Customer Reviews

Bliss

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lynsay Sands has become one of my favorite authors. I look forward to each one of her books. She adds humor so well that it has caused me to laugh at loud and get strange looks from passersby.
In Bliss she has the hero the Lord "hammer" of Holden being wedded to his neighbor the Lady"Tyrant" of Tiernay, after the King who is tired of the feud between the two decides to wed them and le them be each other's problem not his. Well since neither can refuse the king they must go through with it, or at least make the other try and get out of it. Hethe, the hero, decides that he cannot anger the king and since the heroine is beautiful it wouldn't be that great a hardship to go through with it. The would be bride has other ideas. Helen, the heroine, thinks that she can make him back out by playing all sorts of wicked tricks on him but they unfortunately backfire on her and she finds herself wedded to her handsome but supposedly horrid neighbor. Soon though she finds out that he is not the cruel man he has been rumored to be and he finds that he has great feelings for her. They fall in love and together will fight an unknown assasin and bring harmony to both keeps.
I loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone. And also any of Lynsay Sands other novels.

Lynsay Sands has never failed to entertain and amuse. "Bliss" is no exception to that rule. Her unique form of humor will keep any reader chuckling and turning pages into the wee hours of the morning. Now, if you are a stickler for historical accuracy, you may have a problem with modern medical terms being used in medieval England. However, I consider this poetic license and it only added to the enjoyment of the book. The antics in this book were refreshing, quick-witted, and a pure pleasure. If you don't enjoy this book thoroughly; you do not have a funny bone.

In 1173 England, King Henry would prefer warring with the French rather than deal with another protest from either Lady Tiernay or Lord Holden. The two neighbors are always squabbling even if the latter has been fighting on the continent. Now both have the audacity to send letters of complaint to His Highness. Henry has enough on his plate without having to deal with this troublesome twosome. However, the clever King decides the easiest way to end this neighborly dispute is to order the two combatants to marry one another. Thus the war becomes internal.

Lady Tiernay rejects her monarch's plan. She uses a variety of ruses to force Holden to plead with King Henry to stop their marriage. Lord Holden quickly comprehends the trickery of his betrothed and tries to trump her so that she begs off with His Highness. Love blossoms so that neither one wants to entreat King Henry with repealing his edict.

BLISS is a refreshing tale that provides plenty of amusement to readers due to the antics of the enticing lead couple. Sub-genre readers used to medieval romances containing action-packed save the estate story lines will find this plot as a fresh change centering on an amusing battle of the sexes. Though a subplot involving subterfuge on Holden's estate is exciting and well written, it feels as if it does not belong with the overall humorous theme. Lynsay Sands will become a household name to those fans seeking a beautifully crafted historical romantic romp.

As usual, Lynsay Sands has created an original story that had me laughing out loud. Bliss is right up there with The Key and The Deed. A very light-hearted, funny story.

King Henry is tired of receiving of receiving letters of complaint from Lady Tierney and Lord Holden about each other. One of his advisors suggests forcing marriage between the two so they will stop bringing their problems to him.

Lady Tierney is horrified to be forced into marriage to a man she has heard is brutal to his serfs, and Lord Holden does want to marry a woman who he believes to be a shrewish harpy. They begin a silent war to try to make the other cry off.

Fans of this author will not be disappointed in Bliss.

King Henry II's reputation of being 'the Spawn of the Devil' didn't help him solve his problems with his two feuding nobles: Lady Helen Tiernay, 'the Tyrant or Tiernay', and Lord Hethe Holden, 'the Hammer of Holden'. So he decided to force the two to marry. They could share the bed they had made and leave him alone!

Lord Hethe Holden is never home. He's always away fighting for his king. Even though his father is dead, he doesn't want to go back home because it brings him too many painful memories of his father's treatment. He returns home to marry, he can't go against the king's wishes,, and he's very surprised when he meets his intended bride.

Lady Helen Tiernay would do anything to prevent that wedding, she doesn't like how Lord Holden treats people, but she can't defy the king so she decides 'the Hammer' should be the one refusing to marry her.

What she does to prevent that wedding had me laughing so hard I cried. She even trains Goliath, her faithful huge wolfhound to... No, I won't tell you. Read it. It's worth it. I love Lynsay Sands's books, and 'Bliss' isn't an exception. It's well written and very funny.

The poor hero is stuck with a lady he considers the nag of all nags. The heroine is stuck with "The Hammer", a man she knows to be unspeakably cruel and brutal.

To what lengths would you go to avoid an arranged marriage....

Ms. Sands made a story that could be so yawningly typical, into a spitfire comedy of love. Terrific writing, likable characters and predicaments that you gotta see to believe. Throw in some delicious romance (and the poor hero that you've got feel sorry for-in a funny way), and you've got a book that I read practically in one sitting. Hang your "Do Not Disturb" sign, ladies.........

Bliss is another mad romp through an era that one doesn't traditionally think of as amusing. But, as always, Lynsay manages to find the humor and supply the high jinx for a battle of the sexes. A couple other books that I loved in this same vein are THE KEY and ALWAYS. They were all super.

Okay, This book was not as enjoyable as The Key. Enemies must marry and yes, there is great humor in the book and I did like it, however, It left me wanting more UMPH in the story.

I have never really thought about this until reading this book, but how many authors can make you laugh out loud...regardless of whose around or where you are. I can think of four.....Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jennifer Crusie, and Julie Garwood, but Lynsay Sands is in a league all her own.

This book is funny...really funny. It is a bit over-the-top, but it is really funny nevertheless. Here's the premise. The king is sick of getting letters of complaints from Lady Helen Tiernay about Lord Hethe Holden and vice versa, so her orders them married. Both are not happy about the order, but Hethe begrudging goes to Tiernay to do the king's bidding. The ways that Helen goes about trying to thwart Hethe's attempt to wed her are the parts of the book that are so laced with humor that it's difficult to even get through a paragraph without laughing.

Although the plot is elementary and the characters are a bit cliche'd, the true rarity and blessing that it is to "have a good laugh" makes this book truly priceless. I recommend this author and this book with a smile on my face and a giggle in my throat.

I like Lynsay Sands, but if you've read one of her books, you've basically read them all. They all follow the same formula with the couple reluctant to marry at first, then they get used to each other and start falling in love, then someone threatens the life of one or both of them. It usually isn't that hard figuring out who that someone is either.

There are a few funny parts as Sands seems to favor slapstick humor. Still, I found myself being bored with this book. Not that the book is badly written, it just felt like deja vu. If I hadn't already read The Deed, What She Wants, Sweet Temptation, The Perfect Wife, and other Sands historicals, I probably would've enjoyed this one more.