Jacqueline, Eglantine's first born daughter had barely escaped a betrothal that had ended in disaster when she was almost raped . She of all the daughters of Eglantine is the quiet soul with an inner beauty that out distances her outer beauty; at least that is how she believes others see her. But despite her many gifts she possess she is terribly frightened of men and is seeking a life as a Bride of Christ.

Angus MaGillivary is a battle weary Crusader who in the darkest days at Outremer held onto the dream of home. Yet, upon his arrival at Ardfinnan in the Scottish Highlands all was for naught when he learns his home has been taken and his family are all dead. In an act of vengeance he and his often times funny side kick, Rodney decide to capture Mhairi, daughter of the man who he believes has destroyed his family. Blinded by the vengeance(no pun intended as our hero is blind in one eye) he captures the wrong maid with the resulting effect his heart and life will never be the same.

Although freightened of Angus, she learns despite his barbarian methods he is not a man to fear and begins to let down the barriers she has erected to keep men at bay. As they travel they experience a number of events that help develop a tenuous friendship, especially when she meets the mysterious Edanna who helps her to see Angus and what he could become when past wrongs are corrected. With the knowledge he will let her go back to her family when all is said and done, she begins to fall in love with this tortured hero, and in the process becomes more whole herself. But will they come far enough to have a life together?

As in the case of her other books Ms Delacroix effectively uses secondary characters (Rodney for humor, Edanna for mystery and Father Michael for gentle spirituality) to move the couple toward their satisfying end, even if they don't have a clue they deserve to be together. She even has a few surprises
that caught me off guard but none were red herrings and will delight the readers.

THE BEAUTY is a wonderful adaptation of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast sure to provide readers with many satisfying sighs of satisfaction. As in the case of the other two books in this trilogy, Ms Delacroix's greatest strength is creating brilliantly formidable heroes who in the company of their soul mates are gentle and loving, if a bit slow to realize they deserve the gifts bestowed on them. Although it could have been set anywhere outside of Scotland, it should be read for the plot and characters who seem to fit well into Ms Delacroix's medieval voice.

Angus Mac Gillivray mistakenly abducts Jacqueline de Crevy who is en route to the convent to become a novice. This has many of the elements that I look for when I read a novel of this genre: there is the necessary tension between the hero and heroine, the heroine is not completely ineffectual and lacking in intellect, the love scenes are sufficiently heated, but do not over do it and the side characters add a certain dimension and entertainment. While I appreciate a book which goes into a little more historic background and detail and which one is called to suspend belief for given periods - it is a romance and candy after all, so sometimes I just sit back and enjoy.

For those who appreciate this genre as I do I would recommend this book. I intend to read others of this series

The heroine had this "fear of men" which was told to the reader often enough - but not really demonstrated. The motivations of all the characters was stated in an overly straightforward manner - again and again and again. And both the dialogue and narration, as an another reviewer mentioned, were filled with "'twas" and "zounds", which would have been fine if it did not read in such a stilted manner.

The plot was actually quite good, and the characters themselves were interesting and fairly believable (although the heroine's attempted rape seems to have left her curiously unscathed.) All in all this is an acceptable romance novel, at least compared to most in print, but I do think that better editing would have made this a much more enjoyable story.

I wouldn't recommend this one unless you really have nothing better to do on a rainy day, but I haven't given up on the author. I think she could do better, and I will read her books again, hoping for better results.