In the timeline of 1291(13th century) where the monarch was powerful in England and the holy war at Jerusalem was on going, little lady Finnula is aiming at a hawk that terrorizes the henhouse. That hawk belongs to the Sheriff and his visits means she is in trouble again. Secretly Finnula is hunting animals that belong to the earl's cousin where he is taking care on behalf of the new earl. Her sister Christina came up to her room and startled her which cause her to let go of the drawstring and missed the bird. Christina was warning Finnula that the sheriff came to check on Finn about poaching. Finn doesn't seem to care about her actions as she hates the bailiff in charge where they mistreat the serfs. Luckily Robert (Finn's brother) is distracted as he will scold her for her actions as she may be arrested easily, he and his lover have an announcement.
Finn went downstairs from her room to receive the good news where Robert will be marrying Rosamund (mayor's daughter) after many years of dating. It was very good news as most of Finn's sisters were already married except for herself and Mellana. While everyone is rejoicing, Mellana is crying alone in the kitchen and Finn noticed and questions her sister. It seems her sister is with child and the guy is a troubadour that has no money. Mellana herself is also withouth gold as she used those made from selling beer in buying trinkets and new dresses for other sisters' weddings. Finnula felt sad for her sister and was angry at her mistake at the same time for simply spending gold. Mellana begged for help and Finn felt pity for the sister and agreed to help her to earn gold. The sister had a plan which is to kidnap men and ask for ransom from the family. It was dangerous but Finn have already agreed to help so she had no choice.
As a female, Finnula is unique or some would say un-ladylike wearing leather braies and a white lawn shirt instead of dresses like most maids in the land. She doesn't know how to cook, wash or do any other female chores and she is only good with a bow where she never misses a shot.
Hugo Fitzstephen is the earl of Stephensgate and was on his way home from London. He wasn't really a man who is "holy" even though he spent a decade fighting in the Holy Land. Hugo fled to the Crusades as his father wanted him to join the monastery. He however enjoyed seeking oneness with women and found many of them in Jerusalem. He was back from the war where he was held captive in Acre by the Muslim army and the ransom was paid by the crown. He left London as he "dallied" with someone's wife and was demanded gold for compensation of his broken heart.
After travelling for sometime, his squire where he hired from London was complaining of being tired and so they stopped by an inn for food and drink. Not long after he was there he saw a female walked in which was dressed not what common ladies do as it was immodest to wear a pair of leather chausses. Her hair was tied in a messy braid but she had a nice figure which caught his attention for a long time. Hugo ask who she was and the innkeeper mentioned it was the miller's daughter. It was time to leave and as they were leaving the inn his squire was taken by some hooligans and they demanded a price and they started a fight where the lady butt in and beat the guys where they ran out of the inn.
Finnula slowly trailed Hugo as she went to the inn to scout for prey. She enjoyed stalking the prey and capturing it the most but if necessary she would have to kill but it wasn't to her liking . She noticed the gentleman knew the countryside well which made him a difficult prey but it excited Finn as it was a challenge and it made her heart thumped happily. Hugo stopped at a place where it reminded his childhood where he and his brother used to swim in this spring. while he was filling his flask with the water from the waterfall at the spring, he noticed the girl he met at the inn. She was naked and went into the spring for a dip, Hugo felt ashamed for spying and so he turned his head away and suddenly he was attacked by her and with a dagger at his throat they walked back to where his squire was.
The story continues with the squire escaping from his binds and he jumped on Finn and knocked her unconscious. Hugo was attracted to the lady and was angry at how the squire attacked her. So he asked the squire to go back to the manor to wait for him while he played being captive and enjoyed her company at the same time. When she woke up, Hugo looked at her wound which was on her ribs which was bruised, he offered her ale to make it hurt less and wrapped her ribs with cloth. So they went on a journey back to Stephensgate where Finn thinks she would make a lot of gold and Hugo was just fascinated in her and had thought on other things. He also tricked her that he was a knight with the name Hugh Fitzwilliam returning to Caterbury
Hugo constantly irritates her and Finn nearly gives up on having him captive. He kisses her where they were camping for the night and it made her body felt burning hot. It was a new feeling for Finnula and at the same time she wanted more but it was important to get her job done instead for Mellana's sake. It took a few days to travel and the relationship and tension between them heightens through out.
Ransom my heart by Princess of Genovia - Mia Thermopolis with help from Meg Cabot is a story about a girl who wants not to fall in love and a man who wants to posses her body and soul.The thing I love about this book is the timeline as it was at 13th century instead of this current century. I'm often fascinated by those timeline where man court women with utmost enthusiasm. The clothing that was worn during that time is so classy and grand where I enjoy imagining it. The language spoken is so polite and proper, it was a time where men and women are definitely not equal and their responsibilities are distinct. The ranking in society plays a big part during those times when monarchy was active in England.
I often laughed at how Finnula would react to some things that Hugo says and also his actions. It was enjoyable for a book for adults but not too explicit on the sexual details so it's still mild.It made me wish I was born during those time and have an epic romance. This story is the kind of romance that Mia Thermopolis dreamt of and she spent time researching and writing it with Meg Cabot's help. It's definitely a good book on historical romance as it has been long since Meg Cabot wrote stories on a different timeline. I would read it again in two to three years time.
