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Even though I didn't like the plot or the romance, I have to say that Shana Abe can write. There's nothing wrong with the way she describes the setting, the people, or the customs. The only bad part is that her writing - in this book at least - tends to tell and not show. Because of this, I just couldn't believe that Amiranth and Tristan were truly in love.At age 15, Amiranth was wed by order of King Edward to Tristan Gerault, the young knight that she had loved from afar since she was a girl. W...
The Secret Swan is a beautiful historical romance about a fifteen year old girl named Lady Amiranth St Clare, who has been hopelessly in love with eighteen year old Earl of Haverlocke, Tristan Geriant since she was just a little girl. The day finally arrives and all her dreams and fantasies come true, she is about to marry the love of her life. But at last, Tristan only married her out of duty and for her bloodline. Soon after they are wed, he abandons her at one of his manors -Safere- and rides...
Dark, unusual, and rewarding romance in the saddest of settings, a castle devastated by the plague. The Black Death wiped out entire villages and a substantial portion of medieval Europe's population, so there must have been many instances where a warrior returned after years away to find few or no survivors. In this story, a knight has come home to reclaim the wife and castle he abandoned 8 years ago when he joined the Crusades. What he finds is a castle and village all but empty in the afterma...
Lots and lots of pain and angst. Though the story itself dragged a bit, the emotions continued to be intense. The sort-of mystery played out to the very end. The eventual HEA both emotionally and sexually was believable. Don’t look for any love scenes before about half way, but the tension is there, and when it finally happens, it’s as well-written as the rest of the book. Nice writing and historical and setting detail, but only as needed :>). I’ll look for more by this author.
a lot of underdeveloped potential parts of the story that wouldve been interesting to expand on were left untouchedThe h's time when abandoned at the manor was not discussed at allthat was a huge wasteit could have given us more insight into her growth not nearly enough grovelingthe end comes and it doesnt really feel like they love each other if anything the H just gets more abusive
THIS WAS SO ROMANTIC IN THE CLASSICAL WAY! I loved how MC-centric it was, and the beauty of young love scorned and how much life can change a person. The setting was written after recent the Black Plague, and it was so damned interesting, I couldn't put it down!AMARINTH's love for TRISTAN was pure, and it was the young girl's love that turned into bitterness and rejection when she overheard him and another boy calling her plain, while her cousin was the beauty of her family. In all truth, Amarin...
3.5 starsBeautiful prose, strong narrative. Good character development but it could have gone further. The story flowed smoothly & no flaws stick out. I suppose I wish I could have connected with Amarinth better. She was so guarded & bitter through the whole story (with good reason). Overall, great novel.
Some Spoilers Here. But I'm not hiding them.I like romance novels. I think they get a bad reputation from pretentious readers, but I like a book that will make me smile, that has characters I can cheer for, that just takes me away from my daily hustle for a little while. Romance novels -- the ones that aren't trying to imitate the Sookie Stackhouse series or 50 Shades of Grey -- are the mac and cheese in my literary life. Sure, you can live without it, but why would you want to?I could live with...
This is solidly written. I felt like the characters were really moving though their world rather than through a poorly constructed and slapped together setting. The whole book hinges on Amiranth being madly in love with this guy. At some point she even claim she "knows him better than she knows herself". But the thing is, they never actually spent any meaningful time together. She fell in love with him by watching him from afar and finding him the perfect physical specimen. Then she projected on...
One of those really painful to read stories. But oh so beautifully written it stole my breath away!
I admit that when I first read this a month ago, I really really enjoyed it. It reminded me of one of my favorite books... Something Wonderful. But I'm giving it 3 stars because I just now had to go back and read the summary to remember what this book was about. I guess that means that the story doesn't really just Grab and Stick with you. But... one thing I'll give this book is that both the hero and heroine are extremely likeable throughout the book... which leaves to rooting for them to work
The book started in a beautiful manner as it captured the reunion of a long lost earl who finally found his way back from the war after 8 years of captivity and his bride, the young girl he left behind soon after the wedding. That girl has grown in his absence into a stunning independent woman, who no longer looks upon him with adoration in her eyes, who in fact denies her own identity in order to remain free and unchained to any man. Unfortunately, the last part of the book was taken up by his
A disappointingly quiet book with a tepid plot. The hero was a bit of a jerk. The heroine would have been better off without him. Also, surprised she stayed at that abandoned little manor for so long.
It's so wonderfully written with bittertaste that leaves me aching....