Customer Reviews

Lord Of Danger

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lord of Danger by Anne Stuart has a permanent place on my bookshelf. I have all of her books but this one should NOT be passed by!

Alys is half sister to Richard the Fair. She has been schooled in the convent so she doesn't know anything about castle life and the treachery that lies therein. She is summoned along with her beautiful sister, Claire, to Summersedge Keep to marry a man who is feared throughout the land. A man some say is no man at all but a demon wizard called Grendal.

Simon of Navarre has long ago lost his ability to believe in human goodness. He is jaded by war losing his soul in the streets of Constantinople. He willingly embraces the dark arts, becoming a master magician feared by all including Richard the Fair. There is nothing that can be denied him. . .

He is given the choice to choose between Richard's two sisters. Will he choose Claire who possesses a radiant beauty or Alys who is plain, peaceful and . . clever?

Simon does not want a clever wife who will see past the frightening surface he has carefully cultivated to the man hidden beneath. No . . . He much prefers a beautiful, flighty wife but that changes when he meets the two women. Claire is clearly terrified of him, unable to meet his gaze but Alys even though frightened, looks straight at him. In that moment, her fate is sealed for he chooses her.

Simon finds himself falling under Alys' innocent, intoxicating spell. She is witty, gentle, compassionate and unafraid to be tied to a man who is feared throughout the land. Even though she fears his touch would forever damn her, she cannot resist Simon's seductive magic. She falls in love with him and he is captured by the purity of her love.

The two lovers become the unwitting pawns in an evil scheme that Richard the Fair has been secretly plotting. Will their love be powerful enough to overcome the odds that are stacked against them or will the unstoppable force of love set them both free? And what becomes of Claire?

This story has it all. Intrigue, romance, sensual love scenes, and above all that element of danger that makes Anne Stuart a master at dark romance.

Not to be missed.

I'm glad that even though I intensely disliked the previous Anne Stuarts I'd read (Blue Sage and Moonrise), I nevertheless decided to give her another chance and read Lord of Danger.

Such a difference from those other two books! The little things that I'd liked about them, what made me think "this could have been good" were excellent here, and what had bothered me had been toned down.

I really liked that the focus of the book was mostly on the love story. The political intrigue set up the situation and provided the final conflict, but it didn't take over the story with tiresome manouvering.

The characters: just wonderful. Simon was a very dark, tortured hero. He was like James (from Moonrise) in that, only he had a sense of humor, a great deal of charm, a sense of honour and a troublesome conscience... in short, he was nothing like James ;-)

All jokes aside, he was a fascinating character, a guy who's cultivated his own legend to get power, who delights in scaring people and who likes to think that he has lost his soul and has no conscience, only to have it pop up and bother him at inconvenient times. James wouldn't have had a problem in giving Richard the poison he asked for in order to murder the 12-year-old king. Simon did. He tried to convince himself, listed all the reasons why he should do it anyway, but his conscience still bothered him. And that made all the difference in my liking him.

I loved the way he was completely fascinated by Alys, and how that fascination baffled him. As for Alys, I liked her too. She was a bit too much of a wide-eyed innocent at first, so ready to martyr herself and sacrifice, but I just loved the way she accepted the fact that it wasn't going to be such an awful thing to be married to Simon, that the guy didn't so much scare her as excite her. I thought it was very courageous of her to see this, most romance heroines would simply cling to their idea that they were sacrificing to the bitter end.

The secondary storyline I liked. It was interesting, but much more romance-ey than the primary one. I liked that it contrasted nicely with it, giving the book some much needed air among the intensity.

Other good things were the colourful, almost jewel-like (I know this isn't a valid adjective, but it was the word that came to mind. You probably know what I mean) atmosphere and a villain who was interesting and actually human. Evil, yes, but not a caricature.

"A pox on your poor sister," says Simon, "I've already chosen you.", and Alys faints at his feet. Already, on pg. 32, I was entranced by the words of Anne Stuart. Simon was in my house, and I was lost in his and Alys's story. He's the dark, tortured hero, but with touches of humor and humanity. She's meek and timid,or so she says. But Alys never hesitates to throw herself in harm's way to protect her sister; and eventually Simon. This is a medieval that has it all. Action, humor, sweet sensuality, and two romances. And the best thing about Anne's secondary romance, is that it never takes anything away from the main story; the romance and adventure of Alys and Simon of Navarre.

This is one of anne stuart's greatest books this is a story about a misterious wizard Simon of Navarre who is the ally of Richard the Fair. Richard is an evil man who plans murder and wants to assure Simon's help and loyality and so Richard offers him a choice of one of his two convent-raised sisters for a bride. When Lady Alys heared the news she plans to make sure that the wizard chooses her and not her younger sister. Simon chooses Alys, the clever sister, over claire, the beautiful sister, much to everyone's surprise.

The wizard is a very feared man in Richard's hall and he does every thing in his power to achieve this fact and to be avoided . Alys proves to be Simon's perfect match as she is an eager student in the spiritual planes. For the first time he finds someone who isn't afraid of him and feels safe around him and even falls asleep at his presence . what happens next ? well you'l just have to buy the book,read it and find out!!!!

I am not going to give the story away but basically here is the plot: Alys a plain short kind of stocky girl, and her utterly beautiful but spoiled sister Claire are brought to their half-brother Richard the Fair's castle for Richard's dark, "Evil" wizard Simon of Navarre to chose which one he will want to marry. It is expected that Simon will chose Claire over Alys but he sees something in Alys, and is drawn to her. He surprises everyone when he picks Alys over her sister, and the two begin a courtship of sorts. He must win her over for Richard to alow them to marry, but don't get me wrong, Richard is no prince. He has his own reasons for allowing the marriage to take place, and at the same time begins to eye his half-sister Claire, wondering at her beauty and begins to make himself believe that they are not related at all, for his own purposes. He puts Sir Thomas in charge of her, knowing that his knight will not touch another woman after his own wife cheated on him and is currently carrying another man's child. At first the two fight like cats and dogs, but slowly they begin to form a bond, and Thomas loses his intense hatred of women. If I reveal any more you'll know the whole plot, but it is a wonderful story, although I wish she'd have spent a little bit more time on Claire and Thomas, but their relationship is well done, just not in detail. I recommend this book to anyone who likes their guys tall, dark, and dangerous.

"Lord Of Danger" by Anne Stuart is the first book I have read of hers. And I truely loved this book. I have read it twice already and am in awe of it. I am now looking for other books of Anne Stuart that have the same kind of plots as "Lord Of Danger" I can't wait to read more like this book.

this is absolutely a marvelous read for me. Although the story takes some time to pick up its pace, I was completely engrossed in it from start to finish. Simon of Navarre has to be one of the most wonderful and likable heroes ever created: he's dark, powerful, mysterious, and unlike so many other medieval romance heroes, he never mistreats the heroine (b big plus to me). The chemistry between H/H simply takes my breath away. And that incredible scene in the thunderstorm up on the parapet...well, I don't want to reveal too much here. Just read the book and you'll know what I mean.

I love to read...I love to read romance...I love to read a good romance book also. When I read a good romance book with a plus-size woman in it...well I'm just too happy for words. The fact that the character's, Alys, size is not the main aspect of the novel, makes it even better! Alys is a character who is not perfect and she doesn't try to pretend to be(I love imperfect characters). Simon is a mysterious man who finds out that Alys is more than meets the eye. This novel is "lighter" than many of Anne's other novels. You really come to love both characters by the end. I just wish there was an epliogue. This is a novel for people who love to read about real women, dangerous men, and read a novel where there are two romance stories in one. Enjoy! P.S. If you want to read another book by Anne that has a heroine who is plus-size, I recommend Night Fall.

I'm a sucker for wounded souls and tortured heroes who learn how to trust again, so this was right up my alley. Along with a great plot where the characters fall in love gradually, after first being attracted to each other on an intellectual/personality level, you've got intrigue, sensuality and more than enough romance.

Simon of Navarre is an advisor to the power hungry Richard the Fair and has carefully cultivated his persona as an evil magician. In an effort to secure his loyalty, Richard offers Simon the choice of either of his two illegitimate half-sisters - both raised in a convent after Richard took them from their mothers. One sister is smart, but plain and the other gorgeous. Simon chooses Alys, the plain sister, much to everyone's surprise.

Simon's belief in human goodness has been destroyed by the horrific tragedies he was witness to during the Crusades and has built a wall around himself emotionally. He agrees to the marriage only intending to get what he can out of it and send Alys back to the convent when the relationship no longer benefits him. But he soon finds himself attracted to Alys' wit and compassion. And even though she fears him initially, Alys sees tenderness in Simon and is drawn to him as well. Slowly they come to trust each other and fall in love.

This book has, hands down, one of the best endings ever. It will knock your socks off! 5 stars!!

No one can call this a "trashy" romance novel. The plot is original, the sentances are amazingly well-crafted. Simon of Navarre manages to seduce Alys and the reader. A story too intruiging to put down!