Follow Your Heart

Kaufman’s strong second Wars of the Roses Brides romance (after At His Command) is set in York, England, in 1460, against the backdrop of the Yorkist bid for the English throne. Sir Adrian Bedford is determined to reclaim his ancestral home and restore his family’s good name and fortune. Joanna Peyntor, the only female member of the glass painters’ guild, inherited her father’s passion and glass workshop but faces frequent prejudice. Both the appealing protagonists have significant financial woes, siblings willing to ruin them, and hostile acquaintances wishing to use their bodies. When Joanna proposes a marriage of convenience, admitting that “a man’s protection would be valuable,” Adrian eventually accepts, insisting on a rigid contract, as “this marriage is a business.” Adrian desires to protect Joanna from the knowledge that he inherited psychic abilities from his grandmother, who was burned at the stake. Despite an upsetting wedding night, their passionate lovemaking slowly draws them closer, making Joanna’s discovery of Adrian’s secrets especially painful. The only major flaw is the inclusion of a one-note gay character who is evil and depraved. Otherwise this installment thoroughly surpasses the first, maintaining suspense and building the reader’s hope that Joanna and Adrian’s mutual respect will grow into love. (BookLife)