Northern Fire, Northern Star

Rating:
Summary: Exciting & Adventurous
Review: As much as "Northern Fire, Northern Star" is a pulsating romance, it is also a captivating adventure and far surpasses the strict conventions of this genre. Before there is romance, author Scotney St. James ignites a fireworks display of adventure as 24-year-old heroine Alexandria MacKenzie bravely traipses through nineteenth century rural Canada in a quest to be employed as a physician. She endures loneliness, discomfort and near defeat during her voyage, not to mention the danger of physical assault by the rough, woman-deprived men with whom she is traveling. Rhys Morgan in particular, a tall sinewy moustached mapmaker, cringes at the idea of a woman practicing medicine, let alone a young, single and startlingly beautiful one like Alex, as she prefers to be called. As with most romance novels, erotic tension crackles unbearably until about halfway through when passion between the protagonists is finally consummated in one spectacularly sensual night. The age-old battle of the sexes is explored here humorously and realistically, as Alex & Rhys, along with other couples in the book, struggle to define the roles of Man and Woman. Entertaining, original, and take the word of an avid reader of Scotney St. James' historical romances: this is her best.