Title: Fearless
Author: Ella Jameson
Publisher: Ella Jameson, TKA Distribution
Pub Date: December 12, 2011
Category: ADULT: Historical fantasy
Fearless is a delightful historical fantasy romance that I thoroughly enjoyed.
While fighting to free Ireland from the English, Chieftain Kieran MacAuley, The Fearless One, leads his men into a battle that, though badly wounded, only he survives. He is on the verge of death when a woman called Brynna steps from the shadows. She takes him to her home and heals him but tells him nothing of her past. He is baffled by her mystery but responds to her kind heart and a loving relationship develops.
Suddenly he’s at home again with no memory of his time away, but hazy memories surface in his dreams – his name lovingly whispered, then quiet sobbing. He knows that he has known the woman who matches that voice, but he can’t remember her, even so, his instincts tell him that she needs him and he must do anything to find her.
He does find her, raped and beaten almost to death by the English, and he takes her to his home to be nursed back to health. As soon as she is well again, she tries to leave, but by then, Kieran knows that she saved his life, his love has reawakened despite the spell she put on him to make him forget, and he can’t let her leave his protection to be at the mercy of the English again.
Eventually the mystery of Brynna is revealed. The Fey play a part, some with kindness and one with the sort of self serving, duplicitous behaviour we have come to associate with faerie characters.
I loved the characters in this book. They are all well written, very real people. Kieran is delightful, a powerful warrior softened by his love for a woman and driven to protect her at all costs. He’s the epitome of the romantic hero with a heart as strong and passionate as his sword wielding abilities. Brynna is a gutsy woman who doesn’t dwell on the terrible abuse she suffered at the hands of the English and thinks more of Kieran’s and his people’s safety than her own. Along with these two is a cast of colourful supporting characters including the queen of the Fey, Kieran’s wonderful mother and his friends and family.
The plot manages to avoid the kind of bloodshed that it could have had and that I kept expecting, and I was grateful that the author found more innovative ways to solve the problems and move the story forward. I was also glad that I didn’t have to read a blow by blow account of Brynna’s beating, seeing the results was enough. However, I did find it unrealistic that she didn’t struggle to some degree with the results of such a trauma. Some exploration of that would have deepened the book.
The main theme was the question of what makes a warrior retire. Is the love of a woman and the desire for family strong enough to compete with a man’s need to personally protect his people and his land? The ending said it elegantly and succinctly.
I give Fearless 4 stars and recommend it for lovers of historical romance, especially if you like a touch of fantasy in it. I’m recommending it for the Awesome Indies site.
