The Promise of Your Touch

Reputed to have healing hands, Irish beauty Shivahn Armagh is summoned to Prevot Prison to treat a man scheduled for the executioner's block in this romance set in Ireland at the end of the 18th century. The man, Kristian Montague, is being held for treason and is believed to be the legendary Irish warrior Griffin. Shivahn readily discovers that the tortured prisoner is an Englishman and despite her loyalties to the Irish revolt, she is somehow drawn to the handsome prisoner and proceeds to heal him. Of course, romance is in the offing, and as the day of Kristian's execution approaches, Shivahn decides to help him escape. The chase begins as the two try to stay alive and get Kristian to safety. Carter's (Surrender the Dawn) writing skills are first-rate but at times she becomes too wordy and her descriptive prose gets burdensome. However, those same descriptive powers applied to the sex scenes may win her new readers. (Apr.)