Customer Reviews

Fires of Winter

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book should be read after Tapestry of Dreams. Gellis has given us a rich plot full of history without droning on like a text book, created colorful characters of great emotional depth, and a romance that curls the toes. It's a solid read unlike most romance novels, and not something to be skimmed through in an afternoon.

MD

Although it's not tops in the historical genre either. Fires of Winter continues the story Gellis began in A Tapestry of Dreams, and tells the story of Lady Audris' illegitimate half brother Bruno. Despite his dubious parentage, Bruno uses his skills with swords and horses to make his way, eventually leading to service at the court of King Stephen (who has usurped the English crown from his cousin Matilda). Melusine of Ulle is from Cumbria in the North and when the last of her family dies fighting against King Stephen she is brought to court as a lady in waiting to Queen Maude. For who knows what reason (I never got it), Stephen decides to knight Bruno and marry him to Melusine, who is half mad with grief over the loss of her family and home, and when she recognizes her new husband as the man who took her from Ulle she attempts to kill him while he's sleeping. Eventually the two manage to build a strong marriage and relationship amidst the backdrop of England's Civil War between Stephen and Matilda.

I guess that sounds good enough of a basis for your usual historical romance and as much as I do enjoy reading Gellis this book has some problems. Told in the first person point of view of Bruno and Melusine in alternating chapters, the story tends to overlap and backtrack way too much. As for the romance, so much of Bruno's service to Stephen keeps him on the battlefield and not sparring and making up with Melusine, so I suspect romance readers will be bored to tears. As for those who enjoy a bit more history (as I do) in their historical romances, the choice of such a complicated period in English history is not the best choice and came off to this reader as quite dry and not very interesting. I'd recommend Penman's When Christ and His Saints Slept. The only real highlights of the book are the few times Bruno and Melusine are together, although they did get a bit corny and outdated at times, ROFL the constant references by Bruno to his "standing man" Sir Jehad (and no I'm not going to explain what that means, if I did I'd get censored). Three stars, only recommended for die-hard Gellis fans.

This novel is a sequel of sorts to _Tapestry of Dreams_, and what a worthy successor it is! Roberta Gellis dishes up, yet again, an intelligent and believable romance set amid a vivid historical background. _Fires of Winter_ follows Bruno of Jernaeve, illegitimate brother of _Tapestry_'s heroine, as he learns to love Melusine of Ulle, the bride he initially married for political reasons only.

It actually took me two attempts to finish this novel. The first time, I couldn't get past the first sex scene. It's painful. Not in the "bad writing" sense but in the "oh my God, ouch!" sense. I'm not sure if it's technically rape; it's more of a tragic misunderstanding, and not the horribly misogynistic "But I thought she was a prostitute so it was ok to rape her!" sort of misunderstanding that pervades this genre. Bruno thinks Melusine is sullen but resigned when in fact she's not exactly in her right mind. But I'll give this to Bruno; he stops as soon as he realizes what's really going on.

Anyway, I picked the book up again a few months later, and was able to get through the cringing and into the heart of the love story. Bruno and Melusine's love unfolds slowly and beautifully over the course of several years as the two gradually come to trust and then love each other. It's rough going at first, but when love creeps in, there is tear-jerking sweetness--and sizzling hotness!

The title is apt. During the course of the story, Melusine and Bruno tend to find their tenderest moments in the depths of winter, when the ongoing war has loosened its hold for a brief time, and the life of the court brings them together.

The only quibbles I have with the novel are the aforementioned wedding night scene (which might be troubling for some) and the fact that the alternating-POV chapters are occasionally confusing. I had to do a little mental juggling sometimes because often Bruno's chapter will pick up, chronologically, somewhere in the middle of Melusine's chapter or vice versa, so that the story covers the same time period twice.

DESCRIPTION -->

The windswept plains of medieval England were torn by the raging struggles of royal conquest. Land was seized from passionate men and women whose lives were forever changed ...

MELUSINE OF ULLE ... the beautiful, cherished daughter of Scottish nobility, her family and her life were destroyed by the winter invasion of King David. She was a sparkling prize of battle, awarded to a man who accepted her hand out of duty to his king...

BRUNO OF JERNAEVE ... the handsome bastard son of a castle whore, his heart belonged to another Yet it was he who would tame the rebellious spirit of the captive beauty--and ultimately surrender to her charms.

THEY WERE ENEMIES, THEN LOVERS. Born of different worlds, joined in the flames of passion and intrigue, they found new strength in each other's arms--and a burning love that defied all eternity...

Loved this book. My first and best Gellis book next to 'Rope Dancer'. I did not mind the first wedding night scene between the characters because soon after she took a knife to him!!! But it was a misunderstanding narrated from each point of view that did not happen again. I liked this style of 'narration' and it kept me engrossed to the finish. Nice historical details.

Before I write another word, be warned that I have been a fan of Roberta Gellis' writing since Nixon was president. I read her "romance" novels before there was such a genre, and her gift for bringing history to life in pragmatic yet addictive prose has kept me reading and re-reading for nearly half a century. There is, for me, simply no other to compare, even though I enjoy Sharon Kay Pennman's historicals a great deal as well; however, SKP cannot be guaranteed to provide you a happy ending, being, as she is, more committed to the history than to the story. Gellis is freed from this constraint, as her main characters associate and interact with the actual historical figures, but by their very fictional existence, can be manipulated at the author's whim to live happily ever after. With apologies to the purists, this is a must for me. Real life is tragic and mercilessly instructive enough. I want peace, pleasure and adventure in my historical fiction. Incredibly, Gellis provides this, ultimately, despite the harsh and dangerous times she explores in her historical [romantic] fiction.

Fires of Winter is unique in that it is written in first person narrator, but both main characters fill that role. Rather that being repetitive (which is certainly a risk with this choice of narration) the events and emotions of the story are revealed from two very different perspectives. The tale is set in the era shortly after the Norman conquest, when Stephen of Blois was ruler over a land overwhelmed with anarchy.
Melusine is the pampered youngest child of a powerful Scottish clan leader. Over a short period of time just before the story begins, she endures a series unspeakable tragedies which drive her into a state of shock that evolves into a sort of functional catatonic state. Her superficial mental function seems unhindered, so she appears to be normal, if somewhat distracted. In reality, her essential consciousness has shut down, plunging her into a state of amnesia from which she instantly and shockingly emerges - on her wedding night. This is the scene that made another reviewer so uncomfortable. In fact, in the context of the story, it is a reasonable, if unpleasant tableau.
Bruno is the unacknowledged, illegitimate son of a powerful baron and a serf woman who was the Castle whore. Both his parents are long dead, and he has been accepted, loved and fostered into knighthood by compassionate and powerful people. Yet he harbors deep feelings of inferiority and unworthiness.
Being a knight of considerable skill and courage, he comes to the attention of the King, who offers him a wealthy noblewoman, Melusine, as wife, in reward for his service. It is the sort of offer an obedient and loyal subject does not refuse, hence his union with the heroine of the story. Bruno is not pleased with his situation, but we see him trying his best to cope, with compassion, with being tied for life to a woman who appears to be not quite in her right mind.
Although Melusine begins to realize her sanity and memory are restored after the brief sexual encounter with her new husband, Bruno has no such insight, and their early relationship reflects the inevitable frustration and misunderstanding. Eventually, they agree to work together toward a common goal of retrieving for themselves the remote Scottish property which was confiscated from Melusine as a result of her family's defeat by King Stephen. The rest of the tale is all about how they achieve this goal, and fall in love in the process.

As always with Gellis, you get both a superb romantic adventure and a solid history lesson. Although I found Gellis' choice of narrator style to be unique and innovative, I never once felt she was awkward or uncomfortable in writing this way. The only other author I have read who also uses this device is Victoria Holt, all of whose gothic romantic fiction (that I have read at least) was written in first person narrator, though limited to the heroine's perspective.

Roberta Gellis is a brilliant writer of very diverse genres of fiction, including Greek mythology, mystery, fantasy, science fiction and one very unique gothic romance novelette titled Sing Witch, Sing Death, which is what got me into Victoria Holt all those years ago. Gellis has a style and perspective in her writing which is both pragmatic and passionate, quixotic, and yet very earthy. There is no one who really compares. Now in her eighties I believe, she is still co-authoring books (with Mercedes Lackey) and overseeing the re-issue of her older publications.

Great book. I read this several years ago and gave it away. I'll not do that again. Roberta Gellis is very knowledgeable of this time period, her books are full of interesting, but less well known history, superbly told with excellent story lines

I love this book. What made it even more enjoyable was that Gellis broke with tradition and wrote this book in first person POV; but not ordinary first person, but first person POV for both Bruno and Melusine. Each chapter alternates with their POV, which made my reading experience deeper and more enjoyable. Even though Gellis is touch-and-go when it comes to sensuality and romance, Fires of Winter struck a perfect balance with her trademark attention to historical detail and the romance between the two leads. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a meaty historical.