The Spanish Pearl

Title: The Spanish Pearl
Author: Catherine Friend
Published: 2007 by Bold Strokes
Genre: Time traveling historical romance stuff
Pages: 325


Wohoo, one more book for August! I've been a busy little beaver with my books. Yessir.

The Spanish Pearl is about Kate Vincent, an artist who, on a trip in Spain with her partner Anna, accidentally falls in a cave... to the year 1085. Oops. Spain in 1085 is not the best place for a woman wearing short shorts, Doc Martens and not much else. She gets captured by a group of mercenaries, and taken to a Moorish court, in the middle of an awkward alliance of Moors and Christians. She knows that there is another cave some two week's traveling away from where she could get back home, but first she'd need to get out of the damn harem!

As entertaining and adventurous as Friend's other book I read a while ago, Pirate's Heart, I liked this one too. I did, however, figure out the big OMG! plotpoint wahaaaay before Kate did. Not sure if I was meant to. Probably yes, all things considered. Unfortunately she didn't hear me tell her about it, since she was stuck in 1085. And not really real. But most of the big events and people in this book were real, battles and kings and Moor lords and El Cid and such.

There's also a sequel, The Crown of Valencia, but I think I'll save that one a little bit longer. I bought both used from Amazon, and the sequel of course arrived in four days from the UK while the first one (a discarded library copy, borrowed only four times! Unloved on the shelves! Do not fear, my pretty, I will take care of you now...) took almost a month to get here. Definitely worth the wait, though.


"You ruined Marisella. Now I will ruin this woman in return."
I pulled and clawed at Gudesto's arm, but he was too strong. Luis laughed. "To what end? She is nothing to me."
"She is, or she would not still be alive." This ridiculous discussion faded as I suddenly remembered my self-defense. Behind Gudesto, bent over his spread legs, I was powerless. I took two deep breaths, then swung my leg around in front of his, raised my arm, then slammed my elbow into the Gonzalez family jewels.
Without a sound, Gudesto doubled over. I stood slightly, then smashed an elbow into his face, sending him staggering back with both hands clutching his groin. Panting, I stepped out of sword reach, pleased that all those hours of watching Buffy and Sydney Bristol and Xena kick ass had finally paid off.
"Holy Bullocks," Fadri said. He, Enzo and four other men had appeared behind Luis and stood gaping at me and my white-faced victim.
Luis's blue eyes sparkled as he barely suppressed a smile. "Men, watch yourselves with this one."
"Damn right," I sputtered, then flushed as all five men stared at me."


Also, I wholeheartedly approve of the amount of violence against Gudesto's nether regions this book contains. But there could be so much more...