The Hero Returns

by Catherine Blair

Amelia Harrow has worshiped Viscount Hunter Westhaven since the schoolroom. Now, after three long years fighting Bonaparte, the famed hero has returned to claim his bride. But he is strangely changed -- the charming idol of Amelia's youth has now been replaced by a somber, restless, and enigmatic man. An afternoon of honeymoon passion while stormbound in a moorland cabin, she fears, does not touch his innermost spirit. And what "business" keeps him away so often in London, while she pines for his caress?Hunter would sooner face the most, savage enemies on the battlefield than the secrets of his own soul. How can Amelia ever understand how much the war has changed him? He knows he must lay the past to rest if he is ever to find happiness with his lovely wife...even if it means traveling to London alone to search for the families of his comrades who fell in battle. But when Amelia finds him and discovers a secret she cannot forgive, Hunter may have lost her forever...unless an unexpected blessing teaches them both the true meaning of love.

Genres: Historical, Regency, Traditional Regency, Romance

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

About the author

Catherine Blair (a.k.a. Cordia Byers) grew up in Texas, were she spent her high school years writing romances for her friends. She received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Cornell University and currently studies opiate addiction. No one else thinks that the pun between "heroin addiction" and "heroine addiction" is as funny as she does. Catherine is a member of the Romance Writers of America and lives with her husband in San Diego, California.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't entirely sold on Amelia's character when the book first began. She was almost too flighty for me, but I really liked the storyline and stuck it out beyond the first couple chapters. I'm very glad I did! It turned out to be a very wonderful story, one that I enjoyed greatly, and it was delightful to see Amelia change and grow over the course of the plot.

[Noelle Gracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is my favorite.

[ANGELIA · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay story but there were too many weak points. The H took FOREVER to tell the h what he was doing and why, making her think he didn't really care and didn't mind being away from her. Then, both waste time trying to act nonchalant and flippant, with the H actually telling her (since he refused to accompany her to social events) she'll probably take a lover and try to pass his child off as the H's! I don't blame her form going ballistic on him, though she had her TSTL moments, like when she was quick to believe the H's former mistress was pregnant with his child.

And on the subject of children, the h took so long to tell the H she was pregnant (and before she could, he heard from a third party) that you could almost believe his accusation was right, if the story wasn't focused on her POV.

Because it was, it's easy to be biased against the H, which in his case isn't really fair, though he made their situation more complicated.

Not a bad story but could have been better.

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just okay. Amelia starts out a bit immature and has this idea of what Hunter is like. When Hunter returns from the war he is very cold and distant. While Amelia grows up during the story, I never really got a feel for Hunter. To be honest I just didn't like him. The second half was a bit better, but I think the book/story suffered from having Hunter absent, if we could have heard his POV more maybe I would have felt for him more. Overall, I just thought it was okay. I wanted to like it more than I did.

Content: PG13-Warm. Probably would have given it a higher rating if it were a bit cleaner. It wasn't overly descriptive, but pushes it.

Per www.likesbooks.com sensuality rating: Moderately explicit sensuality. While our characters do make love, and the reader is there with them, physical details are described, but are not graphically depicted. Much is left to the reader's imagination.

[Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite Regencies of marriages with estranged/in trouble marriages. Hunter returns from the war a changed man...