Review: Another Cynthia Wright Super Couple!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 9, 2013
OF ONE HEART is the second and final book in The St. Briac Novels.  Where the first book is a light-hearted tale of two stubborn people fighting love until the very last, OF ONE HEART is a sweet tale of two wounded, fragile hearts.Newly married Aimee St. Briac has to deliver bad news to her dear, Micheline Tevoulere--Micheline's husband, an immature man with a wandering eye, was accidentally killed during a jousting match.  Hoping that the liveliness of the French court will lift her friend's spirits, Aimee invites Micheline to join the St. Briacs at Fontainebleu.  King Francois quickly becomes enamored of the quiet beauty, mostly because of the challenge she presents by seemingly being immune to his charms.  Jealous and afraid to lose her standing in court, the king's previously favored lady conspires to have Micheline removed from France by writing to Henry VIII in England and suggesting a marriage between Micheline and an English noble.  In exchange, she would do whatever she could to aid him in his quest to have his marriage to Anne Boleyn recognized.The handsome Andrew, Marquess of Sandhurst is used to doing as he pleases and ignoring the will of his father the duke.  When summoned to King Henry's court, he is ordered to wed an unknown French woman.  All the details had already been agreed upon between the king and his father.  If he refuses to comply, his father will pass his inheritance to his base born half brother, Rupert.  Knowing he has means of his own upon which to survive, Sandhurst hatches a plan to travel to France disguised as a painter in order to take a look at the stranger he is expected to take as a wife.  If she is a shrew, he will not wed her, whether it means handing things over to the imbecile Rupert or not.Once he meets Micheline, he is stunned by her beauty, but he finds himself still not wanting to reveal his true identity.  What sort of woman agrees to marry a complete stranger?  He decides if she truly falls in love with him, or rather the penniless artist version of him, then he will go through with the marriage.  He wants nothing less than her love.Micheline is drawn to the kind and attentive painter.  When the king requests the artist paint Micheline, the two spend hours and hours together.  Micheline finds herself more comfortable with Andrew than anyone else.  She tells him things she'd never shared with anyone, not even Aimee.  As she continues to be drawn to him, she tries her best to pull away, knowing she has pledged herself to the yet-unseen English Marquess.  Her heart would be safer in a marriage of convenience, not given to another man who might break her heart once again, no matter how deep her feelings are starting to become.But HE'S that guy.  She just doesn't know it.I absolutely love this story.  As a fan of the HBO series "The Tudors" I appreciated the glimpses of Henry VIII and his Anne during the days leading up to Anne's coronation.  There are scenes so romantic and touching that they brought tears to my eyes, as well as moments of intrigue so filled with danger that I gasped out loud.  If you love historical romances that truly embrace the people, places, and customs of the time, Cynthia Wright's delightfully detailed novels will be a welcome read. As with all of her others, it is obvious that she is meticulous in her research. Each book is like stepping into a time machine and traveling to another lifetime. They are definitely ones you will read over and over again!