| Title | : | Charming the Prince (Once Upon a Time, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0553575023 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780553575026 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 342 |
| Publication | : | First published April 6, 1999 |
| Awards | : | RITA Award by Romance Writers of America Short Historical Romance (2000) |
Dear Reader,
My enemies know me as Lord Bannor the Bold, Pride of the English and Terror of the French. Never in my life have I backed down from any challenge or betrayed so much as a hint of fear—until the war ended and I found myself a reluctant papa to a dozen unruly children.
Realizing that I couldn't lop their little heads off or throw them in the dungeon, I sent my steward out to find them a mother and me a bride—an attractive, meek, maternal creature too plain to tempt me to get her with child. You can imagine my horror when he returned with Lady Willow of Bedlington, a spirited beauty who made me think of nothing else!
With her cloud of dark curls and the sparkle of passion in her eyes, Willow was everything I'd sworn to resist. I never dreamed she would join forces with those mischievous imps of mine to teach this cynical warrior just how sweet surrender can be.
Bannor the Bold,
Lord of Elsinore
Charming the Prince (Once Upon a Time, #1) Reviews
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This book made me feel warm and fuzzy inside and stuff =)
Poor Willow lives in a home with her father, step-mother and her brood. They were all jerks as you can figure and her poor father was worn down. But it was Willow that had to look after all of the brats and take care of everything.
Then we have Lord Bannor who sends out one of his men to find him a wife for his own brood of children. He had two wives that gave him children but they died and people tend to drop children off at the castle saying they are his because he is a man that has a reputation. BUT, not all is what it seems.
Anyhoo, his man Hollis is supposed to bring back a woman that loves children and not someone beautiful for him to fall for but good ole Hollis did the opposite.
Willow is a force to be reckoned with and she's beautiful. And she wants nothing to do with Bannor's children. Of course neither does Bannor, he hides from the children and doesn't teach them anything until . . . Willow takes over and teaches them all something.
There are also some sexy times in the book so be aware if you don't want to run into that kind of thing.
Either way, I enjoyed the book and that is all that matters. I have to admit it was the books cover that pulled me in and then I read the blurb and thought it sounded good. I got lucky with both =)
MY BLOG:
Melissa Martin's Reading List -
I'm so in love with this book...
Uma mistura de Cinderella com Sound of Music.
Adorei a personagem da Willow. Banner é realmente o Prince Charming, apesar de ter havido alturas que me irritou profundamente.
Super divertido e mega amoroso.
A guerra declarada
Confesso que estava com receio de iniciar esta trilogia (em Portugal apenas foi editado o último mas primeiro de outra série), Teresa não me cativou com as suas duas obras anteriores:
e
, mas resolvi tentar e não me arrependi.
Como não poderia deixar de ser...
HEA
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I just love this book as it has humor, a hunky and befuddled hero, a spunky and honorable heroine, a passel of brats from hell, bad parents, heartbreak, and it’s set in bodice-ripper era of the medieval times without the creepiness of too much, if any, bodice ripping.
There are two stories in addition to the romance that run through the book: the hero’s and the heroine’s. Both have their own backstories that are interesting and sad which funnels back to the very reason they marry and the angst in their story.
PLOT
The H, a big bad fighter for King Edward III, needs a mother for his passel of ten kids that he has NO IDEA how to deal with. He’s THE TERMINATOR except for his children. He’s been through two brides already that have died in birth and is a major chick magnate. His only request to his steward is bring back a maternal, HOMELY woman. Well, one out of two ain’t bad to paraphrase Meat Loaf.
The heroine, Willow, needs to get out of Dodge. Once upon a time she was her father’s beloved daughter, but the arrival of effing Blanche, her new stepmother, destroyed that. Blanche had her own brood when she arrived on the scene with FIVE of her own children and managed to shove Willow out of her idiot father’s affection. Heartbreak number one as her worthless father does nothing as Blanch proceeds to multiply. It doesn’t help that her oldest son wants Willow as a mistress when they grow up.
Marriage of convenience is derailed when Willow comes to Bannon’s castle. He is horrified to see a beautiful bride he lusts after; while she is horrified to see a passel of legitimate and illegitimate kids that implies he has no control. Mayhem ensues when he allows his passel of brats to try and drive her out. An EPIC smackdown by Willow and Bannon’s oldest creates an alliance to torment the H. All in all a lot of fun as the heroine and kids torment the H.
The evil eldest of the step-mom shows up and there is a dramatic ending and an awesome HEA.
Big spoiler to avoid if you like surprises
Excerpt..Any of the men who had fought by his side against the French for the past fourteen years had seen the shudder of dread that wracked his massive body in that moment, they would have surely doubted their own senses. They had seen him scale a castle wall with his bare hands, dodging the steaming gouts of boiling oil that rained down like hellfire from the heavens above. They had seen him leap off his warhorse and race through a deadly hail of arrows to heave a fallen man over his shoulder and carry him to safety. They’d seen him rip the blade of a French sword from his own thigh with nary a flinch of pain, then use it to dispose of the man who had stabbed him.
Much to King Edward’s delight, his enemies had been known to toss down their arms and surrender at the merest whisper of his name on the battlefield. But never before had he faced an adversary so formidable, so utterly lacking in mercy and Christian compassion. As they stampeded past his hiding place, he shrank against the wall, his lips moving soundlessly in a prayer for deliverance to the God who had always fought so valiantly by his side. But in the month since the treaty with the French had been signed, even God seemed to have abandoned him.
The triumphant howl that assaulted his ears might have come from Lucifer himself. They had spotted him! Too panicked to consider the consequences, he bolted, darting back the way he had come. The devils were almost on him now, so close on his heels he could feel their hot breath scorching the back of his doublet.
He scrambled up the winding stairs, hoping to reach the sanctuary of the north tower before they brought him down and began to tear him apart like a pack of snarling mongrels. The wooden door loomed before him. He lunged for its iron latch and shoved, praying his sweaty grip would hold. Something groped at his ankle. For one bone-chilling instant, he feared he was lost. Then the door swung open. He lurched across the threshold, shaking off the grip of the thing that had seized him, and slammed the door behind him. Only when the crossbar had thudded securely into its iron brackets did he dare to collapse against the door and suck in a great, shuddering breath. The enraged howls and demands...
Please, Lord, he muttered, not yet willing to give up on his old ally. Not that. Anything but that. He had once endured four months in a Calais dungeon, chained to a dank stone wall with only lice and rats for company. When his captors had fed him rancid gruel, he’d choked down every bite and asked for second helpings. After they had stretched him on the rack, he’d confounded them by enjoying a most satisfying nap. When they had branded his flesh with a glowing iron, he’d bit back his howls of pain and laughed in their faces.
But not even his most diabolical enemy had managed to devise a torture so cruel, so likely to break a man’s will and make him beg for mercy as, “Papa?”
Bannor groaned in mortal agony. It came again—the dulcet lisp of an angel. “Papa? Won’t you come out and pway wif us?” Bannor swore beneath his breath. ’Twas just like that shrewd imp Desmond to send his six-year-old sister to bargain for a truce. None of his children were as fair or as sweet… -
DNF at 38%/ page 133
What I liked:
Well. I suppose I did like the idea of it. Willow is basically Cinderella: after her father remarried, his new wife degraded her to nursery maid for her six children from a previous marriage and all the ones that result from the new marriage. When a man arrives at their castle to tell her that Sir Bannor The Bold wants her as his wife, she immediately jumps at the chance to get away from her family and agrees to the marriage. Once she gets there though, she realizes that the man only wanted someone to get his brood under control. And that’s where I lost interest because of:
What I didn’t like:
Since the book is called Charming the Prince, I expected the hero to be at least somewhat princely. But I’m sorry, a hardened war hero (with the byname “The Bold”) who sends grown men running just by appearing on a battlefield who is terrified of his own children and lets them terrorize his entire castle is not my idea of a prince. Or a hero. He sends his steward out to find him a wife who will raise his brood of TWELVE monsters because for some reason, they are simply not afraid of him. The fact that he can’t even be bothered to learn their names also didn’t endear him to me. After his new wife arrives at the castle, things got even worse. He wanted an ugly wife that he wouldn’t be attracted to and gets stuck with Willow, an attractive, smart, and funny woman. Because the big, strong soldier who’s been to war since he was seventeen is so afraid of his new wife, he decides the best way to get rid of her is to completely ignore her and set his children loose on her. Because surely rodents, bugs, and reptiles in her drawers, pepper in her food, a stinkpot down her chimney and honey and tree sap thrown over her will send the woman running so that he doesn’t have to talk to her. He actually watches her, covered from head to toe in honey, and does absolutely nothing. Or, in his words:
Bannor forced himself to turn a blind eye to their devilish doings, promising himself that every humiliation Willow endured at their hands would only serve to spore her pride when she was finally goaded into spurning him.
I’m sorry, but that’s where I draw the line. Pranks are one thing, but a man who lets his brats treat someone else (and it’s not just her, his servants suffer similar treatment) and does NOTHING, is not a hero in my eyes but a coward. And of course the kids get away with it, because once Willow talks to them she discovers that the poor little things just want some attention from their daddy. I’m sorry, but no. I’m not saying they should be beaten or looked away in a dungeon for a while, but at the very least I would force them to clean up the honey she dripped all over the castle. The fact that she then unites with the monsters and decides to pull childish pranks on their father next also didn’t help. After she and the monsters doused him in flour, wove bells and pink ribbons through his horse’s mane, tampered with his saddle so he would fall, and destroyed his bedroom, I lost what little respect I had for her. If they had been teenagers, ok. But they’re in their 30s. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t see the humor in a woman being humiliated by a bunch of little terrors and then teaching them new pranks to pull on their own father. I don’t even care how those two eventually get together… I read in other reviews that she doesn't want to add to the brood of children but of course finds herself pregnant anyway, which also doesn't sound like something I want to read. I can see how others might find this sort of story charming and even funny, but I'm sorry, it's just not my thing. I just always feel like I need to explain why I didn't like a book that almost everyone else loved... -
4.5 stars.
So, I just bought this book from online shop which usually sell many used books. The price is cheap. Just 50000 rupiahs or maybe 4,99 dollars. I decide to read Charming the Prince, first because I really love the blurb, its rare to find character letter for a synopsis. And I'm kinda stuck with UF/PNR books I read lately. So I want to change my usual genre for a little :)
I read this for 4 hours.And of course that a good sign! If I can't stop read it, that's mean the story is good. And yes,Charming The Prince is really good.
So, what we have from this book?
Charming the Prince is re-telling from Cinderella story. With "Cinderella" have a weak father, evil stepmother, and 10 bothersome, annoying step-siblings. Lady Willow of Bedlington hope her new mother will love her. Alas, what her stepmother do is to poison her father with her sweet venom talk. She make them poor and that make Willow as servant for her step-siblings..
The story move forward 13 years later. We meet the Prince Charming (he is charming after all), Lord Bannor the Bold, Pride of English and Terror of The French. Must be always successful winning every war and captured all his enemy, but not this war.. Not when his enemies are his TEN children, whose face like angel, but their attitude are worse than Black Prince (King Edwards's son) himself. Bannor then ask to his steward, Sir Hollis, to search him a bride. An unattractive, meek, not so beautiful woman, but have maternal instinct.To babysit his children of course and left him at peace...
To Bannor's surprise, Hollis take Willow as the bride. Willow who desperate to go out from her home, and want to find her own happiness, is insulted with the way Bannor treated her. Little she know Bannor avoid her, because he attracted to Willow, but don't want to sire another babe. Since Bannor believe he was to virile, and said, its must be curse. Because his father and grandfather have so many children too (the usual slogan of Bannor house is to conquer and die which he change as be fruity and multiply )
Not just from Bannor act, his children decide to "torture" Willow too, because they don't want new mother. Even though later they support her, and decide to teach their father to become a "real" father, and "husband" to Willow. (or like the blurb said, how sweet surrender can be).
I'm happy my sleepless night is paid well :).This is my first book by Teresa Medeiros and definitely not the last. When it comes to Historical Romance, I always picky, since some theme of that genre are bothering me. Like infidelity, or rape. I don't like them all. That's why I never read Johanna Lindsey, that's why I dislike Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas. Just one historical author who I adore, and thats Lisa Kleypas. Even I found Bridgerton's Julia Quinn is a little boring for me. But now I'm glad to find another Historical Romance book which I enjoyed. Teresa Medeiros's writing is flowing, easy to read, funny, with some heartbreaking moment.
Some readers may find they don't like hero who have a bastard or a widower and have so many children. We will think some of Bannor's children are bastards. But when the story goes, we know that the children not his bastards. Just another people's child who Bannor took to his home. Because he doesn't want them to have same fate with him, to be abandoned by his father and live poor. I love Willow strength too, even she always live tormented at her home, she still face it.
Another characters I like are Bannor's children. They all naughty, but not like Willow's step-sibling who have a mean bone. They do that because they want Bannor to care for them, to watch them and love them like a real father.
Why I don't give this full 5 stars, maybe because I found the "love scene" is too flowery for me, lol. I think I'm too much read erotica, or PNR. Which sex scene always told directly, hot and so steamy *grin sheepisly*. And I found my self snort and giggling when read the sex scene at this book. But not that bad, just a "little tame" to my preference, LMAO!
My favorite quote of this book is by Fiona, Bannor's house servant and caretaker.:
Love isn't a burst o' trumpets and flock o' doves descendin' out o' the heavens to roost on yer heads. Tis' sharin' a cup o' tea by the hearth of cold winter's night. Tis' the look in yer husband's eyes when ye lay yer first child in his arms. Tis' the ache in yer heart when ye watch the light in his eyes dim fer the last time and know a part o' ye has gone out o' this world with him
If you love Historical Romance which took place at Tudor era, make sure to include Teresa Medeiros's book at your list :) -
Charming the Prince was blah!
The characters weren’t horrid but they weren’t very engaging either.
Something was lacking for me in the plot, overall relationship and dialogue. Charming the Prince just didn’t work for me at all.
I didn’t like Lord Bannor that much and he seemed like a wimp for being afraid of his kids even though he’s suppose to be this bad ass warrior.
Willow was just okay. I liked her character a bit better but she didn’t blow up my skirt as well. And the chemistry just wasn’t there between them!
The more I think about this review, the more I really don’t care for this book or the main characters. The kids at least saved this from being a DNF. Yay for funny and spunky kids!
Next! -
¡Cómo me he divertido con este libro! Sin duda, lo mejor son los hijos de Bannor, que es imposible que no recuerden a los niños de la película Nanny McPhee. Sus travesuras y ocurrencias son de lujo, y más aún cuando Willow se une a ellos como su comandante.
Por lo demás, un romance histórico muy bonito, pero que después de un inicio realmente prometedor se empantana un poco, dándole mil vueltas a un problema que, al final, no era para tanto.
De todas maneras lo disfruté mucho; me encantaron todos los personajes y ese guiño muy sutil al cuento de la Cenicienta. Además, para mí es un deleite cuando en este tipo de novelas los malos salen escaldados.
Muy recomendable para pasar momentos realmente entretenidos.
Reto Rita 5.0 (septiembre) -
Solid Cinderella retelling but it was just soooo slow in the beginning. Loved our hero and loved finding out the reason of why he did what he did.
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I finished it, y'all.
This book took muuuch longer than expected. After finishing this two months ago, I had neither the desire to write this review nor to pick up another book. I never intended to take a months-long break from reading and Goodreads, but it just kind of happened. I don't know if this book is to blame or not, but one thing's for certain, this book definitely didn't help.
Straight up: I didn't like this book. It wasn't trashfire, but it's not one I'll ever be picking up again. I think this also means that Medeiros really isn't the author for me. I've previously read two other books of hers, both of which didn't get the best ratings from me. (Though, to be fair, one did initially receive five stars. However, upon subsequent re-reads and skims, I ended up lowering the rating. And lowering it. Aaaand lowering it...all the way to a one.) So unless a particularly compelling synopsis or review shows up on my radar, I will not be reading another one of her books.
Now...this book. You know those comedy films that are extremely forced and you can tell they're trying way too hard? That was this book for me. The author was throwing in funny situation after funny situation, trying to keep it all light-hearted. Don't get me wrong, I like rom-coms. Amusing exchanges and situations rank amongst my favourites. However, not only does the comedy need to fit the situation, the couple also needs to have chemistry between them for it to work. This book? The only time I felt chemistry in this book was when it came to the secondary romance between Desmond and Beatrix. And who are they, you ask? TWO THIRTEEN YEAR OLDS. I can't speak for everyone, but it certainly says something to me when the budding romance between the secondary preteens is more compelling than the one between the two grown adults.
It was also no help to the book that there wasn't a believable transition from strangers to enemies to lovers, simply jumping from one to the next. Oh, and he suffers no consequences for actions towards Willow or the years-long neglect of his children, so that takes away from the book as a whole. And the eleventh hour conflict .
In regards to the comedy, the problem with it was that, rather than adding to the book, it took away. The book felt silly and childish to me. An example of said silliness:But that was before someone had woven pink ribbons through [his horse's] silky tail and mane and draped a harness of silver bells over his neck. They jingled merrily with each plodding step he took until at last the stallion stood before Bannor. As he hung his mighty head in shame, a crown of chrysanthemums slid down over his brow, leaving him to eye Bannor with one soulful brown eye. ...
“I only left him alone in his stall for a moment, my lord, I swear it,” the squire said, beginning to babble in earnest. “I can’t imagine who would have done such a dreadful thing.”
haha, so funny, right? I guess...? All I was thinking was, if the squire really only left "for a moment," then why can he not quickly remove all that stuff from the horse before bringing it to Bannor...? If it was only a moment, then he should easily be able to remove something hastily applied. Like I said before, it was just silly and such a forced attempt at comedy.
I know it sounds nitpicky, but trust me when I say, this wasn't even the first, second, or third instance of this kind of attempt at getting a laugh. It got annoying. Give me genuinely amusing situations and I will love it. What I don't like? When it's obvious that the author is including silly situations for the sake of throwing in laughs at every turn.
Up until the very end, the author includes this type of comedy. Another example:
Do you guys see what I mean? The forced attempt at comedy?
The other thing I didn't like was that the premise had holes to begin with. If all Bannor wanted was a woman to take care of his children, why did he not simply hire a nursemaid? Or a disciplinarian? (I'm sure there was a Supernanny Jo Frost available in that time, too.) Just SOMEONE? Getting married makes absolutely ZERO sense. He says he wanted them to have a mother, but his children would've accepted any woman caring for them as a maternal figure. Plus, I think the older kids (like Desmond) would've been more accepting of a woman taking care of them than a woman being brought in as a replacement figure for their dead mother. That would conjure up resentment in some children, I feel.
Also, let's not forget what this means for the woman he marries. A prospective wife isn't told that he only wants a caretaker for his children and not a real wife. This effectively takes away the woman's right in that regard. What if she did want a real marriage and kids of her own? Too bad, right? And all because he just wants a woman to care for his children instead of being a man and doing so himself. (And with Willow, I know she doesn't want kids of her own, but the fact is that he doesn't know that. As far as he knows, her dream is to marry and have kids of her own. He wanted someone who was good with kids, so wouldn't the thought process that someone who's good with kids and enjoys being with them might want some of their own? But he decided, for any woman he would've married, that there's to be no future children between them, end of story. And it's not like divorce is possible in that time, so she's resigned to this for the rest of her life.)
The other thing was that Bannor's been married twice and has a ton of kids. Did he even love his wives? The author says he did, but I found that hard to believe. He barely knows his kids' names, so did he just use and impregnate his wives before leaving for war again...? This was my concern, but I ended up rolling my eyes at the author flipping it and making it so his wives were the ones that used him as a stud before he went off to war again. I guess she wanted us to look well on him instead of as a man who simply used his wives sexually and then left them for months on end. And then came back and did it again. And again. And again. (He was never there through any of their pregnancies, btw.) It really didn't make sense with how the author described Bannor has a lusty man...but then portrays his wives as being the one's who'd drag him off to bed right after his return.
Bannor is also a neglectful, absentee father. I was thinking of him as a deadbeat dad the entire book, but I guess he can't technically be that because he provides food and shelter to "his bratlings." However, he's not far off, imo. Not only does he not remember the names of his children, he also curses the end of the war (you know, that oh so great thing in which people kill and are killed) because it means he now has to care for his "brats." (Oh, the horror!) And even though he is home now, he attempts to spend his time locked far, far away from them.
We're supposed to look positively on him because he , but I hardly felt that way. Why? Like I said, he's an absentee father. If he had actually spent time with these kids without feeling resentful, I would've looked upon it better. How it was presented in the book, though? Sorry, try again.
It should also be noted here that his absentee parenting should be a deal breaker for Willow. She was raised in a household in which her father ignored her in favour of his step-children. Who she is now is molded by this very neglectful childhood of hers. On top of that, like her father, Bannor stands by and watches as she's abused. Why would this not be a turn-off for her in a potential partner? Instead, she lusts after him despite this and there's no further exploration. I guess I shouldn't be surprised...this is a woman who has sex with Bannor right after she tells him she'd be willing to simply accept "crumbs of affection" from him...which is probably a result of said neglectful childhood.
Anyway. I don't see what we're supposed to find appealing about Bannor. Oh wow, so great that ...but then would rather be off at war than spend time with any of them, feeling it forceful to spend time with children he has never otherwise cared for. He's pretty much a deadbeat dad...what's so romantic or appealing about that? On top of that, Willow knows he's like this with his kids. She's also under the impression .
Two-thirds in, she genuinely FEARS him.“You’re angry at me right now, aren’t you?”
“Furious,” he admitted.
She continued to stroke his knuckles until his hand slowly unfolded. She inclined her head to press a kiss to his callused palm, casting him a glance from beneath her lashes. “And am I in danger at this moment?”
“More than you know,” he breathed, lifting his other hand to brush a snowflake from her hair.
“I’m not the least bit afraid,” she lied, hoping her tender smile would hide the true extent of her fear.
And this is aside from the couple of times her thoughts immediately went to him possibly raping or murdering her. (I'm sure I was supposed to think it's funny, but I really didn't. How can she lust after a man whose propensity for rape and/or murder she often wonders?)
Also at two-thirds in, when he has an altercation with Desmond, she legitimately fears that he'll MURDER his son...and then stands around and does nothing.As the morning wore on and snow began to tumble out of the darkening sky in fat, woolly flakes, Willow paced the length of the list, wondering if she’d done a terrible thing. She nibbled at her knuckle, tortured by visions of Bannor emerging from the barn with Desmond’s broken body draped over his arms, his hollow eyes burning with hatred for the woman who had coaxed him into murdering his son.
Bannor’s men-at-arms and knights slunk away one by one, mumbling this excuse or that. In truth, they were no longer able to bear the sight of Willow’s haunted face, or to end
The reason Desmond calls him out is because he's a shit father who doesn't care to spend time with his children. And why doesn't he spend time with them?
As I said, we're supposed to find this man appealing. He is the romantic hero, after all—the "Prince" that she's supposed to be charming. Yet, none of what I read about and from him made him appealing. He's a terrible father who fears he'll kill children. His heroine even fears this over halfway through the story. On top of that, he's a coward who let his children bully his new bride because he was too spineless to confront things himself. He considers it a chore to spend time with his children (or "brats" and "bratlings," as he constantly refers to them), preferring to be off at war killing others than dealing with them.
On top of that, a good chunk of the book is dedicated to him allowing his children to bully his new wife, Willow. His reasoning behind this is the follow:Bannor hadn’t earned his reputation as a master strategist on the battlefield and the chessboard for naught. Perhaps there was a way to make her believe she was still mistress of her own fate. If he could somehow goad her into spurning him, she could depart from Elsinore with both her pride and her innocence intact. ... A single fortnight in the company of his children should be enough to bring Willow marching up the stairs to his tower, demanding to be released from their vows. He would then play the part of wounded husband, flattering her with his passionate protests before reluctantly agreeing to petition Edward for an annulment.
It's obvious that what the author really wanted to do was drag the book out. Also, he basically wants to seem like the super nice guy in the end. He says he wants to spare her feelings by not rejecting her, but how much better is it to not only let your children bully and abuse her, but for her and everyone else to know that you're watching and doing absolutely nothing? He allows his children to humiliate her in front of the entire household. How is it protecting her pride when you do that? As the reader, am I supposed to find this sort of behaviour appealing? (Also, what message does it instill in his children that it's a-okay to torture his wife/another person. It's how Willow's siblings came to treat her as badly as they did, learning contempt first from their mother and then from the older kids and going with it.)
AND, the longer she sticks around and suffers, the less chance everyone else will believe that she's remained "untouched" by him, which then ruins her future chances of ever marrying again. But oh wait...he doesn't want that. He wants to send her off to live as a nun because he's a selfish bastard and would rather that than to allow her to live her life with someone else.
After all the above, I'm supposed to think of this guy as the "prince" of this novel?
And I wasn't particularly fond of That's not integrity, that's stupidity.
Anyway. There were other things that bothered me about this novel, like the euphemisms ("warm honey," "brimming chalice," "honeyed sheath"), but I'll just leave that be. However, let's talk a bit about historical accuracy, which I'm not at all a stickler for. If something is overt, I might mention it, but I generally don't nitpick on that front. In this book, there were little things that stood out to me in the beginning. One being sex. Willow walks into the house of a prostitute and takes note of the "musky scent" and "rumpled bed." That's a perfectly fine thing to notice...if you weren't a naive, sheltered virgin. Her mother died when she was young and her step-mother treated her like servant, so I don't think she had anyone who talked to her about sex. So, how would she even know to take note of the scent and what a rumpled bed means in this context? Plus, she then proceeds to ask the prostitute this:“Which is why I was hoping you could teach me …” Willow faltered.
“To satisfy your man?” Netta ventured. “There’s no need to stammer and blush, you know. You’re certainly not the first bride to seek my counsel. Nor will you be the last.”
“Oh, I don’t think my man is going to be very difficult to satisfy,” Willow confided, blushing even more furiously than she had on the doorstep. “What I am seeking is some way to satisfy him without ending up with his babe in my belly.”
How would a virgin in the mid-1300s even know this? Talking about satisfying her man and what not. How would she even know to ask something like this?
(And even though this book is so far from historically accurate, references to abuse are still kept in, like Willow saying "she could not say the boy didn’t deserve it" in regards to Bannor possibly backhanding Desmond after he calls him out for being a shit father. And thoughts of how Bannor would be within his rights to take her against her will. Because of course we can be historically inaccurate in every other regard except violence and abuse, particularly against women!)
And on the note of sex, I also wasn't fan of hearing about how "he’d had women gaze adoringly up at him, so sated with pleasure they could barely whisper his name," and how he "knew all there was to know about pleasuring a woman," etc. Oh, and the bed he shares with Willow? It's also the one he shared with his previous two wives and where his children had been conceived. Because that's the type of unnecessary information I look forward to in a romance book!
(And if this review seems disjointed, it's because I'm writing from notes I took over two months ago. Sorry!)
And with that...
And may I never recall you again, book.
(This was read as a buddy-read with the
Unapologetic Romance Readers group.) -
3 Estrellitas. No ha estado mal, pero no es lo que más me ha gustado de Teresa Medeiros. De ésta autora he leído sobre todo novelas de regencia o victorianas, y me faltaba en medieval. Aunque está entretenida, me ha faltado algo, quizás que me ha resultado un libro muy simple.
Willow era la adorada hija de un barón que enviudó joven. Una vez vuelto a casar, el lugar de Willow fue relegado al de Cenicienta de sus cinco o seis hermanastros, sirviendo más de niñera y fregona para su madrastra.
Ése fue el desesperado sino de Willow, hasta que un día se presenta un caballero en su castillo buscando esposa para su señor, Bannor, señor de la fortaleza Elsinore. La elegida es Willow al haber sido observada como niñera de sus hermanastros. Aunque la madrastra de Willow tendrá otros nefastos planes.
Willow parte hacia Elsinore, agracedida por el honor que le han hecho de poder disponer de un hogar propio y de librarse de la caterva de sus mocosos hermanastros y de su horrible madrastra.
Y Bannor es lo que toda mujer desearía tener en un hombre, es guapo, honrado, buen guerrero y muy leal. Pero hay algo que no le han dicho a Willow, y es que Bannor enviudó dos veces y entre legítimos y naturales tiene otros doce mocosos. Bannor no quiere otra esposa a la que amar y le dé mas hijos, le trae sin cuidado si es fea, lo que quiere es una niñera, una madre para sus hijos; y ésa hermosa joven no parece la mejor elección que ha podido hacer su mayordomo.
Humillada por su esposo y los hijos de éste, Willow demostrará que es más de lo que se espera de ella y se armará de paciencia para ocupar su lugar y ganarse a los mocosos de Bannor, y a su padre.
Del romance no puedo decir mucho porque no me ha parecido nada del otro mundo, no destacaría a Bannor como un gran protagonista, porque me parece que ha sido Willow quien mejor ha llevado la historia. Es más, destaco más la relación de Willow con los hijos de Bannor, que con éste.
En parte el libro ha tenido sus momentos cómicos gracias a las travesuras de los niños, y aunque está entretenido y se deja leer, no me ha parecido un gran libro. Teresa Medeiros los tiene mejores, pero sí admito que me ha dejado con ganas de leer el segundo libro. -
I love books that can make me laugh and I love books that can make me cry. This one did both! It has kind of a Cinderella beginning. A widow with a little girl marries and when she shows up, she has not only 2 wicked step-siblings for the little girl, but a whole carriage full of them. The father doesn't die and leave her alone with this dastardly crowd, he just doesn't defend her against them when they turn her into their slave. Thirteen years later she agrees to marry a man she's never seen to get away from them. When she arrives at her new home, she finds that her new husband has 12 dreadful children of his own! He doesn't want a wife, but a mother for his children. Children that he is terrified of!
The ensuing battles are hilarious! They do everything kids can do to run her off. When nothing works, they join forces with their new mama to wear papa down. I was thoroughly entertained!!
Very seldom do I find a book that has a hero and a heroine that I like all the way through the book. This one does. I loved both H&H and the kids as bratty as they were, were just delightful!
This is the first book written by Teresa Medeiros that I've read and I can't wait to get to the others I have. -
There were some good moments in this adult fairy tale, but on the whole it didn’t quite work for me. From the blurb I expected blended family issues but not wall-to-wall monsterettes, non-stop o’clock. And I ❤️ children in romance books. In this one, my inner Mary Poppins was white knuckling her umbrella while looking for the nearest exit. Anyhoo, the third act drama was cheesy goodness and worth the wait.
Quibble: While historically accurate, I didn’t care for the youthful secondary romance. -
This was a buddy read with the always fantastic Unapologetic Romance Readers Group.
24/8 - The historical inaccuracies just killed this for me. Often I don't mind if the characters don't exactly speak the way they should for the era the book is set, or if there is the odd out of a place piece of weaponry or mode of transport, but this book had so many things wrong I was constantly drawn out of the story (not that I was all that 'engrossed' anyway).
At no point did I find myself feeling any sympathy or liking towards 'Bannor the Bold' *snort*. I can't think of a weaker male MC I've ever come across (there have been quieter, 'bookish' types but they didn't appear nearly as weak as Bannor). I think if a real knight (or whatever he was) of that era was beaten (physically and mentally) by his own children with his men watching on, those men would lose all faith in him. If he can't control a group of children aged 13 and under, how's he supposed to control an army against the rampaging French? The Cinderella connection was tenuous and didn't add to the appeal of the story, in fact I didn't really like all those children. In my head they all looked the same - grubby faces with ratty hair and dirt-smeared and torn clothes (how could they look otherwise with the amount of trouble that lot got into?) and all I wanted to do with them was put the fear of ME into them (as my mum always said, no child of mine is going to behave in that way and get away with it). Then we had the ridiculous reference to Snow White, which was nearly 500 years too early for the 1360 date of this story.
There was also the always irritating typos - grammar and spelling, but (YAY) the punctuation was fine - and a couple of cases of the author not knowing what the word she was using actually meant.
I also wasn't happy (although, not all that surprised) when I discovered that the story finished at 93% or on page 337, the rest was advertising and samples of the books that made up the rest of the series.
Unless there was another Unapologetic Romance Readers BR I highly doubt I'll be paying money to read any further into this series. -
Barron has eleventy bajillion children who are wrecking havoc on his peace. So he tells his manslave to fetch him a woman who can mother his children without ~inflaming his boner. TOO BAD HE GETS WILLOW!! SHE'S A STRAIGHT-UP HOTTIE!!!
1. SO CREEPED OUT BY THE SECONDARY ROMANCE OF...THE TWO 13-YEAR OLD CHILDREN??? I DON'T CARE ABOUT HISTORICAL ACCURACY WHEN THEY'RE PREPUBESCENT, SORRY.
2. I was completely disappointed by the handling of the no-babies plotline. IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR A HEROINE WHO IS LEGIT LIKE "NO BABIES, NO THANK YOU" AND DOESN'T FALL DOWN IN JOY WHEN IT TURNS OUT SHE'S KNOCKED UP? I know, historically, it's not a conversation that necessarily works quite like it would in a contemporary setting, but a) birth control has always been a thing, and b) I'm pretty sure that not all womankind throughout all of history have been super gungho about babies because SEE #1. (And I don't fault women who DO want babies! BUT WHY ALL HEROINES????)
3. Holy shit those kids.
4. The tone of this thing made me pretty uncomfortable several times? I'm not sure if it was the narrative, or some of the ~historically accurate details, but it sometimes came together in a whole that was kind of...shudder-worthy. -
I loved Teresa Medeiros and it pains me to say what I am going to say about one of her books: I read 40% and have to throw in the towel 6 months later. I know I will never pick this up again. There isn’t enough time for nonsense like this.
I didn’t read enough for me to leave a rating, but if I had to it would have been 1 star. What a load of you know what. This entire series is poorly done. Or I am just not much for fairy tales as romance. -
Me ha encantado.
Sobre todo por todo el humor que lleva entre sus páginas. Me ha encantado ese lord disputando una guerra contra una piara de niños. He adorado a los protas, y las historias secundarias muy bien incrustadas dentro de la historia.
Muy recomendable -
Lord Bannor the Bold is feared throughout the lands, even a whisper of his name has others quivering in their boots, his virility is legendary, his talent with the sword is unmatched, but his children terrify the living daylights out of him. With their knack for conjuring up trouble, Bannor needs a wife with a gentle hand who will treat them as her own and teach them the manners they need desperately. His once condition, make sure she is homely, for Bannor never wants to be tempted to have children again.
Willow, once had a dream, when she found out she had a new mama on the way, she celebrated and couldn't wait to embrace her in a hug. Her dream was abruptly halted when her stepmother treated her no differently than a maid and handed over the raising of her bratty children. When a steward arrives with the offering to take Willow as the bride for his Lord, he believes he has found the gentle, robust, and homely bride his Lord has asked for. That quickly changes when he gets a closer look and finds a raven haired beauty with a grace he has never seen before, his Lord is going to kill him.
Bannor is not happy, he wanted a wife who would not tempt him, he has one who tempts him in everyway imaginable. What to do...of course, have his evil spawn children have their way until she begs to leave the castle. The battle has been drawn, although Willow won't back down and finds some unexpected allies along the way. Bannor can't recall being this entertained ever, but the one thing he wants is Willow's surrender.
Wonderful read, I loved the whole aspect of this story. Bannor the bold, ends up Bannor the flustered where Willow is concerned. Highly entertaining. -
Another day, another my reading list and library checkouts and life too busy to invest in this particular tale. It was ok, until it got boring.
DNF-somewhere between 30&65% -
Re-read after 20 years and still charming!
-
Promising start, but unfortunately it fizzled out in the middle and got too farcical for my taste. It regained it's heart a bit towards the end, not only that the feelings between the protagonists became more developed, but also that between Bannor and his multitude of children esp Desmond. I like the growth of Desmond as a character throughout the book. There were definitely many laugh out loud moments, but at the sacrifice of the central romance, which was not substantial enough for me. The heroine compromised her initial high spirit by falling for Bannor too early thereby spending the rest of the time finding ways to capture his attention and heart.
-
Sons are a heritage from the Lord
children a reward from Him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
Psalm 127
nemu ni judul pas ubek2 bagian historical romance di amazon...
ratingnya 4,3/5 n dari 121 reviews, 75 kasi 5 bintang ^^
hmmmmmm,, gw lgnsung tertarik (bgt) my 1st Teresa Medeiros book ^^v
Reaksi gw pas bc page 1
ow ow England 1347
oh my, medieval era,,,
hmmm gw gak tlalu demen HR di era ini..
agak ribet ngebayangin setting n baju2 mrka...
tapiiii, thx to the tudor -tv series- yg mnurut gak tlalu beda jauh setingnya gw lumayan sukses mengvisualisasi ni novel di otak gw ^^
Prologue nya aja dah mantaphh
cinderella bgt, hehehe
Lady Willow of Bedlington gak pernah menyangka hidupnya akan berubah 180º sejak kedatangan ibu tiri nya yg baru...
momen indah yg dia nanti2kan berubah jd bencana krna ayahnya lupa memberitahu willow kalo dia bakalan punya saudara2 tiri.
Bukan cuma 2 tapi 6 saudara tiri yg menganggap rendah diri nya *surprise*
Sir Bannor the Bold, master of Elsinore, pride of the English yg sudah sangat capek ama kelakuan anak2nya yg super duper nakal,
akhirnya meminta Hollis sahabat sekaligus org kepercayaannya utk mencarikan dia istri yg akan mejadi ibu anak2nya dan yg dapat membimbing mereka ke jalan yg benar...
Berhasilkah Hollis?
Setelah 2 bulan keliling desa2 Inggris utk mencari gadis yg bisa 'menjinakkan' anak2 Bannor, Hollis berhasil menemukan Willow...
Willow yg sedang 'menaklukkan' adik2 tirinya di anggap sangat cucok mnjd lady of Elsinore.
Sesuaikah Willow dgn persyaratan Bannor yaitu calon istrinya tidak boleh membangkitkan lust dia.. hmpfh
Pada awalnya mnurut Hollis Willow adl gadis yg tepat, tapi itu sebelum dia benar2 'melihat' Willow...
Bannor was going to kill him. kata2 ini muncul di benak Hollis dlm prjalan plg ke Elsinore...
Willow, di lain pihak sangat bersemangat krna brhasil terbebas dr neraka yg di ciptakan saudara2 tirinya.
Walopun ada jg rasa takut krna brsedia menikah dgn org yg belum pernah dia liat...
Apakah Bannor jawaban dr doa2nya, seorang prince charming yg selalu hadir di mimpinya...
Harapan Willow dikit lagi mnjadi kenyataan saat meliat castle nya Bannor, apalgi saat dia melihat sosok Bannor yg luar biasa kerennn(hot,hard,hairy)
Tapiii, mimpi buruknya msh brlanjut pas dia meliat segerombolan anak2 yg berdiri di samping dan di pelukan Bannor..
10 anak dan 1 bayi!!!
Ngakak gw di bagian ini, willow yg kaget langsung naek lg ke dlm kereta... LOL
Bannor jg gak kalah terkejut meliat istri barunya yg memesona, i was going to kill you Hollis,...
Rencana nya pasti gagal kalo istri baru nya sprti Willow,, dia gak mau lg punya anak...
Apa daya, potentnya dia menurun dr pendahulu2nya.
kakeknya punya 69 anak, ayahnya 53...
Bannor ampe mlesetin moto keluarga mrka dari 'To conquer or die,' jadi 'Be fruitful, and multiply.'
soooo, Bannor mutusin utk annulment n mengembalikan Willow ke keluarga dia, yg ditentang ama Hollis-krna Hollis tau perlakuan mrka ke willow.
Kata Hollis klo Bannor gak mau, dia bersedia ngegantiin posisi Bannor jd suami willow, kali ini giliran Bannor yg sgt tidak stuju..
Lebih baik Willow msuk biara drpd di sentuh pria lain,, posesif Bannor dah muncul bo,, sweeeeettt.. hehehe
Gw enjooooy bgt baca ni buku...
gw jd inget pilem favorit gw Sound of Music...
Charming the Prince sukses bikin gw ngakak n terharu (baca: mewek)
my kind of HR ^^v -
OMG! I liked this!
At first when I started liking it I felt like I was betraying myself because I,by default ,HATE heroes in HR that have bastards.
This one DID NOT HAVE THEM! He just took what ever kids because he was a bastard. Cute,right?
I know I'm weird because of all this but there is just something that puts me of when it comes to heroes that abhor any kind of prevention.
The book was really cute and lovable.
The only thing I DID mind was when the nanny told the heroine it is not a must do for the hero to tell her he loves her. All of his previous wifes were happy because they just knew he loved them. Ummmm, after reading the whole book and reading about wife no.1 and 2. I kind of find that not so true. The heroine LIVED with him for a big chuck of time and they interacted. The previous wifes were just there a day or two he would get the knocked up and go to war. He had 7 kids out of witch he has seen the birth of...zero. So you get my meaning. :)
That sentence bugged me because it was a)wrong b)unnecessary c)I am weird that way,yes :) -
Charming the Prince
3 Stars
Bannor the Bold has finally returned after years of fighting the king's wars only to discover that the greatest enemy is at home - his incorrigible offspring. Bannor decides that the perfect solution is a wife to care for them, so he sends his steward to find one, preferably someone meek, mild and maternal who will not tempt him to father any more children. Unfortunately, said steward returns with Lady Willow Bedlington, a beauty who decides to teach him a lesson and joins forces with his imps. What else can a warrior do but surrender?
While this has its funny moments, the slapstick-style humor becomes tedious after a while. Moreover, aside from a side mention of King Edward III and the conflicts with the French, the historical elements are virtually non-existent.
The romance has potential as Willow and Bannor are sweet together (despite his initial asshattery), but some of the tropes are not my cup of tea, especially the fact that Bannor has 12 children by 2 different wives (no he isn't Captain Von Trapp), and the purple prose is so 1999.
Overall, not the best Medieval romance I've read, but it's good for a laugh. -
A fast, fun fairy tale loosely based on Cinderella but with so many elements reshuffled or turned on their ear that it’s far from a barely-disguised rehashing. There’s some bite mixed with the charm, some pathos, and a nice balance of light and dark. Really enjoyed it.
-
I absolutely loved It! It had me laughing and it was heartwarming. The banter with all the children as well as the relationship and spunk between Bannor and his faithful manservant Hollis make the book that much more enjoyable.
-
Overall rating: 5 "Princess" stars!
Triggers:
Cheating:
Love triangle:
Sex with om/ow:
Intimate pasts:
OW/OM drama:
HEA:
My review:
Okay so when I read the blurb to this book, I knew I was either going to love it or hate it. My biggest thing lately is that even though I find myself drawn back to historicals time and time again, I seriously seriously SERIOUSLY hate reading about rakes. Well ... when you hear the hero has all these children, one must wonder if he just plows through the women. I can tell you with 200% certainty (even though it isn't confirmed till probably about 75% into the book) but the hero is NOT a manwhore in any way, shape or form.
Actually, Lord Banner himself was a "bastard" child of his father. His childhood is absolutely heartbreaking when the truth comes out. He had a rakish reputation because time and again babies would show up at his castle and he would accept them as his own. I believe at the start of the book he has about 10 children? Anyway, the premise of the story is that Lord Banner was married twice and lost both of his wives. He has LOTS of children and now that he is finished with his missions for the King and battles that he fought in as a fierce warrior, he is now at home with all of his children and does not even know how to DEAL. His children literally terrorized him LMAO It was quite funny actually, but of course as the reader, I knew exactly why they were doing it. They were wanting for his attention. For so long they only had their mothers and then when they died his nurse maids etc., but not their father's affections/attention.The enraged howls and demands for his surrender escaped, then subsided into ominous silence.
LMAO This made me laugh so damn hard!
"Please, Lord," he muttered, not yet willing to give up on his old ally. "Not that . Anything but that ."
He had once endured four months in a Calais dungeon, chained to the dank stone wall with only lice and rats for company. When his captors had fed him rancid fuel, he'd choked down every bite and asked for second helpings. After they had stretched him on the rack, he'd confounded them by enjoying a most satisfying nap. When they had branded his flesh with a glowing iron, he'd bit back his howls of pain and laughed in their faces. But not even his most diabolical enemy had managed to devise a torture so cruel, so likely to break a man's will and make him beg for mercy as ...
"Papa?"
Bannor groaned in mortal agony.
It came again-the dulcet lisp of an angel. "Papa? Won't you come out and pway wif us?"
Bannor swore beneath his breath. 'Twist just like that shrewd imp Desmond to send his six-year-old sister to bargain for a truce. None of his children were as far or as sweet as wee Mary Margaret.
Or was it Margaret Mary?
So you get the idea. Lord Bannor just doesn't know how. to. deal! Simple as that. Now, Lord Bannor's father was a horrible man. He was, of course, married and sired many children with his wife, but he also had MANY children - like 50? with other women. Banner's mother was one of the, but Bannor's mother never saw any wrong with his father and loved him dearly. She ended up paying with her life. That is something that Lord Bannor must live with everyday, but I find that his reasons for taking in these children as so admirable.
I'll provide a spoiler for further detail for whoever is interested.
So Bannor takes in these children and because of his strong beliefs - he wants his second in comment Hollis (who I loved!) to go out and find him a wife. A woman to marry who was very motherly BUT also NOT appealing to the eye. He doesn't want to be tempted to bed her and procreate with her. He can barely handle the children that he does have. Hollis proceeds to go off and do just that for his prince .. that is until he meets Willow.
When Hollis sees Willow for the first time in the Woods - taking care of her "charges" she not only has a bonnet on her head, but also has an apron filled with apples. So from the distance he SEES her, he thinks that his prayers have been answered. That IS until after he offers to buy her hand in marriage and she strips her bonnet off and takes off her apron with her apples tumbling down LOL That was hilarious as well.
So let me give you some background on Willow. This is also a Cinderella type story, so Willow's Father was betrothed to a woman who would become a mother to Willow. Willow has been wanting a mother since her own mother died and she has prayed every night to have a mother to want her and love her. Then she gets an eye full of her step mother and ALL of her children. Unlike Cinderella, this woman has multiple children. I think 6 initially? Then she has more. Her step mother and her children take away all of her father's time so that he has no time for Willow. It's really depressing to read that beginning part about her. My heart literally broke for her. I really WANTED her to meet her prince charming, just like she dreamed about nightly. So going along with this forced marriage seemed like the answer to her prayers.
When Willow and Bannor first meet - each has the wrong impression about things. Bannor thinks that she is a "goddess" and the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Due to that he DOES want to KILL Hollis LOL! But Willow takes his look as that he doesn't like her at all. Bannor is still trying to be noble and not to "sire" any children so he tries his hardest to stay away from Willow. He avoids her, but watchers her from afar. It's really rather cute. The whole story is cute actually. I will stop there with explaining the plotline so the rest can be a surprise LOL. But that's how their courtship begins.
I loved the two small side romances too! TOO cute! This is one of those light hearted, low drama/angst type of books. I have to warn some of my safety gang friends that even though these two are attracted to each other and loyal to a fault from the start, they do not get together right away. It takes awhile with both of them being idiots from time to time, but I enjoyed it anyway.
QUOTES:"Your hair," he whispered, the spicy-sweet warmth of his breath caressing her ear, "is a cloud of the softest sable. Any man would long to bury his face in it. Your skin ..." he murmured, sliding his hand around to cup her cheek, "is as gold and sweet as nectar warmed by the sun. Your limbs ...: he stroked his hands down her arms until they were palm to palm, then laced his fingers through hers, holding her hostage to the gentle press of his body against hers, "are delicate, yet strong enough to blind me to your heart."
Her sigh was all the invitation he needed. He bent her back over his arm, taking her mouth with a kiss so deep and sweet it made her knees crumple with desire.
Willow knew from Bannor's agonized groan that he never intended to lower her to the straw mattress, never intended to come down on top of her, never intended to nestle the bulk of his weight between the cradle of her thighs.
So when he did just that, she could not bear to reproach him. She could only cling to his shoulders and arch against him, baring her throat to the moist searing caress of his lips.
Was it any wonder she mistook the rhythmic pounding she heard for the passion-thickened throb of her pulse? Or the trickle of sandstone for the sound of the wall around her heart crumbling to dust beneath Bannor's tender siege?
But there was no mistaking the deafening crash that followed, or Mary Margaret's shrill cry. "Oh, Desmond, he's biting her! Make him stop before he gobbles her all gone!"He was still suffering fierce aftershocks when he dragged Willow into his lap and tangled his tongue with hers in a long, hot kiss.
They both started guiltily when an impatient knock sounded on the door, followed by Mary Margaret's imperious tones. "Willow, has Papa gone to heaven yet?"
Bannor buried a chuckle in Willow's hair. "Indeed he has," he whispered, "and you, angel, are the one who sent him there."He smoothed Willow's sweat-tangled hair away from her face as they both gazed down into the angry, red face of their baby daughter with pure adoration. "Before you came into my life," he said, "I believed that God had abandoned me. Now I know that He has blessed me beyond measure."
-
This was sweet in a funny way. This book is a little bit like Cinderella that only wants to be loved and find herself with a Prince Charming and his dozen children. There is a lot of humor around how children can be monsters in the skin of angels, and being someone whom has spent years in the presence of children, I was laughing a lot at the reaction of the parents. It is not a super great book, but it was nice enough.
-
I don't now why I picked this book up. After all, I know I don't like totally anachronistic books - I can take feisty heroines and PC heroes that are ahead of their time (people like that existed even if they weren't the majority) - but when the books go all out trying to portray a modern story in past times, they really lose me.
The book is not getting a worse rating because I chuckled at times. The purple prose using "medieval" terms was hysterical - I've never heard a vagina being referred as a 'brimming chalice' or the clitoris as a 'live ember' (made me think what kind of fire she had down there). But that was the only thing I liked. I find bratty children tiresome instead of cute and there were like a million of them in this book.
Definitely not trying the rest of the series. -
I really liked this story. It is really funny. The situations that the author places the father in and the descriptions of the children had me laughing a lot. There were a few scenes that felt a bit superfluous in my opinion and I am not a fan of the romance scenes. At first, I thought it would be a good one to recommend for a teenage girl, but I quickly realized that the romance scenes exclude many younger readers, which is a shame. It was thoroughly enjoyable. I was having Sound of Music flashbacks the whole time.
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The book was confusing to me. Even when I look at the cover i am confused. It looks like a fairytale but it is supposed to be romance yet, it turns out to be a not very funny comedy about children and family.
Author had a lot of elements going for this book, history, fairytale, romance, family, social issues, war, ... yet all of them where just glossed over with nothing left for me to care about.
