Customer Reviews

Tender the Storm

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TENDER THE STORM is the first novel of a trilogy by Thornton dealing with three siblings of the Devereux family during the tumultuous revolutionary period in the history of France. This was Zoe's story, the youngest daughter, though 17 because of her diminutive size she was able to pose as a schoolgirl of thirteen. Together, with a man she knew only as Rolphe, they fled across wartorn France to England. She was whisked away to a safe house with other French immigrants. Weeks later she would meet up with Rolphe again as he discovers that the 'child' he rescued was really a very beautiful young lady - only in his mind, he still saw her as the child. The attraction is there, and thinking to save her from the London streets Rolphe, Marquess of Rivard, makes her his wife, in name only, then abandoned her to his country estate and a less than enthusiastic mother-in-law. Zoe did her best, to live up to the role, as she was in love with her husband and the ideal she had painted of him as her stalwart rescuer.

After an unfortunate incident of mistaken identities, a heart broken Zoe, takes the initiative and returns to France to nurse her broken heart, whereupon she divorces Rolphe and blossoms into the toast of the new French society. In the meantime, Rolphe has survived an assassination attempt and it is months before anyone tells him that she's left him.

Underneath the romance, in which Rolph proves to be a real 'jackass' (not having a clue as to what ails his wife) there are the undercurrents of the espionage, secret societies, treachery, and greed which is brilliantly portrayed by this amazing author. If I were to rate this book based on liking the hero who simply acted like a 'man' - clueless in terms of recognizing what was going on in his life - yes I would not like this. Instead I see a sweeping novel with a slice of real history and a romance that took some time to come to it's enviable and sensual conclusion. I was not disappointed. I loved the rich characterizations of the players in this story and look forward to the next book in this trilogy.

Sometimes my family teases me unmercifully because I happen to be a feminist who enjoys reading Regency romance novels. Well, even feminists need to (sometimes) escape into a realm full of romantic make-believe, where the heroine (in spite of the odds) wins the heart of the dashing hero, and where romance hero not only leaves you weak at the knees but also doesn't inspire you to commit acts of violence. Unfortunately, the hero of "Tender the Storm" (Rolfe Brockford, the Marquis of Rivard) turned to be exactly the kind of hero that inspires a headache, and leaves you wishing he'd fallen into a hole somewhere and was never rescued.

"Tender the Storm" was first published in the early 1990s, and is the first novel in a trilogy that follows the adventures and fortunes of three French aristocratic siblings during the French Revolution. This first installment deals with Zoe, the youngest of the Deveraux siblings, who flees France, in the company of our hero (who is part of a network that rescues innocents from the guillotine) disguised as a school girl. From the very beginning Rolfe is attracted Zoe, but deciding that she is a young unsullied innocent and not for him, tries to put her from his mind. A couple of months later, however, Rolfe runs across Zoe in London, and makes it point to reacquaint himself with her. Unfortunately, because of his attentions Zoe becomes the object of the betting books when everyone starts betting on how long it will be before she ends up becoming Rolfe's mistress: Rolfe, you see, happens to have the reputation of a shameless rake. Angry, and determined to salvage Zoe's honour, Rolfe proposes marriage to Zoe. And she, because she's totally in love with her dashing rescuer, accepts happily. Unfortunately, instead of the happily ever-after ending Zoe was looking for, she has put up with being an abandoned and ignored bride, who is left in the country with an incredibly hostile mother-in-law, while her husband cavorts in town. (Rolfe's thinks that his wife is too young for marital relationships and has decided to keep his mistress until Zoe is 'ready' to be his wife.) How will Zoe cope? Well, what Zoe does next definitely sets the cats among the pigeons as Rolfe discovers that he will have to fight to regain his wife's trust and affections...

Whether or not you enjoy this novel is going to depend on just how sympathetic you find Rolfe. Actually, he's starts off rather well, and is portrayed as being intelligent, daring and terribly efficient. It's only after he's married to Zoe that he suddenly becomes an incredibly selfish and autocratic oaf. I was not surprised by Zoe's actions at all. I only wondered why it took her so long! But if Rolfe made me feel bilious for much of the book, he made me nauseous in the manner in which he dealt with his (errant) wife once he caught up with her. I mean to actually bed her in spite of her protests to the contrary (all right she did succumb in the end, but it still made for uncomfortable reading, and did read like marital rape to me) in order to assert his authority over her? Either you must bend to my will or I will break you -- Rolfe warns Zoe. This is supposed to be romantic? Either my understanding of romance and love is in error, or else someone somewhere finds such scenes to be really erotically titillating! Our hero (or the authour) obviously never read Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Tale" or else the lesson never hit home. As for the heroine of this (very dated piece), Zoe Deveraux, while I rather liked her, I did long to shake some sense into the woman when she kept forgiving the caveman she had married and allowed him to run rough shod over her feeling and good sense.

In my opinion, a romance hero shouldn't behave like Rolfe at all. And I know that I'm not alone in this since I've come across a great many books where the hero is not only debonair and dashing but also displays a level of sensitivity that I've found to be rather attractive and very romantic. And I rather wished that along with the decision to republish this novel, an editor somewhere had suggested that bits of the novel be rewritten as well. In my opinion, "Tender the Storm," is not a very romantic read at all.

I was surprised to see the generally very negative reviews. I thought this was a very good read. The doll incident was a laugh-out-loud moment, and the identity of Le Patron wasn't one I expected. Some might dislike the hero, Rolfe, for his Neaderthal views on the place of women in society, but I found him realistically portrayed for precisely that reason. He merely reflected the views of men two hundred years ago (sad to say, some men in the 21st century hold similar views!) He was patronising, high-handed and smug, butwas rather endearing in his way. A sensitive, new-age guy, he wasn't. Zoe was also protrayed realistically. Although I enjoy kick-ass heroines a la Jennifer Garner's character in "Alias", the truth is, most 18th and 19th century women were more like Zoe than our modern misses with their rights and opportunities. Nonetheless, Zoe was very likeable for her quiet strength and honesty, not to mention a hidden temper, that could be nasty. I liked the fact that she was aware of her early hero-worship/infatuation, and that she was strong enough to go beyond it -- to make a break and to divorce Rolfe. She took control of her life to the extent that she was able to under the societal mores of her times, in other words.

This book is worth reading.

I thought this was a great read!! It had many twists and turns in its plot everytime I thought I knew what was going to happen next, this was a surprise waiting on the next page. Its a great escape your dull or busy life book. You get totally engrossed in zoe and Rolfe's life and cheer on their romance one minute curse them for not getting together sooner. And finally at the end everybody's happy. It's a great story.

"Zoe Deveraux is seventeen, though disguised as a schoolgirl, when she is spirited ouf of France by Rolphe Brockford, Marquess of Rivard. Posing as a Revolutionary, Rolphe is on a mission to rescue innocents from the bloddy horrors of the guillotine. And rescue Zoe he does, though he hasn't a notion what to do with her upon reaching London..." As you tell by the premise, this period adventure includes a touch of humor.

This saga was long winded and just droned on. Rolfe's inability to see Zoe as a young woman after she's shed her disguise is a bit far-fetched and the whole story is colored by the semi-rape love scenes. Not nearly up to the standard of her other books.

Elizabeth Thornton writes great fiction. Obviously English-school trained where language arts are important. However, this is not one of her best. Too long, too long-winded, too detailed.
Read other reviews for plot-lines as I am concerned only with writing styles. Actually, the two protagonists hardly caused a ripple in my reading hours, but I continue to look for her books as they are usually way above the rest! Sentence structure, interesting plots, mature writing style and romance without all the usual "thoughts" and clutter. I admire Elizabeth Thornton's style.