Dawn Encounter

Jennifer Blake is absolutely a wonderful author! I can be taken away like I'm living through all of the characters. This master of arms series is great!

As usual, one of the best authors out there has put out ANOTHER great book. Don't miss the chance to read this book!! Her characters are so real, and gripping. From the first page, I couldn't put it down. Keep them Coming Jennifer!

I loved this story. The characters are fantastic and I really enjoyed this story and I think Jennifer did a masterful job with building the romance and introducing and forshadowing the stories of her next heros. I have to say it was refreshing that it wasn't instant sexual gratification, but a building of the two together. Caid being so honorable that I could not help but love him and Lisette so indepenant and head strong. It was brilliant. I found the anticipation for when the characters would come together exciting. And I fell in love with her Masters at arms. I'm so looking forward to the other men's story and meeting some more in her next works. I just adored these characters. I read some of the other reviews that weren't so nice. I'm can't imagine how it was boring. Everything was so vibrant and alive. I found this very refreshing and I couldn't get enough. Frankly I'm tired of the jumping right into a sexual relationship type stories that they are getting mundane and typical. This had a plot, motives and forshadowing of this story and of future stories to come. I couldn't have been happier or more impressed with the writing. The style is very romatnic and beautiful and goes beautifully with the time period. I only wish I didn't have to wait another year for the next story! That's my biggest gripe, but I'll be patient I have no choice. :) Maria

The second volume of Blake's latest series features Caid O'Neill, a member of an elitist group of swordsmen proficient in the use of their blades known as maitre d'armes. A man with a less than illustrious past, he came to New Orleans to find his sister. Discovering how she had been callously tossed aside by her lover and left to die in the streets, he challenged the man responsible killing him in a duel. The disreputable man killed was the husband of Lisette Moisant, a young woman who grieved not for her husband. She longed to be free, but unfortunately, with no family of her own, she was now under the thumb of her ruthless father-in-law, who not only blamed her for his son's death, but also strived to control her and the funds she possessed. As her father-in-law manipulates events he makes inroads on his threats to imprison her and gain control of her finances by declaring her insane. With no where else to go, she turns to the very man who killed her husband and manages to convince him to become her protector. Furious beyond belief, her father in law begins a sinister smear campaign insinuating that Lisette and Caid were lovers and the duel was just an excuse for them to be together. Caid suggested that to stop the rumors and save her reputation she should think of marrying, which was not a bad idea, except that the only person Lisette was considering for matrimony was Caid. The plot of these maitre d'arms is original and the fencing and duels exciting as well. The character of Lisette as a very strong minded young woman, particularly with the eye-opening twist of an ending, was especially wonderful and made up in some part for the lack of a real emotional involvement that I felt lacking in the romance department. Rather than the `lady doth protest' it was more on the part of Caid who was much too honorable for his own good! However, Blake certainly summons the aura of old New Orleans in a brilliant and captivating way with her very vivid descriptions of the many sights, sounds and especially the cuisine, of New Orleans making this a very pleasant read.

Finally, after a too-long a wait, Jennifer Blake fans who've longed for "Dawn Encounter" can celebrate! The second in the Master-at-Arms series takes readers even deeper into the sultriest and most fascinating subculture of New Orleans' steamy history. A time of gaslights and duels fought at dawn, of crinolines and cafe au lait, a time when the "Maitre d'Armes," cut as deadly a swath on the dueling fields as they will through the hearts of readers. Their lives, their duels and most of all their loves all come alive in this engrossing journey back to a time when chivalry thrived and honor was everything. The story opens with Caid Roe O'Neill, first introduced as Rio De Silva's friend and fellow Maitre d'Armes, in "Challenge to Honor." Previously, Caid was cast as a light-hearted but steely-eyed free spirit who came to New Orleans to seek his fortune. In "Dawn Encounter" readers learn Caid is a slightly darker, brooding Alpha Male with a painful past that leaves him scarred not just in body but in mind. Like the other master swordsman of Blake's novels, Caid is as devastatingly handsome as he is deadly with a rapier. However, Caid is also touchingly vulnerable in his reverence towards the heroine, Lisette, whom he feels is too good for him. Lisette is a French Creole Belle in the classic sense, honorable, ladylike and aristocratic. She does however differ from the usual too-good-to-be-true heroine by actually feeling rage rather than pity towards those who try to harm her, and surprises readers at the end with a rather unladylike confession. Coupled with the fact that she's recently released from an unsatisfying marriage, Lisette is a heroine modern readers will relate to. Caid first encounters her, half-dead and half-dressed in a New Orleans cemetery. Lisette asks Caid to protect her from her unscrupulous father-in-law, who is trying to drive her mad in order to obtain control over her wealth. Because Caid is responsible for the death of Lisette's husband, and because her father-in-law becomes increasingly murderous, he agrees to protect the lovely, high-spirited lady even though his mounting desire for her is her greatest threat. The tension between the couple is played out in Blake's classic virtuoso style; capturing the readers interest as she always does while spicing things up by introducing new elements. The story is enlivened with supporting characters that advance the plotline as well as plant seeds for future novels, especially the formation of "The Brotherhood," a quasi-vigilante group made up of Caid and his fellow sword masters. Readers will also enjoy catching up with Celina and Rio, the love-pair from "Challenge to Honor" as well as learning more about Masters-at-Arms Nicholas Pasquale and Gavin Blackford; both of whom will be featured in their own stories as the "Master-at-Arms" series continues. Blake gives readers a window into the ultra masculine world of fencing ateliers, duels at dawn and the sword masters who people