The Rose & the Shield (Leisure Historical Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

Elaine Barbieri (Author)

Book Description

Series: Leisure Historical Romance | Publication Date: March 2009

During the turbulent years following the conquest of England in 1066, loyalties are divided and danger abounds. For a knight in disguise and a lady who must hide her true identity, love flourishes, but trust is more painfully won.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books; Original edition (March 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843960140
• ISBN-13: 978-0843960143
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,732,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Sweet Read, September 2, 2010

By 

Suzette De Armas - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rose & the Shield (Leisure Historical Romance) (Kindle Edition)

This was a sweet read. The romance between the two main characters was solidly strong although moving a bit too fast. Also, it seemed a bit unrealistic that no one in the village could see through the heroine's disguise as a man and yet her love interest immediately noticed the disguise by her simple sway of her feminine hips, the shape of her beautiful lips and slender shoulders and her high pitched voice underneath all the manly garments.

Although one can sense the hunger the hero felt for the heroine, the author failed to intrigue me when said lovers consummated their relationship. The author was too caught up in describing a deep discussion/admiration taking place between the two lovers and would then move on to casually mentioning that the hero "entered her with strong thrusts" followed by him apologizing for his rash behavior to then having the heroine claiming that she completely wanted it to happen because she felt a need stronger than she could ever imagine; a need requiring immediate satisfaction where a kiss would just not do " -- huh? And she's also a virgin.... hmmm. The second time the two lovers came into intimacy was no different to the first and just as casually and unimportantly not worth describing. In other words, the deep hunger came across too shallow as evidenced by the too short yet speedy interlude. Deep abiding love requires MORE than just a simple entering and thrusting. Furthermore, it's highly unrealistic that such a casual display of consummation would result in said lovers feeling so deeply intense with one another after simply having met no more than a week ago. But I guess life back in the medieval times did not guarantee to be a long one and it could be plausible that one did fall in love at first sight, especially to the one that nurses you during a life threatening wound.

Although the book is not too predictable and yet having mentioned the above, the book can be described as a pleasant read where the "Knight in Shining Armor" holds true to his code of honor and rescues the damsel in distress just in the nick of time.

3.0 out of 5 stars Almost but not quite a good Medieval romance, February 3, 2011

By 

Regan (San Diego) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Rose & the Shield (Leisure Historical Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first by Elaine Barbieri. I'm reading a lot of medieval romances lately and thought I'd try it. It has some good parts but it just never rose to the level of the very good Medieval romances.

The story had some appeal: A young Saxon noblewoman, Rosamond, is living disguised as a young man "Ross" in her own demesne Hendsmille to avoid the unwanted attentions of the evil Norman lord who has taken it over. She lives in a small cottage with an old man she calls father who is a nearly blind stone mason and working on a chapel the evil lord is building to gain King William's favor while he is plotting behind the King's back. Rosamond finds a young man who has been set upon by thieves and left to die and nurses him back to health unaware he is one of her enemies--a Norman knight. In fact, he is Dagan, a favored knight of King William, sent by the King to investigate the evil lord. Dagan is a worthy hero and honorable in most respects. He recognizes that the young man who tends his wounds is a woman, and being attracted to her, one thing leads to another. Here is where the story became a bit bizarre. What knight would take the virtue of a maiden he admired who was tending his wounds and without any words of love or commitment?

The love scenes are brief and not well described. The first one where he took her virginity was so vague I had to read it three times to understand that when he went from just kissing her (fully clothed both of them in pants) to suddenly "slipping into her," the author wasn't talking about his tongue. Right. Not well done and not convincing. The scene came too early in the relationship as well. And the characters changed in their feelings too quickly. Rosamond goes from hating Normans to suddenly vowing love for Dagan. It just didn't happen in a convincing way. I had similar issues with some of the secondary characters.

I think the author can write, but this story just didn't rise to the 4 or 5 star level for me. Still, if you can get past the awkward parts and you don't mind vague love scenes, you might find it an entertaining read, but there are better ones out there. For the ones I recommend, see my Best Medieval Romances list.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun Conqueror romance, February 25, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rose & the Shield (Leisure Historical Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)

In 1066 as William and his Normans defeated the Saxons, one of the Conquerors loyal nobles Baron Guilbert de Silva and his troops slaughtered the defenders of Hendsmille. Nine years later, the bloody Baron orders his master mason to build a cathedral that will enable him to obtain God's forgiveness for killing so many. However, unlike when he built the Baron's castle, age has taken its toll on the master Mason. His daughter Rosamund, who hates the Normans, knows her father ails and cannot lead the effort. She dresses as a male to help her dad build the odious baron's edifice.

Ross rescues robbery victim Sir Dagan. As he recuperates from his fatal wounds, Dagan realizes why he cannot ignore his young savior's delicate face; he realizes beneath that youthful male garb is a beautiful woman he desires. However, he hides his attraction because his vow is to keep his Rose safe from the abusive deadly baron. Rosamund is in love with her knight, but also loathes him for being Norman.

Fans will relish this Conqueror romance as the feisty heroine learns the hard way how destructive stereotyping can be to the soul of the person filled with hatred and bias as the kind but brave Dagan teaches her that not every Norman is a butcher like the Baron is. Although women dressing as men have been used frequently by writers like Shakespeare and in movies like Shakespeare in Love, Elaine Barbieri keeps her historical brisk with two strong lead characters and a villain everyone will despise.

Harriet Klausner