Customer Reviews

The Brazen Bride (The Black Cobra Quartet)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

ok I have been a fan of stephane laurens for a long time and I went ahead and pre ordered this book admist all the shafting by publishing houses of e book owners regarding pricing of books. And because I paid a decent amount for this book, I tried to finish it, I really did. The characters of Linnet and Logan were promising but Logan was sadly underdeveloped and constantly listening to Linnet's repetitive musings on should they be together, shouldnt they, etc. got to be truly annoying. The story itself is boring. It started out well enough with a shipwreck and the memory loss but Linnet giving it up to some unknown "unconscious" stranger the very night he washes up on shore was ridiculous. Once they left the island, the story goes downhill from there. I am a speed reader and could have easily got through this romance in a few hours of continous reading but I have had this book for almost a week and the only reason I keep trying to pick it up is that I remember that I paid for it. I have read free or much more inexspensive books that were better than this. I am very disappointed.

I've been a fan of Laurens' work up until the Black Cobra series. I thought the first book might just be off, but all three have been.

Her writing.

Confusing.

Wanting.

Left something to be desired.

I'm fine with a re-hashed plot with new characters when I'm not looking for serious reading. I'm not fine when I start to wonder if the author is being paid by each sentence or fragment when the writing itself gets downright distracting.

I'm especially unhappy when yet another "steamy" scene starts, and it's just really not even worth reading. I started flipping past them halfway through the book. They don't help the plot move along, and frankly, they are boring. When you can't even make the "steamy" interesting, you're in trouble.

... to Stephanie Laurens ?? where is the author of "Devil's Bride" and all the other wonderful books from the Cynster series ???
this book is totally ridiculous ! the percentage of "steamy pages" is ridiculous! Although a trade mark of SL I feel that the author is using sex to fill the pages!
The comparison between the heroine and Queen Elizabeth is...ridiculous!!!!!!!!
I find the heroine a bad copy of Catriona Hennessy (Sandal's Bride).
I'm a huge fan of SL but I've been totally disappointed with her last books!
It is being difficult to finish this one!

I've enjoyed the first two installments in this series, but, although I'm only halfway through this one, it's so much worse than the other two. So far, the Black Cobra has hardly played a role and, honestly, that was why I was reading the books. This one is just sex, at least so far. The plot is sorely lacking. The characters are OK, but not great. I wouldn't say the first two of the series are my favorite books, ever (maybe 3 stars), but this one is useless. The over-arching plot has been pretty much ignored so far. I'm trying to get through the rest of it, but it is way harder than it should be.

The Brazen Bride is aptly named, for this heroine is brazen, in fact, she is more than Brazen, she definitely has an ego that more than matches any alpha male I've read about in a very long time. I don't mind a strong heroine, but the leading lady thinks of herself on par with Queen Elizabeth.

Linnet Trevission discovers hero Logan Monteith washed ashore on her Guernsey Island estate. He is unconscious with a terrible slash on his side, and a saber, dirk and a canister tied to his back, when he awakens Logan remembers his name but nothing of his personal life.

Linnet is not your average Regency miss, firstly she is a land owner, who has taken lovers and has decided she will play by no man's rules. She is supremely confident, and she does not need anyone telling her how a lady should behave. The reader gets what this lady is all about within the first few chapters. her personality is no mystery.

Logan however is an enigma, he remembers just bits of his past but it is the most recent events which are the most important. He is an officer in the Army, who has an important document that needs to be transported to his command in England. His character is one of duty and honor. He is fascinated with Linnet, he recognizes her fierce need to control him and everything around her and he pretty much lets her have he way.

I never warmed to Linnet. She seemed incredibly self-centered. She is arrogant but even more she can be unfeeling. For instance, Linnet demands that Logan repay her hospitality by sleeping with her. No matter that he has no memory and might have a wife or loved one waiting for him, she is determined that this man, who is uncomfortable with her repayment terms and with no money, pay his tab in bed.

Linnet is more than a landowner though; Logan realizes this when he remembers his entire past and requests that she help him get to England. Here, Linnet's identity and skills were just a little too unbelievable. (I do not want to give away all the heroine's extraordinary abilities but suffice it to say, she is the most capable and talented heroine I have read about in a very long time.)

Logan is almost a shadow to feisty Linnet. This story, the third in the Black Cobra series, is not as fulfilling as the previous novels, mostly because the reader does not really know Logan. Part of this is due to his amnesia but also it's because Linnet is the true hero and heroine here. She really knows how to save the day and just seems so much more accomplished than her male lead.

This book was nothing but sex scenes strung together with boring events. I think SL has been cranking them out too often b/c she's not really writing anymore. The heroine in the book was horrible and what a waste of a great character like Logan Montieth. He deserved better. As a matter of fact the reader deserved better. What a waste of money! I'll never pay full price for SL books again! If you want romance, a "buildup" to "the big moment", if you want your characters to genuinely care about each other don't buy this book, it stunk!

I enjoyed the other two books in the Black Cobra series; twist and turns abound. This book fell so far short, that it was hard to even read. It was filled with the ahhh bedroom and not filled with substance. I liked how it began but then after Logan woke up, things went down hill quickly. Linnet and her complaining drove me crazy and Logan with his being used and ignoring his honor, spoke little about his character. Then throw in the Captain thing, and Linnet holding off trained assassins, it went way over the top. Once Stephanie, the author, got into the reason for the mission, it was so confluted that I lost interest. Oh I hope she ends the series well! I would not buy this book.....also didn't tie in the other characters well, the men all seemed whooped by their spouses, not partners like she partrayed them in her other books.

Predictable - The hero is manly with a capital M while the heroine is all around perfect. Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, predictability is part of what makes romance novels so appealing, but in this case there is so much more than normal.

Unrealistic - Much of the book takes place on a journey from India to England and Ms Laurens describes the inns, ships, carriages and traveling inconveniences with aplomb. The villains from India seem to be everywhere and yet no mention is made of how this seemingly endless supply of dark haired, fanatical men move about Europe without raising an eyebrow, much less how these men are paying for themselves.

Modern - Perhaps the way the heroine lives her life isn't exactly modern (she compares herself with Queen Elizabeth I) but Ms Laurens does stretch "willing disbelief" by creating a character that is a gently bred lady of the manor who also happens to captain a privateer.

Squicky - The back story line about the relationship between the two remaining arch villains is titillating like a train wreck, but completely unnecessary to the story.

Stephanie Laurens is one of my favorite authors but in writing this series of books I felt the story fizzled out in the third book. I am not interested in going further and reading the last book in the series just from reading all the reviews of that one. Book four seems to suffer from the same problem, wasting the readers time through half the book before going forward with the story. The fact that "The Brazen Bride" had 176 pages (half the book) of the two main characters making love wihout any other plot "action" going on was disappointing. The storyline was slow after that and the ending did not lead me into wanting to read the last book. Definitely not a "keeper"!

I am a big fan of Stephanie Laurens but I have to admit I have not been impressed with this Black Cobra Quartet series so far. They are not horrible but not up to the standards of her earlier books.

The Characters

I liked Logan as he fit the mold of all of Laurens other heroes. He was sweet and kind under the hard core of a tempered soldier and he was meant to be with an unconventional woman. My main problem was with Linnet. Yes, I get Laurens was going for a strong, unconventional woman who does her own thing but it just went too far to even be somewhat believable. First, she is a single woman taking in orphans left and right which I was ok with. Then you find out that she has actually had 3 lovers even though she's never been married. A little out there but ok. Then the fact that she takes in a strange man, Logan, who at the time had no memory of who he was and somehow it was common knowledge he was in her bed. Yet no one bats an eye lash because apparently they all look up to Linnet as their leader. This was a bit much to me because I don't care how competent a woman is you know this is bound to raise eyebrows during this time period. Then it gets stranger and stranger as you find out she is captain of a ship, can find with a cutlass, fought in the war, was accepted as such in all ports in England and France. That just crossed the line for me. I cannot imagine in any context that she would be accepted by this male dominated society in that manner no matter how competent she is.

The Romance

The chemistry is definitely there between Logan and Linnet but again parts of the romance were hard to swallow. Logan is obviously a man of honor and I found some of his actions at odds with his character. There was one love scene in particular that I found pretty unbelievable as he makes love to Linnet in his sleep. Come on! Really? You would think he would wake up at some point during the action.

The Storyline

The storyline was not bad once you accept the fact that somehow Linnet was this Amazonian woman that could fight right along side with the men and best them in battle strategy. I have to admit my favorite character was actually one of Logan's comrades driver. He never plays a huge part but when he does appear I had to smile. This book definitely starts giving more insight into the Black Cobra and the siblings who masterminded the whole group. That was probably it's redeeming quality.

All in all not that great a book and I'm glad I already read the next one because after this one I don't know if I would have continued the series. I did find the fourth book to be an improvement.