Scarlet Woman is my first Shelley Munro novel, and I must tell you I have thoroughly enjoyed it and will most definitely be reading more from this excellent author. Superbly written, this tale had me hooked. Are you a paranormal fan? Specifically, a feline shape shifter fan? Then this is most definitely one for you! For the rest of you, I urge you to give this one a go. If you have not read this genre before, then you could most definitely be broadening your reading horizons – and addictions!

Emily Scarlet has been a widow for six months. Her husband, Michael, was killed in a car accident, but Emily has not been able to grieve. For her husband was not the man everyone thought him to be, particularly his family. Emily is very close to his parents; his sister is her best friend. She has kept the truth about him from them, not wanting them to hurt more than they already do at the loss of their son and brother. Their home was professionally decorated, in a style that is meant to impress, not a style that reflects Emily’s tastes. She hates the house she lived in with her husband, but deferred to him on all decisions. He was controlling to the extreme. He chose her clothes, her hair style, her friends, and her lifestyle. He even forbade her to work. A qualified chef, Emily loved her job, but gave it all up to become a housewife at his say so.

No matter what she did, she could not please him. She was not allowed to voice an opinion; he was of the belief that being a housewife, she was not in touch with what was going on in the world and therefore had nothing to contribute to any discussion or debate. Sex between them was always boring, dull and painful for Emily, conducted always under the bedcovers, in the dark. On the day he died, Michael was leaving her for his secretary. He told her he’d been having an affair for months and was leaving her, then proceeded to verbally tear her to shreds criticizing everything about her from her weight to her personality. Needless to say, the abuse of trust she suffered at his hands has made her mistrustful of all men and determined never to enter a serious relationship, especially marriage, again. There is one thing she does want however: to experience pleasure and an orgasm during sex.

To that end, she has bought tickets to the Middlemarch dance, with the intent of having fun and finding a man with whom she can finally visit the stars. That man is Saber Mitchell. He is both gorgeous and fully capable of making her see the stars multiple times, in a variety of situations: against a tree, in a bed, out in the open. She had intended only to have one night, but inexplicably the planned one night stand turns into something more long lasting. But trust is something that Emily can no longer give either freely or easily. Unable to trust Saber, she keeps herself distanced from him to some degree at all times. Is her inability to trust a permanent issue that will forever bar the way to a serious, meaningful, loving relationship? Is it the only issue that stands in Emily and Saber’s way?

Saber Mitchell has a secret, a big one. He, his brothers and a substantial number of Middlemarch are feline shifters. Keeping the secret is getting harder. There is a reporter snooping around, wanting to know about the large cats in the area. His brothers, as well as the many single young males, are raging out of control. It is hoped, both by the elders and by Saber that finding their mates will calm them down and make them more responsible. Not an easy feat, for Middlemarch is lacking in the female population department, hence the reason for the Middlemarch ball. Saber has long given up on finding his own destined mate, having looked long and hard, being disappointed time after time. He is no longer looking for her, which is why he almost misses her at the ball. Stunned by his reaction to her, he at first cannot come to grips with the fact that she is the one. He faces an immediate problem upon accepting that she is his one and only: how to keep her in Middlemarch. Sex alone, no matter how good, cannot possibly do this. Then he comes up against a more impenetrable issue: Emily’s inability to trust and determination not to become seriously involved with another man, especially so soon after her experience with her deceased husband. Is his determination to be with his mate enough of a force for him to find a way to be with her, to find a way to solve her deep seated trust issues? Will he have to fight more than Emily to get her for his own?

Scarlet Woman is touching and fabulously written. I will be reading more from this author for sure, but would love for Ms Munro to write Saber’s brothers stories. There is definitely the potential for a fabulous series to emerge out of this tale. This book has even paved the way for some of them. The characters are all substantially developed, especially Emily. Her past has had such an effect on her, the impact of which is gradually built up throughout the tale. The issues she is left to face, and solve are so tangible, I can almost touch them.

Saber’s determination to find a way to get the girl is heartwarming. Coupled with Emily’s history, the reader really does hope for a happy and joyous ending between them. The novel is lightened up by the mischievousness of Saber’s brothers; though fully grown men, some of the antics they get up to are both humorous and frustrating for Saber and Emily. They definitely help to lend an edge of lightness to this tale. The sex between them is both hot and joyful; Emily is able to experience that which she never has before – and in places other than a bed, too. There is some anal play, but other than this love making is fairly traditional – as long as you don’t count traditional as being missionary position, in a bed, under the covers and in darkness, for that is most undeniably not an accurate description for the way Emily discovers her sexual side. Scarlet Woman is a delicious read that any reader would adore and come back to again and again.

Reviewed By Elizabeth
© January 2006