Song of Isabel

In this carefully researched but clumsily constructed medieval romance set in what is now France and Germany, Lady Isabel, the headstrong daughter of Lord Theodoric, makes an error common to many romance heroines: an enticing dip in a secluded pond. Such swims generally end in discovery by a predator or by the hero. Here, fortunately, it is her brother’s friend Lord Chetwynd who appears. Isabel has idolized the handsome warrior from the court of King Louis the Pious since he rescued her from vicious attackers when she was a child, and he now provides Isabel with escape from her home through a marriage of convenience. The setting and political intrigue are unusual and appealing, but debut novelist Curtis does not explain why her Frankish hero has a distinctly English name, it’s never clear why she emphasizes the marriage-of-convenience device in an era when such alliances were the default, and her characters often speak as if they are from the 19th century rather than the ninth. Readers looking for a change from Regency and Victorian romance may find this a worthwhile diversion. Agent: Elizabeth Kracht, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc. (Apr.)