Thunder and Roses - Mary Jo Putney

This is my first experience with MJP (yes, lots of firsts lately) and I'm quite glad that I picked her up. I always have a tendency to avoid authors that are extremely popular, mostly because they are usually overrated. With Thunder and Roses, however, I was far from disappointed.

The story begins with the daughter of a Methodist preacher Clare Morgan going to the Demon Earl, Nicholas, for aid. Her village, and in particular the dangerous mine there, is in need of help, and Clare is desperate enough to petition Nicholas. He is uninterested in helping her or the village, but on a whim decides that he will help her if she will stay with him for three months--and, obviously, ruin her reputation in the process. Not one to back down from a challenge, Clare accepts.

This was a wonderful story between two people who desperately needed one another. Nicholas is half gypsy and believes to have been sold by his own mother to his grandfather, the previous earl. Shadowing his inner pain with both humor and cynicism, Nicholas remains a sexy hero despite his goal of ruining Clare's pristine reputation. Clare is also a lovely character, capable and insightful, who sees through Nicholas's bravado to discover the rather lonely man beneath. Despite that, she also struggles with her faith and with giving in to Nicholas's seduction; she is probably the only heroine I've read of who truly believes pre-marital sex was immoral. I also loved the friendship that blossomed between Nicholas and Clare before they made love: it made their relationship that much deeper. And add to that the inclusion of the story being set in a Welsh village and details about mining and billiards 200 years ago--this is definitely a novel to be treasured.

Overall Grade: A