Pamela Clare 'Carnal Gift'

Other than some exceptional books (SpyMaster's Lady, yes I finally read it), I haven't been reading much historical romance lately. But I've had this one around for a while so I picked it up. I hate to say it but Ireland is so done for me. River Dance and the 1990's revival of Celtic mysticism has burned me out. And this from a person who's attended Milwaukee's Irish Fest since High School (largest Irish Festival outside of Ireland). It's extremely difficult to write characters set into Irish history without it feeling like a well known cliche before you're even out of the gate.

This book includes enough historical details to validate the author's knowledge of the time period. The heroine grew on me, although both of these characters border on serious Mary Sue personalities. Overall the writing was decent, the sex was sparse but decent, the history was accurate, the plot was well paced and the characters were wooden.

Historical Romance 2008: 2.5 of 5 bloody sheets.