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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Very Favorite Putney Book Ever!, September 29, 1999
By A Customer
Possibly THE most incredible love story I've ever read. It's about obsession, possession, an all-consuming love, and forgiveness. It was love at first sight. Adrian believed that the Lady Meriel was the only thing that could dispel the darkness in his soul. You watch helplessly, as Adrian struggles unsuccessfully to express his love for Meriel and cry for them as his attempts threaten to smother and destroy the very object of his desire. The emotional turmult that causes Meriel to prefer death over domination leads the guilt-stricken Adrian to finally realize that only in the love that is freely given can they find the freedom to enjoy the incredible love that joins their souls. Well written. It took my breath away! BRAVO!
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly unforgettable mediaeval romance, September 6, 2000
Like some other reviewers, I am very familiar with MJP's work through her wonderful Regency-period novels, in particular the Fallen Angels series. I was a little reluctant to read Uncommon Vows because, although I have read some books set in the middle ages (Edith Pargeter's compelling novels, for example), it's not my favourite period. Putney, again, impresses me immensely with the quality of her research. It's impressive enough when a British author's attention to detail and accuracy is good; it's amazing to see an American writer, writing for a mainly US audience, who takes such care with her research. I learned a lot about the Stephen/Matilda period I never knew! A couple of reviewers comment that Adrian ia harsh and refer to him as a 'psycho'. Clearly they know nothing about the historical period in question, and are judging him by contemporary males. Up until this century, women were only valuable as the property of men. Men could do what they liked with their wives and daughters, and women of the lower classes were fair game. Actually, Meriel was treated amazingly well as a captive, and even though Adrian's behaviour was sometimes harsh, he never - as Meriel herself recognised much later - actually hurt her. His emotions were running riot where she was concerned; he was completely unable to express his feelings or convince her that he loved her; but he never completely lost control. I found both Adrian's mental torment and Meriel's determination to resist seduction utterly convincing. Both had almost taken religious orders; naturally, their faith played a very strong role in their lives, even more than other people in a world where religion was very important. Adrian's attempts to show Meriel how kind and considerate he could be and how well they got on together were wonderful to read; and his confusion and bitterness each time he discovered that she was only looking for a chance to escape was heart-wrenching. The lead-up to Meriel's plunge from the window was so well written. My heart ached for both of them, and it almost stopped beating as she grabbed Adrian's dagger, he grabbed it back and she ran for the window. And then, afterwards, as he held her thinking she was dying, I had tears in my eyes. The amnesia element was completely credible, and - as another reviewer pointed out - Meriel's character was essentially the same. She didn't know anything about Adrian to make her afraid of him, so she allowed herself to recognise what her heart had known all along: she could love him. This is just a simply wonderful book, and I can't think why Putney hasn't written more in this time-period. She does it so well. Oh, and like another reviewer, I wondered about Richard; I was going to check this site for a sequel, until I noticed the book's publication date. I did suspect that Putney was going to give us a secondary romance, given what Adrian asked Richard to do in the end, together with what we'd been told about the widow he was to help [see - no spoilers!]. And I also wondered about Alan, Meriel's brother, who was portrayed as a likeable man. Mary Jo Putney, if you ever read these reviews, do think about revisiting Alan and Richard, please!
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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed feelings..., August 20, 2001
I am a Mary Jo Putney fan, and am busy collecting all her books set in the Regeny, not to mention her Silk trilogy and Bride series. Generally, I admire her inventive plotting, her very interested (and often tortured) heroes and heroines, not to mention her beautiful style of writing. Unfortunately, I also like some consistency in the way characters think and act - and for medieval romances, I have an especially high standard. I picked this book mainly because it was a medieval by Mary Jo Putney. Having read two of Jo Beverley's three medievals, I wondered what one of my favorite writers would do with the medieval period. Unfortunately, although the book is well-written and some of its characters are very intriguing, I cannot recommend this as highly as I wanted to, especially to fans of the medieval period in romance and historical fiction. It is not that the hero is inauthentic. Yes, he is harsh at times, but he is also a lot kinder than the typical noble of his day would have been [compare how Adrian treats Meriel, who claims to be a Welsh commoner caught in the Royal Forest, with the treatment meted out to serf women and slaves by noblemen in Ellis Peters's Cadfael series]. One of the problems I have with this book is the high rank given to the hero - as Earl of Shropshire. Yes, there was no earl in Shropshire, given that a great earl (the founder of Shrewsbury Abbey) had died and his descendants had committed treason. But the earls would have been styled "of Shrewsbury" not "of Shropshire" if an earl had been created from a different family. Earldoms were not usually granted under the conditions described in the book as well - even allowing for the creation for rival earls. This for me was one of the first historically inauthentic notes. I would have preferred to have seen Adrian remain a baron; it would not have lessened the force of the story, and the distance between him (a great baron) and the daughter of a minor knight would still have been considerable. The family name of the heroine is also slightly problematic for me, but this and the title issue are minor problems compared to the way Meriel behaves. I loved the beginning of the story, and the decision to have both the hero and heroine come from strongly religious backgrounds. The evolution of Meriel from a novice to the sister of a minor knight with his own small manor was indeed interesting. Right upto the point where Meriel was captured in the Royal Forest, I was with her and the hero. This is the point where things started to fall apart. I simply could not believe that Meriel would choose to claim herself as a Welsh commoner, rather than a noble lady of Norman birth. Even in this time (a period of unusual strife), noblewomen who fell into the hands of the opposing side were treated much better than were peasants. It would have been excusable for Meriel to make the mistake she did (in concealing her identity) if she had just come out of the convent. But she had been out of the convent for several years. Not only did her decision make no sense, it actually put her in greater danger. Even a wicked and brutal baron such as the villain would prefer a good ransom for a young noblewoman to the temporary pleasures of ravishing her. [Knights and squires were usually held for ransom, and not killed]. Furthermore, Meriel had plenty of time to find out whether the Earl was indeed a wicked man or not, and his actions did not seem to point to him as a wicked man, in the context of *his* times. Again, if she had been a novice just released from her vows, her inability to judge men would have made sense. The worst part was when she chose to throw herself into the river, rather than accept an honorable offer of marriage. Yes, she had been overwrought considering the fate of virgin martyrs, but the Earl was not a pagan, not of an unknown race or family. Her actions struck me as silly and self-serving, as much as her refusal to acknowledge her real identity was not only silly, but cruel to those who thought her dead. At this point, I completely lost sympathy for the heroine. The rest of the story was thus an anti-climax. It is one thing reading a story about a fairly self-centered heroine. It is quite another thing reading about a heroine who reveals herself to be anything but sensible and thoughtful of others. Frankly, I did not feel that Meriel deserved Adrian, even though I could not applaud his actions. Yes, he did not behave well, but he behaved quite well by the light of his times. And Meriel? She was simply too stupid to live.
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