Customer Reviews

Lady Gallant

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If this book were a stove, it'd be on at about 550 degrees. The characters are very well-drawn. There is constant interaction between them, and fireworks right from the start. The only fault, and one hardly worth noting for me, it that there isn't a terribly satisfying sexual union until relatively near the end. But that's okay. There is sexual tension by the truckload. This book is very well researched historically, which makes sense, since the author is a historian. The period details are very interesting, and the language is great. Suzanne Robinson must be a Shakespeare appreciator. The romance is very intense, and it made me cry several times when the hero acted like an imbecile. But never fear! Wouldn't you know, it all comes right in the end. The conceited hero gets better acquainted with his own sense of humility, and the outwardly timid heroine learns to present a braver face to the world, so they come to meet in the middle. Blade's character experiences growth, as well. I like it when the author takes the characters' spiritual growth into account, as well as their just "finding love" and being just really happy. The Elizabethan language adds an intellectual twist, and it is almost impossible to put down. This book is among my favorites, along with Fires of Winter by Johanna Lindsey,Upon a Moon-Dark Moor by Rebecca Brandewyne, Fire and Steel by Anita Mills, and Loving Julia by Karen Robards. These books all make you feel the burn, baby! Damn!

I was so excited to read this book! It is set in the Tudor era and if you are reading this book PLEASE read Robinson's introduction. It gives a nice "back drop" to the story and describes what was going on in England during that time. It was very interesting.

Then the book started.

This is a case of "too little too late". Christian de Rivers is not a nice man. He has been through a lot in his life, but he is a mean and nasty man. Not my kind of hero material. The heroes I love don't have to be saints.....I love "bad boys", but they CAN'T be jerks, and this hero is. He is so mean to Nora...hating her for how he feels about her ect. Always believing the worst in her. Verbally assaulting her in various ways. Cheating on her with other women and the throwing it in her face! Aghhh! The list goes on and on.

I will agree that when Christian finally comes to his senses, his groveling is some of the best in the genre, but it is not enough to make me love him (or even like him)! Sorry, this one was not for me.

Normally I do not read Tudor era romanes; I tend to stay away from the medieval and stick to Regencies and such. But this is a special case, and there are not enough adjectives enough in the world to describe Lady Gallant. I hold this book for an example to show what all romances should be. To start off, Kit and Nora are simply marvelous. The back blurb will have you believe that she is mousy and shy, and even the first few pages will lead you to that assumption. But she isn't--- Nora is a wonderful, brave character with depths; she's a heroine who is believable for her time period, a heroine whom you can admire and love. And Kit... he's delicious. Rather than being an brooding, cynical, and/or tortured alpha male, Kit is a sybarite, a 16-century James Dean. The language and the usage of everyday songs and snippets of poetry add to Ms. Stuart's wonderfully structured prose without being superfluous, and the historical background is so well researched that Lady Gallant will forever remain among my favorites.

I have ready this book four or five times and it keeps getting better and better. I cry everytime that Christian rejects Nora. The language is wonderful and the use of poems and songs adds to the atmosphere. The story is set in Elizabethan England and the author describes this era delightfully, from bear baiting, to Queen Elizabeth's ladies in waiting. This book is wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone with and interest in Elizabethan England.

I really enjoyed this book, it was beautfully written. You can really get a feel for the time because of the rich language used. This book actually makes you feel something in your heart and it's a good investment too because if you buy it you'll be readig it over and over again!

I am not going to rehash the plot, but let me just say, how much I appreciated reading a romance novel without the constant bickering between the H/h. The heroine is a timid mouse, but such an adorable and lovable mouse that, you never find yourself thinking she is weak or spineless.

This book truly has some of the most spectacular grovel, and remorse scenes, that will tug at your heart strings...You know those FANTASTIC romance novels, that keeps you smiling like a lackwit from start to finish? You keep smiling, giggling, sighing like a fool and you feel just so yummy inside.... Well, this is one of those books.

I highly recommend it. A keeper! A+++


May contain SPOILERS below:

Love scenes: 4-5
Steam: Steamy enough (even has oral sex scenes)
Bodice Ripper Scale - No rape, cheating (debatable/questionable)


SPOILERS:

For me this was a cheating romance. Yes, the whole thing with the other woman was planned just to hurt the heroine, and I don't think he was particularly interested in his ex-lover but the way the scene was described, it looked like they were in middle of sex when she walks in to catch them. I don't mean just light patting, feeling, or kissing...they were in middle of intercourse. Of course, I can't be 100% sure of this since the author doesn't say he was inside the woman but...judge for yourself, this is what happened, or close to it.

The heroine is asleep when someone's "moans and another bed creaking" wakes her up. She notices that her door is open and remembers closing it before falling asleep (I guess hero opened it so she will hear him with the other woman). She gets up from the bed, thinking it was one of the girls in pain perhaps....goes towards the moan. In that room she sees a "naked" couple, the woman's legs are spread wide open and between those legs is the hero, sucking on her nipples.

He turns around and gets out of the bed and says something like " blah blah blah...or he will resume his RIDE" (he's naked and his ding-dong is hard). She rushes out the door, crying. The hero collapses outside the door in remorse, and tells the ex-lover to take care of the heroine, and walks away.

This is the scene people are saying isn't cheating. Whatever your views may be regarding cheating, this is still a wonderful book. Please do not pass up on this gem because of this scene.

Lady Gallant was my first Suzanne Robinson and I am very hopeful that her others are written in the same vein. I was absolutely dazzled by the dialogue in this book. Kit is one of those ambiguous type heroes who is charming and nasty and dangerous and ultimately humbled by his own arrogance. Nora holds her own. If you are getting bored with the same old-same old, you might really enjoy Lady Gallant. It is THAT different, my little comfit.

This book is a definite must read. When I read this book, it pulled so much emotion out of me that I still get chills. She made Christian so perfectly flawed that the GROVELING scene was the best I've ever read. It was a 9.8 out of 10. But still it made me cry. This book is a have to for a romance lover.

I have all of Suzanne Robinson's books and by far to date Lady Gallant is her best book ever. The story of Kit and Nora is told with so much emotion that you feel like you are right there with them. The way they both struggle with their emotions is a definite page turner. I would recommend this book to any and all readers of great romances.

I've been reading romance novels for at least five years and I've dipped into a lot of genres--Regency, Medieval, time travel, modern, even some sci fi--and although I'm not usually a fan of books taking place earlier than the 18th century, I LOVE this book.
The thing I love about Robinson's work is that she takes her plot a step beyond most writers. She doesn't just give you the romance with the time period as a backdrop, she gives LIFE to her characters and brings the reader along for every step of their journey.
You'll fall in love with the poetic, broken beauty of the hero, Christian, (although he's a big jerk for quite a while) and you'll understand why he is the way he is.
Nora, while being a somewhat typical "mousy" character, is well-developed and three dimensional, eventually growing into a strong, independent woman.
The supporting characters and historical backdrop are, in my estimation, more than just "filler," they bring you into the story so, like I said, you feel like you're right there with them.
This book, is definitely my all-time favorite, I bought it about two years ago second-hand and I can't count how many times I've read it; it's just that good.