Helpful Score: 4
I have to say, I started giggling almost by the second chapter of this older romance novel, because it was unintentionally hilarious in so many ways. When the hero tells his wife, who's angry about his cheating, "I f*** where I will!", you either throw the book against the wall in disgust, or you just have to laugh. Rolfe is Rolfe the Relentless, and my goodness, that's true. He's a relentless stalker of the poor heroine, making her pretty miserable along the way, but it all turns out happily in the end.
If you are looking for a historical romance novel that you can't take seriously, but one that you will enjoy reading for some good chuckles, then I would recommend The Conqueror highly.
If you are looking for a historical romance novel that you can't take seriously, but one that you will enjoy reading for some good chuckles, then I would recommend The Conqueror highly.
Helpful Score: 2
Jealousy, lust, violence and political intrigue make for surprisingly uninspired fare in Joyce's romance set in England in 1069. Rolfe of Warenne, one of William the Conqueror's valued soldiers, has been sent to suppress Saxon uprisings in the north and capture Edwin and Morcar, brothers fomenting rebellion in that area. Part of William's payment to Rolfe includes the brothers' former stronghold, Aelfgar, as a home, and their sister, Lady Alice, for a wife. Although duty compels Rolfe to marry Alice, he is captivated by a younger, illegitimatep. 51 sister, Ceidre, a bewitching, fiery woman loyal to the Saxon cause. Consumed with jealousy, Alice searches for the means to destroy her sister even as Ceidre, at the request of her rebel brothers, commences a dangerous game: luring Rolfe to her bed to gain his confidence and learn details of local Norman strategy. Although Joyce ( The Darkest Heart ) uses a few historical facts and characters as a starting point, she displays minimal knowledge of daily life in 11th-century Britain and a decided preference for cloying melodrama over political maneuvers.
Helpful Score: 1
One of the best romance novels I have ever read! And one of the few that I actually didn't know the ending before getting there in the book. I would definitely recommend it to any romance lover.