Ariana Devoe is the willful and arrogant daughter of Earl William. What happens when she finds that she has lost her home and family? Will she lose her heart, too, as she struggles to reach the elderly Baron to whom her father has promised her? Or will she throw away her chance to avenge her father’s death and regain her titles and estates to be with the dashing Jeremy?

Jeremy Gowen has lived most of his life in the Earl’s stables, but does not intend to end his days there. Aided by the stablemaster, once a soldier in the King’s service, Jeremy secretly learns horsemanship and sword fighting.

After the attack on her father’s castle, Jeremy finds Lady Ariana, lost and alone. He promises to take her to the Baron, but as their journey progresses, he is no longer willing to turn the woman he loves over to another man. Jeremy holds the secret which could make Ariana his, but he wants her to love him for his own sake.

I started reading and was immediately drawn in by the characters and the surroundings. It was very easy to care for Ariana and Jeremy, but was also surprised in a nice way how much I liked the other characters met on this wonderful adventure by the two… Once I started the book, I couldn’t put it down. It is very engaging and a great road adventure.

I loved the Historical details that brought the story to life, but weren’t to much to bog down the flow. This was a highly entertaining read from beginning to end. I can’t wait to read the next one.

I chose Ariana’s Pride because of the interesting action adventure storyline. I must say that at the outset, neither Lady Ariana Devoe nor Jeremy were likable characters. Both seemed to possess character flaws that tended to cause me to dislike them. However, as the plotline unfolds, the pair comes to recognize their weaknesses and strive to overcome them. By the end of the book, they had redeemed themselves most admirably.

The author has a wonderfully descriptive narrative, which allowed me to easily visualize the various scenes depicted in the book.

The romance aspects of the novel are better than most romance books I’ve read, though admittedly they are not great in number. I don’t normally read romance novels, but this author of historical romances skillfully merges action adventure and romance. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again in this review. Margaret Lake’s style reminds me of Baroness Emmuska Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel that I read as a young man. Like that classic historical romance, Margaret Lake’s “Ariana’s Pride” is a magnificent achievement.

Like Orczy before her, Lake has the ability to draw in crossover readers who prefer adventure books. There’s nothing wrong with that. To the contrary, any writer who can get a reader to expand their reading preferences serves the readers well. You action adventure fans should try this book. Romance fans, there’s plenty to admire here. The historical backdrop was fascinating.

I highly recommend this book. Indeed, it has caused me to rethink my preferred genres. I’ll definitely be reading other books by this author in the future.