Customer Reviews

Conquering Knight, Captive Lady (Harlequin Historical)

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After the death of her stepfather, Lady Rosamund de Longsprey thought to avoid an arranged marriage with a repugnant man by taking to her newly inherited lands. Despite the deplorable conditions and neglected lands, Rose is determined to make it work because the alternative is not something she is willing to do. Unfortunately for Rose, Lord Gervase Fitz Osbern is just as determined to take back his lands that were stolen from his family. Fitz Osbern shows up and quickly takes control of the castle much to the chagrin and annoyance of Rose. Both are convinced of sole ownership, and both are obstinately trying to oust the other. Neither one is willing to give any ground, nor will either one submit. Will anyone survive? And who will lay claim to the lands?

I absolutely LOVED this story. I happened upon this prize quite by accident as I was browsing the shelves of a local paperback exchange bookstore. The blurb on the back caught my attention, but it was a while before I opened it. I was quickly caught up in the story and the characters; I soon found myself racing to read to see how it would all end. Both Rose and Gervase are strong and dominate characters. Happily, they stayed true to those qualities throughout the story and still had a very satisfying end.

The first scene we read is of Gervase taking over the estate. It comes across rather brutally, and I found myself asking the question "how am I to like this man?" Then, the story flashes back 2 weeks and we see things from the beginning and WOW. I was hooked.

What I enjoyed:
1. Lady Rose--she is amazing! She is opinionated, determined, cunning, proud, and smart. She is also compassionate and brave. I loved that she grew as the story progressed. Yes, she was innocent of many ways of the world, but she wasn't overly naïve and stupid about it. She was headstrong, sometimes to her detriment, but always for a cause.
2. Lord Gervase--what a hottie! He was robbed of his lands and stole them right back. Even though he is an honorable knight, he plays the role of a rowdy brigand in hopes it will send Rose running. His attempts are rather funny since he betrays himself with acts of generosity and civility at times. And once he cleans himself up...all his natural charm really shines through.
3. Contess Petronilla and Lord Hugh de Mortimer--Rose's mother and Gervase's friend added a nice touch of sanity to balance out the bullheadedness of both Rose and Gervase. Also, I loved Rose's mom for just being there and being a mom. She wasn't controlling, but supportive.
4. The Undermining of Authority--I loved the subtleties (and not so subtle ways) used by both Rose and Gervase to gain the upper hand. I also appreciated that it wasn't always one that came out on top. In fact, it always seemed even handed. It's infuriating to read stories where the woman is so naïve that she is must be rescued by an all knowing man. Here, we had a well-balanced clash where no one ever seemed to truly be in control of the situation.
5. The Romance--with two such headstrong people, there's bound to be sparks when they meet. They both slowly and thoroughly fall in love with the other. And it was easy to see why they loved each other.
6. The Ending--with both determined to be the conqueror, it was nail-biting to wait and see how two stubborn people would come together without submitting. It was well done. I loved how Rose put to use the unorthodox advice of the Queen.

What I didn't like:
The only thing that I didn't like was the several flashbacks: it was a bit confusing at times. Am I reading something going on right now? Or did this happen previously?

All in all, I really enjoyed this story. It was a highly entertaining story with believable characters and an emotional romance. This is one I'm going to hold on to and not send back to the paperback exchange store.