Customer Reviews

Bound By Honor

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Unlike some of the other books I receive for review, Colette Gale's are more toward the erotica end of the spectrum than the romance end. They're highly explicit, often with scenes of group sex, as well as elements of coercion. I'm making this clear because each reader tends to have very different ideas of the sort of sexual content that is acceptable, titillating, enjoyable, or offensive, and there's no point in your picking up a book you won't enjoy!

While I don't normally read much in the way of historical romances, Colette Gale's novels appeal because they use such familiar characters and milieus and give them fun new twists. If you're unfamiliar with the genre the prose is rather flowery, but once you get used to it, it sets the mood quite nicely.

The traditional roles of this tale are turned on their heads: the Sheriff of Nottingham is the tortured dark soul, while Robin is the arrogant hero. Alys plays the role that Marian more usually occupies of the headstrong young maiden, while Marian is an older and more experienced woman. Prince John, for his part, is a dangerous and devious lech. I enjoyed the new take on the tale, although the question of which of the two women would end up with which hero seemed somewhat drawn-out.

The debauchery of the Court of Pleasure is wild and a bit rough; the real problem I had with John is that while he's portrayed as having some attractiveness to him, I couldn't help picturing him from an old BBC series a couple of decades ago. And, well, that made any sexual content involving him a bit revolting!

Colette has a gift for both evocative narrative that draws the senses in, and wild and steamy sex. However, I occasionally found the characters a little frustratingly slow on the uptake regarding some details.

As an alternative, steamy version of the Robin Hood milieu, Bound by Honor is definitely an enjoyable book. It didn't bowl me over as much as Unmasqued did, but it's a gorgeous and evocative read!

The story is very explicit and great in the erotic aspect. But I am too much of a robin hood admirer to deal with the couple change up. For anyone like me who cherishes the story between Robin and Marian might think twice about reading this. If you can get past it the book is well written with steamy scenes.

Knowing Lady Marian of Morlaix comes from the Nottingham area, Eleanor of Aquitaine sends her to spy on her son Prince John at his notorious depraved Court of Pleasure. Although she has distastes for her surveillance mission, Marian looks forward to seeing some long time friends. To her shock two of them Robin of Loxley and Sir William of Wendeval are adversaries on opposite sides of the law; the former is an outlaw and the latter the sheriff assigned to catch him.

Meanwhile John wants Marian in his bed. Whereas Will protects her from the Prince, Robin steals kisses though he admits he loves someone else. As Will and Marian fall in love, she wonders how to avoid John's depravity while accomplishing what Eleanor sent her to do.

Putting a couple of ingenious twists to the Robin Hood Legend yet maintaining the core tale, Colette Gale provides an enjoyable medieval erotic romance. The cast is terrific as John is a lecher, Robin a heroic highwayman, Will a cold sheriff, and Marian who touches each of these men competing for her affection. Fans will enjoy the sexual heating of Robin Hood.

Harriet Klausner

Although Robin's, Will's, and John's "bulges" are mentioned way too often for my taste, there are enough well written scenes to get anyone's blood racing! Oh, and they do go hunting and partake in other activities well off financially and close to or royals did in those days, besides hopping from bed to bed!

Colette has spun a wonderfully sexy retelling of the Robin Hood story. She does brooding oh, so well! Sensational story, fabulous ending, everyone got what they desired (except maybe John)! I will probably never think of living statues the same way again.

This is not a genre I normally read but after seeing a blog post about it and since I'm such a nut for the medieval period and seeing as how the library had it I just had to have a look-see for my self. In this spin on the old Robin Hood legend, Marian is no "maid" but a widow. The Lionheart is off on crusade and an aging Eleanor fears John is up to no good plotting with the French King and she sends Marian to his court to spy out the truth and report back. Once there, she meets up with two old friends from her childhood, William de Wendeval (now Sheriff of Nottingham) and Robin of Locksley who is now known as Robin of the Hood and very much a wanted man. Marian soon finds herself torn between her two old friends and she's surprised to find herself more attracted to the dark, brooding Will as she is to the dashing, flirtatious Robin.

Now since this is an erotic novel, John's court is quite a licentious one and Marian is caught right up in the swirl of it all, starting off with she and Will watching John being orally pleasured by one woman as he watches two other women doing the nasty with each other on a nearby bed. Never fear though it gets even worse,

"She drank more, and John's tongue thrust through the curtain of her hair, into the depth of her ear in a parody of the activity before them."

I'll spare you the details of the strip-chess game on a *live* chessboard (you do not want to know). Then there comes the night when John sends out special invites to certain ladies of the court for a special evening in his "Pleasure Palace".

"The other ladies and maidservants had already been arranged in similarly provocative positions throughout the room. They were indeed a garden of living statues."

You should have seen the poses John gives his "living statues" (I was howling by this time) and worse yet the fate of the one who moves first and loses the contest (you do not want to know). Our poor heroine was paired up with another lady who couldn't resist...erm...taking advantage of the situation to set Marian's passions afire (no, I am not kidding). Although finally our heroine remembers she's there to spy and whilst the men are distracted during their orgy with the now live statues, she manages to snoop for written evidence (note: she is still nude whilst searching the other side of John's room).

And after the big archery contest John's arranges a little surprise at the dinner table for our heroine (a dinner with potatoes on the menu!)

"But now hands were lifting her skirts. Warm fingers eased up along her hose-encased legs gently, so gently they tickled her sensitive flesh, prickling the skin beneath the thin fabric..."

Oh. My. God. But never fear, our intrepid heroine can keep her composure above table no matter what assaults she faces

In the end it was an OK story with an interesting twist on the Marian/Sheriff/Robin relationships (get your mind out of the gutters I am NOT talking about a three way), but unfortunately the bizarre sex was just too OTT for this reader to take too seriously. The writing is not bad, but the repetition got a bit old after a while. I needed a scorecard to track how many times "quim" and "little pip" were used, but I'd say it was about on par with PG's use of Melusine in The White Queen and got old very very fast. As for all that sex? Frankly it was all rather cold and clinical with little chemistry between the players at all. Library only.

BTW, this author has two other erotica books. One is a spin off of the Count of Monte Cristo and the other the Phantom of the Opera. Library has those but I am sooooooo not going to go there.

The Lady of Morlaix, formerly known as Maid Marian, has been sent to Prince John's Court by his mother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Marian's assignment is to report back anything treasonous to the Queen without her wayward son discovering the truth. What she discovers is that the court is rife with political and carnal corruption. Marian's mission becomes more difficult due to her attraction to the outlaw Robin Hood and his nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The men distract her from her sworn duty to the Queen, while she must keep her wits to elude Prince John's lustful attentions. When Marian is forced to participate in the prince's wicked and wanton games, she is becomes closer to the bandit and the sheriff. As the tumultuous dance of intrigue and desire plays out, Marian must examine her own heart to make the right choice before her all secrets are revealed.

As a long time fan of Robin Hood, there was no way I could pass up a chance to read Bound by Honor. I was awed by Collette Gale's fantastic research and characterizations. Her writing is movie-picture perfect, depicting every scene, physical trait and nuance with razor-sharp precision and crisp detailing.

Marian is the same capable and courageous heroine from the classic, yet she is a woman whose awakening sexuality and sensual assertiveness compliments her strong persona. More than once, Marian was an important part of a few plot twists that were all in keeping with her adventurous spirit. Robin Hood and William de Wendeval, the Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, are placed center stage in the beginning as sunlight and shadow, hero and villain, but Ms. Gale doesn't enforce the old black and white labels. The author blurs the lines with a liberal splash of gray, hinting at that what everyone perceives might not be the entire truth. Robin Hood is dashing, bold and reckless, carrying all the pretension of a bad boy rock star with a taste for charitable causes. The sheriff is painted with dark flourish and waiting in the shadows for his moment, his aura, sheer Byronic sex appeal. Robin is cocksure, fearless and as playful as a golden retriever in contrast to Will de Wendeval's brooding pathos and sinister panther strut. Is there any wonder that Marian had such a time deciding between them?

Prince John is true to his name and status, indulging his carnal appetites and vices while partially adhering and giving lip service to social restrictions. Dowager Queen Eleanor and King Richard are beacons to light the way out of the dark maze he's created. One of the best aspects about this novel is those wearing the tights are not necessarily the ones to save the day. Still, the excesses the licentious ruler employs account for a large amount of the eroticism and court intrigue. It's also a clever way to underline the validity of the relationships while forging bonds of trust, love and intimacy between our main players. Everything is neatly tied together with solid realism, offering a large pile of HEA sweetness. I was swept away by this passionate (and hot!) reworking of this popular literary favorite.

Patrice F
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I seriously regret purchasing this book! Although it is not poorly written, I found it horrible! This is NO Robin Hood / Marian romance! Marian engages in all sorts of nasty sex acts with all types of people, and in the end, has a graphic sex scene with a "Guy of Gisbourne" type character, rejecting Robin about midway through the book. The book is even dedicated to women who prefer Richard Armitage!
The characters did not ring true, and not a single one was sympathetic or likable. There is nothing tender or romantic or loving in this book.

Not a huge Robin Hood fan, I had no preference who Marion ended up with and she had plenty of erotic and sensual scenes with both. I though Gale's writing was exceptional for the male leads and loved the Byronic hero she displayed in William de Wendeval, or the Sherriff of Nottingham (thanks to her shout out to Alan Rickman, I had him and his beautiful voice in my head the entire time!) Some of the scenes may make others squeamish, or laugh like one of the reviewers here, but it says right on front an EROTIC novel. If you're not into explicit sex scenes, you might want to pass. I've read this and Unmasqued and both passed with flying colors, now for Master.

I already knew I liked Colette Gale's writing style (because I read her other books as Joss Ware and Colleen Gleason) but this went above what I was expecting. I long for her to write more of these classics turned erotica and I can't wait to read the other two.