Surrender the Stars (Ballad Romances) [Mass Market Paperback]

Linda L. Castle (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ballad (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821772678
• ISBN-13: 978-0821772676
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,314,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Linda Lea Castle is always a good read, August 15, 2002

By 

J. Martin (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Surrender the Stars (Ballad Romances) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to start out this review by stating that I absolutely adored this novel. Linda Lea Castle has been put on the top of my must read list. Ms. Castle has a talent for story-telling that far surpasses many authors today. The characters became like friends and I hope I get to visit them again soon.

Aislinn of Sevenoaks truly wants to be wed. She wants to know love and to have a family, but after four husbands perish on their wedding nights, Aislinn believes she is cursed. Yet the King decrees she must wed, and a fifth potential husband is sent to Sevenoaks.

Baron Desmond du Luc wants a young, nubile wife who will love him and beget him many children. However, he knows he must do as the king decrees and he prepares to wed The Poison Flower, who he assumes after the deaths of four husbands, must be an aging crone. On his arrival at Sevenoaks, his future wife remains in her chambers, apparently still in mourning. But what intrigues him the most is the young beauty he meets in the maze in the garden. Night after night they meet and he wishes that she could be the one he marries.

Aislinn meets her future husband in secret nightly, but never tells him the truth of her identity. She begins to fall in love with him and becomes even more determined not to marry him, for she cannot handle the idea of her curse killing him. When her true identity is revealed, Desmond does not believe he can trust her. After learning more about her previous husbands, Desmond believes that someone had murdered them for a mysterious secret treasure supposedly hidden inside of Sevenoaks. Aislinn in turns believes she cannot trust him because he acts secretive and asks many questions about a treasure. However, their original mutual attraction still holds strong. They have to learn to trust each other, before the murderer of Sevenoaks can strike again.

Aislinn and Desmond's relationship is powerful and very sexy. As their powerful lust for each other turns into caring and love, the reader can't help but fall in love along with them. Ms. Castle has deftly weaved a powerful love story with intrigue, mystery and suspense for a perfect read. I can't recommend this highly enough! I can't wait to read the rest of The Vaudry series!

3.0 out of 5 stars Good mystery, September 15, 2009

By 

Flower Girl (MN, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surrender the Stars (Ballad Romances) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first book by Ms. Castle, while I truly enjoyed the mystery plot--it was intriguing and engaging, but I couldn't quite enjoy Ms. Castle's way of portraying the personal relationship between the two main characters. I couldn't quite understand why Desmond originally felt he admired and respected Aislinn's courage, but later was rude and refused to share any information about his investigation with her; And Aislinn became stubborn and was adamant about not revealing her feelings towards Desmond, while they were both unyieldingly waiting for the other to first say "I love you"...This was to a point that I felt they were both childish and nonsensical; Of course, this did not hinder their desire for each other, which made me wonder if it was author's intention of putting more love scenes by prolonging these misunderstandings? I thought this was unnecessarily long.

I liked the first half of the book and last few pages, when they actually put all the puzzles together, I thought they were romantic and almost poetical, but their relationships were too volatile for my taste.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Truely enjoyable, July 18, 2002

By 

C. S. "pirate lover" (Roseville, Ca. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Surrender the Stars (Ballad Romances) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was listed as VERY sensual in the Romantic Times magazine so I was expecting a little more sex..sex...sex...It was hot and sizzling at times and had some good sex scenes between Desmond and the Poison Flower.
I was hooked after the 3rd page. It was nice that it had intrigue, suspense, loyalty ,wit and characters that you could really enjoy.
Aislinn was beautiful inside and out; plus Desmond was intelligent and determined to find all the anwers to so many mysteries.
The story is well written; fairly predictable, but fun and you feel good after reading it.
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed a romantic romp through castles and gardens with stolen kisses in the moon light.
I'm not used to writing reviews, so pardon my skill at doing this one. I just hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.