The Barnes & Noble Review
Jane Feather brings her passionate Kiss series to a rousing conclusion with Kissed by Shadows, a complex historical drama about two people caught in the maelstrom of "Bloody" Mary Tudor's turbulent reign. Previously, The Widow's Kiss told the story of Guinevere Malloy and the man who dared to wed her after her four previous husbands had all met untimely ends. In To Kiss a Spy, Guinevere's daughter, Pen, met and married spymaster Owen D'Arcy. Now, in Kissed by Shadows, Pen's sister, Pippa, faces many trials before finding her own happiness. When the story begins, Pippa has not only earned the enmity of Queen Mary and her husband, the Spanish king Phillip, but her marriage, still barely half a year old, is failing as well. Pippa is the unknowing victim of a dastardly plan to ensure that King Phillip fathers a child who will inherit the English throne. A handsome and enigmatic Englishman, Lionel Ashton, has a pivotal role to play in Pippa's salvation, playing the Spanish and English off against each other. But as he comes to know Pippa, he's anguished to realize that it's almost impossible to protect his beloved and safeguard the country that has claim to his loyalties as well. Plots and counterplots whirl in this thrilling, richly evocative tale. Sue Stone