Reviews for Hostage of the Heart

The average rating for Hostage of the Heart based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-09-02 00:00:00 Sylvie Malardel As a man, this is not the sort of novel I would normally pick up. But, having read Linda�s other books, I knew what a good writer she is and was therefore prepared to give this a go. Though clearly intended for the women�s market, this is a love story with so much more than mere romance going on right from the start. It is no surprise to me that the novel is fast paced, full of tension, both emotional and sexual, and tells a great story. The research has been done thoroughly so that the reader is easily lost in the medieval world of the Welsh border country around the time of the Battle of Hastings, when so much was happening. The sense of threat felt by the heroine, Dena, is palpable and her confusion, heightened by her imaginings combined with misinformation, is always understandable. She is a courageous woman, whose faults arise from her upbringing and circumstances. Her emotions are portrayed with great subtlety and flair so that it is easy to empathise with her as one injustice is piled on another and she faces doubt and danger in a world that is rapidly falling apart around her. The sexual tension between her and the hero, Rhodri, is very real as she journeys through fear, despair, loathing, terror, treachery and humiliation on the road to love. The passion is wonderfully expressed through the understated intimacy experienced by the lovers on their ride to self discovery. Surrounded by lies and the politics of the age, Dena is forced to grow up very quickly as she suffers kidnap, betrayal, the blackening of her name, the threat of rape and death. Rhodri, a fighting man as much as he is a lover, will find a place in the hearts of women readers with his strength, recklessness, courage and sheer male magnetism. Those who enjoy historical romance will find this book easy to pick up and difficult to put down.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-11-08 00:00:00 Rabin Sharma [ This is the point where Dena and Rhodri declare their love for each other. I felt that this came on so suddenly, particularly for Dena, that I couldn't believe it. I should probably say that I don't believe in love at first sight, or even love after a few days, so whenever I come across that in a book, the book loses a certain credibility in the characters for me. It's not a basis for me to throw away a book, but I always feel a little disapointed. But in this book, there was almost nothing up to this point that, for me, accounted for this sudden declaration. Obviously it wasn't love at first sight for these two so you expect some sort of evidence of their growing attachment to each other and, given the circumstances (Dena was captured, threatened with rape and death and kidnapped), she was experiencing a lot of emotions, none of which were love. Gratitute for like a second at one point, but that was it. So I really didn't believe the relationship when they suddenly declared their love for each other. And then, 2 pages later, there is another complete shift in emotion when Rhodri now hates Dena. (hide spoiler)]