Another Chance to Dream [Hardcover]

Lynn Kurland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1998

With neither title nor land, Rhys could not win the hand of Gwennelyn of Segrave--though he would always have her heart. But Gwen was betrothed to another man, and Rhys feared he would lose her forever. But then a surprise offer came his way--bringing Rhys and Gwen a second chance at love...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Heiress Gwennelyn of Segrave falls in love with landless knight Rhys de Piaget when she is a child of 10 and he's only 14. Unfortunately, her father has already betrothed her to Alain of Ayre, the spoiled, mean-natured son of a neighbor. Nevertheless, Gwen is determined and once she learns that Rhys loves her in return, she refuses to bend to Alain's will. All seems lost when Alain forces Gwen into marriage but despite the obstacles thrown in their way, Rhys and Gwen's love and commitment holds firm. The path of true love is strewn with seemingly impossible setbacks as the two lovers struggle to find a way to be together. In the end, Rhys and Gwen must risk everything they hold dear in a final attempt to claim a love forbidden by king and church. Another Chance to Dream mixes humor with pathos and English medieval grit with gallantry in a charming historical tale of a love to last a lifetime. --Lois Faye Dyer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Gwennelyn of Segrave entangles her childhood love, the knight Rhys de Piaget, in a desperate plot to escape her upcoming marriage to the brutal Alain of Ayre. But, in a surprising twist, the scheme fails and Rhys watches miserably as Gwen is forced to the altar. This intriguing medieval romance blends history, family relationships and humor into a love story that spans years and includes many colorful characters who become involved in Rhys's quest for the land and money he needs to buy Gwen's freedom. Against almost insurmountable odds, the lovers eventually manage to free Gwen and her children from their bondage, only to face a battle for Rhys's land. In a medieval society of cruelty, pageantry and doomed chivalry, Kurland creates a special romance between a memorable knight and his lady.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: San Val (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417711795
• ISBN-13: 978-1417711796
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,053,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection, February 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Another Chance to Dream (Mass Market Paperback)

I hate to see a beautiful book maligned. Lynn Kurland brings intense emotions, humour and sensuality to her stories in a way that simply eludes most of today's romance authors. I too hated it when Gwen was forced to marry Alain and Rhys sat outside her marriage room, but their forced separation made their story far more realistic to the times than most historical romances. Kurland manages to create characters that you can relate to and fall in love with (what a man Rhys is!) while remaining true to the time period she writes about. And, her stories are even more sensual and emotional because she doesn't include love scenes. In lesser novels, the lack of love scenes would make the romance feel forced and empty. But, in Kurland's novel, Gwen and Rhys's love is all the more intimate because they keep their bedroom life private. Kurland's novel is perfection that I have read several times. I will never tire of Rhys or Gwen (and her big ears).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most beautiful love stories ever written!, August 23, 2005

By 

Kathleen MacIver "reader/author" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Another Chance to Dream (Mass Market Paperback)

If you've read the Amazon reviews, then you're probably wondering how in the world this could be a good book, when Gwen is forced to marry the wrong man. I was wondering the same thing... until I read it! I am a huge fan of Lynn Kurland's books, and none of them sound quite as hopeless as this one, to someone whose only read reviews and back covers. I am a huge fan of fairy-tale-like romances, and don't like any of the darker or more sinful relationships that many romance writers spin... Yet this one of my favorite of all of Lynn's books, because it is not any of that, and portrays a purer love than even most of Lynn's other books! (I'm excluding Morgan and Miach in her Nine Kingdoms trilogy.) Sure, I would have liked it if she had written it slightly different so that Gwen hadn't had to marry Alain, but this is written into the story more as a temporary "selling into slavery," than a marriage in the way that we think of marriage today. It doesn't even come close to ruining the story.

What Lynn has done is to take a very common situation in the 1200's... one where the daughter of a lord is forced to marry the son of another... and she's sent in a hero to straighten things out and make her happy. What makes this story different, however, is that the hero is bound by a conscience and rules and laws and is not willing to just kill her husband to set her free. It's just the perfect mix of reality and fairy-tale for me.

And Lynn was at her best when she created and portrayed these characters... Gwen is full of fire and boldness, yet not brazen or hard... Rhys is just about the perfect medieval knight and champion of his lady... most skilled swordsman in all of England or France, yet willing to drop everything to spend time with his and Gwen's little children... leader of a the fiercest band of mercenaries, yet willing to save himself for his lady... so devoted to Gwen that he'd fight the world for her, even if she lost the beauty that makes him breathless.

Believe me... those that say that this book is merely frustrating are only reading what "happens" in the book, and missing the deeper threads of emotion that wind through every happening in Gwen and Rhys's story.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Disappointment, February 14, 2000

By 

Joyce Lai - See all my reviews

This review is from: Another Chance to Dream (Mass Market Paperback)

I love Lynn Kurland's books, especially the ones entitled This is All I Ask and The More I See You but somehow this particular novel seemed disappointing. This book lacked something that the others had which is humor. Instead, it appeared to have misery written all over it. Here, we witness the enforced marriage of Gwennelyn, in addition to the enforced servitude of her knight, Rhys. Two years later, the situation doesn't look any better: Gwen is saddled with two kids by Alain, the baron that she had been forced to marry; Rhys is tourneying in France in order to save a nestegg for himself and Gwen (if a bribed annulment from Alain is accomplished, in addition to recuiting some knights; and Rhys' land (bequeathed by his late foster father) was overrun by dangerous mercenaries. Though the book does have a bit of humor in it, expecially when Gwen persists in becoming a mercenary to guard Rhys back among other things, I thought that it came out lacking, for the most part. However, some of the finer qualities of the plot is redeemed when, predictably, the couple manages, despite everything, to overlook their misery and maintain their love for each other, in addition to finally finding a chance to marry each other in the end as they had wanted to do from the beginning. All in all, this book is o.k. but it could've been better. If you want masterpieces, look for This is All I Ask, The More I See You, and A Dance Through Time where humor, wit and love are perfectly balanced. These are really something to sink your teeth into!