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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful conclusion to the Peregrine family duet!, April 19, 2006
I read and loved The Taming and had looked forward to reading The Conquest. This last part of the Peregrine family duet introduces a story of forbidden love when two sworn enemies lay eyes on each other. The year is 1447. Zared Peregrine is raised as a boy in order to be protected from the Howards, who enjoy kidnapping Peregrine women. Even though she grows up dressing, acting and fighting like a boy, her femininity is undeniable, for she lusts after men and secretly wishes she could wear gowns and jewels. No one notices she is a girl though -- that is until she is captured by Howard guards and is rescued by Tearle Howard, Oliver Howard's younger brother. He notices from the get-go that Zared is female and does just about anything to win her love. But Zared only sees an enemy, one that she refuses to kill in order to avoid a war against the Peregrines and the Howards. Tearle isn't interested in warring against the Peregrines. He grew up in France and away from the generations-old feud against the two families. He wants to bring peace and unity for both families and feels that marrying Zared would solve all of the problems. But he soon discovers that the journey to peace is a long one, for hatred and thirst for revenge run very deep for the Peregrines. And will Zared ever see him as anything other than a Howard? There are several twists throughout the novel.
This time it is the heroine's turn to be a pain in the behind. Her brother Rogan was infuriating in The Taming and I was wary of reading another novel with an insufferable alpha male again. However, Tearle is the opposite of the Peregrine men. He is sensitive, funny, easy-going, and a knight in shining armor through and through. I like how he goes out of his way to impress and woo Zared, not that she deserves him for a large portion of the novel though. She is a true Peregrine all right, almost as annoying as Rogan was. I can understand her behavior to a certain degree. She has been raised in surroundings that preached about hatred and revenge since she was a baby, and the only things she'd ever heard in her life was how the Howards had stolen Peregrine lands and how they'd killed some of her brothers. But I nevertheless felt more sympathy for Tearle than I did for her. The scenes in which she is confused about her feelings for Tearle and confusions centered on her gender are well done. The story development is very good here and, like in The Taming, there is no abruptness when it comes to Zared's growing feelings for Tearle. The way that the Peregrine-Howard feud comes to a head in the last few chapters is jarring and my heart went out for Tearle. Zared infuriated me to no end during those scenes. Anyway, The Conquest isn't as emotionally moving as The Taming, but it is an excellent followup nevertheless. I would have liked to have more input on Severn's marriage to Lady Anne though. I disliked Severn in both of these novels, too pigheaded for my taste, but I would have liked to know more about his new marriage though. And I find it surprising at the way Deveraux had written off his mistress from the storyline in this installment. She was a somewhat important character in The Taming, after all. I agree with the reviewers who say that Severn and Anne should have had their own story -- a short novella at the very least to let us know what went on after they married. There are too many loose ends surrounding these two characters, and Lady Anne has so much potential as a heroine in her own right. Despite those things, I enjoyed The Conquest. The plot reminds me of JD's The Raider and the Velvet series and of Judith McNaught's A Kingdom of Dreams. I heard that this book series was based on real-life feuding clans during Medieval times known as the McCoys and the Hatfields. Again, Deveraux has created a fictional account of real-life characters and situations. And she has once again done a splendid job creating an entertaining, romantic novel with lots of humor and wit. I highly recommend this gem.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jude Deveraux at her best!, January 6, 2002
To be honest, I didn't like this book at first. I felt that Zared and her brothers were unbearably harsh and unlikable and Tearle was a wishy-washy idiot. I am so glad that I continued to read it because this is one of my favorite romances of all time. Jude Deveraux is such a talented writer. She weaves beautiful stories together with memorable characters and recreates times I wish I could be transported to. Because I am probably the world's pickiest reader, I don't like all of her books, but The Conquest is one that is near to my heart.Zared can be a difficult character to relate to at the beginning of the tale because she seems so hateful and narrow minded. However as the story unfolds, her brattiness becomes entertaining and a wonderful sense of humor shines through. She is the classic 'diamond in the rough' character that grows and proves herself to be one of the best romance heroines of any novel.Tearle is wonderfully unstereotypical as far as romance heros go. I don't know about anyone else, but I am truly sick of the overbearing, arrogant rapists prevalent in so many historical romances. Yes, he did seem like an idiot at the beginning, but his patience and romantic personality melted my heart. He is truly the perfect fantasy man, in my opinion.The plot itself is fun and exciting, and unlike many other romances doesn't get boring or seem to drag on forever. I especially love how humor is blended in at the most unexpected moments, I literally laughed out loud at some of the characters' antics. I found Lady Anne to be especially amusing, she was such a great character I think she should have had her own book.Okay, this book wasn't perfect. There are places in the story where Ms. Deveraux has a tendency to tell instead of show, and I wish there had been a few more love scenes. But in spite of the problems, which are forgivable, this is truly a five star novel and a keeper!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great romance, February 4, 2005
I absolutly love this book. I started reading one night and stayed up till 2 in the morning reading and finished the next day. it usually takes me a couple of days to read a book this long. Usually it takes awhile for me to get into a book, but i got into this book after the first chapter. I agree, Zared was a little annoying how it took her so long to trust Tearle, but i also liked how they didn't immediatly fall in love it made you want to keep reading. By the middle of the book you will wonder if these two will ever get together because Zared still hates him so much. Anyway its a great romance book to lose yourself in.
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