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rlward66's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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? No
3.75
In the second Bride quest book, Burke Fitzgavin brother of Luc Fitzgavin was sent on a quest to find his true love after Luc found his own true love in Brianna. Burke gave up his inheritance in an unusual act of defiance when his father Gavin demanded that he marry Brianna. Burke had met his true love 3 years earlier when he went to Kiltorren Castle to compete in a competition to win one of the daughters of this castle. Burke was not interested in either of the daughters but did find the orphaned niece to his liking. He even offered for her hand in marriage at the time but the father Collin told him that she refused his offer. Burke left then returned a year later to again see Alys and was told that she had left the holding and they didn’t know where she was. Finally, after Luc and Brianna sent him on his quest to win a bride he returned to Kiltorren and saw that Alys was indeed still there. Her family was awful to her and she was angry at him for leaving her to begin with 3 years before. Alys’s Aunt and Uncle demanded that their own daughters wed first and that Alys was not but a whore and should never wed. I love how Burke and Alys were able to come together in the end and live happily ever after.
gemmalaszlo's review
2.0
I bought this book because I'd really enjoyed one of this author's earlier books, ENCHANTED, which is a Harlequin release. If an author can write a good book in the oppressive restrictions of catagory romance, I usually deem them worthy of a try with a full-length novel, where there are fewer rules.
At first, there were a lot of things to like about THE DAMSEL. Though it's the second book in a trilogy, it works perfectly well as a stand-alone. The reader doesn't have to have read THE PRINCESS, the book that preceded THE DAMSEL, to make sense of the story. I hadn't read THE PRINCESS and never felt lost.
Delacroix has a nice, flowing writing style to this book that has a medieval feel to it without feeling to heavy or "textbooky" (yes, I know that's not a real word!). There are lots of humorous scenes in the book that had me smiling and almost laughing out loud. There was also lots of conflict between the hero and heroine.
But THE DAMSEL ultimately falls flat. The heroine comes across as childish. She's spurned once, and acts like it's the end of the world. And even when she finds out that she was lied to by her evil aunt, and that the hero actually did want to marry her three years ago (and still does), she refuses to believe it. Now why would she believe an aunt that beats her over the man who professes to love her? It just didn't make sense. She continuously misconstrued the hero's actions. It didn't matter how many times he saved her or was nice to her, she was convinced that he was up to no good, and nothing would change her mind. I want to smack some sense into her after the first few chapters.
That was what got to me in the end: the heroine's childish attitude, and the series of BIG MISUNDERSTANDINGS being all that kept the hero and heroine apart. It might have been okay if they had never been able to speak to one another and clear things up, but they were together all the time. The hero would try to clear the air, and the heroine would always misunderstand or just not believe him. I would have rather that they freely admitted their feelings and circumstances keep them apart than this constant miscommunication. It was really annoying.
This is the second book by Delacroix since the enjoyable ENCHANTED that has let me down. I'm leery of trying another. If you're still determined to read THE DAMSEL, I recommend that you borrow it from the library, rather than buy it. It's not worth the money.
At first, there were a lot of things to like about THE DAMSEL. Though it's the second book in a trilogy, it works perfectly well as a stand-alone. The reader doesn't have to have read THE PRINCESS, the book that preceded THE DAMSEL, to make sense of the story. I hadn't read THE PRINCESS and never felt lost.
Delacroix has a nice, flowing writing style to this book that has a medieval feel to it without feeling to heavy or "textbooky" (yes, I know that's not a real word!). There are lots of humorous scenes in the book that had me smiling and almost laughing out loud. There was also lots of conflict between the hero and heroine.
But THE DAMSEL ultimately falls flat. The heroine comes across as childish. She's spurned once, and acts like it's the end of the world. And even when she finds out that she was lied to by her evil aunt, and that the hero actually did want to marry her three years ago (and still does), she refuses to believe it. Now why would she believe an aunt that beats her over the man who professes to love her? It just didn't make sense. She continuously misconstrued the hero's actions. It didn't matter how many times he saved her or was nice to her, she was convinced that he was up to no good, and nothing would change her mind. I want to smack some sense into her after the first few chapters.
That was what got to me in the end: the heroine's childish attitude, and the series of BIG MISUNDERSTANDINGS being all that kept the hero and heroine apart. It might have been okay if they had never been able to speak to one another and clear things up, but they were together all the time. The hero would try to clear the air, and the heroine would always misunderstand or just not believe him. I would have rather that they freely admitted their feelings and circumstances keep them apart than this constant miscommunication. It was really annoying.
This is the second book by Delacroix since the enjoyable ENCHANTED that has let me down. I'm leery of trying another. If you're still determined to read THE DAMSEL, I recommend that you borrow it from the library, rather than buy it. It's not worth the money.
manth1975's review
5.0
Heart stopping
I had my heart in my mouth a few times during this novel as the young lovers seemed to have the world against them. There were plenty of twists and turns and passionate moments. Even better than the first in the set and I'm off to read the third
I had my heart in my mouth a few times during this novel as the young lovers seemed to have the world against them. There were plenty of twists and turns and passionate moments. Even better than the first in the set and I'm off to read the third
emlickliter's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
The Damsel by Claire Delacroix – An Irish historical second chance romance with Cinderella vibes. Happy Reading!
mousegoddess's review
4.0
I picked these books up on a whim, and it is a whim that is paying off. I didn't realize they were fairy tale retellings, but I LOVE where the author takes them. This was a GREAT Cinderella story, and I loved that she didn't just swoon away (though I did feel sorry for the hero's blue balls a couple times). Both characters grew through the telling of this story and I LOVED it. One little nitpick, mauve wasn't a thing until the 19th century.
Highly Recommend.
Highly Recommend.
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