by Lynn Raye Harris, author of The Prince’s Royal Concubine (Harlequin Presents, June 2010)
Okay, maybe there is no such thing as a perfect storm, but my June book does have storms! First, there’s the storm between Prince Cristiano di Savaré and Princess Antonella Romanelli – and then there’s the literal storm that threatens to destroy the island they are sheltering on.
I do love a good rainstorm. I even love a thunderstorm when there’s absolutely no possibility of a tornado (since I live in tornado country!). There’s something about curling up on the couch or in the bed with a good book and listening to the rain hammer down.
I like watching rain gush from the gutters, the contrast of the bright green grass against the darkness of the storm, and I like the rivulets of water chasing down the windowpane. I wouldn’t like it every day, but there are just some days when a storm is perfect.
I’m not so sure that Cristiano and Antonella would agree with me. Cristiano has come to the Caribbean island of Canta Paradiso with one thought in mind: getting Antonella’s cooperation in a deal that ultimately means he will be able to take over her country.
Sounds like he’s got his work cut out for him, right?
Antonella is rightfully wary of this handsome prince. He’s too arrogant, too entitled, and too irritating. And she’s not about to cooperate with him on anything.
Until a hurricane closes in on the island and the two of them have to take shelter together from the storm. A lot can happen when there’s nothing but wind and rain and the possibility of death looming over your head.
It’s a perfect storm of circumstances that bring Cristiano and Antonella together. Their journey isn’t easy (what fun would that be?) but I think it’s worth it in the end. I know they agree with me!
RT Book Reviews awarded THE PRINCE’S ROYAL CONCUBINE 4 ½ stars and a Top Pick recommendation! Rhomylly Forbes said, “This is a first-class tale taken straight from today’s headlines. The characters are multidimensional, and the reader will cheer at the excellently crafted ending. And the love scenes are definitely hot!”
I hope you enjoy the story! Now tell me, do you like the occasional storm? Do you have any favorite ‘stormy’ romances?
Hi Lynn,
Appropriate topic for the day, we’re supposed to have thunderstorms this afternoon! I love rain
Actually I can’t think of a book with a storm that I liked — but I know of one that drove me nuts: “Villette”, by Charlotte Bronte. OMG, the ending KILLED me. I was so mad! If you’ve read it, you know what I’m talking about….Anyway….
~Amy
Hmm, can’t say I’ve read that one, Amy! Amazingly, even as an English major, I escaped a lot of the Brontes in my college days. I do think of Wuthering Heights as stormy though, and I intensely disliked that book.
I hope your thunderstorms aren’t too bad. I got caught in a store yesterday while it stormed. It wasn’t storming at my house just a few miles away, but it was raining so hard at the store I couldn’t leave for about half an hour.
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I LOVE storms – the sheer elemental wildness of them.
In Tuscany recently, there was a HUGE storm in the middle of the night – a deafening crash which made me wake up with a start. Pulling open the shutters, I saw bright lightening forking through an angry sky….it made me feel very small and insignificant as I watched Nature’s powerful light and sound show!
The title of your new book is wonderful, Lynn.
Lynn, I read The Prince’s Royal Concubine a couple of months ago and LOVED it, particularly the storm scene. So much simmering tension…..
If anyone hasn’t read it, I agree with RT – 4.5* or maybe 5
I love summer storms–when the sky gets all dark and the air practically crackles and you KNOW it’s going to pour. I don’t even mind being caught out in them, if it’s not cold. As for storms in romances–the first romance I ever wrote had the hero and heroine caught in a snowstorm and having to take shelter in an old barn. Sadly that manuscript is gathering dust under my bed
I can’t wait to read this, Lynn. Congratulations on the great review–I love the title!
Oh Sharon, that sounds like a lovely storm! I never worried about thunderstorms in Europe because tornadoes are so rare there. Those crashes in the middle of the night are scary, but I do remember some of them quite fondly.
I love this title too!
Sarah: aw, you make me blush! Thank you so much! I loved writing the storm and them sheltering from it. It was so much fun to do.
Kate: My very first manuscript had a huge rainstorm and the characters sheltering in a cave, LOL. It was a medieval. Thanks for the congrats! I hope you enjoy.
Thanks so much for stopping by, y’all!
I love a storm as long as I am not out in it. I agree with Lynn that it is one of life’s joys to curl up with a book while the elements rage outside.
I can remember stilling on the front porch with my granny (the very same one who let me read her Presents books ) while it rained and stormed around us. I felt so safe yet brave all at the same time.
Lynn, BIG congratulations on the great reveiw!
Lynn, I’m in the middle of Prince’s Royal Concubine right now. Just got to the storm in fact! And I’m loving it so far.
Actually, for my third book, the love scene is in a tent in the rain and I listened to the sounds of storms the whole time I wrote. I felt brilliantly angsty.
Hy Lynn
I read The Prince’s Royal Concubine when it came out in the UK and I loved the way you used the storm to ‘imprison’ them together – very atmospheric. I love a really great storm – the mor thunder and lightning the better. It’s interesting that both you and Amy have said that you didn’t like storms in the Brontes’ books. I have to agree about Villette – I did not like the ending of that one but with Wuthering Heights I loved the storms in there. Perhaps that’s because the very first time I ever heard any part of that story it was told to me by a teacher in the middle of a thunderstom when all the lights had fused. I think we’ll just have to disagree over that book!
Oh Maisey, a tent in the rain sounds wonderful!! While I was out just now, I got caught in another rainstorm. I was inside a restaurant and watched it come down. Now I’m home, and I think we’re about to get hit soon here!
Kate, perhaps if I’d heard WH the way you did, I’d be a bigger fan! I just wanted to smack Cathy and Heathcliff silly. *g* Now I’m going to have to read Villette so I’ll know what you and Amy are talking about with the ending!
I love a good thunderstorm– which we get precious few of out here in California. But I was recently lucky enough to be in one in Florida, and it was fantastic. Wild lightning, crazy thunder–it definitely gets the heart rate up!
I also love the word “concubine.” I feel that should be used more often in casual conversation.
I need to hurry up and get to a bookstore to get my hands on this one!
I like how Florida thunderstorms swing through in the afternoon and then are gone. Or at least it was that way when I was visiting! Maryland was that way in the summer months too. Always an afternoon storm with lots of noise, and then it was gone.
Yes, Caitlin, run *now* to the store before they are all gone! *ggg* Well, okay, maybe they won’t sell out before you can get there.
Ha! Caitlin, I love the use of Concubine too. Let’s each use it twice in conversation at Nationals. Once in reference to Lynn’s book. *g*
Lynn – I think you know that this is my current favourite storm book, you pulled it off so well, all that enforced intimacy and nowhere to hide. Perfect!
x Abby
Maybe we should make it into a drinking game, Maisey!
Thank you, Abby! I blush, and yet I love it.
Hey Lynn,
I’ve read the story and it sure doesn’t disappoint! There is so much to love in the details of this relationship, I won’t spoil by spelling it out, but it is an absolute must read! Can’t wait for your next story, so keep em coming! Take care, B