The Damsel: The Bride Quest #2 [Mass Market Paperback]

Claire Delacroix (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Bride Quest | Publication Date: March 9, 1999

A proud maiden, she vowed never to love again... until he rode back into her life.

"I come in search of a bride."

Once upon a time, the legendary knight, Burke Fitzgavin, galloped into Kiltorren Castle and fell in love with Alys, the lord's orphaned niece.  But her uncle was determined that Burke marry one of his homely daughters instead.  Through tricks and lies, Burke was sent away, believing that Alys wanted nothing of his heart.

Pledged to a Bride Quest, Burke has vowed not to return home until he finds his long-lost love.  He returns to Kiltorren to discover that the fiery young innocent has become a woman, a servant on her uncle's estate.  Paying penance for Burke's long-ago embrace, she wants nothing to do with him.  Burke knows he must earn her trust again.  Even as he slowly rekindles her desire, Alys's family attempts to thwart their romance--determined that Alys should not marry before her cousins do.  But Burke is a warrior and this battle to win the hand and the heart of his one true love will be his greatest challenge ever. . . .

Watch for The Heiress, the crowning novel in the sumptuous Bride Quest trilogy of the three brothers Fitzgavin, which began with The Princess.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Romance and chivalry are alive and well--Claire Delacroix brings them alive with her stunning talent for storytelling!"
--The Literary Times

"When you open a book by Claire Delacroix, you open a treasure chest of words, rare and exquisite!"
--Rendezvous

"Claire Delacroix makes the Middle Ages glow with adventure, love and beauty!"
--Bell, Book and Candle

"Ms. Delacroix is a master storyteller of medieval romance."
--Old Book Barn Gazette

From the Inside Flap

A proud maiden, she vowed never to love again... until he rode back into her life.

"I come in search of a bride."

Once upon a time, the legendary knight, Burke Fitzgavin, galloped into Kiltorren Castle and fell in love with Alys, the lord's orphaned niece.  But her uncle was determined that Burke marry one of his homely daughters instead.  Through tricks and lies, Burke was sent away, believing that Alys wanted nothing of his heart.

Pledged to a Bride Quest, Burke has vowed not to return home until he finds his long-lost love.  He returns to Kiltorren to discover that the fiery young innocent has become a woman, a servant on her uncle's estate.  Paying penance for Burke's long-ago embrace, she wants nothing to do with him.  Burke knows he must earn her trust again.  Even as he slowly rekindles her desire, Alys's family attempts to thwart their romance--determined that Alys should not marry before her cousins do.  But Burke is a warrior and this battle to win the hand and the heart of his one true love will be his greatest challenge ever. . . .

Watch for The Heiress, the crowning novel in the sumptuous Bride Quest trilogy of the three brothers Fitzgavin, which began with The Princess.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dell (March 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440225884
• ISBN-13: 978-0440225881
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

NYT bestselling author Claire Delacroix always loved stories, both telling them and hearing them. She sold her first romance novel - THE ROMANCE OF THE ROSE - in 1992 and has been happily writing romances ever since. She makes her home with her family, a number of incomplete knitting projects and a lot of overgrown houseplants. Claire loves to travel, to cook, to ride her bike and to read.

In 2011, Claire has been re-releasing many of her historical romances in digital format. For more information about these releases, please visit her website at http://www.delacroix.net. You can also search for Kindle editions of her books right here on Amazon.

Visit Claire's website, Chateau Delacroix, at
http://www.delacroix.net

Find Claire on FaceBook here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Claire-Delacroix/108553409224492

Claire also writes as Deborah Cooke:
http://www.deborahcooke.com

She blogs most weekdays at her blog, Alive & Knitting, at
http://www.delacroix.net/blog

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Last Half Made The Book, January 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Damsel: The Bride Quest #2 (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to be honest with you. I was tempted several times in the first half of this book to give up and not to finish it. But my curiousity got the better of me and I continued on. And I am soooo happy that I did! Once I past the half way mark, I couldn't put it down. The pace picked up, the characters came to life, and it was wonderful! I encourage anyone who starts this book not to give up on it. I believe you will find the patience worth it once you get to the end. I sure did!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Childish heroine and a series of BIG MISUNDERSTANDINGS ruin this book, May 30, 2006

By 

Gemma "bookworm" (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Damsel: The Bride Quest #2 (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book because I'd really enjoyed one of this author's earlier books, ENCHANTED, which is a Harlequin release. If an author can write a good book in the oppressive restrictions of catagory romance, I usually deem them worthy of a try with a full-length novel, where there are fewer rules.

At first, there were a lot of things to like about THE DAMSEL. Though it's the second book in a trilogy, it works perfectly well as a stand-alone. The reader doesn't have to have read THE PRINCESS, the book that preceded THE DAMSEL, to make sense of the story. I hadn't read THE PRINCESS and never felt lost.

Delacroix has a nice, flowing writing style to this book that has a medieval feel to it without feeling to heavy or "textbooky" (yes, I know that's not a real word!). There are lots of humorous scenes in the book that had me smiling and almost laughing out loud. There was also lots of conflict between the hero and heroine.

But THE DAMSEL ultimately falls flat. The heroine comes across as childish. She's spurned once, and acts like it's the end of the world. And even when she finds out that she was lied to by her evil aunt, and that the hero actually did want to marry her three years ago (and still does), she refuses to believe it. Now why would she believe an aunt that beats her over the man who professes to love her? It just didn't make sense. She continuously misconstrued the hero's actions. It didn't matter how many times he saved her or was nice to her, she was convinced that he was up to no good, and nothing would change her mind. I want to smack some sense into her after the first few chapters.

That was what got to me in the end: the heroine's childish attitude, and the series of BIG MISUNDERSTANDINGS being all that kept the hero and heroine apart. It might have been okay if they had never been able to speak to one another and clear things up, but they were together all the time. The hero would try to clear the air, and the heroine would always misunderstand or just not believe him. I would have rather that they freely admitted their feelings and circumstances keep them apart than this constant miscommunication. It was really annoying.

This is the second book by Delacroix since the enjoyable ENCHANTED that has let me down. I'm leery of trying another. If you're still determined to read THE DAMSEL, I recommend that you borrow it from the library, rather than buy it. It's not worth the money.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ye Gods! What's wrong with the woman?, October 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Damsel: The Bride Quest #2 (Mass Market Paperback)

Burke, there are lots of "fishes in the sea". This could not have been a match made in Heaven. Heck, I don't even think Hell would have it. With Burke's honor, trust, charm, loyalty, love, not to mention good-looks, Alys still manages to shun the man. Ye Gods! What's wrong with the woman? The only thing a liked about this story was when Alys finally met her dad. A King's Ransom, indeed.