Customer Reviews

The Chase

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Listen up, Lynsay Sands' Historical Fans. Her first historical in two years is out! And she goes back to her early roots with The Chase. The Deed was her first book and The Key her second. The Chase takes up after those two books bringing back characters from them.

Set in late 1300s, King Richard commands by royal decree that Blake Sherwell "Angel" must wed with is somewhat less than ladylike lady, Seonid Dunbar. The betrothal made years earlier, neither side now wants the marriage to proceed, but Richard is determined so there is little Blake can do but go claim his Scottish lass. Blake is none to happy to trek all the way to the Highlands to find `sweet' Seonid has slipped off and taken sanctuary with the nuns at St. Simmians. Blake is not a happy camper, and heads to take back his bride. He does this, but the infuriating female escapes again, and soon gives Blake a merry chase all over the Highlands. As he chases his bride-to-be, he begins to admire her spirit, sharp mind and even her stubbornness, and is soon falling for his warrior-lady-betrothed. Seonid also comes to a grudging admiration of the handsome knight. As they'd gone trooping over hill and dale, she comes to believe "Angel" just might be man enough to have a strong bride. Only how does one "throw in the towel" when the chase is proving so much fun?

This is a long drink after the dry spell of no Lynsay Historicals, and a great sequel to The Deed and the Key. Great new Lynsay's Vamp fan - look for Lissianna Argeneau's story sometime next year, but her historical fans will not have to wait so long for more of her laugh out loud delightful historical tales either.

It's typically Lynsay all the way - thank goodness!

This is the story of Seonaid Dunbar, the sister of Duncan from the Key, and Blake Sherwell. Seonaid and Blake were betrothed as children by their parents who had a falling out shortly after the betrothal. Seonaid is now 24 years old and Blake has never come to claim her leaving her humiliated. When the king orders Blake to come for Seonaid, she rebels by fleeing to a nunnery for sanctuary along with her cousin Aeldra. Blake pursues her to the nunnery and ends up taking not only Seonaid and Aeldra back, but a friend of theirs Helen who is escaping an evil fiance from the Cameron clan. Seonaid and the two women manage to escape a couple of times and force Blake and his party to chase them until they are attacked by some of the Cameron's. At that point, Seonaid realizes she must return to Dunbar for all of their safety. Along the way, she starts to admire and be attracted to her betrothed and resolves herself to the marriage. After the marriage, Seonaid discovers sex and really starts enjoying married life. Blake is thrilled with his wife, he is really excited about how they wrestle and play and now their great sex life. When Seonaid and Blake set out to return to his home, they are attacked by some enemies and Blake is almost killed. Seonaid realizes she loves her husband and tries to become more lady like to please him. When Blake awakes from his injuries he finds his wife by his bedside in a dress and sewing. Blake is unhappy with the change and liked Seonaid as she was before, but Seonaid mistakenly believes he wants her to be frilly.

Lynsay sands is so good about blending sensualiaty and humor that you keep interested in the book from beginning to end. These two characters were charming, stubborn but not so that they are unappealing. Wonderful book.

The Chase by Lynsay Sands is an okay read. It is not as good as The Deed and The Key. This story has characters in it from both of those stories. This one is about Seonaid Dunbar, Duncan's sister (The Key) and Blake Sherwell, Amaury's friend (The Deed). Seonaid was raised by her father and brother and is a warrior. She knows how to use a sword and wears pants instead of dresses. Blake has just been informed by the King that he has to wed Seonaid immediately. He has been bethrothed to her for ten years, but he has been fighting in battles alongside his friend Amaury. He is not ready to settle down, but he knows he has to go claim his long awaiting bride.

Seonaid is furious. She has been waiting years for Blake to come claim her, so when she finds out that he is on his way, she flees to a nearby abbey. Blake, of course, gives "chase", hence the title. He catches her, she escapes, he catches her, she escapes, and so on. Blake doesn't want to give up his bride now that he has seen her. She isn't like other women, but Blake likes that about her. But can she get over having been rejected by him for over ten years? So begins another chase for Blake, this one is to capture Seonaid's heart. 4 stars!

This was a fun and fast read. I laughed out loud a few times and enjoyed the fun and lively character of Seonaid. Despite some cute love scenes there really wasn't a connection between Seonaid and her intended (Blake); he was mainly a foil for her jokes and wanderings. Basically, Seonaid and Blake have been engaged in an arranged way for years and he has finally decided to come claim his bride. Seonaid tries desperately to escape Blake, and a lot of chasing and adventures happen along the way to marital bliss. The book was written in Scottish dialogue and was a bit hard to understand at first, but once you adjust to the writer it's all good. I would recommended the book for light reading and entertainment.

After obtaining this book based on reviews here, I felt I had to save others from making the same mistake & being fooled into believing this is a good book. A historical romance should be both historical & romantic; this was neither. This is a fantasy about a warrior woman with modern sensibilities; I have no quarrel with strong female characters, but not if physical strength and feminism doesn't fit into the time period in question.

First, a romance is supposed to be about a man & a woman resolving their romantic conflicts in order to find love. There was no real conflict here, as the characters were rarely in direct contact with one another. Instead, she spent most of the book running through the countryside, with him chasing her. Therefore, there was no real conflict between them (more like a misunderstanding arising from two bull-headed individuals acting like morons), and thus, no romantic tension. If you're into endless pages of tracking, you'll love this, but if you're looking for a relationship, forget it.

Second, a historical novel is supposed to reflect the period of history in which it is set. The author has done little or no research into life during this period (sometime during the reign of Richard II of England), and anyone with a basic knowledge of medieval life will be grinding their teeth in frustration, as I was. This is another feminist depiction of a liberated woman during an era when such behavior would - at best - have seen her consigned to the madhouse or - more likely - seen her burned at the stake for witchcraft. If the author wanted to write about a warrior heroine, she should have written a fantasy in Fairytale Land, because that's what this actually is.

Third, the characters are completely unlikable and psychologically unrealistic. The heroine is supposedly a warrior, but she's too squeamish to look at tapestries of martyrs, and too soft-hearted to tolerate pain in others. Her supposed skill as a warrior make her more of a teen-geek's cartoon character than a real person. (Even the scenes where she has a sword in hand demonstrate more about the author's lack of knowledge of the martial arts than anything else.) The hero is a conceited jerk. Everyone else was a one-dimensional illustration of a single trait: loyal, stupid, selfish, weak, etc. The scenes between the two 'lovers' were tepid, at best.

When I read a historical romance, I want to escape to another era in history, which means the author needs to paint an accurate picture. Women of this era didn't go galloping about on horseback. The sidesaddle was invented for Richard II's wife, Anne of Bohemia (in 1382), so it wasn't yet in widespread use; women either rode pillion (behind the man) or were led by servants. Crystal decanters weren't in common usage, either; parchment was expensive, not laying around to be used as a fan. Even a girl without a mother would have been raised by a female family member or servant, not trained as a warrior & sent into battle (even if she was Scots!). And the supposedly Scottish brogue used by these characters was poorly written and inconsistent, not to mention extremely hard to work through.

In short, within a few pages, I was sneering. Before I'd made it 50 pages in, I was bored. After slogging through about a hundred pages, I skimmed through to the end, decided it was a waste of time and money, and tossed it aside. If you're about 12 years old, enjoy fantasy with no basis in reality, and have no concept of romance, then this is the book for you. Myself, I think I'll avoid Lindsay Sands in the future.

Lynsay Sands is definately the best author. Her books are the funniest and the most interesting. I am very glad I have discovered her, she is the best. The Chase is absolutely hilarious. I definately recommend it.

In 1395 King Richard II orders Blake "Angel" Sherwell to wed his warrior-trained betrothed Seonid Dunbar. Reluctantly Blake heads to Scotland to marry the woman he has avoided. However, at his Scottish destination instead of finding an embroidering mate at the castle, Lord Dunbar greets Blake with the news that Seonid fled for the nearby St. Simmians monastery where the nuns have given her sanctuary.

An irate frustrated Blake heads to St. Simmians where he captures his bride only to have her escape. As he gives chase seemingly all over Scotland, he finds Seonid's courage and resourcefulness enticing. Soon he is intoxicated with wanting Seonid as his wife as he has fallen in love with his warrior bride. Seonid is also in love with her beautiful looking pursuer as he has made the cat and mouse game quite exhilarating and fun leading her to believe that this man might prove to be her equal.

THE CHASE is a fabulous humorous at times satirical medieval romance starring two battling warriors in love with the game almost as much as with one another. The riotous rousing romp is a series of chase, capture, escape and chase again as Seonid proves to be Blake's peer on the fox and the hound hunt. The warring duet make for a fine time leaving no prisoners as they skew some of the sacred boars of the sub-genre with a wonderful tale that feels as if Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn were matched up in fourteenth century Scotland.

Harriet Klausner

I've finally read a Lynsay Sands book!! I've searched my bookstore and library high and low, and finally found one. This was a great book. I've heard only good things about this author so I have been dying to give her a try. And was not dissapointed.

Seonaid Dunbar has waited years and years for her betrothed to come and get her, but he's never shown up. When she finds out that he is on his way, she flees to a nunnery to hide from him. Seonaid has been trained by her family to be a warrior, and she is not going to be tied down by a man who is too good to come and marry her.

Blake Sherwell is an English Knight who has finally come to claim his bride on orders from his king. He has no desire to marry a Scottish amazon of a woman, but does as he is told. The only problem is that she has run off to a convent and men are not allowed within it's walls. What he doesn't expect is to find that the door is unbarred and once him and his men walk inside to claim his bride, he's overwhelmed by what he finds; a warrior woman who fights with a sword like the best of his knights, and knows that he is in for it bad.

I loved the humor in this story. It was well placed and didn't make the story seem silly. Seonaid is a feisty scottish woman who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty (or bloody, for that matter). I found myself laughing at plenty of the numerous escape plans that she hatches, and loved the hero to pieces. He thinks that women should bow down to his beauty, and do whatever he says, (and most do). But Seonaid isn't swayed by any of his charms and gives him a fight at every turn. Gosh, you don't know what you are missing if you pass this book up. BUY IT!!

While I love the Argeneau's and eagerly awaiting more of the funny vamp family, I am thrilled to finally get another historical from the queen of the funny tales.

This one is charming tales of characters from the first two Sands books The Deed and The Key. There is to be a wedding, but neither groom nor bride is thrilled with the prospects. Just as the groom decides she might not be so bad after all, the bride takes a powder and dashes across Scotland one step ahead of the groom in hot pursuit.

It's great fun and I really and glad to know more historicals will soon be on the horizon.

An unwilling bride leads her potential groom on a merry chase across the land in this laugh out loud romantic comedy. Seonaid is just about the only woman in the entire British Isles that would not want to snag Blake Deverall, the Angel. She would prefer fighting men to loving them. If Blake wants to fulfill his liege's order to marry the Scotch Amazon, he'll need either angel's wings or the devil's charm to catch her. Combining the hilarious passion of the primary romance with a witty, sweet secondary romance, and once again, you have a winner. Ms. Sands paranormal fans may wish for a bit more magic, but her other fans will agree that her writing is enough magic on its own.

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.