The Merry Widow

Great book. I started this book just beore my bedtime and could not put it down, I traded in sleep for finishing this book. I have not read such an interesting book in a while.

I think some of the reviews below are overly harsh... I would give this book a B- to B grade. It's fun in its way. The settings (Arctic and Gilded Age New York) are interesting, and so are the characters. The premise is unique. There are some cliches (orpahned children and kindly housekeeper) but the story is suspenseful throughout. I did not mind the hero's harshness, given what the heroine had done I thought she was lucky he didn't sic the police on her. I enjoy a dark romance with lots of tension between the hero and heroine and this book had that. I did think that all the stuff with the painting at the end was predictable and silly. But overall I found this book entertaining. Not on the order of Lions & Lace, Fair is the Rose, or A Man to Slay Dragons, but still worth reading for McKinney fans.

When artic explorer Noel Magnus, searching for the missing Franklin expedition, kept putting off marriage to Rachel Howland, the only white woman in the frozen north, she took the cursed black opal he wanted and fled to Noel's home in New York, posing as his widow. Along the way, she acquires two homeless children who are also seen as Noel's children. When Noel arrives in New York, he vows to make Rachel's life hell. In addition, Rachel is being threatened by Noel's sworn enemy and competitor, Edmund Hoar.A vast improvement over McKinney's last novel, this is a rich tale filled with conflict and tension. THE MERRY WIDOW kept me reading until the last page, long after my bedtime.

I have long been a fan of Meagan McKinney yet she continues to get better! I love romance but it has been awhile since I have come across a book that grips me from start to finish. For the first time in months I found myself sacrificing all hours to finish The Merry Widow. McKinney manages to create male characters that are dark, passionate and fierce - and yet men you love. Her heroines are gutsy and rich in character. History and locale come to life. If I were to offer any criticism of this wonderful novel, it would be on a passage where the main characters are finally reunited. I was disappointed at the lack of excitement. I had been reading fast and furious to this point and yet was let down with the almost casual description. However, with that singular criticism, this book is the best one I've read ( and I've read several!) in months. Enjoy, Enjoy!