Customer Reviews

Stolen Bride (de Warenne Dynasty)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

1 1/2 Stars
I made it through about 400 pages before I realized it wasn't going to get any better. I got that far because it was a Brenda Joyce and I love her older work; clearly not the caliber it once was. There was nothing appealing about stepsiblings that were raised together having sex. It was unnatural and disturbing.

Apart from that (if one can actually get past the incestuous under(?)tones), the heroine was tstl. The story took forever to get moving. By page 200, the bride had yet to be `stolen'.

In the 400 pages I plodded through the heroine told the hero she 'loved him so much` at least a hundred times, they'd had sex, he stomps off in horror about it, she throws herself at his feet, 'cups his cheek` about 300 more times, he loves her, he loves her not..... All the while running from the British cavalry hot on his trail set to hang him for murder!

Phew! Not a keeper for me. For a steller BJ read, try "The Conqueror" or "Dark Fires" instead.

i love brenda joyce's books and have read all her others but i couldn't finish this one. i thought the story was horrible and found Elle to be most annoying. it's just too incestuous for me. it's one thing if they met each other when they were teenagers but to literally grow up with her since she was a baby, that's too much for me. i hated that elle felt betrayed by sean's "other woman" even though it happened 4 years before and what eventually happened to her. where's her compassion? she's so selfish. i had to force myself to get through the book after the first few chapters but i just can't finish it. i may just read the end to find out what eventually happened. sorry but i'm definitely not recommending this one.

Despite the slightly incestuous undertones (come on, he was her stepbrother since she was two), I had been looking forward to Eleanor and Sean's story for months. And although the beginning was pretty good and the ending was too, the majority of the book was frustrating and disappointing.

Eleanor, or Elle, has been in love with Sean her entire life. Sean, however, has alway viewed her as a stepsister (eww) until he escapes from prison after two years and sees her as the beautiful and desirable woman she has become. Sean is on the run and Elle begs him to take her with him. In a moment of desperation and confusion he "steals" her on her wedding day. The title is a little misleading because she was more than willing to go. At first their scenes were enjoyable, but after awhile it got to be kind of tedious. We just kept getting the same arguments between them: Elle declaring her love for Sean, a bitter and changed Sean denying any feelings in return, Sean wanting her to go home, marry her fiancee and be safe, and Elle in turn getting upset with him for not reciprocating her love. I almost started skimming after the fifth or six of these arguments, almost.

The action starts up again, but the urgency of their emotions was never again recaptured and I couldn't help but feel that their love lacked the depth that Brenda Joyce usually so easily achieves. Elle was supposed to be a brave and strong willed woman, but she basically stopped living when Sean left home four years ago and hadn't been the same since. Her entire dialogue is spent confessing her love and begging him not to leave her. Sean, who is as equally frustrating, spends the entire book running away from his feelings, and trying to push Elle away. Unfortunately, I can't really recommend this book. Brenda Joyce fans will probably enjoy it, but it certainly isn't her best.

I am a BJ fan. In fact, I think that her Francesca Cahill books are some of the best in the romance genre despite the fact that she left us hanging with no consummation of the relationship. Despite that, I have continued to enjoy her novels. I couldn't even finish this one. It was so boring, and I couldn't get past the dichotomy of what a closeknit blended family this was and yet this brother and sister were a couple. The book lacked passion and, frankly, often didn't make much sense. I was hoping for the best and was totally shocked at how bad this one is!

As a fan of Brenda Joyce it gives me no pleasure to admit that I had to force myself to finish reading this book. Without giving away too much of the plot (not that there was much of one) about 300 pages of the book were devoted to Elle saying "I love, you" or "I hate you" and Sean replying "No you don't" or "Marry Sinclair". I actually skipped over 10- 20 pages at a time because the dialogue was so repetitive, and still the action had not moved along. The story doesn't come alive until the last two chapters, but by that point, the interest comes too little, too late.

So far my favorite in the De Warenne series is "A Lady at Last." In that book we see Brenda Joyce at her creative best. "The Stolen Bride", on the other hand, shows signs of lazy writing.

I've loved Brenda Joyce ever since I read "Promise of the Rose" and cried my heart out... but I'm sorry to say that her latest de Warenne books, including this one, are nowhere near as captivating as her older work. After reading this book, I realized that nothing much really happened in the story... most of the middle part takes place in one room and most of the action there involves the same tired conversational exchange. I kept plodding on loyally, hoping to be struck by the same heartbreaking poignancy of her earlier stories... unfortunately, it never happened. I just finished the book a couple of days ago and I can't even remember how it ended -- it was that unmemorable.

This, by far, is one of the worst books I have read in a very long time.
The characters were not believable and annoying. The entire story line was so boring. What a waste of my time and money.

The good thing about dynasty books like these, is that you get background with other characters, and dialogue with the ones you like. Absolutely disliked this novel.
But good to know how Eleanor became Mrs. O Neil! Will be trading in!

BJ took a nose dive with this one in my opinion. Kind of reminds me of the sad downslide of Johanna Lindsay. Same thing happening here. She usually has such strong, passionate writing but this novel was so redundant that I have to think she was just writing it to get it over with. Taking the easy way out. Hopefully her next books will get her old spark back. Please!

Since childhood, Elle de Wareanne and Sean O'Neill have been the best of friends as well as step-siblings. Moreover, they are each other's first love until the day he disappeared. Two years pass, and Elle is forced to believe he was unable to keep his promise to return, and so pledges to wed another. Then, before she can, Sean comes home, under a death sentence for treason. Against all wisdom, she abandons everything to help him escape and run away with him. In the end, though, both of them are captured, but only she is freed. Sean is due to hang, and only by agreeing to wed a man she does not love can she hope to use the connections that come with that union to free her true love. It is what Sean wants for her, as he believes himself too broken and dangerous to be right for her. Elle does not agree, but she has honor to consider.

*** Though overly long and feeling almost padded at times, the final chapters have a heart-breaking quality that atones for any excess verbage. Sean and the secondary character of Peter have a poignancy that will bring tears to your eyes. ***

Amanda Killgore