Virginia Henley

Impulsive Catherine Seton Spencer, the dress designer for Queen Elizabeth I, scours the dark London streets in search of adventure and passion, which leads her to Patrick Hepburn, Lord Stewart of Scotland, who is on a dangerous mission at the behest of King James. Original.

Insatiable

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
  


Insatiable is a single title by Henley. It has been years since I have picked this author out. But she has been on my TBR list for quite a long time. So when I saw that this book was available through my local library in audio format....I started listening to it. Took me almost a week, since I only listened for a couple hours while at work. (I am alone baking for the first 3 hours so have some quiet time) I did enjoy the narrator quite a bit. She does many medieval themed romances, which is one of my favorite sub-genres in historical romance to read. I find it so refreshing after all the light Regency that has become so popular lately.  So many Julie Garwood fans would love this narrator. I loved her accent of British accents and her character inflections.

The story is pretty solid. It starts off with Cat Spencer, is a courtier of the Queen of England's court. She is out visiting some friends in the countryside. While taking a walk in the woods, she runs into Patrick Hepburn who is wild and untamed. These two have a bit of an angsty relationship in the beginning. Patrick loves his spitfire of a cat and wants her as his wife. He has special psychic abilities, where he can see the future and he knows that he will marry her. I had one reason why this story was a winner for me, the heroine. She bothered me from beginning to end. Most of the time I felt she was childish, selfish, throws tantrums. There were multiple times that I thought she would begin to settle down from her high horse and trust in the man she claims to love but always believes in the worst of him. I had a difficult time with her character because she was spiteful many times. The plot of the story was strong, the historical relevance to the story was accurate and really brings to life between Queen Elizabeth and King James of Scotland and the drama these two dealt with each other. We see the catastrophic consequences of the plague. We also see some positive fun moments for the main characters. I loved Cat's grandfather, Geordie. He was quite amusing, boisterous and proud of his heritage. Loved that and I adored the way he treats his granddaughter. He shows her some enlightening views that help change her views from having lived in court all of her life. Then we have Maggie, Cat's personal maid but was also her nanny and Maggie is very blunt with Cat which I adored. Because she practically raised Cat so she understands her in a way no one else does and I love their relationship. Maggie isn't afraid to tell Cat when she is wrong or being too full of herself.

Now our hero was very delicious to read, because I loved him as the hero. He is quite a alpha male....dominant, driven and hardworking. He definitely knows how to deal with Cat Spencer and I adored the unique ways he handles her. What was most interesting about this story was the complex intricate details in the plot. The development is what pulled me in and I admit I was curious to see if I would ever like Cat Spencer, and to be honest I never really did until the end there. There were moments throughout the story I liked her, but it wasn't enough for the negative aspects to make me like her as I wanted to.

The story overall was quite delicious and full of the depth I have been yearning for. I love a story with rich emotion that pulls me immediately to the characters and the dramatic happenings of the plot. I will be definitely reading more of this author, despite my reservations for the heroine, but when an author can bring history alive they have me hooked. A solid historical romance that is stunning, detailed, and provocative.

Insatiable

Reviews