The Fire’s Center
Book 1 of The Fire of the Heart series
Shannon Farrell

Unemployed governess Riona Connolly is willing to do anything to save her family from starvation during the Irish Potato Famine. When she meets the handsome Dr. Lucien Woulfe, who offers her post at his clinic, it seems a dream come true.

No man has ever stimulated Riona so completely, in mind and body. Yet she knows her burning attraction to her sensual employer is forbidden in the straight-laced, class-conscious society of Victorian Dublin.

Lucien never imagined he would ever meet a woman who could share his life so perfectly. A dedicated doctor who has been wounded by love in the past, he has no time for relationships. Yet one look at Riona, and he burns with a passion which soon grows all-consuming for them both.

But as the Famine rages, and brings a deadly series of fevers with it. Riona and Lucien must walk through the fire’s center to secure their happiness before it is destroyed by the enemies aligning themselves against the unsuspecting couple, and by the vagaries of Fate.

Can their fiery love win through to a bright future, or will it too become yet another casualty of the Great Blight?

After an hour of quizzing her verbally, Lucien pronounced himself more than satisfied with her medical knowledge, and decided to give her a slide test.

“Here, you keep looking down the microscope, and I’ll hand you the slides one by one, so you can’t peek at the labels,” he suggested.

“All right,” Riona agreed, and soon began rattling off the names of the samples he handed her.

Lucien stood close bedside Riona, as if drawn there by some magnetic force. Try as he might, he couldn’t take his eyes off the tempting flesh of her arms and the shadowy curve of her breasts as they worked side by side.

Though surrounded by flowers in the study, which the maid had put there to brighten up the otherwise rather dull room, Lucien could also smell her own distinctive perfume, fresh, wholesome, and infinitely more alluring that the Parisian concoctions his female acquaintances practically bathed themselves in for formal functions.

Suddenly she held out her hand and asked, “Next one, please?”

Lucien jumped out of his reverie for a moment to hand her the glass slide, but all of a sudden he found himself grasping her fingers tightly instead.

As Riona looked up from the microscope in surprise, Lucien took a step closer to her and pulled her into his warm embrace.

Riona’s lips parted with a gasp, so that Lucien had free access to the tempting delights of her mouth, and the hungry kiss they shared soon left them wanting more.

Lucien ran his hands up and down the length of Riona’s spine, and he thanked God silently that she wore no corsets as he caressed her feminine fullness above and below.

Riona for her own part tried to remain stiff and unyielding in his torrid embrace, but the heat of his passion melted her reserve. She soon found her arms creeping around his neck, while her lips slanted across his mouth to deepen the kiss even further.

Lucien laced his fingers through Riona’s hair, scattering pins and her silk ribbon all about the room as her auburn locks tumbled down around her shoulders. He began to kiss her face and neck then, nuzzling her hair, before whispering, “Lovely, so lovely,” in her shell-like ear.

Lucien knew he ought to stop. Had to stop. But the vibrant woman he held in his arms worked on him like some powerful drug. The more he took liberties with Riona, the bolder he became. The more she matched his caresses, and the more inflamed he grew…

The Fire’s Center
Book 1 of The Fire of Love series
Shannon Farrell
Genre=Historical Romance
Setting= Victorian Ireland, Irish Potato Famine
Rating: Very sensual
Word Count=78,300 words
Price=$4.99

Read the first chapter free here: The Fire’s Center

The Faithful Heart

Sorcha MacMurrough

Tudor Ireland,
1537

Who has murdered Morgana Maguire’s brother, poisoned her father, and stolen most of her clan’s ships? There are just a few of the pressing questions the novice nun must find answers to if she and her one true love Ruairc MacMahon are ever to find happiness in each other’s arms.

Morgana broke off her engagement to the only man she ever loved when her brother was murdered, convinced that her fiance had had betrayed them all. Now, two years later, Ruairc returns to Donegal at the request of Morgana’s father, who wants to make peace with them both before he dies.

In the time that’s passed since the murder, Ruairc is the only one who does not appear to have profited from the young man’s death in any way. In fact, his life has been a living hell.

Ruairc has never loved anyone but the fiery woman with hair like living flame. Forced to earn a living after being banished from his clan for a murder he did not commit, Ruairc has had to dance attendance upon the powerful and ambitious English courtiers in Dublin.

Ruairc is overjoyed to be summoned back to the Maguire lands to be with Morgana again, despite the nest of murdeous intrigue he is walking right back into. He would brave the gates of Hell itself if it meant winning Morgana for his wife. If only he could convince her he loves her for herself alone, not her title, lands or wealth.

Set against the backdrop of Tudor power politics and Reformation during the reign of Henry VIII, and the rebellion of the great Irish leader Silken Thomas, Morgana and Ruairc must fight not only to win each other’s love, but to protect all of Ireland from civil war and foreign invasion.

Read more or order: The Faithful Heart

Heart’s Desire

Sorcha MacMurrough

Nurse Sinead Thomas rescues the hospital’s handsome architect Austin Riordan from a life-threatening situation. Touched by the high-powered man’s sudden vulnerability, she agrees to his proposal to
become his private nurse over the Christmas holidays while he recovers his full health.

Sinead gets more than she bargained for as she gets drawn inextricably into the web of sensuality spun by her domineering new employer. The passionate relationship they forge is like nothing Sinead has never known, and she soon finds herself falling in love with her
enigmatic new boss.

But a cunning woman from Austin’s past soon sets herself up as a professional and very personal rival to Sinead at the hospital and in Austin’s life.

Is Austin really all he seems? Or has he been playing her all along to further his own hidden agenda? Has his power and passion blinded her all along?
Can Austin and Sinead fight their inner and outer demons to secure their hearts’ desire?

Heart’s Desire
Sorcha MacMurrough

Setting: Modern Ireland
Rating:
Sensual
Read more or order: Heart’s Desire

Shanna Murchison
Southern Ireland, 1169

The great Celtic myth of the Wheel of Fate is played out against the first Norman invasion of Ireland. Dairinn is chosen by the gods to be the wife of Senan.
Senan has always hated his ‘gift’ of magical power, and chosen the path of the warrior. With Ireland on the brink of invasion by the English, only his taking Dairinn as his consort and teaching her the ways of the druids can stem the tide of violence.

Through Senan’s love, Dairinn discovers her own innate powers, and the truth behind her family history. As she grows in power, she begins to suspect the awful truth about the sacrifice Senan intends to make to save his country. The passionate connection between them can never be severed, not even in death.
Dairinn has no intention of sacrificing the love she has waited for all her life. Dairinn wages a rebellion of her own against her lover and the druid ways to save Senan and her new-found clan from extinction.
She must bargain with the Morrigan, the goddess of death, if she is ever to achieve happiness with the man she loves. But how high a price will she have to pay for Senan’s life?

Reviews:
Thoroughly fascinating, Four stars
Kathy Boswell, Romantic Times
This thoroughly fascinating Druid fantasy was rich in detail as it told the story of Dairinn and Senan. I found myself reading this book more slowly than I normally read in order to capture every detail. The story opens with Dairinn being betrothed to a Norman in order to try to cultivate peace between her Irish clan and the Normans who have invaded their lands. Little does she know that a stranger has arrived, a Druid, there to fulfill her destiny.
Senan, a Druid Wizard comes to claim Dairinn for his own, but he has no way of knowing how hard a road they both must travel in order to find true love and peace. Dairinn’s heritage is hidden from her for years. When she finds out who and what she is, can she handle it? Can she leave her family behind for a stranger? Can they fight the evil that threatens to overtake their land?
Shanna Murchison created two very strong characters in the hero and heroine. They held onto their love and their beliefs even through the worst adversities, making them a force to be reckoned with.

The Wizard Woman
Shanna Murchison
Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Setting: Ireland, 1169
Word Count=118,000 words
Rating: Quite sensual

Click on the link to read the first chapter or order: The Wizard Woman

Since many of our writers either come from Ireland or live in Ireland, HerStory Books seeks to bring you the best in Irish romance in all categories, from modern to medieval, Regency and Tudor to paranormal.