Customer Reviews

By Arrangement

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

to reading romances, after I had sworn in a fit of New Year resolutions to stop reading them. I would recommend reading the book to find out why. The other reviewers have said it all, but this is what *I* felt was different about this book (which got a rare five-stars from picky old me):

1) wonderfully detailed historical research, which is yet not overwhelming. That is, Hunter does not use details to impress us, but to add color, and all the rest of the sensations to her story. For example, the details about the room where David and Christiana first meet, with the fact that Christiana notices only certain things about the room at first, and rather more in her second visit (because it is a different time of day, she is less frightened, and so on). There are small, telling historical facts added to enable us to place the book exactly in time and place. There are general details about the social and economic structure of society, which are sometimes overlooked by other writers of medieval romances. In short, if you like to see your facts right, you will be very happy in this book. [Mind you, you either have to like a very intriguing story, or to love medievals].

2) the unconventional love story, with the hero being a merchant. Although his birth father is a nobleman (as it turns out), his mother was the daughter of a merchant, and he was raised by another merchant. Throughout the story, we see David battling with the values of his upbringing and the great love and loyalty he has for his city (the City of London), which runs counter to possibilities that arise for his advancement by the standards of the time. The heroine is a noblewoman, but a rather strong-willed and intelligent, even perceptive, heroine. Not a woman who willfully throws herself into danger, nor a woman who depends on her beauty to get her out of trouble.

3) The motives for the marriage itself. No spoilers here, but let us just say that David's attraction to Christiana (although very real) is not his primary or even secondary motive for marrying her. Even at the end, if you are like me, you will wonder whether the motive stated at the end of the book was his real reason for marrying her. I could think of two other possibilities, both mentioned in the book.

4) The hero. Ahh! I don't usually sigh over fictional heroes (even Mr Darcy), but this hero is really unusual. Some people will be put off by the dark streak in his character, his ruthlessness, his ability to compartmentalize and calculate even in times of crisis. Others will find him fascinating and all the more complete for his double-edged motivations and actions. Let me just say that if you like a tortured hero, you will probably like David - but if you want your hero to be totally redeemed by the end of the love story, you might be put off. David's transformation (if it happened) is an ongoing process, incomplete in this book, and perhaps more visible in the forthcoming sequel THE PROTECTOR.

5) The love scenes, which are very detailed. Again, I normally don't discuss love scenes, but some people might be put off by the intense passion generated by this couple (as well as some of the unusual techniques). For the record, there is every possibility that medieval men would have been familiar with such techniques, given the very recent history of the Crusades which brought a lot of Middle Eastern and thus other ideas and innovations to the medieval West. If you don't believe me, I recommend Runciman and others.

Now, go and read this book! I promise you that you won't be disappointed. Frustrated perhaps, but not disappointed. As for myself, I read this book several months ago, started a fan club online for Hunter, and chewed over my thoughts (over some partial re-reads) for months before writing this review.

Readers who know my reviews from The Romance Reader are aware that I am not fond of the current trend of using history merely as "wallpaper" for the story. Having cut my teeth on Roberta Gellis' well researched and well written romances, I like my historical romances to have real history. Well BY ARRANGEMENT fits my requirements.

Set against the early years of the 100 Years War, this novel deals with the intrigues and the machinations of the English and the French, as well as the actions of Edward III.

But however much I like the history in BY ARRANGEMENT, it is the love story that makes this book special. Christiana Fitzwaryn, after a romantic indiscretion, is informed that she is to marry the merchant David de Abyndon. She wants her prospective fiance to withdraw from the marriage; she is in love with someone else, or so she thinks. But David refuses. There is more to this marriage than a social climbing merchant's desire to marry a baron's daughter.

David sets out to woo Christiana away from her knight. And what a wooing. David is one cool hero. He is handsome, intelligent, sexy, and more than a little bit devious. He has his own agenda. Christiana finds herself attracted against her will. She also grows up as she comes to terms both with her feelings for David and her immature crush on an unworthy suitor.

Truth in advertising requires me to admit that Madeline Hunter is a friend of mine and that I have been in love with David for four years, ever since I read BY ARRANGEMENT in manuscript form. But I truly believe that I would have given this story a five star rating, whoever the author is.

It's a wonderful HISTORICAL romance.

If you enjoy historical romance, this is a must read! It's well-written and well-researched and it spins a fantastic variation on the "arranged marriage" plot. I also give Madeline Hunter an A+ for character development and plot. Her hero, the merchant David de Abyndon, is intriguing, textured, and complex. Her heroine, Lady Christiana Fitzwaryn, is intelligent and equally intriguing and complex. They evolve and surprise us over the course of the novel. As one of the other reviewers notes, many authors use a historical setting as "wallpaper" for romance. Not so here! Hunter takes great pains to render the social and historical world of 14th-century London in vibrant detail and it makes for a great read! I look forward to her next book.

This book is fantastic I totally enjoyed this book from begining to end. The scene is set in medievil times. Lady Christian is a daughter of a dead nobleman. She and her brother are taken in by King Edward when their parents were killed in a battle. King Edward has made arrangements for Lady Christina is to marry David a local merchant (for the kings own reasons). Lady Christina doesn't want to marry the merchant, for she thinks she is in love with an other nobleman and tries to get out of the arrangement by all means, to no avail the wedding takes place and Lady Christina learns a great deal about her merchant. The romance is intensive and the passion is there from the start. Pay attention to David and his character.David does not lie to Lady Christina but wants to see if she loves him for who she thinks he is,a merchant. You will cheer for the couple to over come any obsticles in their way.I could not put this book down, This is the first book I have read by Madeline Hunter and I will read many others. I hated to see this book end. This book is well written by a wonderful author who knows a womens desire. I would recommend this book to any one who loves to read a good romance novel. Excellent!

What a wonderful historical romance novel! There are enough intrigue and mystery in this story to keep one guessing for days! Although all the twists and turns in the plot had me scratching my head for a while, it was thoroughly entertaining. It is well written with great character development and there are several HOT love scenes! :)

David de Abyndon is not your average London merchant. He secretly does side work for the King Edward which had earned him the beautiful and highborn Lady Christiana Fitzwaryn. Which she doesn't know about. David is achingly sexy and intelligent with a mind of his own. Although, her heart belongs to another knight, the king forces Christiana into the marriage with David. Christina may be young but she has enough wit and intelligence to give David plenty of trouble. And against her will, she falls in love with David, desperately. As the story unravelled, I was hooked...which led me to finish this in the wee hours of the morning. I was deeply touched by the love between the two characters.

The historical base seems well researched and informational. I even checked out her website and there was a whole section on the historical background on the book with interesting facts about real characters that she based the book on! But the highlight of the book is of course, the medieval love story of David and Christiana. Their story in the backdrop of the war was engrossing and mesmerizing! This books is one of the reasons why I love historical romance novels!

I cannot wait for for her next book, By Possession!

This is Madeline Hunter's debut novel and what a wonderful start. She gives us a complex, intriguing hero in David de Abyndon and a glimpse of commerical London that we don't often see - because David is not the stuff of songs, he is not a knight in shining armour - rather he is a realistic merchant, who finds himself betrothed to the highborn Christianna at King Edward's behest.

Christianna is a fairly traditional heroine - young, 18, almost virginal, but she has some depth and common sense and while I feel that this is definitely David's book, she never jars.

The book feels like a fresh approach - a real achievment in the crowded medieval romance scene! - and I am looking forward to reading more of Hunter's works. It still lingers in my mind and it was a difficult world to leave - a definite keeper.

A country and western song I listen to goes: "I'm in a hurry to get things done, I rush and rush until life's no fun..." If this describes your life as well, read Madeline Hunter's By Arrangement. I guarantee the first 100-150 pages will make you relax, enjoy and savor the wonderful moments you get to spend with the hero - David de Abyndon. He is described as physically beautiful but it's his quiet, simple, straightforward way of speaking and acting that will SLOW. YOU. DOWN. I don't know how to describe the scenes he was in - they were relaxing but exciting. Lazy but sexy. He's so enjoyable: he steals the show. That's not a bad thing. His bride/wife/heroine Christiana (isn't that a beautiful name?) plays a big part,of course. The romance is about both of them but it is clearly David's book. Even though the book had that lazy charm, it moved along quickly. I read it in a day and a half. The inside cover art is very true to the novel - dark, handsome David with his "Snow White" beautiful Christiana. All in all, a 5 star PLUS book. Very, very highly recommended.

However, I feel the need to give a contrasting opinion. I bought this book based on all the online rave reviews, but I was very disappointed. The story was very dull. The paperback I read is 389 pages long, and my interest was not gained until the last 100 pages or so. The political storyline was dull mainly because we had no details until the end of the book - just mysterious 'hints' throughout. And David's personality came off as being more uneven and inconsistent rather than three dimensional. I would not recommend this book. But as I said, I am in the minority...

It is medieval England, and Christiana Fitzwaryn learns King Edward has arranged for her a marriage to David de Abyndon. Even with the king's blessing (whose reason, and David's for accepting, is later explained in the book), this is a magnificent faux-pas, as Christiana is the daughter of a baron and David is a merchant, a commoner, and illegitimate to boot. You can pretty much get the plot everywhere, but I'll tell you why this book (even though published in 2000) got me highly cheerful of the new year.

Christiana is a wonderful heroine-- she is eighteen, but Hunter does not allow her youth and inexperience to excuse her from stupidity. When in the opening pages, she goes to a clandestine meeting to talk to her never-before-seen betrothed, I groaned to myself and thought, "Oh, no! She will plead for him to back out, tell him haughtily that she has given her heart/body/heart and body to another, and this will be the beginning of one of those I-love-you-I-hate-you-husband-meets-other-lover-who-will-throw-a-wrench-into-the-burgeoning-love stories." Yes, Christiana loves a bit foolishly (as in the case of Stephen Percy, a knight with whom she has shared intimacy), but a certain beautiful je ne sais quoi soon set my previous prejudice aside. The heroine is admirable, with the right amount of common sense and spirit to be believable (don't you hate an immensely reasonable or a too feisty heroine?). And of course-- there's David de Abyndon. He's handsome, of course, with great wealth, hidden mystery, and a soupcon of danger. Sometimes, he seemed a bit villanous, and the last few pages as he contemplated Christiana's brother and revealed the reason for his willing role as a bridegroom quite chilled my blood. That left me a bit unsettled of the newlywed's rosy future (plus my limited knowledge of the political situation of the era, not to mention the life expectancy), but hey... I'm optimistic.

By their king's order, Lady Christiana Fitzwaryn would marry David de Abyndon, a man whose station is far beneath her but whose success as a merchant allows him to pay the bride price for her hand. Believing she is in love with another man, Christiana urges him to let her go only to find herself reluctantly captivated by his gentle kindness and protective concern for her. Slowly but surely, she comes to realize her love for him in the happiness they share together.

David de Abyndon is more than just a wealthy merchant his financial success has helped him overcome his dark heritage as the bastard son of Joanna de Abyndon. His talent as a cartographer and travels as a merchant make him the perfect tool to employ in England's campaign to take Paris. But his love for Christiana and the truth about his paternity leave him with more at stake than he ever thought possible. With his heart and loyalties in jeopardy, David must struggle with the concept of being a truly noble man as he makes a decision that could change the course of his life forever.

Madeline Hunter's debut novel is a triumph. It is full of rich historic detail and wonderfully carved characters that come to life on the pages. I have never been as touched by a character as I was by David de Abyndon who, despite the misery of his childhood, manages to come out on top all the wiser and all the more determined to succeed. His character is not without its insecurities but his confidence in his capabilities and his loving concern for Christiana is admirable. Hunter enriches his relationship with Christiana by drawing parallels between her and the fate of his mother, which affected him deeply. Hunter also paints Christiana as an innocent girl who is sometimes ignorant by default but by no means lacks intelligence. Because he is older and wiser, Christiana learns much from David and comes to understand him as well as he understands her. At the same time, being with David allows her to let go of many of her own uncertainties and opens her up to a more unrestricted way of life. In illustrating this, Hunter strengthens both characters and their relationship together. Also, though the campaign to capture Paris is an integral part of the story, the pace the author assumes from the very beginning is moderate. This is clearly a character-driven book but it is an excellent story because of the strength of the characters and the richness of detail.