Poor Lady Anthea’s life
is besieged with the strange and the unexpected. First, for some inexplicable reason, the
love of her life, Jovian Cathness, twelfth Duke of Chavanage, turns into an unpleasant
drunk and she’s forced to break off with him. Then she gets a letter from her father
who was visiting his old friend, informing Anthea that he’d not only married a
governess, but also that she now had a new step-sister as well. Hardly has Anthea comes to
terms with this news, than a missive arrives with the news that her step-mom had died!
Torn with grief, her father sets off to the Amazon while her new stepsister Corinna comes
to London to stay with Anthea and her maiden aunt. The beautiful and young girl soon wins
them, but her background and past remain a mystery.
Jovian’s supposed friend and neighbor, Sir
Erebus Lethe, fascinates Corinna for some curious reason, but he has eyes only for the
lovely Anthea. Extraordinary events soon become the norm, with voices being heard where
there’s nobody, the moon casting blue luminescence, the haunting ‘Lavender
Blue’ song which seems to hold a mystifying sway over both Anthea and Corinna,
persons who fly, an inquisitive hare, unseasonal thunder and whatnot. The crisis is
rapidly approaching, but Anthea has no idea who poses the danger, or why, but she knows
its coming and she also knows she may not be able to stop it. What part does an ancient
Greek legend play in all this?
Author Sandra Heath has created an engaging and
mysterious story which utilizes to the full ancient Greek legends, pagan rituals, myths
and beliefs, in ‘Lavender Blue’. The plot is really unusual, as is the
storyline, and it beautifully encompasses a mystery within a romance and there are plenty
of agonizingly suspenseful moments which greatly increase the interest factor in the book.
The characterizations are not done in deep, and not much of their thoughts or feelings are
revealed to preserve the mystery. But the suspense is strong and engaging enough to make
up for this. The book has a magical and mystical quality that is fresh, sweet and
romantic. Very charming.
Reviewed By Rashmi Srinivas for The Road to
Romance
April 4, 2003 |
