and her wizard circa 12th century is too dry. The romance too quick and effortless.
I am not a fan of the time travel stories, so might not be the best person to pass on any recommendation.
This rather dull tale of a person's princess and her wizard circa 12th century is too dry. The romance too quick and effortless.
I am not a fan of the time travel stories, so might not be the best person to pass on any recommendation.
August 27, 2015
An easy, quick read. At first I really enjoyed it but about midway through it became redundant with their banter back and forth. It was on the verge of annoying.
May 2, 2018
2.5
This is a tad tough to explain, but Princess Mara is under seige and her wizard, who is typically hooded and whose face she hasn't seen, asks to be her champion. She refuses because "he's too important" which translates to "she loves him." But he thinks it's because she doesn't think he's strong enough so he whisks her off to the future, doesn't tell her who he is and forces her to cook and clean and otherwise realize how strong he is. She eventually realizes it's him and knows instantly why he did this and they make love. And she agrees to let him be her champion. They return and she realizes she has no idea if he loves her or not and that their future still isn't certain.
As unique as this little novella was, it suffered because of it's length and ideas and situations not being able to be as drawn out as they needed to be. The whole relationship between Mara and Rayne (the wizard) is fraught with prideful misunderstandings and cold interactions. It just doesn't feel like they love each other, perhaps because they don't interact lovingly (aside from their sex scene). She's constantly ordering him about and commanding and he's constantly trying to prove her wrong and getting pretty haughty himself. I didn't care much for the characters, though I did like the premise of the mysterious hidden and powerful wizard.
This is a tad tough to explain, but Princess Mara is under seige and her wizard, who is typically hooded and whose face she hasn't seen, asks to be her champion. She refuses because "he's too important" which translates to "she loves him." But he thinks it's because she doesn't think he's strong enough so he whisks her off to the future, doesn't tell her who he is and forces her to cook and clean and otherwise realize how strong he is. She eventually realizes it's him and knows instantly why he did this and they make love. And she agrees to let him be her champion. They return and she realizes she has no idea if he loves her or not and that their future still isn't certain.
As unique as this little novella was, it suffered because of it's length and ideas and situations not being able to be as drawn out as they needed to be. The whole relationship between Mara and Rayne (the wizard) is fraught with prideful misunderstandings and cold interactions. It just doesn't feel like they love each other, perhaps because they don't interact lovingly (aside from their sex scene). She's constantly ordering him about and commanding and he's constantly trying to prove her wrong and getting pretty haughty himself. I didn't care much for the characters, though I did like the premise of the mysterious hidden and powerful wizard.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2023
An undecided 3.45 rating
Swift read with straightforward plot and not more than 3 characters in total.
Would I stay awake thinking of this book getting all giddy and kicking my feet up? Unlikely
I did, however, enjoy their highly romantic, poetic and literary MC lovemaking, that's the kind of prose you read once as a teenager and you never forget cause it shapes the entire thing in your head, this I will admit.
Swift read with straightforward plot and not more than 3 characters in total.
Would I stay awake thinking of this book getting all giddy and kicking my feet up? Unlikely
I did, however, enjoy their highly romantic, poetic and literary MC lovemaking, that's the kind of prose you read once as a teenager and you never forget cause it shapes the entire thing in your head, this I will admit.
November 1, 2013
"He was her wizard, her support, the other half of her heart and mind."
Princess Mara finds herself in danger and then awakes in the 21st century. Where is her castle? Where is her wizard, only one year older, but always wise and her most loyal subject? Rayne Winslow appears and rattles her emotions as much as she feels confused when she looks up in the sky and sees a peculiar "airplane." She must choose a champion. She must surrender, but it's not easy giving up one's heart, especially when torn between two time periods. Trust is what she needs to turn love to magic...if only she can learn to trust him.
BESIEGED HEART by Jennifer Blake is a delightful tale of sorcery, seduction and sweet love at the castle of our dreams.
Princess Mara finds herself in danger and then awakes in the 21st century. Where is her castle? Where is her wizard, only one year older, but always wise and her most loyal subject? Rayne Winslow appears and rattles her emotions as much as she feels confused when she looks up in the sky and sees a peculiar "airplane." She must choose a champion. She must surrender, but it's not easy giving up one's heart, especially when torn between two time periods. Trust is what she needs to turn love to magic...if only she can learn to trust him.
BESIEGED HEART by Jennifer Blake is a delightful tale of sorcery, seduction and sweet love at the castle of our dreams.
October 9, 2015
A time travel short story. The romance between the princess and her wizard was always there but those titles had to removed in order to move forward and accept their feelings. A happy ending was waiting for us where evil was defeated and love wins. The story was OK and was short enough to read in one sitting.
February 8, 2014
It was ok. I didn't really like them going to the future. But it's a short story, so it wasn't to bad.
August 25, 2014
Read as part of the boxed set Hearts Out of Time.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews