Customer Reviews

No Gentle Love

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

 

 

I have read many books by Rebecca Brandewyne and I could not believe that she wrote this. Her heroes are often volatile, and passionate but they are never cruel or abusive. The hero in this book, Rian, is an abusive vicious man with a cruel streak a mile wide. He raped the heroine repeatedly and slapped her around when he was angry with her. He slapped her hard enough one time that she had a bruise on the side of her face. He never felt any remorse for how he treated her. There was one time when he slapped her three times, raped her, and told her that if that she fought him he would break her arm. The heroine, Morgana, needed to be in a battered wife's shelter, not in this marriage.

This was the first book that I have read by R. Brandewyne and of all the 15 books of her's that I went on to read, it remains my favorite. It was a keeper for me. This book was written 20 years ago and many of today's sensitive readers would not like this book because of the strong and sometimes harsh storyline. The hero was a man to read about and to dream of but one would not want to be married to him in reality. He's not a man you can wrap around your little finger. If this were a contemporary novel, I would agree with the reviewer just below. However, in those days, there were no women's shelters. You had to rely on yourself, your family and whatever resources that were available to you; which was few if you lived in the isolated estates that were common to these types of historical romances.

The heroine, Morgana McShane, is raped repeatededly in this novel, by at least five different men. The worst of them is her husband, Rian, who thinks it is his right and privilege to violate Morgana when and where he sees fit and to hell with her objections.

Brandewyne's bread and butter are tall, dark, sardonic heroes and wild, willful, beautiful heroines who "drive" their heroes to dominate them. I have oftened wondered whether Brandewyne has abuse fantasies herself from the amount of it going on in this book.

Morgana alternately finds herself insulted, slapped, beaten, hit and battered during the course of her relationship with Rian, and that's happening whether or not he's forcing her to have sex. Her male relations treat her nastily and her grandfather sets her up to be a prize by settling his fortune on the grandson who succeeds in marrying her.

Rian's a thoroughly despicable character. He whores, gambles, duels and relates to Morgana as if she's "his", i.e. something to be used as he sees fit. I kept hoping he'd keel over and croak, especially during one of his repeated attacks on her. For the life of me, I cannot see what she sees in him, except that she's able to achieve orgasm with him.

The only characters in this novel that treat Morgana with respect are the Irish country doctor, Michael Kelsey; the sailor, Jeb; and the sea captain, Taylor Jones. Unfortunately, Morgana has been brainwashed by Rian and her demented family to respond only to insults and arrogance that she refuses to accept that she has the right to be treated with respect.

As a time capsule, it is representative of the era it was written in - the late 1970's - when most heroes were raping/forcing their heroines. As a novel, it's just this side of craptastic. I commend Brandewyne for Morgana's continued defiance of Rian, but I cannot countenance Rian's continued violence towards women.

I gave this book three stars because it was a very good,exciting story. However, there was a lot of violence. There were numerous incidents of marital rape that the sensitive reader might find repulsive,and the hero did slap the heroine many times. Normally, this would repulse me but you have to read the whole story to understand the violent context. The love between the hero and heroine was very real and touching. Before judging the story on the title, I recommend that you read the book and make the decision on your own.

I am ashamed of myself for LOVING this book. It goes against everything I believe. The "hereo" is MEAN to say the least. But I loved every minute of him, he was one of the most original and believable characters I have ever encountered. I almost felt like a man wrote this book because I can see men actually thinking and behaving as Rian. If you are easily offended and sensative this is NOT the book for you. If you love a good fight and don't mind some rape(not to graphic) you will enjoy this book.

True, yes, there are some scenes where the heroine, Morgana McShane, is forced by her husband, the devilish Rian McShane, but if you look beyond you will find a wonderful book with many different characters and back-drops. I liked the fact that at the beginning it gives you a list of the characters and where they all reign from. This book takes you from Ireland, to England, France, Africa, India, and to China. The storyline moves along swiftly and the characters partake in many unusual adventures (being Rian is a captain of his own ship).

The love/hate relationship between Morgana and Rian is very intense and yes, sometimes can be brutal. At points, it borderlines on obsession. But I found myself pulling for them and enjoying their relationship. I own this book and it remains my favorite of all time. I've read it 4 times and will never tire of it!!!

This book has the sorriest story line ever! Sorry to spoil the story for people who haven't read this book. So, basically, the Hero uses and abuses the Heroine. They get married, Then a frenchman came along and "killed" her husband then she slept with that guy!( Her husband is not dead). She found out the husband is not dead, try to break up with the frenchman, he didn't want to , so they killed him. She then goes off to travel around the world with the husband. She got lost and was travelling by herself. While she was travelling, she was basically whoring herself! Sleeping with hot guys, but would not have sex with a White fat man, African man, and Chinese man. Then at the end comes back to the man who abuses her and realize she then "Loves " him. Waste of time!

Forget the low reviews. They are missing the point here. Brandewyne's writing is excellent and the story will grab your attention. If you're looking for a romance that feels like a trip around the world, you should read this one. It takes place in the years of the Regency, but is set in Ireland, England, France, Africa, India and China -and it covers 4+ years.

It is divided into five "books." The first book is "The Emerald Isle" and basically sets up the story. It begins in 1812 as Morgana McShane, a red-haired beauty, is mourning the death of her father and trying to find work. While her father was the son of an Irish duke, he left home to marry her English mother, who is now dead, and never returned. Morgana despairs when she cannot find a job as she has little funds. Then she receives a letter from her grandfather, Lord Fergus McShane, the Duke of Shanetara, providing her money and telling her to come to Ireland. Unbeknownst to Morgana, her cousin, Rian McShane, Earl of Keldara, who has been watching her, sent the letter. Rian is a ruggedly handsome rake of the first order (he has many women but no intention to marry), and lucky at both gambling and business (he owns a ship). He is also the favored grandson of the duke so when the duke discovers what Rian has done, he goes along with it. In fact, the old duke likes Morgana and plots to trick Rian into marrying her. Though neither Morgana nor Rian want to marry, and clash each time they are together, they are wildly attracted to each other. When they are tricked into marriage, their relationship becomes a passionate battleground.

The second book is "A Tall White Sail" and begins as Rian sails from Ireland with Morgana not to return for 4 years. They travel to London where they become a part of the Haut Ton season of parties and events. Many of their friends are jealous of the two coveting the handsome man and his bride. And, of course, Rian has enemies.

Books 3-5 are "No Gentle Love," "The Bitter Memories," and "The Shadows," and take place in France, Africa, India and China. Through a series of terrible events, Morgana and Rian become separated (more than once), and each ends up in the bed of another. So, be prepared, this is not your average historical romance.

Brandewyne has done a superb job giving us the historical setting and details of the era, not to mention the political and social environments of Ireland, London, France, Africa, India and China. She gets full marks for her research. Her dialog is witty and the story absorbing. At times I loved Rian and Morgana and at other times I hated them both. Yes, all right, he WAS a brute, denying his feelings for Morgana from the beginning and making her suffer. Still, he forgave her much. She could be a wet noodle and then a brat, and engaged in some highly questionable behavior. While it won't appeal to everyone, I found the story of these two passionate, difficult people fascinating and loved the adventures all over the world. And, since it's romance, I could hang onto the knowledge that there would be a happy ending. So, I recommend it.

Others by Brandewyne I also recommend: Rose of Rapture, Desire in Disguise and Love, Cherish Me--and I've reviewed those. I'll be rating others as I've ordered several on her backlist of historical romances.

Okay, I liked the book but agree that Rian's character would be classified as abusive in this day and age. What bothered me the most about this book was the blatant 'copying' from the novel Gone with the wind. The author took entire lines from the book, described her character's personalities in exactly the same way Margaret Mitchell described Scarlett and Rhett. It actually made me laugh at times. Like her books but lost a little respect for the author.