Customer Reviews

Enchanted

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Elizabeth Lowell is frequently asked why she departed from the western and contemporary romance genres, which have been so successful for her, to write the medieval trilogy "Untamed,"
"Forbidden" and "Enchanted." She and her husband are both of Scots descent. On one of their visits to Scotland they had extra time to explore off the beaten path and, by chance, discovered the ancient ruins of a castle constructed in the 12th century. The castle had once belonged to her husband's clan, the Maxwells. Ms. Lowell and her husband then traveled to a town that had a museum devoted to the Maxwells and discovered that her family clan, the Charteris and her husband's, the Maxwell's, were linked through marriage for over nine hundred years. When Ms. Lowell found this out she decided to write a series based on medieval warriors and the women they loved.

Simon the Loyal and Ariane the Betrayed wed in order to bring peace to the Disputed Land, the border land between England and Scotland. Simon is attracted to Ariane, but does not believe in love. Ariane has suffered a brutal rape, a family betrayal and is deeply scarred. She cannot bear to be touched. The plot is driven by the conflict in the marriage, Simon's gentle wooing of Ariane and her refusal to tell him the truth about her past.

The novel brings back characters from Ms. Lowell's previous books: Duncan the warrior and his beloved Amber the Learned, Lord Dominic le Sabre, called the Glendruid Wolf, and Lady Margaret, Lord Erik, etc., but it is not necessary to read the other books in the series to appreciate this one. All the characters, their pasts and interactions are fully explained. There is mystery here, and magic, betrayal and deception, and tremendous chemistry between Simon and Ariane.

Elizabeth Lowell has written an enchanting tale of lasting love and remarkable courage. I am not a big fan of medieval romance, but I am a big Elizabeth Lowell fan - which is why I read this novel. I was intrigued by the magic lore of the Learned people included here, as well as the ring of sacred stones and the legend of the rowan tree that can be seen in bloom only by true lovers. This is one of Ms. Lowell's most sensuous stories and most entertaining reads.
JANA

The trilogy of books Elizabeth Lowell wrote about medieval age passion are wonderful, but of the three, Enchanted is definitely the best! Arianne is trying to decide if the person to die on her marriage night should be her husband-to-be Simon, or herself. The marriage of convenience between Simon and Arianne, with lust but not love on his side, and fear (thanks to being raped by her former betrothed and then betrayed by the men she trusted most) but some yearning she cannot describe on her part, leads to the hottest seduction and a fiery union that can show them both that love can cure everything that is wrong with their past. But first they must risk everything... A must-read. Elizabeth, I'm still waiting for a book on Erik, and probably another on Sven. These two characters cannot be left without us knowing how they end up, and with whom.

I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Lowell's historical romances. My first book was Only Mine. This is my favorite book.

I love the Middle Ages and Elizabeth brings to life the fueding/disputes over land, the intrigue, and the mysticism that was prevalent at this time.

We follow the journey of Simon, the more hard-hearted--and hard-headed--of the three men in this series (Dominic, Duncan, and Simon). Simon is drawn to Ariane though she is supposed to be Duncan's wife, but when Duncan conveniently marries Amber, Simon is able to marry Ariane.

But there are two things that Simon doesn't know about Ariane when he marries her: she's considered a witch and she has vowed never to sleep with a man because of a previous rape. So, Simon goes into the marriage hoping that Ariane is not as frigid as she seems and thinking he'll at least get children out of the deal. Of course, it soon becomes apparent that Ariane would rather die than sleep with anyone--even Simon, who is the only man that Ariane has ever trusted in her life.

To add to the intrigue, you have the threat of Ariane's father, marauders raiding near-by lands, a harem-girl bent on seducing Simon, a mystical stone ring with a mysterious past, and a witchy magical dress that has plans of it's own...

I love the mystery, the magic, the passion, and the determination of two people who have been bruised and battered by life, but who are still willing to love each other anyway. It has been appropriately named: the book is full of enchantments. It's a fabulous read.

If this is your first book by Elizabeth Lowell, I highly recommend reading all three books (Untamed, Forbidden, and Enchanted). I read Forbidden first, then this one and then realized that the first one was Untamed. I only wish that Ms. Lowell had written a book about Erik, the fourth lord in these books. But, at least we have these three!

Having read any and every thing with Ms. Lowell's name on it (along with her other pen names Ann Maxwell and A.E. Maxwell w/ husband) this trilogy remains my favorite. I simply wish that Erik had his own story. Who ever she would be, if a woman could bring Erik to his knees would be a worth reading about. And I'd love for all the old gang to team up again to conquer evil. I miss Amber and Duncan, Simon and Ariane, and Dominic and his Meg. And I'd love to see some more brother sister tag teaming in the form of Amber and Erik kicking evil butt.

Needless to say I loved the books and would love an Erik book even more.

Thanx for all the great books Ms. Lowell, keep them coming!

I have read a lot of romatic novels and so far this triology is one of my very favorite. But out of the three, Enchanted is my absolutely most preferred. And I think the reason of that is that in speaking of personality and character, Ariane and I are extremely alike. Even though I love all the characters Elizabeth has created, I still like Ariane above both Meg and Amber. Meg is, well, too innocent. She does have a fiercy fiber in her but is still far too simple-minded; Amber is, sorry to say, my least favorite herione in the triology, personaly I dispise a female who would bow down to the wrongdoings of her husband, especially the way Duncan treated her when he found out about his past, I would say that Amber is indeed desperately in need of some more backbone. And I think Simon is the most well-formed character of the whole triology except Erik. And the electricity that sparked between the two people with personalities and characters too alike is just more enthtralling than the soft surrender of seduction. And though personally I would choose someone like Erik, who is my absolute favorite character, I still love the way Elizabeth created Simon, a ruthless and unforgiving man who was finally taught to love by the "bravest warrior he's ever known". And speaking of which, I am biting my nails at waiting for the fourth book on Erik, I would love to see what kind of female could bring down his proud, wolfish head, and enthrall him into a love he totally deserves.

If you haven't read this triology, please do it. I have read almost all the New York Times Best Selling romatic authors and this triology is definately at the top of my list. I think it doesn't really matter which sequence you read it in, just do it, and I can guarantee you for 95% that the storied would completely seize your heart and won't let go.

I have been a long time fan of Ms Lowell and have read and collected every available book of hers I could lay my hands on. I have found each of her books to have a charm all its own and consider them as "keepers".

I have to agree with a lot of other readers though that "Enchanted" was the best of her three medieval romances. Simon and Arianne were in a class of their own. I have read and re-read their story at least 20x and I'm sure will do so at least 20 more times. It is a book that I can recommend wholeheartedly.

Message to author: By the way, I have just read that Ms Lowell has finally written Erik's story. I would just like to tell her that I, like countless others of your fans, have been looking forward to reading his story for years and I'm glad and thankful that you were finally able to "put him together". I can hardly wait. Thank you Ms Lowell for all the hours of pleasure you have given me through you books. You're a great and imaginative writer/storyteller. Good luck, always.

Enchanted is the first book i've read from lowell. At first I was reluctant because I don't know the author yet. But my friend swears ENCHANTED is so wonderful and arousingly sexy that he got me convinced later. When I started reading it, I got quite confused because it came out as a sequel to another book but by the beginning of the second chapter, I found out that I was simply getting hooked and I just can't stop reading it. Oooh, how I love Simon that I ached for Arianne. It made me cry and laughed and everything! I love Erik's character too. How Simon refused to believe that Arianne's falling for him and both of them doesn't accept there feelings so easily for each other! oh, boy! From then on, I love LOWELL! I'm collecting her novels now. I really thanked my friend for being so kind when I gave back the book after two months. I re-read it at least eight times!!!!!

UNTAMED, ENCHANTED, AND FORBIDDEN HAVE GOT TO BE THE THE BEST (AND I MEAN "BEST") ROMANCE NOVEL'S THAT I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF READING. I'M SURE THAT I CAN SPEAK FOR THE REST OF ELIZIBETH LOWELL'S FAN'S WHEN I ASK THAT SOMEONE "PLEASE" SOMEHOW REACH HER AND BEG HER TO TAKE THE TIME TO WRITE ERIK AND SVEN'S STORIES. IT HAS BEEN LIKE BEING TOTALLY ENGROSSED IN A MOVIE OR MINI SERIES AND MISSING OUT ON THE ENDING. WE WANT MORE OF ENCHANTED, MORE OF UNTAMED AND MORE OF FORBIDDEN.I'M AN ADDICT AND I NEED A FIX.

I have all three books in this series and this is by far the best. There is just something about a man and a woman both trying to deny their feelings for each other and my god Simon is just divine. I cannot wait for Erik's story and ask that all Lowell fans send requests as well.

I loved this book and, reading the reviews below, thought I would put everyone out of their misery. I have just read that Erik's story is due out in June under the title Moving Target!