In the resplendence of William the Conqueror’s London court, the lovely Saxon captive Lady Nicholaa was forced to choose a husband from the assembled Norman nobles. She chose Royce, a baron warrior whose fierce demeanor could not conceal his chivalrous and tender heart. A resourceful, rebellious and utterly naive, Nicholaa vowed to bend Royce to her will despite the whirlwind of feelings he aroused in her. Ferocious in battle, seasoned in passion, Royce was surprised by the depth of his emotion whenever he caressed his charming bride.
In a climate of utmost treachery, where Saxons still intrigued against their Norman invaders, Royce and Nicholaa revelled in their precious new love … a fervent bond soon to be disrupted by the call of blood, kin and country!
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Rating: 2 stars.
I came across this months and months ago and its been on my TBR list since. I was kind of putting it off because I was rather embarrassed that I wanted to read this. Despite being an archaeologist/historian I usually can’t stand reading historical fiction because I would be just facepalming the entire time. I have studied the Medieval period in great detail over the past few years and therefore I am a little apprehensive to read fictional books about that period, because of the tendency for the author to make it ridiculously unrealistic and well… wrong.
This is exactly what happened here. Not only was there a lack of any detail in where this was set, but we are given very little information about the circumstances the characters are in. Yeah, we’re told its set just after the Norman invasion and its alluded to that it starts off a few weeks after the Battle of Hastings but that is it. We barely get any impression at all that there had just been an invasion. Its sort of relevant in the first quarter of the book when Nicholaa is hiding in the monastery after her home has been taken. But it goes out the window pretty quickly. The aftermath of the invasion would have been huge. William the Conqueror most likely would NOT be sitting having various banquets and competitions so soon after becoming King of England. I should think he would have been dealing with rebellions and generally trying to keep his hands on the crown.
ANYWAY, on another note. I went into this book with the hope of liking it, and I did in one respect. The romance was satisfying and lovely and everything I wanted. But my god, Nicholaa pissed me off after a while. The main reason for me in reading this book was because it seemed like the heroine was somewhat badass. What. A. Let. Down. As soon as she got married to Royce she basically completely forgot about being Saxon (technically Anglo-Saxons, Garwood could have used the right terminology) and just basically devoted herself to being a good wife despite the fact that Royce was an ass. The feminist in me was screaming.
The writing in this book was easy and quick to read. However, the shifting perspectives were frustrating. There were times when in one paragraph the perspectives would shift 3-4 times and the way it was done wasn’t all that great. Especially with the Justin bits. It was unnecessary.
However, I did enjoy the book. I wouldn’t read it again, but it was gripping and fun to read.
crazypatterns 