Silent Vows Silent Vows
OK, we all know I don't read too many straight romances, but for certain authors, I make exceptions. Ms. Bybee is one of them.This is the second installment for the MacCoinnich clan (Binding Vows was first) and I found I enjoyed this one more, both in the complexity of plot and the depth of the characters.
Part of the fun of Time Travel romances is seeing how characters deal with the unexpected differences of another time period. With the Ren Faire setting in the first book, all the culture shock fell on our 20th century heroine. In Silent Vows, both main characters have the chance to experience the time displacement fully. And I do like these characters.
Myra, the sheltered daughter of a powerful family, has never had to stand on her own. She's no kick-ass, in your face heroine, but she is admirable because of this - the courage she shows trying to navigate a new and hostile world she is woefully unprepared to face. I don't usually like the whole damsel in distress thing, but she tries, with every bit of her own resourcefulness, to take care of herself rather than standing around wringing her hands. That she ends up needing a little help is just a matter of inexperience and bad choices.
Todd, cynical and suspicious of anyone's motives, is the perfect hero for the situation. He's relentless in his pursuit of the truth and too smart to accept Myra's evasions. Handsome and honorable, his fear of commitment has kept him single but it's a fear born of good intentions rather than selfishness or immaturity. The reasons for his hard shell and the distance he keeps relationship wise are poignant and understandable. A wounded, lonely soul, you can't help feel for this modern day knight in shining.
There's a real sense of danger and suspense to the story, a well-crafted, well-paced plot that keeps you turning pages, enough sexual tension to set your desk or e-reader smoking, wonderful secondary characters and Ms. Bybee's wry sense of humor underpinning it all.
