Customer Reviews

The Bride of Black Douglass (Mira)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In 1785 England, Meleri Weatherby ends her betrothal to Lord Philip Ashton because she finds him cruel, dangerous, and repulsive. He gleefully agrees because he plans to marry his lover until his father threatens to disown him if he fails to wed the wealthy Meleri. The Ashton family is near broke. When she learns about her ex-fiance's plans, Meleri flees to Scotland.

On the way, she runs over Lord Robert Douglas. The Scottish nobleman is in England because he needs to marry quickly a wealthy English lady to satisfy his debts. He is under the King's command to do so. When he learns that Meleri broke off with Philip, he offers to marry her because he hates her former fiance, who raped and killed his sister. Meleri and Robert marry and begin to fall in love. Meanwhile, Robert's ancestral ghost visits Meleri and rapidly develops a loving grandfather-granddaughter relationship. However, Philip lurks in the background and the ghost has yet to reveal the hidden family treasures that will solve so much for the Douglas clan.

THE BRIDE OF BLACK DOUGLAS is an exciting, non-stop supernatural historical romance that simply runs out of gas. The story line is fun and entertaining through most of the book, but the climax loses momentum in spite of two wonderful lead characters and an insightful look into late eighteenth century Scotland and England. Sub-genre fans will finish this novel with the knowledge that Elaine Coffman is a very talented author worth reading, but this novel's ending leaves a bit of disappointment.

Harriet Klausner

When Lady Meleri Weatherby witnesses her fiance's cruel treatment, she knows she must somehow put an end to their betrothal before he sets a date. But a confrontation compels her to make a rash vow to marry the first man she comes across. It is fortuitous then that she literally runs into Robert Douglas. His impoverished family desperately needs funding and he needs to find a wealthy English bride before the king takes the option to choose away from him. Both Robert and Meleri know that an alliance between the two of them can be of immense benefit but neither can anticipate their growing love for each other.

Despite a surprisingly slow start, Elaine Coffman has written a beautiful love story steeped in the richness of the history of the Douglas clan. Meleri has an odd, supernatural connection to the Douglases due to a visiting ghost whom she has seen in her dreams prior to her alliance with Robert. Life with the Douglases proves to be advantageous to Meleri who begins the story as a spirited heroine but eventually becomes a purposeful one. Robert, who is moody and melancholy, overcomes his initial dislike for his English bride and is so moved by her devotion to his family that he finds himself unable to use her as a tool of vengeance for his twin sister's death years ago. "The Bride of Black Douglas" is not just a love story it is a rich tapestry of history, pride, and family that will succeed in delighting readers.

I'm not usually a big fan of historicals, but I loved this book, especially the wonderful drama of proud Scot vs. British maid in a marriage of convenience, the ghostly legend and the moody Scottish castle. For all of us who believe in Presbyterian predestination, this is one book we were all meant to read! It's terrific!

Betrothed at birth to Philip Ashton, Marquess of Waverly, Lady Meleri Weatherby now would do anything...absolutely anything to get out of her engagement. Meleri does not love Philip and knows he is unspeakably cruel, which leaves her to figure out how to break things off with him. Does she follow her rebellious devotion to her plans for the future or her steadfast loyalty to her upbringing? In confusion she flees her home and vows to marry the first man she meets.

Robert Douglas, the Earl of Douglas, was born into a life of strife, but now his back is up against the wall; he needs money quickly to save his family home. Faith in the ghost of Black Douglas is not enough to lead them to the family fortune. With orders from the King to marry within three weeks, or have the King choose his bride, Robert begins to search for a wealthy bride of his choice. From Meleri and Robert's first meeting the sparks begin to fly but Robert believes since she is English she is not to be trusted. After the two learn of their individual plights they agree to a marriage of convenience.

THE BRIDE OF BLACK DOUGLAS is brimming with adventure, humor, likable characters and just the right touch of suspense. Meleri is spirited, stubborn, strong and outspoken and a genuinely lovable character. Robert is seductive, mysterious and captivating and could literally sweep any woman off her feet. The secondary characters add dimension and humor to the story. Robert's Uncle Iain's reliving the time he didn't make love to his wife for two months after the wedding particularly struck my funny bone. Ms. Coffman has brought the Scottish countryside vividly to life. Though this starts as a marriage of convenience it soon turns into a beautiful love story.

If you are looking for a fast-paced, entertaining read THE BRIDE OF BLACK DOUGLAS is not to be missed. Ms. Coffman shows us why she is a New York bestselling author with this gem of historical fiction. I highly recommend THE BRIDE OF BLACK DOUGLAS!

Carol Durfee Romance Reviews Today

I won't comment about the entire book because Ms. Klausner did a good job of it. What bothered were inconsistencies in the book. Passages that were obviosuly placed at the wrong place in the book. Some ideas were began but never fully developed and further pursued. At certain points I had to stop and go back and re-read. It is never explained why Melari never met Philip the night she was supposed to do so. Also, Melari never told Robert that Philip had come by while he was away from home. Parts of this were not very clear, although I did enjoy the story. It was not one of those "I hate you" sort of stories between hero and heroine which I absolutely despise. The lead chearacters have disagreements but this "hate" stuff turns me off. This book doesn't.

I must agree with the other reviewers -- this book is good, however, it moves so slow. Like another reviewer, the only reason I finished it was to see what happened with the ghost.

Also, another problem I had was when Mereli lost her virginity. (If she did! Ms. Coffman doesn't really say yay or nay.) There was nothing to lead up to such an interlude. Also, we didn't get to know Meleri's thoughts on losing her virginity.

I will say though the book got better after the first 225 pages. But even though, I was yawning throughout the book.

I don't usually write comments about books I read, but this book was so touching and beautifully written I couldn't resist passing my comments on to others looking for an exceptional, intelligently written book. I can't stop thinking about ith, which means I'll probably read it again before the year is out. It is definitely a book I'll keep to curl up with again and again. I've bought every book by this writer that I can get my hands on.

I hate to say it but I was disappointed in this book. The story started out really slow with such a firey heroine I expected more out of the story. Great ghost who was very intriguing and fun but author led up to many things and never finished. The hero never told heroine that her ex-betroth was the man who brutally raped his twin and who he in turn blamed for his death which was one of the main reasons he marries the heroine in the beginning REVENGE. The book did have it's funny moments and had some great secondary characters but on the whole I felt there were many story lines that were left unfinished, just kind of fizzled away.

The ghost was a nice touch to this beautiful romance novel. The dialogue is very detailed. I felt like I really got to know the heroine. And, as another reviewer said, the descriptions of the land are enchanting. While the plot may have a few illogical turns, the book was a good read and fun. I recommend it. I cried at the end for the beauty of the story (and not many books can do this to me). My only complaint, a small one, is that I wish the love scenes, although fairly good, had the same detailed descriptions -- like Stephanie Laurens does. I plan to read all of Ms. Coffman's books. :)

This was the only Elaine Coffman I have ever read so I cannot speak for her other books but I thought these caracters were poorly developed. It was almost as if the story was being related by an adolescent girl. The main caracters jump from tangent to tangent. There were all sorts of dangling plot lines and personality shifts. I just plain didn't like it. Unfortunately I bought 2 of her other books at the same time because I thought they might be related. I will force myself to read them to be fair but I am not looking forward to it.