Ariane, the Betrayed. A betrayal so deep it all but destroyed her soul. Pledged to one of her father's knights, Ariane took it in stride when that contract was set aside in favor of a more powerful alliance. After all, she had been raised to wed who she was told to. Unfortunately, the knight did not take the news so well. He drugged Ariane, and brutally raped her. When Ariane's father was led to her the next morning, he believed the story that the knight had told him: Ariane had been the one to seduce him. Deeply betrayed, Ariane went off to her unknown future. There she faced yet another change of future husband. Duncan, the man she had been promised to, had fallen in love with another. To avoid possible war, Simon, called The Loyal, stepped in, offering to marry Ariane.

Simon, vassal and brother to Lord Dominic--the Glendruid Wolf--would do anything to avoid war in the Disputed Lands. Even if it meant marrying the cold Norman heiress. He had been drawn to her from the first time he met her, and he was sure she preferred him above all other men. Yet she flinched every time he touched her, and drew away from any mention of the marriage bed. But he would give all he had to feel her fire burn for him.

When Simon and Ariane were attacked by renegade knights, and Ariane almost killed, Simon came to realize just how much his "nightingale" meant to him. After Ariane allowed Simon to heal her heart as well as her body, she realized she had to prove that Simon could love her in return. Then the knight who had taken her innocence arrived, bringing rumors and ill-will with him, followed closely by Ariane's father. Making the situation even more unstable was the fact that Ariane's dowry was missing, having been tampered with. When Ariane disappeared looking for it, Simon was beside himself. Would he find her before it was too late?

ENCHANTED is a poignant story of love, loyalty, and betrayal. Simon's tenderness--even as he believes he cannot love--and Ariane's instinctive trust in Simon despite her betrayal, made my heart weep. Watching as these two souls kept turning to each other, against all other forces, is enough to make a believer in destiny, and a love that can conquer all.

Elizabeth Lowell has once again created something magical with ENCHANTED. While the genre might be different than her usual style of Contemporary Romance, the result is the same--a story that skillfully draws the readers in, keeping them engrossed until the last word.

Reviewed by Tracy Atencio
(c) August 2004