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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Surprisingly great historical fiction! Very well researched and a fun read.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a vintage bodice-ripper romance, with all which that entails. Specific CWs for this book include Spoilermiscarriage, implied sexual assault of a secondary character which happens off-screen, violence and animal death
Set in England in 1194, 21-year-old Rowena of Benfield is abruptly pulled from her cloistered life in a convent when family drama causes her father to disinherit her older sister and name Rowena as his legitimate heir. Her father has arranged for Rowena to marry 36-year-old Lord Rannulf of Graistan. Rannulf reluctantly agrees to the marriage because he is interested in Rowena's huge tracts of land - but he is struck by Rowena's beauty and they share a passionate wedding night. Despite that, the two immediately get off on the wrong foot and Rannulf is glad to be rid of Rowena when he drops her off alone at Graistan while he goes on to fulfill his military service to the king. Rowena finds Graistan to be woefully neglected and haunted by the complicated relationships of Rannulf's family and his conniving sister-in-law, Maeve. Rowena is thrown into the deep end as she must fight establish herself as Lady of Graistan.
...
This was my 2024 "Winter" read. I enjoyed this one! I had no idea how much I love books set in the Middle Ages until I got in to reading historical romance. I could tell that this author went to some efforts to research the medieval period and incorporate historical detail into the characters' day to day lives.
The real stand out in this story is the heroine Rowena. I thought that she was such an interesting character. Rowena is confident, intelligent, and ambitious. She loves her life in the convent because aspires to be an abbess, as she recognizes that being an abbess is one of the few real positions of leadership for women in the Middle Ages. I liked that Rowena was an ambitious women but in a way that still felt believable for her time period. When she becomes the Lady of Graistan through her marriage, she throws herself wholeheartedly into her new position. I really enjoyed reading about Rowena's efforts to whip the keep into shape. This is the second in as many medieval HRs I have read that have featured what can only be described as a "home improvement montage", but honestly I am into it.
The biggest negative in this book for me was that the conflict between Rowena and Rannulf got really old, really fast. Their entire conflict was they simply misunderstood each other and assumed the worst of each other at every opportunity. Considering that this was this author's first book, I'm hopeful that moving forward the books will have better written conflicts.
I was excited when I saw that the rest of the books in the series have Rannulf's brothers as the heroes, because I really enjoyed the two brothers who were featured in this story. I'm looking forward to continuing this series!
Set in England in 1194, 21-year-old Rowena of Benfield is abruptly pulled from her cloistered life in a convent when family drama causes her father to disinherit her older sister and name Rowena as his legitimate heir. Her father has arranged for Rowena to marry 36-year-old Lord Rannulf of Graistan. Rannulf reluctantly agrees to the marriage because he is interested in Rowena's huge tracts of land - but he is struck by Rowena's beauty and they share a passionate wedding night. Despite that, the two immediately get off on the wrong foot and Rannulf is glad to be rid of Rowena when he drops her off alone at Graistan while he goes on to fulfill his military service to the king. Rowena finds Graistan to be woefully neglected and haunted by the complicated relationships of Rannulf's family and his conniving sister-in-law, Maeve. Rowena is thrown into the deep end as she must fight establish herself as Lady of Graistan.
...
This was my 2024 "Winter" read. I enjoyed this one! I had no idea how much I love books set in the Middle Ages until I got in to reading historical romance. I could tell that this author went to some efforts to research the medieval period and incorporate historical detail into the characters' day to day lives.
The real stand out in this story is the heroine Rowena. I thought that she was such an interesting character. Rowena is confident, intelligent, and ambitious. She loves her life in the convent because aspires to be an abbess, as she recognizes that being an abbess is one of the few real positions of leadership for women in the Middle Ages. I liked that Rowena was an ambitious women but in a way that still felt believable for her time period. When she becomes the Lady of Graistan through her marriage, she throws herself wholeheartedly into her new position. I really enjoyed reading about Rowena's efforts to whip the keep into shape. This is the second in as many medieval HRs I have read that have featured what can only be described as a "home improvement montage", but honestly I am into it.
The biggest negative in this book for me was that the conflict between Rowena and Rannulf got really old, really fast. Their entire conflict was they simply misunderstood each other and assumed the worst of each other at every opportunity. Considering that this was this author's first book, I'm hopeful that moving forward the books will have better written conflicts.
I was excited when I saw that the rest of the books in the series have Rannulf's brothers as the heroes, because I really enjoyed the two brothers who were featured in this story. I'm looking forward to continuing this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Minor: Animal death, Sexual violence
I purchased [b:The Seasons Series|16126646|The Seasons Series|Denise Domning|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352753881s/16126646.jpg|21950460], but I'll rate these guys one at a time, because, damn, they are 5 entire, actual books.
Winter's Heat was a nice romance, definitely not erotica or overly smutty, but the classic historical bodice ripper.
What was great about this book? The female lead wasn't "broken." She hadn't been beaten and abused, a victim of rape or some sort of other character that needed "saving" by the male lead. Which would have gotten this book 4 stars for me, except...
Baby drama. The female lead does, in fact, get pregnant quickly and we spend entirely too much time worrying about her and her baby. It's just annoying and something I don't enjoy in a romance book.
The author did a great job of balancing romance and plot with historical details. This clearly takes place in the dark ages, life isn't overly pretty for a minor noble, and I do have a liking for historical settings.
The female lead is all kinds of fiery and stubborn. She has her life set before her when she's stuck into a marriage she doesn't want because her father wants to get back at her mother (whose firstborn is a bastard). He marries her off to a lord better off than he, and of course the lord in question is all about her huge tracts of land (no really ;) ). The male lead ends up liking her because she's awesome. However, they are both temperamental, and he's broken and they don't trust each other. Lots of misunderstandings ensue, and just when you wonder when they'll bother to actually talk to each other and stop with the high drama, they do, and can engage in other plot shenanigans.
So far, the pittance I spent on the entire series was less than this book is totally worth, so I win. Let's just hope that the rest of the series follows as well.
ETA: I forgot to add. I read this on kindle. The chapter headings are not a larger font, but appear to be actual image files. I was using the kindle app on my phone to read it, and to reduce eye strain, I use a black background with white text. Since the graphic isn't transparent, but assumes a white background, it was very glaring. It's not a big issue, just a minor annoyance for anyone that reads like I do.
Winter's Heat was a nice romance, definitely not erotica or overly smutty, but the classic historical bodice ripper.
What was great about this book? The female lead wasn't "broken." She hadn't been beaten and abused, a victim of rape or some sort of other character that needed "saving" by the male lead. Which would have gotten this book 4 stars for me, except...
Baby drama. The female lead does, in fact, get pregnant quickly and we spend entirely too much time worrying about her and her baby
Spoiler
which she does lose at a dramatic moment, of courseThe author did a great job of balancing romance and plot with historical details. This clearly takes place in the dark ages, life isn't overly pretty for a minor noble, and I do have a liking for historical settings.
The female lead is all kinds of fiery and stubborn. She has her life set before her when she's stuck into a marriage she doesn't want because her father wants to get back at her mother (whose firstborn is a bastard). He marries her off to a lord better off than he, and of course the lord in question is all about her huge tracts of land (no really ;) ). The male lead ends up liking her because she's awesome. However, they are both temperamental, and he's broken and they don't trust each other. Lots of misunderstandings ensue, and just when you wonder when they'll bother to actually talk to each other and stop with the high drama, they do, and can engage in other plot shenanigans.
So far, the pittance I spent on the entire series was less than this book is totally worth, so I win. Let's just hope that the rest of the series follows as well.
ETA: I forgot to add. I read this on kindle. The chapter headings are not a larger font, but appear to be actual image files. I was using the kindle app on my phone to read it, and to reduce eye strain, I use a black background with white text. Since the graphic isn't transparent, but assumes a white background, it was very glaring. It's not a big issue, just a minor annoyance for anyone that reads like I do.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hard to believe that this was the author's first book: it's so polished and well written. The author obviously did her research. She's able to place the reader in the time period without having her writing sound like a textbook.
Great character development as well as an interesting plot. Rowena was a marvelous heroine. No TSTL behaviour or childish tantrums from her. I loved her.
I rated this four stars instead of five because the hero was a bit of prick for a good 2/3rds of the book. He constantly thought badly of the heroine, and didn't treat her very well for a long time. I wanted to clunk him over the head with something for a lot of the novel.
Great character development as well as an interesting plot. Rowena was a marvelous heroine. No TSTL behaviour or childish tantrums from her. I loved her.
I rated this four stars instead of five because the hero was a bit of prick for a good 2/3rds of the book. He constantly thought badly of the heroine, and didn't treat her very well for a long time. I wanted to clunk him over the head with something for a lot of the novel.
Mini Review:
A medieval romance that takes medieval life seriously is usually one I enjoy, but Winter's Heat fell a bit flat for me. Rowena is forced into marriage with Lord Rannulf of Graistan. After a quick consummation, Rannulf leaves Rowena at his castle to deal with his surly servants, evil sister-in-law, Maeve, and young son.
After more than 30% into the book, I realized that the hero was nowhere to be found, and I was ok with that. I enjoyed reading about Rowena's attempts to turn Rannulf's pigsty into a liveable home. Unfortunately once Rannulf re-enters the picture, the book doesn't get better. Rannulf mistrusts his capable wife and only believes Maeve's ridiculous lies. This book reminded me of the worst of Johanna Lindsey's romances, with the hero and heroine bickering for no real reason, refusing to engage in basic communication and making lots of love even though they hate each other.
As this was Domning's first book, I'm willing to forgive the unsatisfying romance and read on to the next book in the Graistan series, as I did appreciate the historical authenticity. Hopefully the characterization and romance is better handled in her later works.
2 1/2 stars
A medieval romance that takes medieval life seriously is usually one I enjoy, but Winter's Heat fell a bit flat for me. Rowena is forced into marriage with Lord Rannulf of Graistan. After a quick consummation, Rannulf leaves Rowena at his castle to deal with his surly servants, evil sister-in-law, Maeve, and young son.
After more than 30% into the book, I realized that the hero was nowhere to be found, and I was ok with that. I enjoyed reading about Rowena's attempts to turn Rannulf's pigsty into a liveable home. Unfortunately once Rannulf re-enters the picture, the book doesn't get better. Rannulf mistrusts his capable wife and only believes Maeve's ridiculous lies. This book reminded me of the worst of Johanna Lindsey's romances, with the hero and heroine bickering for no real reason, refusing to engage in basic communication and making lots of love even though they hate each other.
As this was Domning's first book, I'm willing to forgive the unsatisfying romance and read on to the next book in the Graistan series, as I did appreciate the historical authenticity. Hopefully the characterization and romance is better handled in her later works.
2 1/2 stars
Note that this is more like 4.5 stars for a romance, for which I have laxer standards. I really liked that this book seemed very historically accurate. The plot did not necessarily hinge on whether you like the characters or not, but rather it seemed to give a glimpse into the often difficult choices women had to make during the medieval period, which left them with a more limited set of options by which to pursue their happiness. Moreover, I liked the plot's pacing, which was much slower and more descriptive than many romances. It really hinged upon the descriptions of what the heroine is doing in her daily task. Finally, I liked that the sex scenes were not the dominating force of the book, as they are in many romances. Instead, most are fade-to-black, and otherwise they focus more on the feelings of those involved rather than graphically describing the physical actions.
The only part that particularly irked me was the ending, in which a major plot point remains unresolved (perhaps to be resolved later in the series). The book's pacing became too quick there, completely different from the rest of the text.
The only part that particularly irked me was the ending, in which a major plot point remains unresolved (perhaps to be resolved later in the series). The book's pacing became too quick there, completely different from the rest of the text.