The Black Rose

I enjoyed this book a lot. The plot kept me on my toes and was not predictable like so many romances are. The passion between the characters felt real and I will definately try to find more books by this author. I don't want to give anything away by telling more, but this one was worth picking up.

I've never read a story with a shape-shifter in it before, but let me tell you Ms. Zimlich is a master at catching my attention. You have to love the heroine, Alexandra Fallon and how after a marraige is forced on her, she leaves her bridegroom in the lurch on their wedding night. Nor can you resist the delicious and sensual wooing of the runaway bride by her shapeshifter husband, turned into a renegade gun running space pirate. With the threat of revolution and the outcome of the future world at stake, The Black Rose is a compelling story by a talented author and well worth adding to your bookshelf.

While almost a futuristic Scarlet Pimpernel, but instead of rescuing people, Lucien Charbonneau was plotting the galactic revolution. In his many disguises: an intergalactic gun runner, an outrageous revolutionary, a gentle nobleman, or a fop, Lucien always managed to look out for his wayward and headstrong wife. Alexandra Fallon escaped the night of her dynastic marriage to the fop Lucien Charbonneau. Trying to complete her late father's dream, she and her maid fall from one adventure into another, always meeting men with a nagging familiarity. THE BLACK ROSE is a sensual romp - I enjoyed meeting each rendition of Lucien, although I did start to think of him as poor Lucien *G*. He seemed to always be one step behind Alexandra - whether chasing her after her ingenious escape from the forced marriage (and that was an interesting scene) to trying to assist her as she was being stalked by her family, the galactic government secret police and it seemed EVERYONE. Actually enjoyed this book. It provided an hour of light reading and a couple of fun lunches. No comment on the cover. The lovemaking in zero gs is GREAT!!

Zimlich's newest book "The Black Rose" is destined to give this author a secure notch of her own in the growing world of futuristic romance. Her writing is suspenseful and intriguing, the worlds she penned are fascinating, and the relationship between the hero and heroine is well worth reading about.Lucien Charbonneau is a high-born noble with two faces: one is that of obedient son born of a father who has showed him nothing but contempt all his life, and the other is that of a revolutionary who has plotted and planned against his cold, autocratic father for years in an effort to throw over Dominion and force democratic changes into the existing noble and slave like system. When Lucien's father commands him to come back to his home planet of New France, Lucien is very disconcerted to find out that he has been used against his will or knowledge to form a marriage alliance with the clan Fallon. Realizing how much his plans for galactic revolution lay in his counter-identity not being discovered, (trust me--Zimlich makes this work) Lucien bides his time and acts the complacent son so as not to raise suspicions about himself. A few days later, he finds himself on planet Lochlain preparing to marry a woman he had never before laid eyes upon...Alexandra Fallon, niece to the ruler of the warrior Fallon clan, is less than thrilled to be forced to the altar. She is a warrior scholar with a destiny of her own choosing already mapped out. She had plans of her own...plans that didn't include being hitched to some high-born dandy like she was certain Lucien Charbonneau was going to turn out to be. Alexandra's first and foremost desire was to prove to the skeptics that had dismissed her father's life work as the musings of a lunatic, that humans really had inhabited the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy thousands of years ago. Her destination was the fourth moon that laid outside of Dominion...the place where her father's writings assured her she would find the answers.And so Alexandra escapes Lochlain after the marriage pact is signed and heads full fury toward the next galaxy. She hitches a ride with a smuggler en route, having no clue whatsoever that she's about to have the time of her life. Or that the smuggler in question is her husband...

This book seems to be a cross between the historical romance, and the futuristic. It is set in an imperial society. The two main charactors in the book are from nobility, and are going to be married in an "arranged marriage". As you can guess, having never met each other, they are not happy about the situation. There is a couple sub-plots running around in this book, that makes it interesting. If you like the historical romances set in medievil times, you will probably like this one. I have read "Hearts Prey" and it is set in the same world. It is worth the time.