Susan King (1)Rezensionen

La joven Emlyn de Ashbourne ha visto cómo el rey encarcelaba a su hermano mayor y daba órdenes para que las propiedades de la familia pasaran a manos del perverso conde de Graymere. Y si nadie lo impide, la forzarán a casarse con él. Sólo una persona es capaz de enfrentarse al conde: Espina Negra, un personaje de leyenda, un hombre al que todos daban por muerto, un caballero del que Emlyn se enamorará perdidamente.
Los barones de la Inglaterra del siglo XIII están enfrentados a un rey déspota y codicioso que expolia y encarcela a aquellos que no le son afines. Ha confinado en prisión a Guy, barón de Ashbourne, y ha puesto a su familia bajo la tutela del barón de Hawksmoor. El mundo de Emlyn se viene abajo; su vida, y la de sus hermanos pequeños, sólo unos niños, está en manos de un conde atroz de quien se dice que dejó morir a su propia esposa.
Recorría los bosques de Ashbourne para poner freno a las tropelías de lord Halcón Blanco, conde de Graymere. Su mera presencia atemorizaba las huestes del conde y proporcionaba paz a los campesinos. Le dieron por muerto tras una escaramuza, pero ‘resucitaría’ años más tarde, justo a tiempo para oponerse a la última ofensiva de Halcón Blanco por hacerse con el control absoluto de la región. Y para pagar una deuda pendiente con la familia de Emlyn.

My reason for abandoning this book after just a few pages

The heroine notices a man approaching and greets him.

Heroine:"Are you one of the fabled fey knights that have been known to roam this fair land?"
Hero:"Ummm..no.The king sent me."

*akward silence*

Im paraphrasing of course.But while I may enjoy some quirks in my historical romance heroines personalities...hers just came out completely ridicilous.

Sometimes a man is just a man .I could have understood if he did something magical to make her believe he was from out of this world.But the fact remains that he didnt.

Enjoyable read. A couple of irritations: Emlyn doesn't recognize Nicholas when he appears as Thorne but even after she marries Thorne, it takes forever to realize he is Nicholas! Also the wrap up at the end is just too sweet!

One odd thing about the listed order of the series is that Jamie and Isobel(Laird of the Wind) are already together when this book takes place. It looks like it should be The Stone Maiden, Laird of the Wind, The Swan Maiden and the Sword Maiden, according to their timelines.

This book was going to be a win-win for me because I’m new to only one of the authors in this anthology, Susan King and MJP and PR are my all time favorite authors and I’m in process of hunting down their back list for my Keeper shelf.

Plus, you can’t beat the free recipes that all of them are offering at the end of their stories: Oatmeal Brose, Potato Kale Soup, and Lamb’s Wool Punch may not grace my table this Christmas, but they sure were fun to read.

Here are my thoughts on their stories:

‘The Snow Rose’ by Susan King
Catriona MacDonald is determent to gain the rights from her uncle to her family’s estate and the only man that can help her is a Laird of an enemy clan, the Frasers.

The Laird isn’t much inclined to engage a MacDonald into a fight over a woman’s fancy, so he declines to aid her, but a warrior in his Hall feels that he might offer at least some help to a woman who’s left to fetch for herself in the middle of a winter storm.

My fellow reviewer Leah’s been the catalyst for me to start reading more Medieval romances, and this one’s very fast pacing and so heartwarming that will melt your heart, especially when you find out why Catriona chooses to live alone.

Kenneth was an Alpha male all the way, but still managed to be caring and smart; strong and loyal.

I’ve never been to Scotland but Ms. King did such a great job in describing the world of 16th Century in which Catriona lived in that I may as well have been there with her.

‘The Snow Rose’ will melt your heart!

‘The Black Beast of Belleterre’ by Mary Jo Putney
MJP does a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ so well in this short tale that you won’t even notice it’s a short story.

Lord Falconer is blessed with wealth and vast holdings, but not with good looks.

As a child he suffered an accident which left him disfigured, so he’s been hiding behind a hood. He long ago accepted his fate, and knew that he’d never feel the love of a woman or his child’s small hands around his neck.

Melanie for b2b
Book provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Thank you to eBook Discovery for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not having read book one of the series and never having read any of Susan King’s book I was hoping for an interesting historical romance set in Scotland – and – that is just what I found in this novel.

Mairie Macrae’s brother Iain was captured, accused of treason and is being held in jail. Mairie is determined to keep Iain from the hangman’s noose and is willing to break the law to do so. With reivers, thieves and others out to thwart her her task is not simple. When she waylays Rowan Scott, newly dubbed deputy to the warden holding her brother, she realizes she might be in over her head. She does her best to get Rowan on her side but he is dealing with his own issues so does not make it easy. Rowan and Mairie are drawn to one another but with spies to find, brothers to save, Spanish gold gone missing, a child to bring home and a magic mirror to deal with they are definitely kept busy.

This book reminds me of other historical romances set in this time period and location. Both Mairie and Rowan are strong characters who will do what needs to be done. I enjoyed the story and felt the conclusion was well handled. I do have to say that this book is more fantasy than fact based reality but it was an enjoyable way to spend the day.

I love romance's like this one. A heroine finds her hero when she is so much younger and then years later the two meet again not knowing that they are one and the same. The time period is a difficult one for me to understand, I guess i'm all about the modern woman and choosing for yourself your future. And when Emyln is forced to give up her home, her siblings and her chance at a marriage for love, well I find it cruel of a king to demand such things. But Emyln knows she must do what is expected in order to save her home and the children taken from her. She will sacrifice all for the greater good. But her sacrifice turns out to be not so hard to deal with after all. She is kidnapped before her betrothal can take place and falls for a otherworldly man who is holding a great secret from her. A secret that could either turn her against him or bring her into his arms.½

Not a bad Scottish medieval, but a trifle on the dull side.

http://ktleyed.blogspot.com/2010/08/stone-maiden-by-susan-king.html½

In The Swan Maiden, King, takes the reader back to the Scottish epic scenarios, where the most rebellious and courageous girl, and the most noble and remarkable knight are almost predestined to meet and fall hopelessly in love with each other, but the old torture technique is forced upon them: they have what it seems like impossible choices to make. Throughout most of the book, both Juliana and Gawain have to constantly face the dilemma of choosing between the reason and the heart, because the combination of the two seem inconceivable to them, and it's interesting -and often humorous-, to watch this, as both heart and reason have equally valid reasons (such as family, homeland, honor, self-preservation, and so on) that can weigh the same on the scale of the final decision.
I loved this book, couldn't put it down and would recommend it to medieval historical romance fans everywhere, even if this is a difficult title to get -looks like it's out of print! :(

Adorei!

The Stone Maiden é o primeiro volume da chamada Maiden Trilogy de Susan King. No entanto parece-me que cada volume pode ser lido separadamente, pois o fio das histórias não têm qualquer ligação que obrigue a ler as três para se atingir um conceito mais abrangente. Aliás, depois de andar a esmiuçar os vários títulos assinados pela autora percebi que ela inclusive interliga certos volumes de uma colecção, com outro livro que escreveu separadamente, criando uma nova colecção. Se é que me faço entender.
Trocadilhos à parte, vou explicar o que Adorei!
Em suma, tudo. Os cenários, os personagens, a estória e a história, o romance, a acção, os diálogos, os dilemas, etc. King consegue conjugar tudo de tal maneira que bem podemos estar a ler simples letras pretas em papel branco, que é um filme colorido em HD que se vai desenrolar naturalmente à frente dos nossos olhos, enquanto o fazemos.
Alainna MacLaren, uma protagonista digna do título, é corajosa, altruísta, dócil, e não fosse ela uma escocesa de cabelos ruivos, insubmissa quanto baste. Chefe de um clã de linhagem muito antiga, mas enfraquecido por um guerra interminável com o vizinho do lado, é constantemente angustiada com a perpetuação do nome MacLaren. É por isso, e por se ver ameaçada e assediada pelo inimigo logo ali ao lado, que certo dia se apresenta na corte do rei e apela à sua ajuda. Alainna deve desposar um guerreiro capaz de fazer frente ao inimigo; pois o rei envia-lhe, Sebastien.
Confesso que os casamentos arranjados estão entre os meus temas preferidos na secção, Para Dar Umas Boas Gargalhadas. Então quando ambas as partes não se podem ver à frente durante uma bom bocado, melhor ainda.
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Loved it.

The Stone Maiden is the first volume of the Maiden Trilogy by Susan King. However, it seems to me that each volume can be read separately, as the stories have no direct connection that requires reading the three to reach a broader concept. In fact, after scrutinizing the author’s work I noticed she even links certain volumes of a collection, with another book she wrote separately, creating a new collection. If I made myself clear.
Puns aside, I'll explain what I loved.
In short, everything. The scenery, the characters, the story and the history, the romance, the action, the dialogues, the dilemmas, etc.. King can put it all together so that we may well be reading simple black letters put together over white paper, but it’s a HD, color film that will unfold itself naturally in front of our eyes, as we do it.
Alainna MacLaren, a main character worthy of the title, is courageous, selfless, gentle, and was she not a Scottish red haired woman, insubordinated. Head of a clan of very ancient lineage, but weakened by an endless war with the evil neighbor, is constantly anxious about the perpetuation of the name MacLaren. That is why, one day, she presents herself at the royal court and calls for the king's help. Alainna is to marry a warrior able to deal with the enemy; and so the king sends her, Sebastien.
I confess that arranged marriages are among my favourite subjects in the section: To Laugh (in a good way). And if both sides can not get along for a great part of the book, even better.½

So I am a Pictish addict and this book came up on a search for "pictish." That is my only defense. It is an amusing bodice-ripper set in (IIRC) Victorian Scotland where (of course) a prim and proper lady archeologist falls in love with the local handsome brooding laird and solves the mystery of the Picts (AND worse, but that's a spoiler...). Gack. Amusing with no historical value whatsoever.

Ok historical romance set in 12th century Scotland. None of the characters really engaged me.