March forecast: unseasonably hot and steamy everywhere

The lengths to which a mother will go to regain a lost child transcend century and setting. With the right man at her side, success is but a few seemingly insurmountable obstacles away.

Lady Pen Bryanston refuses to accept that her son was stillborn. To find out the truth, the young widow must accept a stranger's bargain that may betray her loyalty to Princess Mary in Jane Feather's historical suspense of 16th century England, To Kiss a Spy (Bantam, $19.95, 240 pages, ISBN 0553801724).

Owen d'Arcy is a master spy for the French Court bent on learning the secret plots threatening the succession after King Edward. Lady Pen is the means to an end, and he'll do whatever is necessary to make her act as spy within Princess Mary's household. Spy versus spy, strong will against strong will, both Pen and Owen resist the attraction which flares between them and compels them to set aside their mutual distrust to find out the truth about Pen's son.

Jane Feather brings to vivid life the deepest emotions of Lady Pen as she struggles to resist Owen and shows the strong mettle of a woman who defies the conventions of her times to set out in search of truth. Owen is every bit her match, the man she needs, knowing how to seek out secrets no matter how deeply buried, while he wrestles with his own crippling remorse over the loss of his children.

To Kiss a Spy is a devour-it-like-chocolate page-turner that takes the reader through the vivid landscapes of the times, from grand balls to the bleakest stews of foggy London and across the countryside. The romantic journey continues until Pen is reunited with the son she bore but never held, and Owen finds a reason to fight for a family of his own.

Second chances

A change of scenery and lifestyle persuade Cleo Alyssum that she can overcome her past and regain custody of her young son in Patricia Rice's contemporary novel Almost Perfect (Ivy, $7.99, 368 pages, ISBN 0449006034).

Her personal rehabilitation project fits into her new life on a small island off the South Carolina coast. Jared McCloud blows in from California with all the force of a tropical storm, awakening past nightmares and new desires. But she needs a perfect man to make up for her past, doesn't she? Tart-tongued Cleo's tough veneer hides the vulnerable yearnings of a woman who wants to have it all but isn't quite sure she deserves it. If you've never read Patricia Rice's salty Southern tales before, take a respite of your own with Cleo and Jared as they spar over livin' and lovin' in the steamy South Carolina sunshine. A real winner!

Private passions

Rachel Tanner fears uncovering the secrets her late husband kept from her in Barbara Freethy's powerful story of families intertwined, Love Will Find a Way (Avon, $6.99, 384 pages, ISBN 0380815559). Rachel had secrets of her own, but Gary's death opens a Pandora's box of hidden issues to untangle and reconcile.

Gary's business partner Dylan Prescott comes to their apple ranch to finish building Gary and Rachel's dream house, but more than a house was left unfinished when Gary died. Dylan's interest in his best friend's widow was born in one brief encounter that neither can forget. Now with her marriage over, his feelings may no longer be forbidden.

Freethy deftly weaves the evocative tapestry of family life, love and pain with a delightful splash of whimsy in this intense story of evolving emotions, of relationships taking form against the ultimate loom of resiliency and triumph. And triumph this story surely does.

Tender loving care

Enid MacLean fends for herself in Christina Dodd's dazzling new historical romance, Lost in Your Arms. Abandoned by her husband, Stephen, Enid learns nursing and cares for elderly patients who appreciate her tender treatment.

Abruptly called to nurse Stephen, she finds a stranger. The gambling, carousing man she married is now near death - battered, wounded, unable to recall any of the turbulent past they shared. Or the dangers which still pursue him.

Stephen's yearning for redemption and a fresh beginning challenge Enid's deeply ingrained distrust and fear of being abandoned yet again. The Scotsman is determined, the bastard-born English gentlewoman equally so in this clash of two stubborn spirits.

Christina Dodd writes with a flourish of intimate passions, sparkling contretemps and grandeur of heart and realm that knows few peers.

Sandy Huseby writes and reviews from her homes in Fargo, North Dakota, and northern Minnesota.