Customer Reviews

Lady Of Conquest

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I honestly didn't know how to rate this book in the beginning. After the book ended, I didn't even know whether I liked it or not. Thing is, I had to read this book twice in order to get a proper conclusion. Then, I realized it isn't an awful read to deserve lower than 2 stars nor was it a "so-so-not-bad" kind of book to deserve a 3 stars either. I admit, I particularly didn't like the ending of this book. I would have love to see Conn proved his trust, begged or perhaps even 'ask' Gelina for forgiveness and acceptance with more effort, depth and passion. I didn't appreciate the idea of someone as strong-headed and strong-willed as Gelina to simply fall over and forgive after hearing a sweet one-liner from Conn's lips! The Epilogue didn't help much either. Perhaps the ending should be revised. Anyway, The initial plot of this book is a LOVE/HATE relationship. To be honest, it kindda make u feel the same way about the whole story in general too. Conn and Gelina's relationship was melancholy yet luring and intriguing. Heart rending, relief and more heart wretching all throughout the book. What Gelina went through in the hands of Conn-her martyrdom, her confusions, her courage and her love & hatred! She is brave yet she isn't afraid to cry also. That makes her more human in my eyes. I really like her. Conn did a lot of awful things to Gelina that makes my heart ache but then again, she also did her share to infuriate even a Saint. A man's pride, honor and ego can only take so much of a blow! Conn actually did give her chances but then Gelina's young, not to mention that she was shaped to hate Conn from an early age. How can one differentiate love from hatred when both is felt and given in extreme passion? ugh, totally frustrating. A very emotional read. So perhaps this is why I rated this book a 4 stars in the end. I had conflicting emotions, conflicting opinions of this book. It made me think about it even after it was put down. When I was ready to write my review, I read here that there is indeed a lot of controversy about this book. Some hate it, some love it. If an author can pull readers together this way, I say it deserve a higher rating. If not for the abrupt ending, I would have rated this "one of a kind" book a fiver.

This is only my third book of Teresa Medeiros but I will most definitely read more of her works. The Ireland setting in this book also piqued my curiosity since most of the historical romance books I've read are in Scotland/Highland-England settings. This love/hate relationship in an Ireland setting was a distinctive and a refreshing change. I like it, so... TRY this book. I won't guarantee that you will find it as I see it but then again you might even enjoy it more than I have. This book is not for everyone. It's all a matter of taste and preferences.

Ok, I read all 43 reviews and I'm not sure anymore that we were all reading the same book, excatly when was there love in this book? The hero was abusive, and yes the heroine was a little flighty but she was like 14 at first, its understandable. I honestly did not see love in it, Conn is nice to gelina like one time when she is still his foster daughetr and thats it. I had to add this review because reading that so many people thought the book was fantastic and touching and breathtaking, etc. seriously worries me. Do that many women in this country think that abuse equals love? I've read hundreds (if not more) of romances, and ive seen almost everytime of relationship possible, and never has a hero been as abusive to the heroine. I mean the man raped her REPEATEDLY!! If you liked the book because you couldn't stop reading it, tyhen sure, I couldn't stop reading it either, but if you think that is love, then I'm really worried for you. And finally, rape has no place in romance, it is one of the worst crimes, if not the worst, perpetrated against women, and the impression on the victim lasts forvever. Obviously the authors that incorporate it in their books have never experienced it themselves, those who actually had I'm sure would not so trivialize it.

While Medeiros is my favorite writer of romance and generally excellent historical fiction, this book left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a fear of ever being as "in love" as these two characters. This book shows a classic example of a horribly abusive mean-spirited relationship. While these two could have had a good relationship, the choices they made and the truly intense hatred they show for one and other would make me want to end up far from seeing them written into a lasting love. I wouldn't wish their brand of love on my worst enemy. Violence reigns in their story. I would never reread it.

I actually came on amazon expecting to see how badly everyone else rated this book, i CANNOT BELEIVE THAT IT WAS RATED WELL!!!!This was the most sadistic, unbeleiveable book i ever read. I stayed u till dawn reading it just to see where it would go and if it would get better and it never did. Ignore the fact that the hero is like 35 yrs older than the heroine, and is actually her foster father, the book is just violent. The hero physically, emotionally, and verbally abuses the heroine constanty, at one point he rapes her, which for some reason many readers dont find disgusting in their romance novels, and then after being all apologetic, he tries to force her to be his mistress, and then later TRIES TO RAPE HER AGAIN! He accuses her of being a murderer without askin if she did it, then banishes her to this tiny island in the middle of the lake, cutting her off from the rest of the world, and all this is supposed to be forgiven when on the last page of the book all he says is "I will alaways love you" and suddenly its all ok! He doesn't apologize for his behavior, his mistrust, for even trying to rape her agian, but hey, he said he loved her so that must make up for it!? If this book had ended with the heroine leaving the hero and going to America, I probably would have liked it alot more. If there had been any explanation from the hero for his behavior, I would have liked it better still. After all the violenec and hate that takes place, the author raps it all up in only one page! "Lady of Conquest" didn't read like a romance, it was more like the sadistic relationship between a women and her abusive husband which should have ended with the woman finally escaping. If this had been a true life story the heroine's relatives and friends would have been begging her to leave her husband, and if it had been modern times someone would probably have called the national woman's abuse hotline! I don't know what other readers think love is, but this is NOT it! I would never read this book again, it was horribly disturbing and I cringe at the thought of ever having to pick it up again.

The fact that so many people (including myself!) are furious about this book is a statement in and of it's self. I first read it a few years ago and I've actually re-read it a few times since. I have vented and vented and vented... sometimes I was angrier with Conn than Gelina had the good sense to be... but never once did I complain about the writing. And not once have I seen anyone else complain about the writing. If we are upset with the characters it's because they were written SO well that we were able to develop an opinion. More than that, I felt that they acted "correctly" for their character all the way through even though it was certainly not romantic... at least, not the typical type. I definitely did feel the sparks through this story and I thought it was a more realistic vision of love than in most stories I've read. The big thing that I think would have changed most of the reviewers (and my own) opinions is the ending... it was SO unsatisfying that it left us all without the reasons to forgive Conn or understand why Gelina forgave him. I think that with a better ending this story could be amazingly powerful... because it already is amazingly powerful it's just that the abrupt ending leaves us frustrated and angry and I think that that is what you're hearing in all these reviews... it's a great, unique story, about wonderfully vivid characters written so well that it inflames the reader... I took emotion away from the book and I've thought back on it several times: I think that that is the true test. This book was NOT fluff and it was not disposable... the characters and their actions and my own emotional opinions haunted me and made me think. Apparently, though, the average romance reader isn't looking for that. (just remember that all my praise comes attached to the acknowledgement that the story does need a more qualified ending). Oddly enough this is one of my favorite books even though every time I read it I get furious all over again. Good writing elicits emotion... not always happy "awww"s, though. And love it's always happy "awww"'s anyway but it is love, even when it's completely messed up.

If you're looking for the trademark humor and light heartedness of TM, pass by this book. If you're looking for a good "historical", grab it. A lot of angst and problems for our lovers but worth your time. Violence, some rough and/or questionable sex (rape?), but all in all a good story.

"Lady of Conquest" had a promising start but for some reason it just dropped off about halfway through. I think my main problem was the "Oh, look, Conn makes another wildy off-base assumption and tries to kill Gelina for 'betraying' him ...AGAIN." plot twist. I didn't think that the author could continue to recycle the same completely unoriginal garbage over and over -- and yet she could and did at every available opportunity. "Oh look! Conn thinks Gelina's betrayed him! WHAT A SUPRISE, I NEVER SAW THAT COMING!"

[SPOILERS] The part where I almost stopped reading completely was when Nimbus is offed at the wedding and Conn immediately looks at Gelina despite the overwhelming evidence to indicate otherwise. So of course Conn immediately locks her up and wants her either killed or banished. Way to go, man.

The other frightening element of this book was the fact that Conn rapes her right up until the final part of the novel. The love-hate relationship was really too much hate, especially on Conn's part.

All in all, this novel is a very disappointing read and not just a little bit creepy. Pass it up and try one of Medeiros' other books.

I have read all of Teresa's books, and I must say that this was a dissappoint. She usually is so funny and poignant, but this story was boring. Of course, I'm not too upset, since this WAS her first book.

By the time I was finished, I was thoroughly irritated with the love/hate relationship between Conn and Gelina. As Gelina says,"I think I love you almost as much as I hate you." This gets in the way of the development of the story a great deal. Also, the love scenes were a little too graphic and "crude" for my taste; totally unlike Teresa's other books. At the end of the book, I was still wondering what exactly was going on; I really didn't understand it.

Still, although I wouldn't recommend "Lady Of Conquest", I WOULD recommend Teresa Medeiros. She really is a wonderful author, with a hilarious sense of humor. Her other books are excellent reads, especially "Nobody's Darling." If you think you wouldn't like "Lady", or tried it and was disappointed, give her other books a chance. I think you'll find them much better.

I picked this book up eagerly since I have read so many books by Teresa Medeiros and liked every one. I love her style, her humour, and usually her heroes and heroines. I have to agree with another reader, however, on this one. She must have been hella ticked off with someone when she wrote this. There's is little of her trademark humour in this book, and the tension between the main characters is so strong as to be overwhelming--with no small amount of violence between them either. The heroine is a vengeful murderess but somehow manages to be a simpering fool at the same time. The hero uses intimidation to get her to sleep with him and is forever blaming her for things she didn't do. Instead of defending herself, she just gets ticked off and does something stupid in retaliation. They're both distrustful--typical of romances, but to the point of being highly annoying in this case. It was not the worst romance I have ever read by a long shot, and not the most tense either, but I won't be re-reading it, and I'm quite disappointed. If you're looking for a good Medeiros novel, pass on this one. There are far better examples of her work out there.

Some years ago, right after my return from Ireland, where I had lived for a time, a friend of mine, knowing my interest in Irish history and literature, recommended "Lady of Conquest." I respected my friend's taste in books, so I borrowed it and started reading. After the first few chapters, my incredulity grew into disgust, and at the halfway point I threw it against the wall. I wasn't expecting Morgan Llywelyn or Rosemary Sutcliff, but "Lady" managed to sink far beneath even my minimal expectations. One would think, by the constant descriptions of chess games, velvet gowns, puffed sleeves, satin breeches, gardenia perfume, sandalwood chests, mandolins, and large, mansion-like palaces with wooden walls and prevalent bathtubs that this is sometime after 1500 (velvet, after all, didn't arrive in the British Isles until the late 1200s, and chess was a game of Middle-Eastern origins, probably introduced to Europe during the Crusades). However, as the historical note in the back makes clear, this story is set long before the destruction of the Fianna in 280 AD. Conn of the Hundred Battles died in 157, so it would seem- incredibly- that "Lady of Conquest" is actually set during the 1st or 2nd century AD. Medeiros refers to Roman-occuped Britain, and at one point our hero Conn is sold to Roman slavers and taken to ancient Rome itself- an event which seems to make little lasting impact on him, save that it gives him the chance to buy a "toga" for his girlfriend. So, while the British Celtic queen Boudicca was painting herself blue and sleeping in a hut, Conn and his parents were evidently dining on gold plate and dressing in velvet and "voluminous pink satin." Um... okay.

Asides from the note in back and the frequent mentions of the Romans, at no point would I have guessed that this story is set almost 2000 years ago. All the characters act and dress like they're in the middle of a Ren Faire. I wouldn't have minded this as much if the story had been campy and funny, in the Xena Warrior Princess mode, but the whole book takes itself so damn seriously, with poetic quotations heading each chapter. Yet the lack of research is appalling. What's even more appalling is that this shabby bit of nonsense masquerading as an historical novel of ancient Ireland managed to even get published in the first place. I suppose what really disappoints me is that Medeiros' writing is competent, and even lovely on occasion. I think she would have been able to pull off an interesting romance about Conn of the Hundred Battles, but she didn't even care enough to read up on the subject. Personally, that angers me. Irish history and myth is best left to other people, who actually love and respect it enough not to butcher it.

If you're interested in Conn, "Isles of the Blest" by Morgan Llywelyn is an entertaining and well-researched novel about Conn and his grandson Connla. Rosemary Sutcliff, a wonderful young adult author, has also written often of the ancient Celts, as in "The High Deeds of Finn Mac Cool." Madeleine Polland's "Dierdre" is also worth a look, as are the recent novels by Diana Paxson, such as "The White Raven." There are many, many other worthy authors out there, who have more than half a notion about ancient Ireland. Teresa Medeiros, evidently, has none at all.