My first bodice ripper. I loved this book. I still vivdly remember scenes from it. I need to reread. ( )

I read this book when it first came out in the mid 1970's. It was one of the first explicitly erotic romance novels (along with Rosemary Rogers' "Sweet, Savage Love"), and it had a profound impact on my adolescent sensibilities.

Sabrina Verrick, a Scots-English noblewoman in exile in England with her sister and little brother after Culloden, has taken to the roads as the highwayman Bonnie Charlie to support her family. During a daring theft at a dinner party she meets Lucien, Duke of Camareigh, who swears to put a stop to Bonnie Charlie's crime spree. Their story unfolds with plenty of plots, captures and escapes, seduction, intrigue, and wildly passionate sex.

As with many of these older romances, hero and heroine don't always treat each other well, but I recall that McBain created a strong enough relationship between them to make me believe in their love.

It's been years since I last read this book, but I keep a copy on my shelf for old time's sake. I should probably re-read it one of these days.
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[b:Moonstruck Madness|10762173|Moonstruck Madness (Dominick, #1)|Laurie McBain|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399137803s/10762173.jpg|688322] begins on the battlefield at Culloden where our heroine, a young girl named Sabrina, has just seen her clan and grandfather cut down by Redcoats. Sabrina and her siblings are half-English, and they flee the Highlands to one of their deadbeat father's abandoned holdings in England.

O tiger's heart wrapp'd in a woman's hide!

Without a means to support themselves, Sabrina takes to the road disguised as a highwayman calling herself Bonnie Charlie. I quite liked Sabrina through the first part of the book. She was a sort of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and gluttonous to support her family and less fortunate on their land. She was brave and daring and witty.

Beware the fury of a patient man. -John Dryden

Sabrina meets her match when she holds up our hero, the scarred Duke of Camareigh, Lucien. Lucien is not a man to be trifled with and he vows revenge and means to have it. Given the origins of this relationship, you know its destined to be tumultuous. The ups and downs were abundant, and I think our couple may have hated each other more than they loved each other. It got to be a tad overmuch before the end of the story and I lost a lot of respect for Sabrina. Her obstinate behavior overpowered her admirable qualities.

That being said, the story had some lovely secondary characters. Sabrina's siblings were endearing, as was their doddering aunt with dementia. Charlie's partners-in-crime were two brothers, great hulking country brutes that were very good-natured. Then you had some good villainous characters in Sabrina's fortune-hunting father and the duke's cousins after his inheritance. So I liked all of those aspects of the story. There were some times where it felt like I was reading in fast forward, where the writing could have slowed down and provided more details.

This story was originally released in 1977, and I am a sucker for these old school romances. While I wouldn't put this one on par as one of my favorites, it was still nice to see a the plot hills and valleys to keep the story going. 3.5 stars / 2 flames. ( )

Moonstruck Madness by Laurie McBain is a 1977 Avon Publication.

When I noticed a couple of Laurie McBain's books were up for review on Netgalley, I didn't hesitate to request them. I am thrilled to see some of these books are being released in digital format. However, when I started on “Chance the Winds of Fortune”, I realized the book was the second in the series. I didn't see the first book up for review, so I went into my vintage and collectable bookshelf to see, if by some minor miracle, I had a copy of this book. Being a big fan of Laurie's I did keep many of her books, so I was relieved to discover that I did still have a copy. YAY!

Written way back in the late 70's, this book might be tossed into the 'bodice ripper' category, but frankly, I didn't feel that way about it. Yes, there are some uncomfortable treatments of women, but despite what many would like to believe, these depictions were accurate and true to the time period.
Other than that, this book is pretty much a standard historical romance for the time frame it was written in.

Sabrina has left her beloved Highlands of Scotland for England with her aunt, sister and young brother. They are not well off, and Sabrina takes part and even devises some dangerous stunts in order to keep her family afloat, until she crosses the Duke of Camareigh, who puts her little enterprise out of business. In order to survive, Sabrina will have to escape her father's plans for her, which leads her right back into the arms of Lucien Dominick.

I loved this story! It's a real classic and is tame enough that modern readers will find it just as enjoyable now as romance lovers did when the book was first published. Sabrina is bold, daring, and a woman who doesn't give up without a fight. I loved her determination, her cleverness, and her fiery passion.

Lucien was absolutely hilarious most of time, as the author depicted him so authentically. He is haughty, arrogant, and manipulative too, but his punishment is having to deal with Sabrina, the love of his life, who always keeps him begging for more.

The secondary characters were also key in this story and give it a very tiny paranormal element as well. There is lots of action, adventure, drama, and emotions in this one, and the writing is simply wonderful. When I read these older books, and find myself swept away , so immersed in another world, never wanting the story to end, I can start to feel a little wistful, wishing there were more books like these being written in present day. Thankfully, a publisher has seen the worthiness of these novels and are reissuing them, breathing new life into them, so that hopefully, a whole new generation will come to love these classics too. 5 stars! ( )

Amongst the better bodice rippers, in that there isn't any rape.
The writing is a bit awkward in places, and the plot feels rather rushed. But there is a great deal more plot than you usually find in these types of books - which is why Laurie McBaine is attributed with having created the modern romance novel. Instead of the Georgette Heyer romantic comedy or the Bronte tragedy...McBaine writes an adventure romance - with the heroine masquerading as a highwayman, and a search for treasure.

The misunderstanding between the hero and heroine goes on for a bit too long...and the hero is a bit of a jerk, but still more likable then most.

Also the language used is less flowery and a bit less over the top than McBain's contemporaries. The interesting bit about McBain - is she only wrote 7 novels, and at the height of her success, she retired.
Coincidentally, her father died shortly before her retirement and it may well be attributed to his death - since he also encouraged her to write and publish them.

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