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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The story SIZZLES with a capital SSSSSsssss!, January 16, 2001
This review is from: The Conqueror (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book for the first time years ago and it quickly took up residence on my "Keeper" shelf. This is the story of Ceidre and Rolfe during the time of William the Conqueror. So right off the bat, you are thrown into the savage and barbaric time which Ms. Joyce has a gift for recreating beautifully and so believably! With that in mind, there are a few questionable scenes that - by today's standards - some might find offensive, perhaps even appalling. But that's just it -- it does NOT take place in this time. The women of this era are treated not as equals, but as property; and marriages are arranged in order to gain the husband coveted land and power. That was just the way it was back then -- it's historical fact -- and this book captures the essence of the period magnificently. Ceidre is "cursed" with what they call the "evil eye" and she is feared by many because of it. But Rolfe isn't afraid of her. No, he is more than a little attracted to her from their first meet. King William has granted Rolfe "Aelfgar" - which is home to Ceidre's two brothers. The brothers have been branded as traitors and are hiding from the King's men who are intent on capturing them for treason. Rolfe's orders are to capture the missing brother and bring them back to William. He is also ordered to gain control of Aelfgar by marrying the traitorous brothers' sister. He soon finds out that Ceidre is illigetimate and that her hateful sister is the rightful heir to the castle. Rolfe lusts for Ceidre, but realizes he must marry the legitimate sister in order to gain rights to the land. Both the hero and heroine in this book are fantastic. You feel for each of them as they battle their feelings, their duties, and their loyalties. There is a lot of very sexual tension between Rolfe and the opinionated Ceidre. You will fall for Rolfe -- even though he is somewhat barbaric (and maybe even BECAUSE of it). There is a very gentle side to him and we get glimpses of that nature when he is around Ceidre. The length he will go to protect her will tug at your heartstrings. And the love scenes will curl your toes. Just keep in mind what era you're reading about when you read some of the scenes. Like I said, this is a KEEPER and I have enjoyed reading and re-reading it many, MANY times. I would be surprised if it didn't find it's way to your own "Keeper" shelf, as well. Enjoy! :)
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32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
There were no good characters. No one had any qualities to admire or to enjoy reading about., July 24, 2008
This review is from: The Conqueror (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a melodrama of people hurting other people through stupidity, jealousy, cruelty, selfishness and insensitivity. This was not entertaining. I never smiled or had a pleasant feeling. My emotional reaction was "yuck." I wanted it to be over. A few of the characters' frustrating, unpleasant and unsympathetic actions are in Spoilers below.
CAUTION SPOILERS:
Ceidre and Alice are half-sisters. Rolfe meets Ceidre and falls in lust with her immediately. He dislikes Alice but marries her for property reasons. Alice hates Ceidre out of jealousy and other reasons. Alice uses every chance she can to hurt Ceidre and three times nearly kills Ceidre. Alice creates false evidence that Ceidre is a spy so she could put Ceidre in a dungeon. Later, Ceidre stupidly tells Alice that Ceidre is going to have sex with Rolfe in order to spy for her brothers. Alice is happy because she plans to tell Rolfe that Ceidre admits to using sex with him for the purpose of spying. Why would Ceidre ever tell this to her enemy Alice?
Rolfe does a number of things that are not likeable, including the following. He arranges for his best friend (and one of his warriors) Guy to marry Ceidre, but Rolfe spends the wedding night with her, raping her. Later he orders her to come to his bedroom. He insults her and tells her that he prefers Alice for the night. Ceidre starts encouraging sex with Rolfe. Although they are married to others, Ceidre and Rolfe have sex frequently and fall in love with each other. However, Ceidre continues to act as a spy and warns Rolfe's enemies of his actions. As a result, Rolfe's men are ambushed, many die and Rolfe could have died. Ceidre stupidly claims she thought the enemy would flee from Rolfe's advance instead of ambush him. I couldn't take this merry-go-round of stupidity.
Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: eighteen. Setting: 1069 England. Copyright: 1990. Genre: historical romance.
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33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mean yet gentle - have to read to understand, October 19, 2003
This review is from: The Conqueror (Mass Market Paperback)
The Conqueror was the first book I have read by Brenda Joyce. It is the type of romance often written about fifteen years ago that we do not see much today. This type of romance involves a very strong yet ruthless hero who treats the heroine very badly from time to time yet finds himself obsessed with her. The hero of The Conqueror reminds me of other ruthless, yet endearing heroes in two other books I have read from this same time period that stand among my favorites. Rolfe, the hero of The Conqueror is similar to Garrick from Johanna Lindsey's Fires of Winter or Ranulf from Nicole Jordan's The Warrior. I have written reviews on both of those books should you want a comparison. Please note - this is not a book for the weak at heart. This is strong subject matter that at times is volatile and at other times highly sensual. Ceidre is the bastard daughter of a deceased Saxon lord and half sister to Lady Alice, the legitimate heir of their home, Aelfgar. Now that the dead Saxon lord's sons have double crossed William the Conqueror twice, the new king has awarded their home to one of his most loyal knights, Rolfe de Warenne. William has directed Rolfe to marry Lady Alice, thereby cementing his new ownership of this large holding. Rolfe first encounters Ceidre in the opening pages of the book when his knights are burning a village for hiding Saxon rebels. He mistakes her for a peasant and decides he will have a taste of her. When his men identify her as Rolfe's future bride, Rolfe realizes he must behave but is extremely pleased with his future bride. He had not expected to be drawn so fiercely to someone who would one day be his bride. Ceidre takes advantage of Rolfe's misunderstanding of her identity and travels back to Aelfgar with him - hoping to find an opportunity to escape. Upon reaching Ceidre's home, Aelfgar, Rolfe soon discovers that his future bride is Lady Alice, not Ceidre. Rolfe is enraged, very disappointed, and feels Ceidre has played him for a fool. From this point on, it is a battle of the wills as Rolfe attempts to put Ceidre in her place, fighting attraction every step of the way, and Ceidre defying Rolfe at every turn as she continues in her loyalty to her rebel Saxon brothers. Now although I do appreciate a well-written alpha hero, I do not especially relish a violent hero. However, although this hero, Rolfe de Warenne, was just that - violent at times - there was this underlying enormity of loving feelings he had towards the heroine, Ceidre. Of course, being the typical romance hero written even today, he did not even want to admit much less explore his feelings for Ceidre. But those underlying feelings caused him to stay close, ever protecting her - even from her own foolish actions, and taking care of her when she was sick or injured. He did not want to banish her because it would mean separation from her although they had no official relationship - not even physically. At times, Rolfe really mistreated Ceidre and at other times, he was honorable, and still at other times, loving. It can safely be stated that his feelings for Ceidre certainly confused him. Despite Ceidre's negative treatment, I still loved The Conqueror because it portrayed an ongoing tenderness between the leads that was very engaging. There were many obstacles for these two to overcome and Brenda Joyce is able to make common romance situations highly intriguing without even one boring page. This was an extremely good love story and one that will keep you anxiously reading one page after another. The sensual rating for this is high at a solid 4.5 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). The Conqueror is a strong keeper and I know I will relish reading it again. Now I am eagerly perusing Brenda Joyce's backlist. She is a very talented author who keeps the action mainly on the love affair. Although there are some interesting secondary characters and conflict in the background, the leads definitely carry this story. And that is the way I love the romances I read to be - about the romance!
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