Emma Jensen’s new book, Fallen is the sequel to her 1997 release, Entwined. In it we meet another casualty of the Napoleonic wars and another MacLeod sister. This book had an interesting setting and premise and was well written, but somehow it never quite took off for me.

Gabriel Loudon, the Earl of Rievaulx, was a part of a secret operative unit during the wars until he made an untimely mistake. Because of it many soldiers and some of his fellow operatives died. Gabriel came home to London to drink himself to death, but his friend, the Marquess of Oriel (and the hero of Entwined) would not allow it. He sent him off on a new mission: to find a spy for the French who is hiding on the Isle of Skye.

Maggie MacLeod, Oriel’s sister-in-law, has just returned to Skye after three years in England where she had a rather disastrous love affair. She needs time to recover herself on her beloved island. So when Gabriel shows up at her doorstep, she is less than enthusiastic in her welcome. She has had enough of the English and enough of men. But she takes him in because he is Oriel’s friend, and they begin to notice one another.

Jensen does an excellent job developing the mood and atmosphere of the Isle of Skye. I liked the fact that the setting was rural and rustic. Maggie’s father is a gentleman, but he has chosen to make drink his vocation, so the family is rather poor and their lifestyle is modest. Gabriel is drawn to both the simplicity of this life and the interconnectedness of the people, and I could see why. Their traditions, stories, and even pattern of speech are charming. Additionally the book is well written, Jensen’s descriptions are vivid, and the story itself is well done. But, unfortunately, the romance never quite grabbed me.

Both Gabriel and Maggie were likable, and nothing they did offended me. But some of the secondary characters, including Maggie’s young sister, Tessa and her neighbor friend Lachlann, seemed to be more vividly and interestingly drawn than either of the two leads. Even though much was made of Gabriel and Maggie’s physical attraction to one another, I never felt they quite connected emotionally or spiritually. Maybe this was because the story took place over a relatively short period of time.

But the biggest proplem I had with the story was Maggie choosing to love another “unsuitable” Englishman so soon after her heart and pride were broken the first time. She is so resolved in the beginning of the book not to let herself be taken advantage of again that her actions seem out of character, suited for the plot rather than the person. Again, the relatively short period of time in which the story unfolds told might have been a hindrance here.

So although Fallen has an interesting setting and plot, I can only tentatively recommend it as a romantic story. It struck me as a book that I really should have liked, but didn’t. Perhaps Jensen will be more successful with the third and final sister Tessa’s story.