For My Ladys Heart [Mass Market Paperback]

Laura Kinsale (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2004

A young knight will take up his sword for the honor of a beautiful and mysterious princess--and risk his life for the love that burns between them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ruck, an invincible English knight, loses his new wife when she declares herself a prophet and pledges her life to the Church. Ruck's attention now falls to the Princess Melanthe, the shrewd, widowed head of the powerful Monteverde family in Italy and to whom he swears allegiance. But Gian, the patriarch of the equally powerful Navona family, plans to marry Melanthe and merge their two kingdoms, and he will murder anyone who jeopardizes his plan. Thirteen years later, Ruck meets Melanthe again and joins the princess's entourage as they journey to reach her estate before Gian catches up with her. On the way, she reveals to Ruck that his wife was burned as a heretic. Melanthe and Ruck exchange wedding vows and consummate the marriage. But the potential repercussions of their union and an advancing plague threaten them, so the two escape to Ruck's estate, which he struggles to reclaim since it was lost through legal confusion. The honeymoon bliss doesn't last long because they have been seen by someone who alerts Gian, who isn't ready to let Melanthe go. Kinsale's ( The Shadow and the Star ) tale is light on vitality and heavy on Middle English, plot twists and tedium.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Laura Kinsale, a former geologist, is the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow and the Star, Seize the Fire, The Prince of Midnight, and many more. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425140040
• ISBN-13: 978-0425140048
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Finally, my Medieval Hearts series is now available for the Kindle. Looking for an unusual romance where the dark, tortured character is the heroine instead of the hero? FOR MY LADY'S HEART is Melanthe's story. Then in SHADOWHEART, the assassin Allegreto will take you deeper into his black heart than you may have thought you were willing to go...

I've designed the new covers myself, and it's been great fun. One of the perks of ebooks is a bit more author input on covers. Wait till you see the new MIDSUMMER MOON cover...hedgehogs anyone?

***
Laura Kinsale is a New York Times bestselling author and both winner and multiple nominee for the Best Book of the Year award given by the Romance Writers of America. Her novel FLOWERS FROM THE STORM was chosen by readers of Glamour Magazine and the Washington Post as one of the Greatest Love Stories of All Time.

Laura believes that a romance novel can be more. More fascinating characters than you ever anticipated. More unexpected depth. Emotion to engage your heart and your mind. Stories that keep you awake and words you will remember long after you close the book.

Whenever readers list their "Desert Isle Keepers," the books they couldn't live without, Laura Kinsale's award-winning historical romances are included near the top.

Why a puppy for an author photo? There have been a few fake author pages on the web purporting to be Laura. So whenever you see a picture of Ventoux the Peter Pan of Great Pyrenees dogs, you know it's authentic Laura Kinsale.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartwrenching and Beautiful, June 22, 2002

By 

M. Bowman "msmjb" (Huntington Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For My Ladys Heart (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read thousands of romances, including all of Ms. Kinsale's excellent catalogue -- but this one tops them all, in my view. There has never been a better female protagonist than the Princess Melanthe -- complex, driven, fighting for survival while caught between dark and powerful forces bent on devouring her. Twisting and turning, she uses her brains and her beauty to keep them all at bay. Ruck, in his strength and simple-minded devotion to her, was less interesting to me, but even here, Kinsale doesn't make him a cardboard cut-out of a hero. Ruck has his own demons, and a nobility of spirit which makes it ultimately believable that a woman like Melanthe would recognize in him a man to whom she could entrust her heart and even her life. He is a wonderful counterpart to Melanthe's deceptions and strategems. But as others have noted, by far the most compelling and fascinating character is Allegreto. Dark, shiveringly dangerous, glitteringly beautiful -- he and Melanthe are unequalled in romance fiction -- characters whose dark sides rule them, but who still retain hearts and spirits which draw us to them. I talk about romance novels often, with friends -- this is the only one I get so emotional about that I can't even discuss it! I love this book.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly Perfect!, March 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: For My Ladys Heart (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been reading historical romance for 20 years and this is the best book I've ever read. Melanthe, as a heroine, is not always likable, but she's understandable, and just when I didn't think the author, Ms. Kinsale, could ever redeem her again for me, she did! And wonderfully.

Contrary to what most publishers want to see, very early character development and quick and easy relational issues, Ms. Kinsale built a story for me that rooted deeply in my soul. Ruck grew into a wise and silently strong man, when it comes to dealing with his lady love. When dealing with other males, he's a to die for hunk of muscle and steel (armour). I nearly died laughing when he explained to his lady love where he'd learned his carnal "secrets."

Melanthe is not so complicated as some might think. She's strong-willed but knows a gravity issue when she sees one. She has taken extraordinary measures throughout her life to "save" innocents. Obviously much of this is missed by other reviewers, but Melanthe is not selfish, nor is she a bleeding heart. She's a powerful woman of strength, control and command. She's a goddess who's wins the heart of a very worthy man.

The castles are beautiful, as are the abbeys, forests, even the desert and sand, rain storms and even the plague all have their rightful place here.

I can't give away the end. I just can't. It's too good. Melanthe does retain her sarcastic wit though and Ruck -- well, Ruck.... well.... Aaahhh!

If you like knights in armour, satin and velvet; Princesses in ermine lined robes and lots of emeralds, you'll love this book. If you don't, read it anyway, I promise you'll love them when you're done.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best historical romances I've read, June 21, 2004

By 

L. L. Holmes (Butte, MT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For My Ladys Heart (Mass Market Paperback)

I haven't read many of Kinsale's books, but was very pleasantly surprised with this one. So much historical romance is formula fiction, light on character, plot, and history. Kinsale doesn't just throw in a castle, a suit of armor, a few misunderstandings and some sex and call it a book. These characters and their relationships are complex and fascinating. I really could not put this one down until I was finished--bags under my eyes at work the next day.