"Read this just for the pleasure," says Romantic Times of Jill Barnett's last luscious romance, Carried Away. Her marvelous talent for enchanting stories laced with sensuality is always a delight, and never more so than in this thirteenth-century tale of a brave knight who returns to the Welsh border to claim -- and tame -- his bride, or so he thinks.... After too many years on the battlefield, Merrick de Beaucourt is looking forward to a simple life of peace and quiet with a docile wife at his side. But when he finally fetches his bride-to-be from a secluded English convent, he finds he needs more than his knight's spurs to bring order to his life. When she was betrothed at fifteen to the legendary English knight she had never met, Lady Clio of Camrose believed that love was something magical. But her youthful hopes faded as she languished in a convent for six long years, never hearing a word from Merrick. Weary of war, Lord Merrick finds little peace guarding the wild Welsh borders, and even less with the wife whose trust he destroyed. But as Lady Clio comes to understand the dark knight she so blindly wed, she sees a chance to make her dreams come true. Amid the enchanted mists that envelop Camrose Castle, they will battle together to discover a place where all things are possible, even a love that is rare and wonderful. Jill Barnett claims she got the idea for her 13th-century romance, Wonderful, from a beer commercial, from which she learned that ale-making was one of the few occupations open to medieval women. Lady Clio is a headstrong, independent-minded young woman who would like nothing more than to rediscover the long-lost recipe for "heather ale," which was created by the Picts. Although lovely, Clio has long given up on marriage because her betrothed abandoned her to a convent six years before. When Merrick de Beaucort suddenly arrives to claim his bride, he finds that wooing the beautiful Lady Clio is as difficult and arduous as any battle he has faced. Beneath Clio's placid countenance and seemingly docile demeanor lies a lively and adventurous woman with a lot of ideas that Merrick must accept if he is ever to win her love. Lady Clio has been in a convent for six years waiting for her betrothed to return from the Holy Lands, two years longer than originally planned. Bored beyond belief, she manages to get into one scrape or another, all with the best of intentions. Her focus, while waiting for Merrick to claim her as his bride, is to find the ultimate recipe for heather ale. Upon learning that he has finally returned, Lady Clio leaves the convent and heads to Camrose, her family home, to wait for her errant (and yet unseen) husband-to-be. Meanwhile, Merrick, who is tired from his journeys and ready for a quiet, biddable wife, has no idea that while Lady Clio may look angelic, she is actually full of mischief! And she is determined that he will make up every minute of the two years that he made her wait. As Merrick struggles to make Camrose a veritable fortress that would withstand invasion, Clio struggles with learning how to handle a man who lives his life based on success in battle. Her solution? Fits of defiance that not only frustrate Merrick, but make each confrontation sizzle with anticipation! An automatic attraction between Clio and Merrick causes sparks to fly off the pages, especially as they get to know each other. Add some delightfully humorous characters -- Thud, Thwack, Old Gladdys, Sir Roger and Brother Dismas -- and this is one tale that leaves the reader chuckling.Energetic and full of life, Jill Barnett has created characters that are absolutely Wonderful! I laughed throughout the book at the schemes that Lady Clio devised. Ms. Barnett has done a terrific job blending humor into the storyline. This is definitely a keeper!Amy Wilson -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times From "Wonderful" Camrose Castle, 1269 Lady Clio's father claimed her pale silvery hair was her greatest asset...or perhaps his greatest asset, considering he had the duty to see her wed to some poor unsuspecting fool. To look at Lady Clio of Camrose, one would think she was the image of what every man, knight or king, peasant or merchant, wanted in a wife -- someone who was meek in spirit: to make a man feel braver and stronger. A wife who was docile enough to allow a man to be the king of his castle. A woman whose head was as light inside as outside, to assure him that he would be more intelligent and therefore superior. According to the Church, the color of a woman's hair bespoke her true nature. The men empowered by the Church based this theory on the conclusion that hair grew directly from the brain. Fiery hair in a woman warned men of a woman's devilish spirit. Since woodland covered two thirds of the English isle, hair the color of tree trunks was considered common and showed the woman had little imagination. Hair the color of midnight, w