Theodora; S. Blayne

Theodora, written by Sara Blayne & published by Zebra in 1996 had quite a few odd things going on and yet it worked. I liked Theodora despite its oddities. A backhanded compliment to be sure.

Theodora is an herbalist & self proclaimed white witch living in a village on the moors of England. One night she & Caleb Dameron, Earl of Styles, meet on a lonely track. He is out riding hell for leather after imbibing too much & she is gathering herbs under the full moon because the herbs are most potent then. After deflowering Theodora in a field, he convinces her to marry him.

So much of this book should have made it a wallbanger. The problems: language is on the florid side; they discuss catsup, karma, mediums & auras too early during this time period for my comfort; the oddity of Theodora's scientific mode of thinking & speech vs. her self proclaimed 'white witch' status & belief in spiritualism; among other things

There are just as many pluses though. Theodora is in her mid twenties & is thus much more of her own person & better able to hold her own with Styles than a younger woman would have been able to. She & Styles communicate quite well for two people who were strangers when they wed. Styles is remarkably considerate of & attentive to Theodora. Definitely an alpha & yet not overdone either. What else? The gothic tinged mystery the book revolves around: who is intent on murdering the Earl & Countess of Styles & why?

I really like it & I bought two more of Blayne's books from the UBS. I ignored the niggling little voices in my head & plowed ahead. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it. Keeping it for now. We'll see later on in the year how shelf space runs. I found a website, but it doesn't appear to have been updated recently.