Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
medium-paced
it was such a beautiful book that reminded me how much i like reading historical fiction and should read more perhaps! i really loved reading how the character of Oswald developed with the love of Fenella the amount of love they have for each other made my heart so soft and my eyes tearful they carried the book perfectly and made me enjoy my time a lot! definitely 5/5 :)
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
1st read: August 2021
2nd read: March 2023
I love this book. I don't know why I only gave it four stars last time.
My original review said that I didn't like the end of the book, and that the characters frustrated me. But I better understood the main conflict this time and understood why Oswald and Fenella acted the way that they did. Both characters have some problems, but I loved them together at the end.
I will say that the story is a bit slow in the middle, but not for very long.
This book does a great job setting up for two of the later books in the series, "An Ill-Made Match" and "Wed by Proxy". Plus, Roland was a twit in "Her Baseborn Bridegroom", but was much more likable in this book, which is great considering that he's the hero in "An Ill-Made Match".
********************
Original review:
I loved most of His Forsaken Bride, but the end didn't work for me. I'm very excited to read the next book though, and the books from the Brides of Karadok series. Alice Coldbreath is becoming one of my favorite authors.
I liked Oswald in Her Baseborn Bridegroom and for most of this book. He made some mistakes with the heroine and hoped that he would make them right by the end. Then the main conflict happened and he just doubled down on his bad qualities. The resolution wasn't good enough to make up for it.
Fenella is a great person, but she's sometimes a bit of a doormat. She has had problems with men not treating her very well and now she seems to think that she deserves it. She works hard to do well in her new life and make her husband proud, but she doesn't always succeed.
I really liked the friendships in this book. Fenella makes some friends with women at court and Oswald improves his relationship with his brothers. The non-romantic relationships add a lot to both characters.
2nd read: March 2023
I love this book. I don't know why I only gave it four stars last time.
My original review said that I didn't like the end of the book, and that the characters frustrated me. But I better understood the main conflict this time and understood why Oswald and Fenella acted the way that they did. Both characters have some problems, but I loved them together at the end.
I will say that the story is a bit slow in the middle, but not for very long.
This book does a great job setting up for two of the later books in the series, "An Ill-Made Match" and "Wed by Proxy". Plus, Roland was a twit in "Her Baseborn Bridegroom", but was much more likable in this book, which is great considering that he's the hero in "An Ill-Made Match".
********************
Original review:
I loved most of His Forsaken Bride, but the end didn't work for me. I'm very excited to read the next book though, and the books from the Brides of Karadok series. Alice Coldbreath is becoming one of my favorite authors.
I liked Oswald in Her Baseborn Bridegroom and for most of this book. He made some mistakes with the heroine and hoped that he would make them right by the end. Then the main conflict happened and he just doubled down on his bad qualities. The resolution wasn't good enough to make up for it.
Fenella is a great person, but she's sometimes a bit of a doormat. She has had problems with men not treating her very well and now she seems to think that she deserves it. She works hard to do well in her new life and make her husband proud, but she doesn't always succeed.
I really liked the friendships in this book. Fenella makes some friends with women at court and Oswald improves his relationship with his brothers. The non-romantic relationships add a lot to both characters.
Oswald sucks. He's supposed to be the smart one and his head was so far up his ass. I loved him realizing everything but his grovel was like 2 pages and he was a major asshole. I did enjoy the yearning though.
emotional
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
French & English reviews
Un peu déçue par ce livre dont j'attendais beaucoup : ça reste une romance sympa à lire mais j'ai trouvé Oswald un peu trop cruel et Fenella un peu trop gentille ... J'aurais voulu qu'elle réagisse, qu'elle se rebelle, qu'elle gifle Oswald et surtout qu'elle poignarde son ex-mari !!
Bref, une bonne romance mais pas ma préférée de l'auteure =S
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little disappointed by this book from which I expected a lot : it's still a nice romance to read but I found Oswald a little too cruel and Fenella a little too nice ... I would have liked her to react, to rebel, to slap Oswald and especially I would have loved her to stab her ex-husband !!
In short, a good romance but not my favorite by the author =S
Un peu déçue par ce livre dont j'attendais beaucoup : ça reste une romance sympa à lire mais j'ai trouvé Oswald un peu trop cruel et Fenella un peu trop gentille ... J'aurais voulu qu'elle réagisse, qu'elle se rebelle, qu'elle gifle Oswald et surtout qu'elle poignarde son ex-mari !!
Bref, une bonne romance mais pas ma préférée de l'auteure =S
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little disappointed by this book from which I expected a lot : it's still a nice romance to read but I found Oswald a little too cruel and Fenella a little too nice ... I would have liked her to react, to rebel, to slap Oswald and especially I would have loved her to stab her ex-husband !!
In short, a good romance but not my favorite by the author =S
lighthearted
slow-paced
At first this was a very slow read for me but once I settled in more, the details of court life, machinations of characters, and the relationship of the h and H became more interesting. This is a character-driven story and primarily takes place at the palace so there's a large focus on court life. The story is written in third person, dual POV. No ow drama, some om drama from h's ex-husband but not because he wants her back, no virgins, and no bc.
Oswald (H) was my favorite in the story and I kept thinking he was layered, like an onion and then laughing at my own Shrek reference. But he was and what I liked most was that he didn't realize he had these layers until he was having to deal with all the feelings and changes as he adjusted to having a wife. Sometimes I did want to shake him though. Fenella (h) was sadly not as enjoyable of a character for me. She made an interesting foil against Oswald (I don't think pairing him with a lady more like him would have been better), but her growth just wasn't substantial imo and her reactions to all the changes were often more frustrating than sympathetic. I didn't want her to turn into a court savvy lady suddenly since that would be unrealistic but something was lacking here for me. I loved that both were jealous of each other and I liked the steamy scenes. I did feel sometimes that their current relationship hinged more on their past betrothal than where they were now. There were also some elements of their past I wish were explored more though.
Side characters play a big role throughout the story, as support and conflict. Several have stories at this point in this world, continuing in this series and then in her other Karadok series. Not all of the side characters sparked my interest but a couple have me curious. The more I think about this read as I write this review though, the more my brain is turning over some of what happened and wondering.
There's an epilogue, but it's not much of a jump ahead in time and I would have liked more of one, even with these characters making appearances in other books. Ms. Coldbreath's Prizefighters series is definitely my favorite of her books still.
Oswald (H) was my favorite in the story and I kept thinking he was layered, like an onion and then laughing at my own Shrek reference. But he was and what I liked most was that he didn't realize he had these layers until he was having to deal with all the feelings and changes as he adjusted to having a wife. Sometimes I did want to shake him though. Fenella (h) was sadly not as enjoyable of a character for me. She made an interesting foil against Oswald (I don't think pairing him with a lady more like him would have been better), but her growth just wasn't substantial imo and her reactions to all the changes were often more frustrating than sympathetic. I didn't want her to turn into a court savvy lady suddenly since that would be unrealistic but something was lacking here for me. I loved that both were jealous of each other and I liked the steamy scenes. I did feel sometimes that their current relationship hinged more on their past betrothal than where they were now. There were also some elements of their past I wish were explored more though.
Side characters play a big role throughout the story, as support and conflict. Several have stories at this point in this world, continuing in this series and then in her other Karadok series. Not all of the side characters sparked my interest but a couple have me curious. The more I think about this read as I write this review though, the more my brain is turning over some of what happened and wondering.
There's an epilogue, but it's not much of a jump ahead in time and I would have liked more of one, even with these characters making appearances in other books. Ms. Coldbreath's Prizefighters series is definitely my favorite of her books still.
1st read: August 2021
2nd read: March 2023
I love this book. I don't know why I only gave it four stars last time.
My original review said that I didn't like the end of the book, and that the characters frustrated me. But I better understood the main conflict this time and understood why Oswald and Fenella acted the way that they did. Both characters have some problems, but I loved them together at the end.
I will say that the story is a bit slow in the middle, but not for very long.
This book does a great job setting up for two of the later books in the series, "An Ill-Made Match" and "Wed by Proxy". Plus, Roland was a twit in "Her Baseborn Bridegroom", but was much more likable in this book, which is great considering that he's the hero in "An Ill-Made Match".
********************
Original review:
I loved most of His Forsaken Bride, but the end didn't work for me. I'm very excited to read the next book though, and the books from the Brides of Karadok series. Alice Coldbreath is becoming one of my favorite authors.
I liked Oswald in Her Baseborn Bridegroom and for most of this book. He made some mistakes with the heroine and hoped that he would make them right by the end. Then the main conflict happened and he just doubled down on his bad qualities. The resolution wasn't good enough to make up for it.
Fenella is a great person, but she's sometimes a bit of a doormat. She has had problems with men not treating her very well and now she seems to think that she deserves it. She works hard to do well in her new life and make her husband proud, but she doesn't always succeed.
I really liked the friendships in this book. Fenella makes some friends with women at court and Oswald improves his relationship with his brothers. The non-romantic relationships add a lot to both characters.
2nd read: March 2023
I love this book. I don't know why I only gave it four stars last time.
My original review said that I didn't like the end of the book, and that the characters frustrated me. But I better understood the main conflict this time and understood why Oswald and Fenella acted the way that they did. Both characters have some problems, but I loved them together at the end.
I will say that the story is a bit slow in the middle, but not for very long.
This book does a great job setting up for two of the later books in the series, "An Ill-Made Match" and "Wed by Proxy". Plus, Roland was a twit in "Her Baseborn Bridegroom", but was much more likable in this book, which is great considering that he's the hero in "An Ill-Made Match".
********************
Original review:
I loved most of His Forsaken Bride, but the end didn't work for me. I'm very excited to read the next book though, and the books from the Brides of Karadok series. Alice Coldbreath is becoming one of my favorite authors.
I liked Oswald in Her Baseborn Bridegroom and for most of this book. He made some mistakes with the heroine and hoped that he would make them right by the end. Then the main conflict happened and he just doubled down on his bad qualities. The resolution wasn't good enough to make up for it.
Fenella is a great person, but she's sometimes a bit of a doormat. She has had problems with men not treating her very well and now she seems to think that she deserves it. She works hard to do well in her new life and make her husband proud, but she doesn't always succeed.
I really liked the friendships in this book. Fenella makes some friends with women at court and Oswald improves his relationship with his brothers. The non-romantic relationships add a lot to both characters.