Customer Reviews

Briar Rose

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

 

 

This mawkish, sentimental romance is set in Ireland sometime after the Rebellion of 1798.
The rebellion was a partial result of the repressive policies of the British government. But not to worry, there is no Irish history in this romance. No United Irishmen, no Irish Republicanism and no Defenderism. No, just the simple statement that "hatred of the English had been a chronic fever in Irish blood for six hundred years". The history is so generic, the story could easily be moved to France or North America during their revoltutionary periods.
Back to the romance:
This is the story of dispossessed Irishwoman, Rhiannon Fitzgerald, who saves the life and soul of a wounded English Captain, Lionel Redmayne. She teaches him to love and forgive, I found it to be an incredible, dull lesson.
Rhiannon's mother, according to her deceased father, was a Fairy. Rhiannon has inherited her mother's fairy gifts. The healing ability, the fairy awareness of things seen and unseen, and most importantly, the ability to sense goodness or wickedness in people. Rhiannon senses wonderful spiritual goodness in Lionel Redmayne.
Redmayne is a troubled soldier. The author tells us that he has done terrible deeds. Redmayne believes that he has no soul, no love to give, no hope of redemption. Redmayne feels that Rhiannon is an angel.
There is interminable blathering in this romance concerning Rhiannon's innocence and Redmayne's soiled soul. Pages and pages, on and on, etcetera, etcetera. There is little action, just pages of alternating internal monologues.
**Spoilers**
But at the core of all this blah, blah, blah is the usual plot. The Innocent, too-stupid-to-live virgin heroine wants to heal the tormented noble hero with her unconditional love and a large dose of redeeming sex. She ignores all warnings and places herself in harm's way. The hero must risk his own life to save her from her own ill-considered actions.
Rhiannon believes that Lionel needs to reconcile with his Grandfather, so she accepts the old man's invitation to dine. Mind you, Lionel has shared the trauma of his upbringing with Rhiannon.
The fairy senses must have been having an off day. Grandfather Paxton Redmayne is evil through and through. A thieving murderer who steals from destitute widows. An abusive authoritarian who made Lionel's childhood a total hell.
Now Lionel has to rescue Rhiannon from the clutches of evil, vindictive Paxton Redmayne. This denouement takes about 51 pages in a 371 page novel.
This was a really dull novel with a saintly heroine, little action and a morose sad-sack hero.
Not recommended.

Kimberly Cates always writes a magical, heart-rending story and this is no exception. Maybe her best book yet, BRIAR ROSE is the touching tale of a wounded English captain known for his fierceness and an Irish maiden with a healing hand and gentle heart. Caught in a web of danger and secrets, they have no choice but trust each other--and their trust blossoms into a truly memorable love. Kimberly Cates's Ireland is such a delicious place! If ever there was a magical setting in which anything is possible, this is it. And her characters are passionate, full-bodied, full of life and emotion. I adored this book!

Okay, okay - at first I was going to criticize this book, saying it had none of the magic of Cates' previous book GATHER THE STARS. It seemed long-winded - too much self-talk between actions. But as I got into it, Rhiannon won me over, and later so did Lion. What a gentle, forgiving creature she was! Redmayne has almost too many layers of pain to work through but Rhiannon kept at it. Certain passages brought tears to my eyes - always a sign of a 5 star book. Try it. Cates really is a master of romance.

I was intrigued by "Briar Rose" from the first time that I read an exerpt at the end of Kimberly Cates' wonderful romance, "Magic." Lionel was not the typical villian. He was dedicated to his responsibilities as an English captain, but was never cruel. I was very pleased that Lionel's better self was revealed in "Briar Rose" - Rhiannon was the perfect heroine to show him the path to love and true redemption. Ms. Cates has delivered to her readers a truly marvelous and moving romance.

Rhiannon, the Irish heroine of Kim Cates's novel Briar Rose, is so loving and forgiving that she is almost angelic. Her affinity with broken things whether people, animals or even tea cups is sweet. She rescues and nurses wounded British officer, Lion, back to his grumbling, cold, reserved self.

Lion has no idea how to treat this fey creature. She travels in a gypsy wagon, has an old horse and dog and a one eyed cat for company. When Lion and Rhiannon argue they lapse into the silences that go right along with their character. Rhiannon goes into the quiet sulk and Lion into the reserved macho male. Ms. Cates understood their personalities and didn't write them into screaming matches.

Rhiannon realizes Lion needs her long before he does. He is emotionally scarred and she is determined to help him heal, risking her emotions and even her life for him. Such self sacrifice is again consistent with her character. The one drawback in this book is that there are just too many coincidences between these two people. All and all though this book is a keeper.

After taking a tentative step into the world of romance with Julie Garwoods' 'Ransom' and systematically devouring everything else the woman had ever produced, I was at a loss- what else could I read? Then, slumped despondantly against a bookshelf in a second hand bookshelf, a title caught my eye. A great lover of anything even hinting of celtic, magic or fairy tales, I snatched Briar Rose off the shelf against my father's rather desperate protests. In the end, my battles were not in vain. See, Cates, unlike Garwood, doesn't dodge in and out of relationships, blending the times between outpourings of love and desire into grey. I, like most people I know, don't believe that love and passion go necessarily hand in hand, but Garwood's books seem to promote this view. Ransom, yes, was great, but some of the others seemed kind of. . . . Well, fake. Unrealistic. Cates didn't fall into the same trap, though. We met her characters and began to love them for all their faults- at least, in my case- from the very beginning. Lion, with his fear to trust, his painful childhood, won my sympathy, even in view of his conniviving attempts to force Rhiannon into taking him back to his garrison. Rhiannon with her love for animals, her fairy-born magic, captured my sense of wonder, my belief in the unbelievable. The war between the British and the Irish, the hatred, the eye for an eye mentality, all are portrayed with fullness and impartality. Unlike many authors, Cates also abstains from putting all her good characters on one side and all her bad characters on the other. The romance between Rhiannon and Lion almost reminds me of the famous play Romeo and Juliet, though certainly I like this ending better. I agree that the romance is admittedly slow, but it's nice to see an author whose characters don't jump in and out of bed like hyper two year-olds. (Not to say that all romance character do, and certainly not pretending any real knowledge of the subject- this is simply my jaundiced opinion from observation of Garwood and a few other, select romance writers) In any case, the author uses her time to build up their memories, to show us all the wonderful and sometimes not so wonderful differences between hero and heroine. Rhiannon with her tender heart rolled out like a carpet, Lion, who locks himself into a mask, tries to hide his pain even in his dreams, truly are characters you can understand, empathize with. And Cates does this with beautiful, vivid imagery and distinctive style. I've read a lot of reviews that claim Kimberly Cates overdid the page count on this particular novel, but I can't help but think that a good romance novel, like a good cup of coffee on a rainy day, is best if it's drawn out. Say what you will about tedious prose, but after the occasionally unbelievable romances of other writers (also known as the lightening bolt from the heavens syndrome) I believe Cates did the right thing, and that Briar Rose is all the richer for it.

I enjoyed the book tremendously. The time Cates spent developing Redmayne's character was wonderful. Cates reminds me of Laura Kinsale in her novel 'The Shadow and the Star' which also delves into the male lead's psyche.

I really enjoy reading about Rhiannon, who has the character and integrity to 'do the right thing'. This book provided just the escapism I was looking for with delightful characters who weren't too perfect to like.

At first I thought the book was too slow, dragging out, then it got better, but by then I really didn't care anymore. I think that the author went a little overboard on Redmayne's "bad" past.

-- and no one took it.

Yes, it lingered forlornly on the table for days! I was tempted to throw it in the recycling bin, but I had too much respect for it as a book.

Personally, I don't ask much from a romance novel, because I read them as pure escapism, especially during finals. I want the romance to be believable, historical facts to be fairly close to accurate, and above all, the heroine must have a brain! I don't know if this book delivers on the first two, although I'm betting not on the historical side. I didn't get far enough into it, because the heroine was such a flake! She was saccharine and clueless, and I'm surprise the book isn't *still* sitting in the student center.

Briar Rose is a wonderful story and well worth the readers time. Captain Redmayne seems so stern, almost cruel but inside beats the heart of a compassionate man. It takes a woman like Rhiannon Fitzgerald to bring him out of his shell. You can see how ones past shapes ones future in both characters. Through the story the Captains evil "grandfather" hangs like a dark cloud over their heads. And at the end the truth will be revealed, but not too soon! The truth can surprise you!!