Setting: London and Scotland, 1843

Sensuality: 8

Lovely and world-weary, Enid MacLean has no wish to set eyes on her ne'er-do-well husband again. Abandoned by him nine years earlier, she has supported herself as a nurse companion. When Mr. Throckmorton tells her that her long-absent husband is wounded, dying, and in need of her, she reluctantly travels to Throckmorton's estate where she finds a man whose face and body are badly wounded but whose eyes are the distinctive green and gold she remembers. Grimly, she sets about saving his life.

Stephen MacLean wakes and his body grows stronger, but his memory is nonexistent. He doesn't remember being married to Enid, yet the beautiful woman with the acerbic tongue challenges and enchants him. Enid is dismayed to find herself being seduced once again by Stephen. How can she desire the husband who treated her so shabbily? Meanwhile, Stephen's instinct warns him they're in danger, but it isn't until their lives are threatened and nearly lost that Throckmorton sends the couple north to Stephen's family estate, where the truth, finally revealed, is startling.

The English and Scottish backdrops are picture perfect for this latest installment in Christina Dodd's Distinguished Academy of Governesses series. With an interesting plot that combines the mysteries of amnesia and Russian spies, plus a lot of heat between the strong hero and heroine, Lost in Your Arms is historical romance at its best. --Lois Faye Dyer


From Publishers Weekly
Fraught with overwrought characters and contrived plot twists, the fifth entry in Dodd's early Victorian-era Governess Bride series picks up where the previous novel, In My Wildest Dreams, left off. Unlike the other members of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses, Enid MacLean is neither single nor a governess. She's a strong-minded nurse who was abandoned nine years ago by her ne'er-do-well husband, Stephen, after only three months of marriage. Now her delinquent husband is back, badly wounded by an explosion in the Crimea and in need of her healing touch. Enid reluctantly returns to find him scarred, suffering from amnesia and in peril from a Russian spy. Unfazed by Stephen's condition, Enid promptly regales him with stories of his past sins, never realizing that the man who both angers and entices her may not be her husband. The novel jumps abruptly from one angst-ridden confrontation to another, rushing toward a staged, sensational conclusion that holds more sparks than substance. Although the romantic tension between Dodd's hero and heroine will pull readers onward inexorably, the espionage subplot lends little credibility or depth to this trite tale. (Mar. 5)Forecast: Dodd's Governess Bride series has a devout following, but this weak entry may leave readers wondering if the author has lost her edge. Although negative word-of-mouth may deter some fans from picking up Dodd's latest, those who do will be placated by the inclusion of the hero and heroine from her previous book.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Coerced into nursing the feckless, estranged husband she has not seen in eight years, Enid MacLean is shocked to find that Stephen has been seriously injured in an explosion in the Crimea. Using all of her skills as a healer, Enid brings Stephen back from death's door only to face a new challenge: her patient cannot remember anything. As Stephen struggles to regain his strength and his memory, Enid learns that someone will do anything to keep him from recalling what happened. Dodd expertly builds the sexual tension in several intensely sensual love scenes, and she lightens the dark edge of danger with a dash of wicked humor. The fifth in RITA Award-winning Dodd's popular "Governess Bride" series, this is a treat for readers with a taste for sizzling sensual historicals. John Charles, Scottsdale Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
A Groom Who Can't Remember.
A Bride Who Wants Desperately To Forget.Enid MacLean is finally living a peaceful life when she receivesword that an explosion has injured the husband she hoped she'd neverhave to see again. Reluctantly, she agrees to do her duty but,except for his distinctive green eyes, the man she nursesback to health is not the man she remembers.And he remembers nothing. From the depths of his amnesia, he reaches out for the woman he believes is his wife, tempting her with ardent words and a reckless passion she finds herself unable to resist. And while Enid finds herself losing her heart to this achingly familiar stranger, she cannot help but wonder how her husband has become such a dangerous, seductive man...and what secrets he carries locked away in his lost memories.Last time marriage cost her her happiness. This time love could cost her more.


Download Description
When Enid's estranged husband loses his memory in an explosion, she reluctantly agrees to nurse him back to health. But he's not the man she remembers: Enid is unable to resist his tender words and reckless passion.and the dangerous secrets of his lost memories. A Groom Who Can't Remember. A Bride Who Wants Desperately To Forget. Enid MacLean is finally living a peaceful life when she receivesword that an explosion has injured the husband she hoped she'd neverhave to see again. Reluctantly, she agrees to do her duty but,except for his distinctive green eyes, the man she nursesback to health is not the man she remembers. And he remembers nothing. From the depths of his amnesia, he reaches out for the woman he believes is his wife, tempting her with ardent words and a reckless passion she finds herself unable to resist. And while Enid finds herself losing her heart to this achingly familiar stranger, she cannot help but wonder how her husband has become such a dangerous, seductive man...and what secrets he carries locked away in his lost memories. Last time marriage cost her her happiness. This time love could cost her more.


About the Author
Christina Dodd is the author of twenty romances that made regular appearances on the bestseller lists. She has won numerous awards including Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart and RITA Awards.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Christina Dodd's Distinguished Academy of Governesses plays a delightfully vital part in finding dedicated nurse Enid MacLean romantically successful employment. Enid's marriage was a brief and disastrous episode she'd rather forget. But when the disreputable husband who abandoned her nine years ago returns, injured in an explosion that has cost him his memory, Enid is persuaded to nurse him back to health. As her patient slowly regains his strength, Enid realizes that, except for his remarkable green eyes, her husband is a changed man -- he seems to have come to value honor, loyalty, and compassion. And, while this appealing stranger has clearly forgotten her completely, he is also apparently enchanted with the woman who calls herself his wife. Indeed, despite the dangers that surround them, he is eager to sweep her away on an irresistible tide of passion. But, even as Enid finds herself losing her heart to a man she'd once thought herself relieved to have out of her life, she wonders what could have changed her husband so in the years they were apart -- and what terrible secrets might be locked away along with his missing memories.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A Groom Who Can't Remember.
A Bride Who Wants Desperately To Forget.Enid MacLean is finally living a peaceful life when she receivesword that an explosion has injured the husband she hoped she'd neverhave to see again. Reluctantly, she agrees to do her duty but,except for his distinctive green eyes, the man she nursesback to health is not the man she remembers.And he remembers nothing. From the depths of his amnesia, he reaches out for the woman he believes is his wife, tempting her with ardent words and a reckless passion she finds herself unable to resist. And while Enid finds herself losing her heart to this achingly familiar stranger, she cannot help but wonder how her husband has become such a dangerous, seductive man...and what secrets he carries locked away in his lost memories.Last time marriage cost her her happiness. This time love could cost her more.

SYNOPSIS

When Enid's estranged husband loses his memory in an explosion, she reluctantly agrees to nurse him back to health. But he's not the man she remembers: Enid is unable to resist his tender words and reckless passion￯﾿ﾽand the dangerous secrets of his lost memories.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Fraught with overwrought characters and contrived plot twists, the fifth entry in Dodd's early Victorian-era Governess Bride series picks up where the previous novel, In My Wildest Dreams, left off. Unlike the other members of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses, Enid MacLean is neither single nor a governess. She's a strong-minded nurse who was abandoned nine years ago by her ne'er-do-well husband, Stephen, after only three months of marriage. Now her delinquent husband is back, badly wounded by an explosion in the Crimea and in need of her healing touch. Enid reluctantly returns to find him scarred, suffering from amnesia and in peril from a Russian spy. Unfazed by Stephen's condition, Enid promptly regales him with stories of his past sins, never realizing that the man who both angers and entices her may not be her husband. The novel jumps abruptly from one angst-ridden confrontation to another, rushing toward a staged, sensational conclusion that holds more sparks than substance. Although the romantic tension between Dodd's hero and heroine will pull readers onward inexorably, the espionage subplot lends little credibility or depth to this trite tale. (Mar. 5) Forecast: Dodd's Governess Bride series has a devout following, but this weak entry may leave readers wondering if the author has lost her edge. Although negative word-of-mouth may deter some fans from picking up Dodd's latest, those who do will be placated by the inclusion of the hero and heroine from her previous book. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal