Customer Reviews

Lord of Ice

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have always been a fan of Gaelen Foley and have read all her books. I eagerly waited for two stories in one year and was not disappointed.

Personally, I liked this story better than, "Lord of Fire", and stayed up all night reading it. The hero and heroine are great together! Both parties were upfront with their feelings for each other, rather than pretending to be indifferent.

Damien is the tortured war hero who is named the ward of Miranda, his friend's niece. Even though he is attracted to her, he feels unowrthy of caring for someone while he is battling his own flashbacks and horrors of war. Miranda sees a person worth fighting for and helps Damien overcome his demons.

In addition to the interaction between the main characters, is a plot to kill the heroine. You also get introduced to a possible love interest for Jacinda (maybe??) as well as references to Lord Jack, the "black sheep," so to speak.

In addition, Foley's previous characters from, "The Duke," and "Lord of Fire" are included. Most of all, I loved the conclusion of the book, which wrapped the story up quite nicely! I certainly hope the future stories of the other Knight Brothers, Jacinda, and friend Lizzie are as satisfying as this one! Can't wait till next year!

LORD OF ICE is the follow-up to LORD OF FIRE, and features Lucien's acclaimed and admired brother, Damien, who is now the earl of Winterly. Due to a few twists of fate, Damien is saddled with a ward, Miranda Fitzhubert, whom he is naturally immediately attracted to, blah blah blah (I'm sure you can fill in the blanks).

I didn't like this book as much as LORD OF FIRE, mainly because it needed some more editing and the characters weren't very consistent or realistic (not that the characters in her other books are very realistic, but these were even less so).

The book starts off pretty well--interesting premise and all that--but I feel the author made several mistakes in making the story convincing as a romance. First of all, the whole ward/guardian thing puts the characters in a situation where they're bound to fall into more of a father/daughter type of relationship, as opposed to a relationship of equals. Add to this the characters' respective traits of neediness (Miranda) and dominance and protectiveness (Damien), and it's all but unavoidable. This would be fine if the book wasn't a romance, but it's hard to believe that the characters truly love each other (in a psychologically healthy way) when it is. Foley FURTHER exascerbates this problem by having Miranda--completely out of character--submit to Damien's authority, just as if he was, in fact, her father. Blech!

Secondly, Damien and Miranda should not have spent the majority of the book with the Knight family. In previous books, the family members have been largely to totally absent from the events of the story, which I think was a wise decision on Foley's part. In this book, however, it sometimes seems like Miranda spends more time with Knight Clan than with Damien. Furthermore, who in their right mind would want their family breathing down their neck while conducting a romance? If the Knights hadn't liked Miranda, then the situation could have been an interesting subplot, but Foley ignores this opportunity (not that I can't see why of course, since all Kights either have been or will be the protagonists of her books, and thus can't make any major faux pas), and Miranda's own need for a family almost makes it seem as if she loves Damien more for his family than for him.

Thirdly, the book was too long. It should have ended on page 379, but instead goes into a completely ludicrous tangent that has practically no bearing on the story and is patently ridiculous. If the author felt that she absolutely had to have it in the book, she should have inserted it more towards the middle.

Basically, this book could have used more editing and more thought. It has its good moments, but it also has extremely sappy scenes and a romance that I found basically unconvincing. But most of all, it has practically no spark of orginality whatsoever, and is certainly not one of her better books.

I knew I liked this author after reading The Duke, but this seals it. Fast paced and engaging, Lord of Ice really pulls you in. I couldn't put it down. As in all romance stories, you know that Damien and Miranda will end up together, but watching them get there is truly fun in this story. Ms. Foley ties her books and characters together well, and you will enjoy seeing Bel, Richard, Lucien and Alice again. If you haven't read her prior books, you won't miss a beat, though. But, you will want to read them! I also really enjoyed the epilogue - usually I am left hanging at the end of these novels, but this one gives a nice, satisfying ending. My only criticism is the graphic nature of some of the love scenes. I'm not offended, I'm just not sure they're needed and I have found myself leaning toward authors that are less explicit rather than more. Won't stop me from reading Ms. Foley's next, though....

I'm surprised that this book has not received the full 5 stars which it richly deserves.

I have read all 3 of Gaelen Foley's Knight Series and liked this one the best. I loved Lord of Fire and thought the character of Lucien was brilliantly portrayed. The storyline too was captivating. However, the charachter of Alice, to me, was a little flat and didn't match the vibrancy of Lucien. Of course the fact was that Lucien needed a "good" woman to save him from himself - but still I found Alice rather dull compared with Miranda in Lord of Ice and to me characters play a larger part in the success of the book than the storyline.

What really captivated me about Lord of Ice was the true to life quality of both Miranda and Damien which makes the story real and very poignant. Damien is a battle-scarred war hero going through serious post-war mental stress. I think Gaelen has successfully combined passion, great strength and abject vulnerability in this character so while you admire him you also feel very sorry for him. You can find many Damiens among most modern war veterans I think. Miranda on the otherhand is exuberant and vibrant with a passion for life and a strength ot face up to it - a perfect foil for Damien. She is one of the most endearing and facinating heriones in any romance novel I ever read.

Finally comparing Damien with Lucien - I fell for Damien completely - and not just because of the picture on the cover!!! While Lucien is quicksilver, Damien is all still smoldering passion. This may not be the popular opinion of those who've read both books - but I always liked the strong silent type anyway!!!

Well done Gaelen! Looking forward to the next Knight story on Jacinda and (could it be ?) Billy Blade!! Such a promising read!!

For some reason I just did not expect to love Damien as much as I did Lucein but boy was I wrong!! Leaving off with Damien in such a dismal state in Lord of Fire and picking up in somewhat the same way in Lord of Ice - Damien is just plagued with a war torn sole. He planned to shut himself off at his newly claimed estate and alone work out his battlescars. When he learns that he is now a ward of his war friends niece he goes to take care of his new charge - who of course he thinks will be some very young girl - not the beautiful Miranda!! Their meeting is powerful - not knowing that the girl he propositioned the night before was actually Miranda - then he fought for her honor in a rage of vengence when she is attacked on her way back home. Damien and Miranda have formed very strong impressions of each other when they are thrown together as protector and ward the next day at the school. Slowly but surely after the shock wears off of who they are to one another - and after Damien truly proves himself as a good and gentle man by saving the girls at the school from the cruelty of the head master - Miranda realizes that Damien needs this man and he needs her! Of course Damien thinks he will be taking her to his family in London and finding her a husband. He thinks he needs no one and is such a miserable sole that he does not deserve anyone as lovely as Miranda. Lucein encourages Miranda to fight for Damien and save him because he says only love can save Damien. The scene when she goes to him during the New Years Eve fireworks which are torturing him like cannons in a battle is absolutely beautiful. . . truly a romantic beautifully written scene. Another very special part of this book - was the linking of all the characters of the other two books -- Robert and Bel and Lucein and Alice - plus Jacinda and Alec. I really love when authors bring you up to date in the lives of family as this series continues. And I disagree with the people that say you do not need to read Lord of Fire or the Duke before. One may not need to by why would you not want to treat yourselves to the complete Knight family. The ending of this story was absolutely special - this was one fine book by Ms. Foley!!

I have only read one of her books The Duke. Lord of Ice was a great book I enjoyed it very much a sexy read there was in my opinion a very surprizing sex part in the book. I plan to read all in the series I am now up to Lord of fire I read them in the wrong order. another great romance writer.

I just finished reading Lord of Ice (read Lord of Fire yesterday), and I have to say I enjoyed Damien's story much more than Lucien's. I "connected" with Damien and Miranda, and thought their story was a great deal more poignant than Lucien's. His vulnerability (a hero prerequisite in a Gaelen Foley novel) is -- in my opinion -- much more believable than Lucien's -- there's nothing more sexy than a man who blushes shyly in front of the woman he loves. Miranda was a strong match for him; after she vows to behave, she does.

Just an all-around good book. Entertaining and thoughtful. What more can you ask? Ms. Foley's done a great job with her "Knight Miscellany" series. Now I'm starting Lady Jacinda's story -- !

Lord of Ice is part of Gaelen Foley's Knight family series and the follow up to Lord of Fire. I haven't read the latter, but I enjoyed this one about as much as I have Foley's other works. She's pretty much one of those romance writers who I will always read because even when her books are bad, they're still pretty good. Such is the case with Lord of Ice. This story is about the firstborn of the Knight twins, Damien. Returning from war with vivid flashbacks and uncontrollable memories, Damien plans to exile himself to his country estate so as not to cause trouble. Trouble finds him, though, in the form of a 19-year-old girl named Miranda who is left as his ward by one of his fallen comrades. Though he finds himself instantly attracted to her, Damien is haunted by the demons of his past and vows to marry her off quickly to save her from himself.

I've only read one of the other books in the Knight series, The Duke, but like I said before I'll read anything Gaelen Foley writes. Parts of this book were excellent and parts moved pretty slowly, but overall I liked it. Foley has the bad habit, though, of adding another element to the story just when you think it's over which I find annoying--particularly so in this story. Still, I could think of worse ways to pass the afternoon than with a fallen war hero and the impertinent miss who gets him in line.

When i first read Lord of Ice I figured this book would be so dull, the way Lucien describ his twin as a stiff militairy man I didnt see what could be said about him! But after what happen to Damien in Lord of Ice I just had to find out what was wrong with the other handsome twin.

To my shock this book is so full of passion and a true connection between Damien & Miranda, wow Miranda what a woman! She totally deserve a man as passionate as Damien once she got "saved" him. Ms Foley trully did justice for this book and does not dissapoint. Lucien is still the man for me, but there is thru passion in Damien, A MUST read! No need to read Lord of Fire before

I can't say enough about this series! This is the story of Damien the other Knight twin. Damien is a troubled soul and feels that he is going slowly insane as a result of his military career. He finds out that a fellow officer and friend has been killed and has "willed" his niece to Damian. Damien does not have any idea what to do with a ward. What does he know about children? What he does not know is that Miranda is far from being a child she is a young woman of 19.

Miranda feels that she has been forgotten and no one wants her. She has been left and forgotten in a horrid boarding school where she has experienced unspeakable things. She escapes to the stage but still has to return to her miserable existance at the school. Then a dark and handsome stranger comes and takes her away from all of her troubles. What follows next is a story of the heart.

This was a wonderful, emotional read and I feel that is so far the best of the three stories that have been written about the Knight Brothers. Damien is a true Knight is every way possible and you can't help but fall in love with this tortured soul.