ALAINA CLAIBORNE BY M K McCLINTOCK

MY REVIEW OF ALAINA CLAIBORNE

The story begins in 1880 in County Wicklow, Ireland just after a ball the English Earl and wife and daughter have attended with their young neighbor.When robbers chase the coach, an accident ensues and only ten year old Alaina escapes. She is raised by her Aunt Charlote and Uncle Sebastian Winston at her English Caliborne Manor in England. Much of the night her parents died has disappeared from her memory. Alaina lives for three things: horses, her gardens, and the future promise of revenge for her parents' deaths.

Ten years later she meets Tristan Sheffield, an agent of the English crown who buys the property next to Alaina. He is also a duke, but he never identifies himself as such. Alaina recognizes his name because young ladies swoon about him. Meeting Tristan causes her nightmare to reappear, this time with more detail. Only Tristan can help her recapture the truth; only he can help her solve the mystery surrounding her parents' murder. But life is not so easy as that, for the murderer is not finished with Alaina. Can she and Tristan discover the truth before the murderer strikes again?

Let me also share with you the sage words of advice Lord Christopher Claiborne gave to young Alaina hours before his death. "...Life is a circle and in the circle exist hate, love, happiness, sorrow, and death, and in order to appreciate one, we must experience the others. Without those experiences we are not whole and live only a part of the life we were given, and it is up to us to make our lives full, for only within ourselves can we find peace."

This is a captivating book, although the head hopping drove me crazy. Those who read a lot of English novels may discover errors in titles and propriety for the time. All in all, I loved the characters and depth of emotion and that's what makes a book enjoyable, and I look forward to the next in the series. I recommend ALAINA CLAIBORNE to anyone who loves historical novels.  

A BLURB ABOUT ALAINA CLAIBORNE

How far would you go to avenge your family and save the one you love?

In nineteenth-century England, Alaina Claiborne had a loving family, a cherished friend, and devoted servants. She spent her days riding across the grassy hills of the English countryside, joyful and at peace.

Then tragedy strikes and her world is forever changed. Searching for those responsible is her only focus . . . until she meets Tristan.

Tristan Sheffield, a man of many talents, searches out those who don’t want to be found. His past is filled with secrets and deeds he would rather leave deeply buried. However, when his life unexpectedly entwines with Alaina's, he soon discovers they share more than a
mutual desire to catch a murderer.

On their hunt for a man driven by greed, Tristan and Alaina find that love is the greatest weapon against evil, and they'll stop at nothing to survive.

Available now at Amazon  

Alaina Claiborne (British Agent Novels)

 

Enjoy Excerpts from Alaina Claiborne

(Excerpts
may or may not be in the order in which they appear, and may differ slightly from the final book.)

Excerpt One: 

The moon shone brightly through the clouds of the dark night, and fatigue soon encouraged she lay her head down on his shoulder, falling into a deep slumber. She felt safe in his embrace and nothing seemed to disturb her. Her senses became aware of his strong arms wrapping a little tighter around her. She felt the carriage bounce as they hit a rut in the road, but she enjoyed his comforting warmth too much to let it disturb her. Then she became cold and her eyes opened, watching as her body rolled down a hill, but no sound escaped her though she frantically sought a way to breathe. She felt those strong arms push her toward the broken door as the carriage continued to roll. Somehow she landed on earth, coldness seeping through her clothes. Her head ached, but the source of the other pain remained elusive.

A bush. She had landed in a bush and the branches hurt, but not as much as the pain inside of her. What’s happening?


She fought her way to the ground and then stopped moving. Silence shrouded the
night. 

Excerpt Two: 

Across the acres, darkness enveloped another, her surroundings illuminated by the flickering flame of a lamp. Alaina moved around in the attic, searching through trunks of the items that had come from her mother’s cottage in Ireland. It was difficult to see so many memories

that reminded her of her parents, but she also found it calmed her. She had avoided these things since they had been delivered years ago, but now her fears became secondary. She hoped that something from her parents’ past would shed light on what was happening in the present.
          

      Alaina rummaged through a trunk of some of her mother’s clothes, pulling them out and

smelling them, hoping for a faint whiff of the soft rose scent her mother used to wear. There was something lingering around the old clothes, and it took Alaina back to a time when she was a little girl. Nevertheless, the memory ended there. She paused for a moment, as if the scent reminded her of something else besides her mother. She subsequently released the memory when she saw the bottom of the trunk was not as deep as it should have been. She pulled out the remaining dress and ran her fingers along the bottom and edges. She next looked on the outside of the trunk. Nearly six inches of extra space remained near the
bottom on the inside.

Alaina felt along the inside edges and became excited when she found a gap. Slowly reaching her fingers into the hole, she simultaneously pushed down on the other edge for leverage and surprised herself when the bottom tilted to reveal the extra space beneath. Removing the thin board, she set it aside and gasped when she turned back to the trunk.

“Oh, Mother. What did you do?”

Book Information

Release
Date: January 7^th,
2013

Genre: Historical Romance

Formats: Paperback and Kindle

Publisher: Trappers Peak Publishing

The Author

MK McClintock is an over-worked entrepreneur, baker of decadent desserts and all things chocolate, photographer of beautiful places, and most importantly, a writer.

She dreams of a time when life was simpler, the land rougher, and the journey more rewarding. With her heart deeply rooted in the past and her mind always on adventure,
McClintock calls Montana home.
McClintock is a member of Romance Writers of America, Montana Romance Writers,
Hearts Through History Romance Writers, and Women Writing the West.

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