Review: Love Lost and Found.  3.5 Stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 15, 2014
This novel is set in the Court of Edward III in 1348.  It continues the story of Lady Alyse de Courcy, and her betrothed Sir Geoffrey Longford.  Sir Geoffrey and Alyse are very much in love, and lost in passion, spent one night together.  Alyse feels no guilt as they will be married in a few weeks.  Abruptly Sir Geoffrey is called home due to the serious illness of his elder brother.  She is very concerned when she does not hear from him and their wedding day is near. Lord Thomas Braeton is her sworn protector, and for a brief time when they first met, she felt very attracted to him and hoped he would be her fathers choice in an arranged marriage. It was not to be, and Thomas, Geoffrey's best friend  brings the news that Geoffrey's brother has died, and his father has forced Geoffrey to marry his brother's bride to be.  Lady Alyse is devastated, and now very concerned that her father will quickly choose another candidate without her consent.  Lord Braeton has a solution. He offers to marry her quickly, a marriage of convenience only, and if she is already with child will accept her child as his own.I did not realize that this was Book 2 in the series.  It did not take away from my enjoyment from the read, but I think I would have better understood the scenario.  The descriptions by Ms. Jaxon  of the court, the characters, and life in general in 1348 was very entertaining.  Alyse is mature and very feisty, and gives Thomas quite a challenge.  He promises to be patient for her to decide when she's ready to perform her "wifely duties" but devises several methods to speed her decision.  Overall, I did enjoy this story.Personally I'm not a fan of serials, and the story ends rather abruptly. I realized after reading other comments, Book 1 also has a cliffhanger.  I'm now engaged in this story, so will read book 3, but I would be much happier reading this story in one novel.  There were also a few slow spots, but not enough to make me put down the book.  I would recommend this novel to historical romantic fiction fans, especially those that enjoy medieval stories and don't mind serials.I received this novel from the publisher for an honest review.Pat Fordyce