Susanna Kearsley

Haunting legends and dangerous prophecies.

Named of the Dragon

When one of her authors invites her to Wales for the Christmas holidays, literary agent Lyn Ravenshaw hopes to escape the nightmares that have plagued her since the death of her baby five years before. But Lyn's painful memories are brought to the surface when she meets Elen, an emotionally fragile widow with an eight-month-old child. Mysteriously afraid for her son's safety, Elen seems to view Lyn as his protector. But what makes Elen so sure that Lyn has been sent to guard little Stevie? With the help of brooding neighbour Gareth Gwyn Morgan, Lyn begins to untangle the myths surrounding the child. As her dreams grow ever more disturbing, she finds herself pulled into an ancient Celtic world of haunting legends, dangerous prophecies, and a child destined for greatness . . .

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Susanna Kearsley, Named of the Dragon follows Lyn, a literary agent, on her Christmas trip down to Wales with her client Bridget. What should be a relaxing vacation while trying to score a new author turns into a stress filled week as Lyn is reminded of what she has lost and find herself somehow held responsible for the safety of a stranger's baby.

Walking away from the normal Jacobite stories that the historical side usually take in Kearsley's novels, this book actually deals with Arthurian legend, and how it echos throughout the Welsh culture. This novel also strives to point out how Wales is unique from the rest of the UK.

Okay, down to the writing. This novel was honestly less engaging, and I think that has a lot to do with the way the dream sequences were handled. They would just happen, but didn't really reflect throughout the rest of the novel as similar instances have in Kearsley's other writings.

As for how the characters were written, I enjoyed James, Christopher, and Gareth, all well written men whose characters clearly reflected out. Bridget, on the other hand, I just didn't enjoy. She was a loose cannon that made no sense as a character. She is one of the least flushed out characters I have read by Kearsley. Which is to say she is still better than many others, but she was so flat. She cared about Christmas and she liked men who weren't interested in her. She had been married twice already. She liked Lyn but would easily get jealous of her, despite the number of men who were interested in her. I understand her character, but I just wanted her to actually grow and she didn't.

Overall, this was still a good book, but a bit boring. A decent mystery woven into the story makes this an easy read.

A haunting tale of intrigue from New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley. SOMEWHERE IN THE HEART OF LEGEND LIES THE KEY TO HER TERRIFYING DREAMS The charm of spending the Christmas holidays in South Wales, with its crumbling castles and ancient myths, seems the perfect distraction from the nightmares that have plagued literary agent Lyn Ravenshaw since the loss of her baby five years ago. Instead, she meets an emotionally fragile young widow who's convinced that Lyn's recurring dreams have drawn her to Castle Farm for an important purpose--and she's running out of time. With the help of a reclusive, brooding playwright, Lyn begins to untangle the mystery and is pulled into a world of Celtic legends, dangerous prophecies, and a child destined for greatness. PRAISE FOR A DESPERATE FORTUNE "A grand adventure... Susanna Kearsley just keeps getting better and better." -LAUREN WILLIG, New York Times bestselling author "Enchanting! Beguiling! Gorgeously romantic! A truly brilliant book." -KATE FORSYTH, Award-winning author of Bitter Greens "Susanna Kearsley deftly conjures a contemporary heroine as unique as she is memorable." -DEANNA RAYBOURN, New York Times bestselling author

Named of the Dragon

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