Customer Reviews

A Dangerous Love (Border Chronicles)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Her mother Lady Jane Radcliff and adopted father the Earl of Stanton die during the War of the Roses so six years old Adair is raised by her biological father, King Edward IV. When she is sixteen years old her royal sire demands she wed a fourteen years old by-blow as part of a political alliance with the Tudors; she refuses, flees the court, but King Edward IV marries her to the teen Llywelyn FitzTudor anyway by proxy. Scottish raiders kill her new husband so she quickly weds her neighbor Andrew Lynbridge to avoid another royal entanglement only he dies during the latest round of royal fighting.

She is branded a traitor and stripped of her title Countess Radcliff and her property. Scottish raiders abduct Adair and sell her into slavery to Lord Conal Bruce of Cleit. He purchased her to warm his bed and keep his house, but once she cleans up he realizes she is a beauty; once he tastes her spirit he realizes she is courageous. Soon they fall in love, but what is a future between a Laird and a slave?

Readers will root for the intrepid outspoken Adair as she faces royal condemnation, abduction by border raiders, and deaths of loved ones and spouses but she refuses to surrender her core values and freedom for the convenience of security. Her actions bring to life late fifteenth century England during the War of the Roses and the subsequent intrigue between rival houses claiming the monarchy. Bertrice Small fans will enjoy this action-packed erotic historical romance that brings to life the transition between Plantagenet and Tudor.

Harriet Klausner

I have done it again! I swore I would not buy any more of Ms. Small books but I did anyway. I became a fan of her books with wonderful stories as the Skye O'Malley books, Love Wild and Fair, and The Kadin. Those books were wonderful. I could lose myself in the wonderful descriptions of the locales and the well thought out characters.

It seems that now Ms. Small has gone the way of too many writers--they must write a book every year, whether it's good or bad. It seems that she sketches out a plot and then rushes through the story to get the book out. The only time she takes her time is in the sex scenes. And since I think those scenes are boring, they do nothing to make me like the book better.

If, like me, you are looking for the "old" Bertrice Small, this is not it. Reread the books you enjoyed and hope that one day she will take the time to actually write a book instead of retreading the same old, same old.

I rarely give a low review because, as a romance writer myself and fan of historical romance for over 25 years, I truly enjoy 99% of the stories I read....even if it's only because I appreciate the effort and work that goes into creating one. This one got a 2 star review because there were just too many instances where I was either rolling my eyes, skimming past events, or getting annoyed with the characters/author for something.

My first issue....Ms. Small uses completely inappropriate times to provide back story and inner dialogue. Right away I had issues with this only a few pages into the book. The Lancasterians are coming and the Earl and Countess must save their small daughter from certain death, knowing that they too will die defending their home. As you can imagine....a very frightening time...and yet the Earl has time to pause and tell a horrific story about his Grandfather....even the Countess has the sense to say "This is not an appropriate story for her ears."...but keep in mind this is going on all the while they are trying to get their 6 year old daughter safely out of the house. So in your last moments with your precious child, knowing you will never see her again, you waste time telling a back story about your grandfather??? Really?!? This happens throughout the book....during a really stressful or important moment...someone pauses to tell a story or engage in awkward conversation or engage in an inner dialogue...it is disruptive to the story because all I think as the reader is "hurry up and finish this before XYZ happens..." It's almost like watching a horror film where someone is being chased by the psychotic killer and pauses to grab their purse or tie their shoes...with something more important going on why would they do that? Well, welcome to this story.

I have read other comments about the "Honey love" thing and I have to agree....every time it was said I rolled my eyes....it just sounded so skanky...almost like a cheap pick up line from a sleaze at a bar....and that is not how I felt about the hero at all. I liked Conal, but the whole "Honey Love" thing put a big strain on my feelings for him...if my husband who I adore and am passionately in love with called me "honey love" during an intimate moment I'd probably laugh in his face....it just sounds so 70's porn dialogue.

I do commend the author for all the history....I personally enjoy it...just not quite so much. I don't want to take half the book to meet the main character, and I feel Ms. Small could have toned it down a bit. I've read other authors who incorporated a large amount of history in their stories, but it wasn't noticed because of how artfully it was woven into the story.

Please do not let my review of this book turn you off from the author! I have read other Beatrice Small novels and really enjoyed them, so I would urge you to do a search and check out another one before spending your money on this one. If a friend is loaning you their copy of A Dangerous Love or your local library has it then give this a try...I have learned often enough that I have enjoyed many 3 star books where obviously others did not, so I am never afraid to give a book a chance...unless it's going to cost me more than $5 to check it out. Happy book searching!! :)

I started reading her thinking I'd hate historical romance - that was the problem....I developed a Bertrice Small addiction!!!! She is the queen of historical love/lust! Plus she actually wrote a reply to me when I sent her a "fan letter"! Can't say more than that about her!!!!

This is the first in Small's Border Chronicles series...and it's a good one. If this is your first by Small, you must realize that she has a very different style and tells very complex stories. But adjusting your expectations from the typical romance to embrace her unique style will reap a rich reward of plunging into a deep historical setting with well developed characters whose life experiences are realistic for the time, the late 15th century, and the place (the border between Scotland and England). She uses long narratives, repeated scenes told through different characters' eyes, "head hopping" from one character's perspective to another in rapid succession when it helps her give the scene depth, and a well woven tapestry of lives for a captivating story. One has to love the "historical" part of these historical romances as Small gives you a lot of what was going on at the time, including the food they ate. But it all contributes to a rich background. Finally, you must adjust your expectations for the hero and heroine. Not all have one love and live happily ever after. Oh, there will be a happy ending, don't get me wrong, but it won't be what you expect and maybe not with the hero you expect. Nevertheless, they are realistic for the time and quite absorbing. I plan to read all in this series.

This first book tells of strong-willed Adair Radcliffe, the Countess of Stanton, and the "brat" (bastard daughter) of King Edward IV. Her mother and her "adoptive" father are killed by the Lancasters when she is six during the War of the Roses, and she is taken into King Edward's household to be educated and raised in the royal nursery. At 16, she flees to her family's estate to avoid the king's plans to wed her to a Lancasterian. While she's on the run, the king marries her by proxy to a 14-year-old Tudor boy. When he shows up at her estate, Adair refuses to accept him and then he is killed later by Scots. Her second marriage is to handsome neighbor Andrew Lynbridge who served Richard, Duke of Gloucester, brother to King Edward. But Andrew is killed along with the Duke, now King Richard, in a coup. The new Tudor king brands Adair a traitor for her husband's loyalty to King Richard and strips her of her title and property. Adair returns to her beloved home only to be taken into captivity by Scottish raiders and sold to border laird, Conal Bruce. He takes her to his bed where she finds passion she has never known and before long, she falls in love. See what I mean about the hero changing in the story? But trust me, it works. And, that is just what happened in the lives of many women of that time. It's a well told tale and I highly recommend it.

So you have the whole Border Chronicles series, here it is in order:

-A Dangerous Love
-The Border Lord's Bride
-The Captive Heart
-The Border Lord and the Lady
-The Border Vixen
-Bond of Passion (Oct 2011)

I have read many books both literature and romance novels, and reading this book almost made me cry with how horrible the writing quality was. The main character, Adair Radcliffe, has absolutely no character development, she is the same at the beginning of the book when she is six as she is at the end when she is in her twenties. Not only is the main character a static character but no other character is developed to a point where they can be believable. Not to mention the size of this novel and how much utterly pointless material is put within these pages. She's married, she's not, she's married she's not, when will it actually get to the plot line promised at the back? Well halfway through the story. Once this happens, this utterly unrealistic character finds herself hopelessly in love with the main male character laird of Cleit and he hopelessly in love with her without as much as a courting period or explanation! It just happens magically like everything else in this book. The writing is at an elementary level, and I would not recommend it at all. This book is offending to writers.

Bah. I'm only giving this book three stars because of some interesting historical value. Normally I love Bertrice Small books. The woman's got an active imagination and one of the most solid, realistic grasps of history I have ever come across, and I love the historical detail she usually provides.

This book sounded like it was rescued from the trash heap, hurriedly rewritten, and still came out poorly. It contradicts itself on top of it. How could the heroine have so obviously enjoyed pleasures with her first husband and have a climax clearly written, then with her second admit her first husband was a bore who never pleased her in bed? Shallow characters, flat plot, no feeling. The author has written many numerous beautiful books. This is not one of them.

This was my first Bertrice Small book and I have to say that it will be my last. The majority of the novel had to do with Adair's childhood, and her first two husbands, but the story didn't play well. The history was well researched, with only a few minor mistakes, but I felt as if I was plodding through this book. I have read similar novels in a day or two, and I greatly enjoy the fact that a writer can immerse me completely in a story, but it took me almost two weeks to actually finish it. Adair is hard to empathize with and the only time I felt sympathy was when Beiste was killed.
And Conal Bruce. I cannot even describe how much he made my skin crawl. His annoyingly repetitive endearment of "Honey Love" after every sentence was embarrassing, and it takes an awful writer to make a reader completely embarrassed for a character's word use.
The history was great, "Nursie" was great, even Andrew (her second husband if i recall) I rooted for. This was just a painful read for me, and I would definitely not reccomend it to anyone, ever.

As always, Bertrice has given me just the book I was hoping for. Her Scottish adventures, which weave in characters from her other books, compel me to read the entire book before doing anything else! To the people who criticize, try writing even one book people will buy. To my favorite author, stay true to your own writing style and beloved adventures, and your true fans will always love them.

Well, this book sure has a lot of bad reviews. I liked it especially for the start of a new series. I gave it 4 star rating but actually I would like to have given it about 3 1/2 stars. Bertrice Small always has a strong female character and Adair certainly was that. I did not find it boring at all. I thought the story was interesting and I am not so fussy about the exact details. Anyway it was good enough for me. I have read most of Bertrice Small's books now and she did have a few great ones but they all can't be great. Good yes. I would recommend this book to any historical romance reader if you like this particular period and place. I hope the next book is as good or better but the reviews again are not good. Oh well, I will let you know about that one when I am finished also.