Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway are an awesome team of writers who took this great idea of writing about an historic bed and wove tales around it that have delighted me with their characters, the intertwining of the 4 stories that make up this book and the humor and drama within. That I’m getting 4 romance novels for the price of one is icing on the cake.

These awesome ladies each take two periods each from the Medieval, Elizabethan, Regency and modern times and create these four tales that are centralized around the Masterson Bed. The bed is a huge piece of furniture originally built and carved by the medieval Knight and first Masterson, Nicholas who was given the manor of Trecombe as reward for serving Richard in the Holy Wars.

Titled “The Bed is Made“, the story of Nicholas and Jocelyn begins with a tourney between Nicholas and Guy Moore who seeks not only Nicholas’ land, but his lady as well. Married by proxy to Trecombe’s mistress, Jocelyn, Nicholas must now win the heart of his bride and do battle to keep the lands he’s already won.

“The Bed Unmade” is set in 1583 and sees Lady Helwin, a poor relation of the current Earl of Smythwick who is used by her conniving cousin to thwart the unwanted attentions of Rion, the current Masterson Lord who has fallen on bad times and seeks a wealthy bride to shore up his finances. Helwin has long held a secret attraction for Rion, but he has been unaware of her until Berthilda’s machinations bring Helwin to his castle as Rion attempts to force a wedding between himself and Berthilda to secure his fortune. He falls in love with Helwin and they must find another way to secure the fortunes of the Mastersons.

In “The Lady Makes Her Bed“, Phillipa and Ned Masterson have an undeniable desire for each other, but will it turn into a love that will transcend them? You’ll have to read how.

“The Bed Wins All” brings us to contemporary times and our heorine is the American museum director Laurel Whitney who is currently responsible for caring for the Masterson Manor’s antiquities and leading the tours through the home. Her reincarnation of Lord Masterson is the illegitemate son of the last lord. Despite being born on the wrong side of the blanket and in humble circumstances, Max Ashton has reversed his fortunes and purchased the Manor back from it’s current owners. Laurel is unaware of this because there’s also someone stealing the Masterson antiquities and selling them on the black market and Laurel is a suspect!

I hope you’ll be as charmed by this novel as I was! I laughed and cried with it’s characters and delighted in their banter with each other. All four sets of heroines and heroes quickly won their way into my heart although the “bad guys” didn’t always earn my total contempt even when they threatened the hero or heroine’s life.

Once Upon A Pillow by Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway
Published by Pocket Books a division ofSimon & Schuster, Inc., Inc. 2002
ISBN 0-7434-946-6

I’m in the process of reading Left To Die by Lisa Jackson and that was going to be my next book up for review here, but if you hurry, you can enter for a chance to win it over at A Book Blogger’s Diary.

I’m not going to spoil the book for you, but just let you know that so far, it’s griping and terrifying all at the same time. Come back soon to read a full review, but for now go enter the contest!!! You’ve only got a few days!

And if you’re not lucky enough to win it over there, leave a comment here and I’ll enter you in a drawing to win my copy of it! Winner will be drawn on 9/15/2008.

As a long time fan of Frederick Forsyth, I’ve missed his writings of late. When my friend gave me this book to read citing difficulty “getting into it”, I worried that Mr. Forsyth had lost his touch.

Not to fear however, as the plot, dialog and characters in this book rank right up there with Mr. Forsyth’s finest.

The Afghan is more than a mere novel.

As any good writer should do, Mr. Forsyth has researched the Afghan wars and the culture exhaustively. He speaks knowingly of the terrain, language and diversity of religion and cultures in the area of India, Pakistan, Izbekistan and Afghanistan. It’s an education to read what he has written. His scenes smack of first hand knowledge and no villian is bigger than life nor is any hero in the book.

The plot centers around a phrase repeated in correspondence intercepted between high ranking Al Qaeda operatives by a joint force of US and British operatives. Feeling that this phrase is indicative of another strike against the world of global proportions by Al Qaeda, a plan is devised to put in place a ringer for a known and respected Taliban fighter. The right man is found and trained and the events that put him in place to execute the counterintelligence plan begins.

This is no happy-ever-after novel where the hero goes home to a hero’s welcome and the girl. It’s a dirty, harsh, horrifying and all too plausible tale of terrorism. All in all, it’s a great read!

The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth
Published by GP Putnam’s Sons 2006
ISBN 0-399-15394-2