Customer Reviews

The Lily Brand

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The Lily Brand" is the debut novel for Sandra Schwab and it shows promise for an author who is willing to take some risks with her characters and plots. It is far from a standard Regency historical romance--the story is dark and moody, and the characters' psychological development is the focus.

The hero of the story is Murgatroyd Sacheverell, the fifth Earl of Ravenhurst (called "Troy" for short, thank heavens!) Captured by the French before the battle of Waterloo, he is in a filthy French prison when the ever-so-evil "Black Widow" Camille picks him out and takes him home as a "gift" for her young stepdaughter, Lily. Camille is an over-the-top villainess who likes to torture and beat her male "playthings" into groveling submission and she wants Lily to follow in her footsteps. She has Lily literally brand Troy with a hot iron and lead him around on a chain. Lily, too frightened of her stepmother to object, secretly plans her own escape and manages to flee to her grandfather's protection in England.

Six months later, Lily, having been accepted by London society and being courted by a young viscount, is introduced to the viscount's cousin who is (of course!) Troy. Lily and Troy instantly recognize one another and Troy launches a desperate attempt to prevent his young cousin from marrying a woman that he believes to be an evil bi**h. Troy's plan backfires and he ends up having to marry the woman he loathes himself. Troy, filled with rage and shame, cuts himself off from his new wife, and Lily, full of guilt and shame, freezes him out. With the help of time, Troy's friends and Lily's nanny, Troy slowly comes to realize that Lily was as much a victim as himself and gradually the couple begin to heal their damaged hearts and minds.

The psychological exploration of the characters is well done and interesting. Both Lily and Troy are suffering from a type of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome following their horrific and dehumanizing experiences. The book gets a little bit redundant in parts, with Troy and Lily going over and over in their own minds the incidents of the past and stewing in their respective rage and guilt. I found the evil stepmother Camille a bit too much to be believed and ridiculously overt in her perversions. I also cannot see why she would want to "cut off the balls" from someone that she is planning to use as a sex toy--seems to me that making her sex toys into eunuchs limits their usefulness. Troy's school chums, a homosexual couple, were a refreshing addition to the story, but Lily and Troy's blithe acceptance of what at that time was considered to be a very scandalous (and illegal) relationship seems a bit anachronistic.

In summary, this is an unusual and rather dark historical romance set in the Regency period. The book is certainly not without its problems, but the characters are interesting and the story unique and atmospheric. The subject matter is very dark in some parts with scenes of torture and Camille's violent and nonviolent sexual perversions so *major* warnings to readers who dislike that sort of thing in a romance novel.

This was a very strange read for me; I would call it more of a Dark Romance. But the story is really not built on either romance or lust which is odd considering this is supposed to be a romance. The story resembles a dark and twisted Cinderella story. True there is a happy ending, but the trip there is certainly not happy and you can foresee the characters definitely having mental issues that will always be in the background.

Lily's father remarried another woman. When her father died when Lily was a young age, her stepmother became her sole guardian. Camille, her stepmother, is known throughout the French prison where Troy, an Earl, is imprisoned as a POW of the French-British war as the "Black Widow." Camille is in to the S&M, except she doesn't care if her victims die or if they are in pain. Camille goes shopping for another slave in the prison, and chooses Troy as a gift for Lily.

Troy's nightmare of a captivity has only just begun have repeated whippings when Camille forces Lily to brand a lily onto Troy's chest to mark him as her possession. From this moment on, Lily sees Troy as hers and despite her stepmothers strict orders to keep meting out the torture on Troy, she tries to ease him in secret in the only she can w/ medicine, food, and removing his gag in private.

When the opportunity finally presents an escape from her own environs, Lily helps Troy escape as well, leaving him in a forest w/ the only thing of value she has for him to trade--a locket of her parents.

One year later, Lily is being introduced to the ton by her noble aunt and uncle. She is pursued by a young Viscount who is deeply enamored. Unfortunately, the Viscount's cousin is Troy. Troy is determined to prevent any possible marriage and unintentionally compromises Lily in anger, which results in their marriage. The journey of their marriage is truly the most heartbreaking and sad things I have ever read. Both are filled w/ completely w/ nightmares, anguish, and guilt. As I wrote earlier, this is truly a strange romance because there is absolutely nothing romantic or even sensual about the majority of this book. Troy is impotent w/ anger and pain. Lily is terrified w/ guilt and fear of her stepmother. This book is about how 2 people w/ such huge scars inside them were able to break free from their mental chains and be normal once again.

Kudos to a very unconventional and darkly emotional read, I'm not sure if I would be able to re-read this because it is very dark. But I gave this 5 stars because, the style was very original and a big gamble against the standard romance.

No cardboard characters or stock situations in this unique and riveting romance. The main characters have depth that makes you care about them and makes their journey from loathing to love both believable and moving. And the secondary characters are both humorous and refreshingly unstereotypical. I definitely recommend "The Lily Brand!"

I was a little hesitant to begin reading this book because of its somewhat unlikely premise. However, once the hero and heroine met again after their escape from her stepmother, the book became very difficult to put down. I found myself getting emotional and teary over this story many times -- it was definitely a tearjerker to me. Also, it felt fresh and original. I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a new author to try.

This is a wonderful debut novel by a promising author. The characters are richly drawn and three-dimensional, and the emotional conflict has extraordinary depth. It's a great twist on the standard Regency romance, and is by far more satisfying than any romance I've read in recent years because it breaks the mold and doesn't rely on cookie-cutter characters or situations. And her use of language is gorgeous! She knows how to tug at the heartstrings. I look forward to reading more of her books!

I really liked this. Troy was a tortured (literally!) hero, as was the heroine Lillian. We learnt a lot about what they felt individually as they learnt to come to terms with what had happened. Captured in France during the Peninsula war, Troy, the Earl of Ravenhurst, was then taken by a 'Black Widow' who did unspeakable things to her chosen victims. It was an emotional story, although I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the characters in order to build to the final conclusion.

Debut author Sandra Schwab has penned a very dark but emotional romance read that will captivate the reader.

Lillian is captive to her stepmother Camille. She is known as the Black Widow and she makes her hobby collecting men and having them do her every bidding. When Lillian reaches her majority Camille takes her to the prison to find her "gift." Lillian has no idea the man that has been chose for her is Earl of Ravenhurst, Troy Sacheverell. Wounded on the battlefield fighting Napoleon he is not in any place to fight what is about to happen. When Lillian makes a bid for freedom, she takes Troy with her only as far as she could and still escape. A year later, Lillian is trying to put her past to rest. She worries about the nameless man she branded with her mark at her stepmothers demand. Did he survive? And will her guilt ever go away?

Troy survived his captivity and subsequent freedom but he is now emotional and physically scared by what happen to him. When he realizes that his younger cousin is about to propose and to the woman who branded him as if he were an animal, Troy sets out to prevent that from happening. When his actions lead to scandal he marries Lillian but keeps her far from his sight. He is too hurt, angry, and frustrated he does not allow himself to see Lillian for who she is rather then what he thinks she is. Will these two damaged people ever heal from the wounds Camille has inflicted on them and will love grow from such barren start?

This is a very dark romance but Ms. Schwab has created wonderful characters and has taken care in fleshing out the storyline that the reader will surly enjoy. Secondary characters are a wonderful light addition to this story that would otherwise be perhaps too overwhelming. I look forward to reading Ms. Schwab again in the future.

The Lily Brand is a very dark novel with one of the most twisted villainesses I have ever read about in a romance novel. The writing is very very good with fine descriptions of castles, dungeons and glittering ballrooms. The character's inner thoughts are also well written and yet I cannot say I will ever read this book again. It was just too much angst with not enough time for love and romance.

Murgatroyd Sacheverell, the fifth Earl of Ravenhurst (Troy), is in a dark French prison when he is plucked out by a vile woman who visits the institution in search of virile males. The reader can ascertain this woman's malevolent intentions immediately, so good is the physical description of this female and the manner of her approach to the men. Along with this woman is her step daughter, Lillian who does not want to be in the prison but is a prisoner herself under her stepmother's thumb.

Troy is taken by the woman and is used as a male slave and he is a gift to Lillian. Her stepmother wants to watch Lillian debase this man and Lillian who is frightened and plotting an escape goes along with the plan, demeaning Troy, watching her step-mother whip him and even branding him herself. Troy is silent during this ordeal both literally and also well literally. The reader does not know his thoughts as they are unwritten but they are not hard to imagine.

Lillian does manage to escape and frees Troy (almost reluctantly)expecting to never see him again. They do spy each other later though in London and Troy's rage knows no bounds. He is so angry he can barely contain himself when he sees Lillian now known as Lady Lily.

These two have a turbulent relationship with Lily acting coolly as if nothing can touch her (this was her coping mechanism for years) and Troy being so enraged that it's a wonder he can keep from seriously hurting Lily.

These two barely talk. They keep their distance working out in their heads what the other must be thinking and it takes a really long time for them to come to grips with their feelings. Lily does so first but it is in the last third of the book when the reader finally sees a change occur. There's little romance in this novel because this couple really does not communicate their wants, desires, or emotions well.

This story is so dark that I was surprised several times by the lack of compassion of the characters (even the leads seem remote to the idea of empathy for a long time). The stepmother in this story is so rotten and amoral that she almost felt unreal. Her slaves were devoted despite the fact they were abused and humiliated. How such a woman kept them in thrall with her was a mystery to me.

I truly wanted this couple to have more intimate moments and I do not mean physical ones. They have few times they truly interact as people who enjoy each other, or respect each others talents and opinions. I understood their discomfort with each other in London, in fact it is to be expected but Lily's aloofness and Troy's avoidance and anger went on too long and the villainess was just too too evil having not one ounce of humanity in her at all. Still the story was original and the writing was so descriptive I envisioned all the scenes vividly, overall three stars.

I've had this one in my TBR pile for a while, having bought it based on high recommendations from friends. I wasn't disappointed.

After the death of her father, Lillian is left at the mercy of her cruel, controlling stepmother Camille. For her coming-of-age, Camille takes Lillian to the prison, where she chooses a man for her. Lillian's forced to watch and then participate in his torture, culminating in branding him with a lily to show that he's hers. The man is Troy, and he's Earl of Ravenhurst, though they never know his name.

Lillian does what she can to ease and minimize his suffering, but she's as much a prisoner as he is. Feeling responsible, when she finally escapes, she takes Troy with her and leaves him alongside the road with her mother's locket for funds.

A year later, they're both in England, and Troy is appalled to discover that the woman his young cousin wants to marry is the woman who branded him. He'll do anything to save his cousin from her--including marrying her himself.

The story is intense and dark, as Troy struggles with his hate and anger, and Lillian with her guilt and fear. Their characterizations are very believable, particularly in how they remember what happened and in how they react and show (or don't show) their emotions.

The only objection I had is that Camille is just a little bit too over-the-top evil. She's explained a bit better at the end, but if she'd been more understandable throughout, I'd have compared this to Kinsale. It did serve a purpose, though--Camille being Evil (with a capital E) put the story firmly in fantasy-land, so it wasn't as frightening a story as it would have been had I felt she was real.

I had to give this 5 stars for originality, characterization and writing style...this is not a stereotypical romance novel. Pay no attention to the strange cover; the feelings evoked in the book are much deeper than that. Good vs. evil, revenge vs. forgiveness, fear vs. courage, healing vs. hurting. It was unpredictable and addictive. This is a beautifully-written novel by a new author who created an emotional story from a bizarre and sinister setting. I recommend it highly to those who are tired of the usual plot contrivances and typical settings of the historical romance genre.