February Fiesta! by Hannah Fielding

Introducing… Hannah Fielding

Hannah Fielding is an incurable romantic. The seeds for her writing career were sown in early childhood, spent in Egypt, when she came to an agreement with her governess Zula: for each fairy story Zula told, Hannah would invent and relate one of her own. Years later – following a degree in French literature, several years of travelling in Europe, falling in love with an Englishman, the arrival of two beautiful children and a career in property development – Hannah decided after so many years of yearning to write that the time was now. Today, she lives the dream: writing full time at her homes in Kent, England, and the South of France, where she dreams up romances overlooking breath-taking views of the Mediterranean.

To date, Hannah has published four passionate, evocative novels: Burning Embers, a ‘romance like Hollywood used to make’, set in Kenya; the award-winning Echoes of Love, ‘an epic love story that is beautifully told’, set in Italy; and books 1 and 2 of the Andalusian Nights trilogy, set in sultry Spain, entitled Indiscretion and Masquerade. She is currently working on her fifth book, Legacy, which will publish this spring.

A glimpse of Burning Embers

His hand had moved to the small of her exposed back as he escorted her along the garden to the secluded spot behind the house. Pleasurable shivers trailed up and down Coral’s spine, making her skin tingle with a delicious sensation. Still she was relieved when they reached their destination and Rafe fell a pace back to allow her onto the patio first.

Coral saw a temple covered with entwined roses, wisteria, and begonia dwelling heavily on a cedar trellis that sagged in the middle under their weight. The evening air was balmy, heavy with a symphony of scents from dwarf citrus trees in huge, clay planters. A murmuring old fountain with circular seats cut into the stone provided a perfect complement to the surroundings. In a corner, under an elderly fig tree, two rustic chairs and a stone table covered with an ivory-colored linen tablecloth had been set with unaffected elegance. The music of the flowing water and contrast of light and shade evoked a sense of mystery, creating an enthralling scene.

“This is my haven…” he said while assisting her to sit facing the fountain. “My very private place.”

How many women had he brought here to dine in this very romantic, very private place of his? The thought gave Coral’s heart a nasty little pinch. “It is truly enchanting,” she said, accepting a glass of champagne.

 I truly enjoy reading the occasional romance that gives me a little something different from the same 'ole, same 'ole of what we typically get these days in modern romance.   So, I was definitely intrigued by the idea of a romance set in Africa in the 60's.
This is a love story in two ways... Coral's love for Africa and an unlikely forbidden love between Coral and Rafe. Coral travels back to her childhood home in Africa to settle her inheritance after the death of her father. She meets Rafe the mysterious neighbor who has earned a bad reputation of being an evil womanizer. And, I'll be honest, for most of the book I didn't really like him. The author does a pretty good job of keeping us guessing about his true nature. But, all I have to say is you need to read it all the way to the end. Because everything is pulled together in a way that makes your light bulbs go off and I was definitely satisfied with the outcome.

This is a book for a patient reader. It is a very descriptive and slow moving romance. The setting is amazing and you are taken to several very secluded and romantic places in Africa. Coral is a photographer so we travel along with her as she photographs some of these beautiful locations and wildlife. The author describes Africa in such detail that you almost feel as if you're there.
I never fully understood the mystery behind what was in the basement??  But, seeing that there were a lot of tall tales going on between the locals about Rafe and his relationship with her father prior to Coral's arrival perhaps that's all it was... a rumor and another tall tale.

If you are a fan of romance written in exotic locations then this is a book I would highly recommend!

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