The Golden Rose (War of the Rose Trilogy) [Paperback]

Kathleen Bryan (Author)

Book Description

Series: War of the Rose Trilogy | Publication Date: March 4, 2008

Kathleen Bryan returns with the sequel to The Serpent and the Rose.

 

Beautiful Averil is now the Duchess of Quitaine, but to keep her people safe, she made a vow to the traitor King of Lys. After a year, she would come to his Court in Lutece, and choose a husband from the men he offers her. Averil must produce an heir – not only to Quitaine, but also to all of Lys; for she is the only daughter of the King’s sister, and he has no wife or child of his own.

But Averil’s heart is in the keeping of a powerful young Knight of the Rose, Gerient, a man she can never marry. The two share a bond of magecraft as well as love, for between them lies the power to raise the Wild Magic of the world, the only force that can defeat the King’s quest to release the Serpent God of Chaos from his mystic prison. And when Averil learns that the King is building a fleet to attack the Ladies of the Isle, to destroy them as he destroyed the Orders of the Knights of the Rose in Lys, she rebels against her sworn duty, and flees to Gerient’s side. Together they will raise their powers to protect both the Isle and the remnants of the Rose.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This graceful tale of magic, court intrigue and high drama follows Averil, duchess of Quitaine (introduced in 2007's The Serpent and the Rose), as she keeps her promise to visit her uncle, the evil King Clodovec of Lys, and let him marry her to a noble so she can breed the kingdom's heir. Far from her home and her commoner lover, Gereint, Averil soon discovers hidden allies and a faction that opposes the king but supports the Serpent he serves. They tempt Averil with talk of chaotic magic and anarchy, suggesting she could escape the laws governing noble marriages and wed Gereint at last. As plots and counterplots thicken, Averil finds herself besieged in a foreign land, guarding a powerful relic and torn between love and duty. Bryan achieves real suspense about which path her heroine will choose; the painful pleasure of Averil and Gereint's longing will bring readers back as much as the cliffhanger ending. (Mar.)
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Review

“Strong, elegant writing lifts Bryan's fantasy debut… In the crowded epic fantasy field, Bryan's series opener stands out with its intriguing characters and a vivid story rich with potential."

--Publishers Weekly on The Serpent and the Rose
 
“First of a series illustrating the endless struggle between order magic and chaos magic. …A solid debut, with believable characters and intrigues and several excellent sequences that hint at good things to come.”

--Kirkus Reviews starred review on The Serpent and the Rose

"Bryan has a clear eye for nuance and a love for high fantasy that shines through the page.”

--Kate Elliott, author of Spirit Gate on The Serpent and the Rose

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765313294
• ISBN-13: 978-0765313294
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars romantic fantasy saga, April 30, 2008

By 

Neker (Duson, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Golden Rose (War of the Rose Trilogy) (Paperback)

I loved the first in this series. I thought it was action packed with believable and strong characters. This book follows through with the first, but I felt the story line was just a little lacking compared to the first. The resolution was a bit to easily resolved. Still, I love the hero characters in this book. They are very human regardless of their unique magical abilities. I'm looking forward to the next.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific fantasy suspense thriller, March 6, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Rose (War of the Rose Trilogy) (Paperback)

The Duchess of Quitaine Averil knows it is time to fulfill her promise that she made to her uncle last year. She pledged to the traitorous malevolent bachelor King Clodovec that she would come to his court in Lutrec within a year to select who will sire the heir to the Kingdom of Lys with her. She made that vow to keep Clodovec from destroying the people of her duchy.

The depressed Averil begins her quest knowing her soulmate and magecraft bondmate is commoner Gereint, who she can never marry. However, Averil finds some hope when she meets opponents of the monarch who believe in the Serpent God of Chaos like the king does, but not to release this deity from his incantation incarceration. She also learns that her seditious uncle is planning to do to the Ladies of the Isle what he did to the Orders of the Knight. She knows he must be stopped with her only hope residing with Wild Magic; that means introducing chaos and anarchy by finding a way to void the marital laws of nobility to marry Gereint so besides their love they can craft the mystical counterpoint to the king.

The second War between Order and Chaos tale (see THE SERPENT AND THE ROSE) is a terrific fantasy suspense thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seats from the moment Averil knows it's time and never slows down until the cliffhanger sets up the next entry. The story line is action-packed and fast-paced, but it is Averil and Gereint's forbidden relationship that makes this saga excellent as the kingdom's laws forbid their marriage yet they need to bond in holy matrimony to raise the Wild Magic in order to save the people. Although this novel stands alone, it behooves readers to obtain the first stupendous story as that explains how Kathleen Bryant got us to this magnificent point.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars More like a 3 1/2...., November 20, 2008

By 

M. Junkins (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Rose (War of the Rose Trilogy) (Paperback)

I can't help comparing it to CL Wilson's series and hers is so much better. These two books were fine but just not the same level of intrique or suspense as Wilson's. I found myself skipping pages in this book.