Customer Reviews

Bride of Danger

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

 

 

I read this book in the space of 24 hours! I loved this book. Katherine O'Neal is such an awesome writer. I also read Princess Of Thieves and that book was very good too. Bride of Danger is a great book! It's adventurous, sexy, and had many twists and turns that makes you love it even more. (At one point I was so mad at the characters in the book I put it in the freezer, I don't remember why, some old skit on SNL or something like that... I'm not sure.) This book is quite a find and I would reccomend it to anyone at all!

In the 1870s, the Fenians, an Irish freedom fighting group draft three clever teenagers (Mylene, Johnny, and Daggett) to help end English rule over Ireland. Through some clever machinations, Mylene becomes the adopted daughter of a very lonely Lord Stanley, the leading English opponent to home rule.

Seven years later, Johnny reenters Mylene's life impersonating Lord Whitney, who allegedly just returned from India. Mylene and Johnny, who were very attracted to each other when they were teens living in an orphanage, quickly realize that they still love each other. However, they disagree on how to further the Irish cause. Johnny wants Mylene to plant evidence that would destroy her now beloved adopted father. She prefers to persuade Lord Stanley to change his position by taking him on a tour of the Ireland she once lived in years ago.

Mylene and Stanley travel to Ireland and he is shocked by what he sees. He agrees to meet with the leader of the freedom fighters. Mylene and Johnny become engaged. However, their third friend Daggett sets in motion a seditious plot that could destroy Ireland, kill Queen Victoria, and do away with his two long term friends. It is up to Mylene and Johnny to try to stop him even if it costs them their lives.

BRIDE OF DANGER is a fast-paced, extremely interesting historical romance that intriguingly depicts the nineteenth century Irish home rule issue from various perspectives. This also gently brings home what is behind the Northern Ireland question today. Readers will enjoy Katherine O'Neal's relevant historical story line and the myriad of characters that bring to life the nineteenth century squabble between England and Ireland.

Harriet Klausner

I loved this book! It was exciting, adventurous, sexy, fun. I couldn't put it down. Run to get it. You won't be disappointed.

Since the back cover description is already provided on this page, I'll skip straight to my review.

This is a book that I picked up and put back without purchasing several times. The title would capture my interest, but after reading the synopsis on the back cover, I'd put it back on the shelf. Well, I finally broke down and bought it, and now I wish I'd followed my first instincts.

This book was more of a political history lesson than it is a romance novel. The romance was so rushed (instant love after years of seperation!) that it felt tacked on just so it could be marketed to romance readers, who make up 50% of all book sales. I felt so cheated.

And any glimmer of romance to be found in this book was based on nothing but lust. We have absolutely no insight into who the hero really is, yet when he meets up with the heroine after seven years apart (they grew up in an orphanage together, yet their relationship was barely explored) he just starts kissing her like a sex fiend and she melts in his arms. Uh-huh. Was I supposed to care, or something? Because when I have no idea who these people really are (what are their motivations? their quirks? their likes? their dislikes? their desires? their fears? All a mystery to the reader) why should I care what happens to them? It was all plot and no character development.

I cheated and skimmed ahead to see if it got any better. Instead, it got worse. It descended into an "I love you, I hate you, let's scream and fight, let's rip each other's clothes off and hump all night long" cliched novel that is not at all romantic. A good romance should make the reader sigh with happiness. All BRIDE OF DANGER did was make me grit my teeth in frustration.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: there needs to be more drawing the lovers together than just sex. That's not enough to build a real relationship on. Sexual attraction should be an added bonus to love, not the sole reason a couple is together.

I gave BRIDE OF DANGER two stars, as the history portion of this book was obviously well-researched and well written. If that's what you're looking for, then you'll probably enjoy this. But if you want real love between the characters, you'll have to look elsewhere.