Customer Reviews

The Rebel Bride (Five Star Romance)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I first read 'The Rebel Bride' in its original Signet imprint. Several years later, I picked it up in this new edition. Either way, this book was totally disappointing. Apparently in the 80's the idea of the hero raping the leading lady was considered cutting edge (I didn't think so then and certainly don't think so now), because it seemed a standard trope for many authors. And not only was the character Kate raped in brutalized in childhood, but Julien, the man who supposedly 'loves' her, thinks that her reticence in the bedroom is merely a case of nerves and sets out to forcibly change her mind.

Now, I realize that the characters of Kate and Julien are loosely based upon Taming of the Shrew, but where that play was strictly comedy (I don't even take the Shakespearean Katherine's end soliquy seriously--and neither does she), this Katherine is not only a royal pushover, she seems bent on forgiving everything. And Julien, you are no Petruccio!

In the beginning, Kate shows a bit of gumption, and she's quite appealing, especially dressed in men's clothes and engaging in a mock duel with her brother. She speaks her mind freely and one could see why Julien would be interested in her. As the story progresses, she turns into that simpering little waif that can drive most readers to distraction. She does, however, show a little spirit when she takes down a scandalous former love interest who was trying to get her hands upon the oh so virile Julien.

And Julien...Ms. Coulter has created some wonderful and warm male leads, and Julien St. Clair simply isn't one of them. A narcissistic rake who needs to have his ears boxed in, he's a completely clueless cad who doesn't think beyond his own needs.

I guess the only saving grace to this entire mess of a book was that Ms. Coulter dealt with the subject of child abuse long before it was fashionable. Kate's father was evil incarnate and it would have been nice to have him get his just deserts.

One last word on the rape scenes--now I happen to like erotic romance quite a lot, and I have no problem with the idea of sexual power play as long as its consensual. What happened to Kate in this book might have worked better had it been written in that style.

I read this book, because I had read "The Scottish Bride" and found it to be a decent enough read. If THIS book is an example of Catherine Coulter, (and my friends say it is) then it is the LAST one of hers I will ever read.

The "hero" sees the heroine, wants her, and forces her to marry him against her will. He stalks her for months before succeeding in dragging her to the altar. Then he is angry because she doesn't want to sleep with him, in spite of the fact that she had TOLD him over and over again that she does not want him.

So he decides that the only way to "help" her with her fear of intimacy is - get this - to disguise himself, kidnap and rape her. Yeah, that's a wonderful way to overcome a woman's fear of sex!!!!

So, when he is "helping her", he discovers that she is not a virgin, and becomes so enraged at this "betrayal" (there are rules, you see, and a woman must ALWAYS be a virgin. The hero can have sex with half the population, both before and after the marriage, but a woman has to be pure, or SHE is a slut) that he brutalizes her into a catatonic state.

After he has dragged her home, (still plotting revenge against the woman who HE has forced to marry him and raped) he discovers that the reason she was not a virgin was because she was raped as a child. He then runs around saying "How terrible!What kind of man rapes a child?" Yes, it is SOOOO much more honorable to rape a woman.

THIS is a hero? THIS is a good man? THIS is what a woman should want?

This is a sociopath, who should be locked away from society.

I find it especially ironic that in "The Scottish Bride" Ms. Coulter's villain was a man who tried to force a woman to marry him by raping her. The hero is a gentle man, who saves her. How does she reconcile this with her other heroes, who apparently see no problem with using force to get the women they want.

It is a pity that the ratings don't have "negative" stars.

I have enjoyed Coulter's books very much. But I, too, am not keeping this one. Our "hero" does cross the line with the out-and-out... scene which was not necessary to the story. After that, he does not redeem himself (could anyone??) nor deserve her forgiveness and love. Her "transgressions" that he perceived are nowhere near that serious; this goes beyond the typical "misunderstanding" angle usually involved in a good story.
Probably [this] occurred more often than we'd like to believe in that time period, but that doesn't mean I want to read about it or that I will like the character(s).
I am now starting the "Bride" Trilogy with "The Sherbrooke Bride"...I am happy to say so far, so good!

This book really disturbed me.

It started out well... Kate and Julien had great banter. Kate was a headstrong, daring young woman... Julien was quite taken with her and proposed. Then it went all downhill.

He ends up forcing her to marry him by threatening that he will drug her and drag her to the alter.

He then, after weeks of a sexless marriage, kidnaps her under the guise of being a robber... keeps her blindfolded. He then proceeds to molest her until she finds pleasure (while blindfolded and thinking he is some strange robber man... like any woman would manage to find pleasure in that sort of situation). He then proceeds to rape her while she is screaming and crying and trying to get away... figures out she isn't a virgin and goes into a rage.

This whole experience makes her realize she was raped as a child...

This is just plain awful. This isn't your normal 'rape' type scenario in typical romance novels... you know, where the woman is secretly attracted and wants to have sex, but is pushed into it... Katharine is actually brutally attacked in this book. Its quite frightening and I didn't enjoy reading it at all.

I feel like the 2 main characters, which started out so promising, deteriorated halfway through the book.

I don't recommend it.

I've got to agree with the reviewers who think rape has no place in a romance novel, particularly rape committed by the "hero." What outraged me the most about this facet of the book isn't the rape per se, however, it's the fact that Coulter would have us believe that the "hero"/rapist is able to give the heroine an orgasm while she'd tied down, blindfolded, and doesn't know it's her husband attacking her. What a sickeningly repellant thing to write! I've loved some of Coulter's other work, but this offended me deeply. (I'm getting to the point where I want to approach any book of hers with a whip and a chair, not sure whether I'm going to find a pussycat or an angry tiger between the covers!)

To give the devil its due, I have to admit that I couldn't put The Rebel Bride down. It's extremely well-crafted; any aspiring writer could learn a lot from the way Coulter keeps the plot racing along, totally centered on the two main characters and their conflict. There's not a dull moment, nor a bland one, though the emotions the text evokes are often very unpleasant ones. Given the subject matter, however, they're not as bad as they might have been; more along the lines of uneasiness and distress than outright horror.

I guess my overall feeling is: Read it at your own risk!

Even though I am a huge fan of Coulter's, this book has to be her worst! While I agree with the other reviewers about the horrible "hero", I would be remiss if I didn't say anything about the "heroine." Katharine was a mouse. I understand her pain, but eventually you just have to move on. In fact, Coulter should never have even written about this. It is not romantic for the heroine to be "wacky" every time the hero touches her. Don't waste your time on this one. It is neither romantic nor sexy. It is psychology 101.

I usually like Coulter's books, but this one doesn't even deserve one star. It starts off great, the chemestry between the characters is interesting, but sadly it goes way down hill from there. After we get to London the book drags. London is for the most part boring. I had to force myself to read on, thinking it would get better, it HAD to get better.

I didn't. It got worse, A LOT worse. The rape scene was disgusting and distrurbing and totally uncalled for. The book could have picked up and been a farely decent book, but alas that was not to be. I couldn't even force myself to finish the book, that was how disturbed I was. I read to the point were the hero feels bad for what he did. Of course he does! But regret means nothing.

I actually threw away the book. It went in the trash and to the dump. I never throw away books, never, but this one I didn't want it and I wasn't about to try to give it to anyone, the trash seemed like the best place for it.

Don't buy this book, I did and I really regret it. It's about a heroine who was sexually abused as a child, but who doesn't remeber it until her (loving ! ) husband rapes her, because he can't wait for her to come to him on her own good time (she has reasons to draw back, even if she doesn't remember them at first). He abducts, blindfolds and rapes her while pretending to be a Swiss robber, which creates in plus the problem, that, since she becomes pregnant because of this, she sinks in utter misery and loses the child, nearly dying in the whole process. This is when the hero admits that he was the rapist (he knows she is pregnant and crying her heart out, but no, he won't tell her before). After all this, she thinks she loves him ! (She must be a masochist). In all: avoid this book, I had nightmares after reading it and the deep felt wish to string up the hero.

If I could give a rating less than 1 star, I would have. The book did start out well. Julien was the perfect hero so in love with the heroine. And Kate the perfect endearing heroine. But when Julien asked Sir Oliver (father) for Kate's hand in marriage, Kate got so angry at Julien and started to hate him- as in really loathe him. Isn't it but proper during that era for the man to ask permission from the father first before proposing to the woman? So why is Kate so angry? Julien tried to win her by showing her everything a woman would die for- his love, his comfort and his social standing. What more does she want? But she scorns him and hates him even more. And her hatred lasted until almost the end of the book. Truly unbelievable. How utterly boring and irritating. There was no special moment that made my heart flutter. Kate is not endearing at all. I even hate her already for being so irrational- and so stubborn. Doesn't she know how lucky she is to catch Julien??? Also, if Kate is really a troubled woman, shouldn't it show from the 1st page? She was a carefree, independent and so happy woman. Not at all the characteristic of someone who is troubled with the child abuse and the regular physical abuse of her father. I did not even finish the book. I gave it a try until the 300th page, but couldn't continue anymore for it is just a waste of my precious time. There was also no reason why Julien would rape Kate. He never even tried to be intimate with her at any point in the book. It's just so stupid. The writing style is good though- but the plot is just so bad! I can go on and on... but in the end all I want to say is- Do not waste your time and money with this book. Really- it's not romantic at all. Kate's actions will make you roll your eyes.

Being a frequent reader of Regency and Historical romances, you kind of do have to suspend reality and not blink an eye or become outraged at some things that are normal for romances. This was the second book of Coulter's that I have read, and I was severely disappointed. Kate was built up to be such a strong, vibrant female character, but in the end, she just gives up to the wants of her husband. I don't like reading about rape in books (who does?), but to see it in romances is such a turn off. I mean, to be reading romance in the first place, to me, is a sign of escaping from reality into a relatively safe place where a hero and heroine do the standard "chase" that inevitably ends in marriage. We forget the poverty and prejudice and discrimination. It's ROMANCE. If I had wanted something deeper, something not-safe, I wouldn't be looking for it in romance. So, number one, the fact that Kate was molested by a gang of males in her childhood turned me off from the book. How can I enjoy it after something dark like that? (and believe me, if you've even read one book w/a plot like this as I have, you knew that it was coming--that sinking feeling was prevalent w/all her foreshadowing and the abusive father, etc., etc.)

Secondly, if you are going to have rape in the romance, PLEASE don't add a twit for a husband whose attitude toward it is, "Oh, it was something in the past in your childhood," when HE was the one who brought the whole thing up, and does really nothing to help her w/her pain. I admit that I didn't really read everything in the book because I was so disappointed in Coulter after I had enjoyed _The Sherbrooke Bride_ so much also.