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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
I cannot endorse a book that condones rape and abuse. There is no way in hell that a person would have that much “passion” and “lust” and eventually love for their rapist. Not unless there is brainwashing involved anyway. Completely ridiculous book. I finished the book because I was told to trust the process and the book is about a feminist who holds her own, and that the book is about the strength of a woman. Heck no. Nothing strong about falling in love with your rapist/abuser. I don’t care if this book is written about “a different time period”....no. Just no. The man is a complete douche bag.
Jesus. I don't even know what to say about this book. Other than, I kinda hated it.
The only redeeming quality is that I'm trying to read the entire Montgomery-Taggert series in order and this was next up. But god dangit, the hero sucked. I pretty much hated him, even when he was "redeemed".
And Judith?! Could she be a whinier b*tch?! I mean for god's sakes, stop belong so freaking mad and DO something about the slut, Alice, who wants to steal your damn husband. I was snarling and griping about this book the entire time I read.
God, I hated it. And this frustrates me because I read [b:The Black Lyon|251964|The Black Lyon|Jude Deveraux|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386924537s/251964.jpg|766654] and [b:The Maiden|322618|The Maiden|Jude Deveraux|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348057043s/322618.jpg|3236588] recently whose characters I actually liked. But freaking A-Gavin and Judith just sucked.
Anyway, three down in the Montgomery-Taggert series reading order
I am using as a guide. Hopefully the rest are much better. (I'm also glad I got this at the library, cause if I'd spent money on it, I'd have been even more freaking pissed!)
The only redeeming quality is that I'm trying to read the entire Montgomery-Taggert series in order and this was next up. But god dangit, the hero sucked. I pretty much hated him, even when he was "redeemed".
And Judith?! Could she be a whinier b*tch?! I mean for god's sakes, stop belong so freaking mad and DO something about the slut, Alice, who wants to steal your damn husband. I was snarling and griping about this book the entire time I read.
God, I hated it. And this frustrates me because I read [b:The Black Lyon|251964|The Black Lyon|Jude Deveraux|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1386924537s/251964.jpg|766654] and [b:The Maiden|322618|The Maiden|Jude Deveraux|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348057043s/322618.jpg|3236588] recently whose characters I actually liked. But freaking A-Gavin and Judith just sucked.
Anyway, three down in the Montgomery-Taggert series reading order
I am using as a guide. Hopefully the rest are much better. (I'm also glad I got this at the library, cause if I'd spent money on it, I'd have been even more freaking pissed!)
I read a lot of Jude Devereaux back in the day and I love a good medieval romance but….I hate books that have the Hero in love with the ow for 95% of the book. Judith is a great fmc bit I swear more than half the book focused on Alice the ow. I’m not interested in all of the minutiae about the ow Alice’s day to day evilness or how beautiful she is etc. …also there were way too many subplots… so much so that the MCs and their story was underdeveloped. Gavin was a douche for most Of the book and I couldn’t help hoping Judith would run away with one of his brothers or Alan the knight.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
he raped her. and im supposed to like them together? fuck this shit
This book was too heavy for me!!! -.-
First, the "hero" is a total dick, who is obsessed with some evil blonde slut and doesn't recognize that he is her puppet. He fails to recognize the evil in the bitch and totally mistreats the heroine, his wife, because of said slut.
The heroine just wants his love and approval, which he constantly denies.
She is physically and psychologically abused. She ends up pregnant and risks her life and the life of her unborn child to save him, going to the house of some psycho weirdo that holds him hostage.
The hero thinks that the heroine and the weirdo are lovers and that the child she is carrying is not his.
He treats her badly, once again but as he desires her body, that's ok.
Then, I don't know why, he decides that he loves his wife and doesn't care about the blonde slut. Blonde slut plots to destroy the poor heroine and she ends up losing her unborn child!
At this point, I'm completely out of my mind! -.-'
The loss of the child was the last straw! Were I the heroine, I would happily impale the sucker and beat the blonde bitch until her face was goo! -.-'
First, the "hero" is a total dick, who is obsessed with some evil blonde slut and doesn't recognize that he is her puppet. He fails to recognize the evil in the bitch and totally mistreats the heroine, his wife, because of said slut.
The heroine just wants his love and approval, which he constantly denies.
She is physically and psychologically abused. She ends up pregnant and risks her life and the life of her unborn child to save him, going to the house of some psycho weirdo that holds him hostage.
The hero thinks that the heroine and the weirdo are lovers and that the child she is carrying is not his.
He treats her badly, once again but as he desires her body, that's ok.
Then, I don't know why, he decides that he loves his wife and doesn't care about the blonde slut. Blonde slut plots to destroy the poor heroine and she ends up losing her unborn child!
At this point, I'm completely out of my mind! -.-'
The loss of the child was the last straw! Were I the heroine, I would happily impale the sucker and beat the blonde bitch until her face was goo! -.-'
This is an old school historical, so I am just going to list all of the problematic issues with this book first: the heroine is 17, rape, domestic violence. All of this is a problem.
I love old school historicals, but I fully recognize everything that is problematic about them. What I love most about these books are the heroines and the bananas plot lines! Judith is the only living child of one of the most horrible father’s ever to grace the page. Now that his sons are dead, he is forcing Judith to marry, when she has studied her whole life to become a prioress. Judith refuses her father, but agrees when he breaks her mothers arm. Gavin is in love with a woman named Alice, but when she is “forced” to marry a powerful earl, he agrees to marry Judith. Their marriage is a constant argument, mostly due to Gavin’s failure to understand anything.
I would like to rename this book The Velvet Promise: An Ode to the Stupidity of Men. Let me tell you about our main man Gavin who has no idea that he has been played by a woman named Alice for two years! If anyone ever reads my copy of this book, they will read “he is a moron/idiot” written repeatedly in the margins. Enough about Gavin – he who is undeserving of our beloved heroine – let’s talk about Judith, Queen of Clapbacks.
This book is screaming “men, you may be physically stronger than us, but you will never be as smart as us and you will never break us”. Judith’s mother appears weak, because of how fearful she is of Judith’s father. BUT this woman convinced this horrible man to let her give her only child to a nunnery AND has raised her to become a prioress (prioress = power for any woman in that position). Once that is no longer Judith’s reality, Judith suffers one slight after another. The one thing they can’t take from her is herself. At one point she says “I am Judith. I am no one else, nor do I know how to be anyone else.” She is one of the best heroine’s I have ever read! I loved this book big time.
I love old school historicals, but I fully recognize everything that is problematic about them. What I love most about these books are the heroines and the bananas plot lines! Judith is the only living child of one of the most horrible father’s ever to grace the page. Now that his sons are dead, he is forcing Judith to marry, when she has studied her whole life to become a prioress. Judith refuses her father, but agrees when he breaks her mothers arm. Gavin is in love with a woman named Alice, but when she is “forced” to marry a powerful earl, he agrees to marry Judith. Their marriage is a constant argument, mostly due to Gavin’s failure to understand anything.
I would like to rename this book The Velvet Promise: An Ode to the Stupidity of Men. Let me tell you about our main man Gavin who has no idea that he has been played by a woman named Alice for two years! If anyone ever reads my copy of this book, they will read “he is a moron/idiot” written repeatedly in the margins. Enough about Gavin – he who is undeserving of our beloved heroine – let’s talk about Judith, Queen of Clapbacks.
This book is screaming “men, you may be physically stronger than us, but you will never be as smart as us and you will never break us”. Judith’s mother appears weak, because of how fearful she is of Judith’s father. BUT this woman convinced this horrible man to let her give her only child to a nunnery AND has raised her to become a prioress (prioress = power for any woman in that position). Once that is no longer Judith’s reality, Judith suffers one slight after another. The one thing they can’t take from her is herself. At one point she says “I am Judith. I am no one else, nor do I know how to be anyone else.” She is one of the best heroine’s I have ever read! I loved this book big time.
fast-paced
This one is a hard book to rate. I waffled between 3 and 4 stars and I'm going with 3.5 rounded up. Ms. Deveraux is a longtime favorite author of medieval romance, and this book takes place in the early Tudor era though it sometimes feels earlier medieval. It's also one of her earlier books, a 1990s bodice ripper.
Judith is destined for the convent until her father loses both his sons and decides he needs Judith to produce a grandson to inherit his lands. The Montgomerys produce lots of male babies, so he settles on Gavin, the eldest of four men. Unfortunately, Gavin is in love with another woman, Alice, who's a stereotypical schemer, only out for money and power, though she wants to keep Gavin on the side as a lover.
Judith is strong-willed and independent (the author does a nice job of explaining that her prioress training gave her skills that most women of that period didn't have). Gavin wants a meek lady like Alice (he thinks) until he realizes that he's in love with Judith. But he's naive about women and can't seem to see Alice as everyone else does until the bitter end which is why I have a hard time with the rating. He really makes it hard to like him with his stubborn adherence to the OW.
The writing is excellent with detailed historical descriptions of clothing, food, and daily living. It's and interesting historical period, after the Wars of the Roses, when England was recovering from those civil wars under the first Tudor king. There are three more books in the series and I look forward to what happens to the rest of the Montgomery men.
Judith is destined for the convent until her father loses both his sons and decides he needs Judith to produce a grandson to inherit his lands. The Montgomerys produce lots of male babies, so he settles on Gavin, the eldest of four men. Unfortunately, Gavin is in love with another woman, Alice, who's a stereotypical schemer, only out for money and power, though she wants to keep Gavin on the side as a lover.
Judith is strong-willed and independent (the author does a nice job of explaining that her prioress training gave her skills that most women of that period didn't have). Gavin wants a meek lady like Alice (he thinks) until he realizes that he's in love with Judith. But he's naive about women and can't seem to see Alice as everyone else does until the bitter end which is why I have a hard time with the rating. He really makes it hard to like him with his stubborn adherence to the OW.
The writing is excellent with detailed historical descriptions of clothing, food, and daily living. It's and interesting historical period, after the Wars of the Roses, when England was recovering from those civil wars under the first Tudor king. There are three more books in the series and I look forward to what happens to the rest of the Montgomery men.