CASTLE OF THE WOLF
SANDRA SCHWAB
ISBN# (13)9780505527200/(10)0505527200
May 2007
LoveSpell, Dorchester Publishing Co. Inc.,
200 Madison Avenue, Suite 2000, New York, New York 10016
Paperback
$6.99
320 pages
Historical Romance
Rating: 4 Cups

Miss Celia Fussell has learned that upon the death of her father recently she has now inherited a Castle in the Duchy of Baden in the Black Forest. Castle Wolfenbach is now under her domain and she is the mistress there since her father had helped an old scholar friend out of financial debt and saved the Castle.

Fenris von Wolfenbach is living at the Castle and has been for the last twelve years in seclusion. He is now returned home from the war maimed and a disgrace to the family even though he fought for the British Army against Napoleon to free his own country. He believes even now that fighting to save his country is still a noble deed he did at the time.

This is a fairy tale to Celia since that is what her father and she studied since she was raised by him and helped him in his studies and research. That is how she ended up with the deed to the Castle Wolfenbach and she is glad to escape the clutches of a very greedy sister-in-law and did not want to be the poor spinster sister left behind. So she has taken the chance and headed directly for the Castle and the adventure of the travel as a start to a new life. Fenris is what you would call the wolf of the Castle and Celia finds out just what a façade he puts on. He is gruff and growling but inside is an injured man with a good heart just yearning to be loved for himself. Not as a cripple but as a man capable of doing anything he sets his mind to but has given up on love. Unexpectedly he finds out about the stipulation and is intrigued especially when Celia decides to marry him instead of a more evil and creepy younger brother.

This was a very pleasant surprise I was not expecting the book to be as enchanting and full of surprises as it was. It has all the elements of a fairy tale princess who falls in love with the castle wolf or the man behind the fur and he with her. There is also enough intrigue to hold my interest, when not one but two attempts to murder Fenris did not succeed. I love a heroine with the gumption to take the tiger by the tail and stalk into his lair and confront him and leave unscathed. As it is with Celia and Fenris she is determined to save him from himself as in all good fairy tales since this is The Black Forest and filled with mystery. I am happy to say that even this tale does end up with a nice ending though I will not give it away, please read it for yourself.

Lainey
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books