The Stolen Bride (de Warenne Dynasty) [Mass Market Paperback]

Brenda Joyce (Author)

Book Description

Series: de Warenne Dynasty | Publication Date: October 1, 2006

Sean O'Neill was once everything to Eleanor de Warenne--but since he disappeared from his ancestral home, there has been no word, and even Eleanor has abandoned hope, promising her hand to another. Then, just days before her wedding, Sean reappears…but the boy who was once her protector is now a stranger, hardened by prison and on the run.

Weary and haunted, Sean is shocked to find that little Elle has become the beautiful, desirable Eleanor. Though he refuses to endanger her by pressing his claim, his resolve to stay away is sorely tested by the determination of a woman who will not be forsaken again. And when, in a moment's passion, Sean steals another man's bride, it is Eleanor who has the power to steal his heart…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This third volume of Joyce's popular de Warenne dynasty (following The Masquerade) features impetuous and independent de Warenne daughter Eleanor, betrothed to a kind, decent and well-connected Englishman, Peter Sinclair. As might be expected, her heart belongs to another: her half-brother and best friend Sean O'Neill, who disappeared from their Irish estate four years earlier. Now, with her wedding just days away, Eleanor learns that Sean has been rotting in prison for two years, convicted on charges of treason—and that he's just escaped. Sean's plan is to sail for freedom in America, but he's compelled to return home first, ostensibly to offer his farewells to Eleanor. Things don't turn out quite so simple: though already in her wedding gown, Eleanor forgets her fiancé and flees with Sean in front of 200 wedding guests. Pursued by the authorities, the family and the in-laws, the fugitive couple navigates a tense, twisting plot as well as the treacherous emotional territory between them. Sean, damaged from his years in isolation, is a strong and mysterious lead, and Eleanor is more than his match; Joyce's characters carry considerable emotional weight, which keeps this hefty entry absorbing, and her fast-paced story keeps the pages turning. (Oct.)
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Review

". . . dances on slippered feet . . . Joyce's tale of the dangers and delights of passion fulfilled will enchant." -- Publishers Weekly on The Masquerade

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: HQN Books; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373771843
• ISBN-13: 978-0373771844
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #571,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Authors, A-Z > ( J ) > Joyce, Brenda

More About the Author

Brenda Joyce is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of fourty-nine novels and five novellas. There are over fourteen million copies of her novels in print and she is published in over a dozen foreign countries. A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs and numerous Arabian and Half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions' writing powerful love stories and her quest to become a nationally ranked Top Ten equestrian. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her websites: www.brendajoyce.com, www.francescacahillseries.com www.thedewarennedynasty.com and www.mastersoftimebooks.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Stepsiblings in love.....ICK!, September 27, 2006

By 

Viv (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stolen Bride (de Warenne Dynasty) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars such a disappointment, December 16, 2006

By 

ec1120 (brooklyn, ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stolen Bride (de Warenne Dynasty) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Annoying Characters, September 24, 2006

By 

loonigrrl (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Stolen Bride (de Warenne Dynasty) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.