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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great historical romance, January 31, 2009
This review is from: The Conquest (Paperback)
Adelstan Cawdor was hired to escort Lord Malgor's betrothed to him and he thought that would be an easy job, till he meets Rhiannon for the first time. He is absolutely bewitched by her, but he doesn't want to act on his attraction because he is honor and duty bound even when his heart demands something else.
Rhiannon always knew that she had to marry a man of her father's choosing, that was her duty as the daughter of the Laird of Clan MacKay and so far she has always done her duty, till she meets Adelstan. Both of them try to fight their feelings, but true love can't be ignored. Will those star-crossed lovers find a way to be together?
In THE CONQUEST we also meet the hero & heroine from THE BARGAIN again, but you can read the book easily without reading THE BARGAIN prior to it, because they play a short but important role. THE CONQUEST's hero made his first appearance in THE BARGAIN, too. Since than he has matured and become a loyal warrior. I was already intrigued in his character and was very curious about his story and I have to tell you that I wasn't disappointed.
THE CONQUEST is a sensual story full of action, that will sweep you away to the time after William the Conquerer's invasion. Ms. Templeton is on her best way to make herself a place among the best medieval historical romance authors.
It's a wonderful story that really enchanted me and I was more than a little sad when I reached the last page. I really hope that Ms. Templeton is going to write more historical romances.
Courtesy of Loveromances and More!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies!, August 5, 2008
This review is from: The Conquest (Paperback)
Readers yearning for the sequel to Julia Templeton's THE BARGAIN need not wait any longer. THE CONQUEST is Adelstan Cawdor's story and it is truly a historical worthy of any keeper shelf!
Adelstan Cawdor has been hired by Lord Malgor to escort the Norman baron's betrothed to him. He figured that this job would be simple - arrive at the Laird MacKay's home, escort the Laird's daughter to Lord Malgor, job complete. Upon first glance at Rhiannon, Adelstan, much to his dismay, is completely bewitched. Adelstan refuses to act upon his attraction; his honor demands that, much to his heart's disappointment. When Rhiannon expresses her desire for Adelstan, he refuses to betray her fiancé, no matter that his heart aches for what cannot be.
Rhiannon MacKay has always known that she would have to marry a man of her father's choosing. Being the offspring of the Laird of Clan MacKay isn't without certain sacrifices and Rhiannon has always done her duty. But the arranged marriage to an old baron is more than she can accept, especially since the man she truly wants is the man hired to escort her to her marriage and betrothed husband.
Adelstan fights his feelings for Rhiannon. However, when the woman he secretly loves is threatened, he can deny himself no longer. With one touch Adelstan and Rhiannon's lives are irreversibly changed forever. Now all Adelstan has to do is figure out how he is going to be able to let Rhiannon marry someone else.
Adelstan Cawdor was first introduced to readers in Ms. Templeton's release, THE BARGAIN. In the years since THE BARGAIN took place time wise, Adelstan has grown and matured into a loyal vassal and warrior. He knows his duty and is prepared to carry it through. For these reasons, I fell in love with Adelstan and my feelings never wavered - they were just as strong for Rhiannon. All of her life she knew and had done her duty to her family and her clan. Her forbidden love for Adelstan was her one true act of rebellion after a lifetime of obligation. Her spirit I loved most of all. Never would I have had enough guts to thwart my destiny as she was able to do.
Filled with sensual passion and gripping action, THE CONQUEST holds its own as single handedly being one of the best historical romances I have read in a very long time. Of course, it WAS written by Julia Templeton which means she could write the same word over and over and it would be wonderful. THE CONQUEST is definitely a worthy sequel to THE BARGAIN and a much loved addition to my ever expanding keeper shelf!
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Whose Conquest?, August 3, 2011
This was a good read; however I was not too impressed with the heroine (Rhiannon). She came across as a bit too outspoken for her society position and household stature. Her love for the valiant knight became believable towards the latter portions of the book, but she did possess an immature nature at the beginning of the romance, which did not allow me to believe her feelings of love towards our knight to be genuinely real. Our heroine gives away her virtue rather quickly (no more than three days) and for no reasons of love but rather upon learning that her betrothed is much older than her very own father. It was refreshing to see our heroine's feelings of love grow the farther one read into the story though.
With regards to our hero and valiant knight (Adelstan), well he was just absolutely perfect. I applaud authors when they get the hero down packed right, but why they attach a weak, childish and naive "temper-tantrum - my father could care less about me" - typed heroine to them, is far beyond me. Who says that a virginal heroine has to be so downright immature and even to the point of adhering to watch her very own promiscuous servant maid (Elspeth) having intimacies with one of her lovers (the stable master, Antony) in order to learn the ways to seduction? Our knight was already submitting himself to our heroine's flirtations and bold kisses prior to having her undergo this live "tutoring" session, which in my opinion totally devalues all characters involved.
Finally, I do not see the point why the author included a sub-plot involving Rhiannon's servant maid, Elspeth and her many love affairs; including her threesome sexual encounter with a bisexual knight. I did not find this sub-plot intriguing, engaging or erotic by any means. This threesome relationship was totally unnecessary and much less when said "story" could not even hold out on its own. From my personal opinion, I found it extremely distasteful and rather disturbing as Elspeth's excuse for taking on so many lovers and pleasuring herself so much with meaningless sex was a bit weak and shallow; having been jilted by her one true love - oh, boo-hoo. And Elspeth was the heroine's only mother figure to love her unconditionally? I don't know of any parent advising their child to watch their parents having intercourse in order for said child to master the art of seduction. Furthermore, the premise of having a heterosexual servant-maid become extremely intrigued in the knight (Jorden) rumored and confirmed to have had a homosexual relationship with another knight (Dante) is totally and blatantly unrealistic. Moreover, having said servant-maid engage in simultaneous intercourse in a lake with both lovers did not add any value to this premise, to the main story's plot nor to the characters. Thus, having said this and if you eliminate the subplot from the main story, the progression of the main story's romance is just a little bit better than average (3.5 Stars).
The ending, although on a happy note, felt indeed a bit rushed. There was no excitement or any new news in the Epilogue and it simply only came across as two pages of the author trying to convince its reader of the legitimacy/authenticity of the romance.
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