The Bartered Bride [Hardcover]

 

 

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I'm a little surprised at the bad to mediocre reviews for The Bartered Bride because I absolutely loved it, getting completely drawn into the sweeping adventure. Although in saying that I'm brand new to author Mary Jo Putney and don't generally read a lot of historical romances so I can't make any real comparisons either. What I can say is that I couldn't put this book down; I loved MJP's style of writing, the depth of her characters, the original story ideas, the suspense, the exotic locations and the absence of any TSTL moments.

This was a couple that actually talked to each other, so that the conflict here wasn't based on silly secrets or misunderstandings. Gavin and Alex are both adults carrying scars and they dealt with things sensibly. (i.e. they don't jump each others bones and fall in love within a matter of days) They get to know each other, they disagree, and they have issues that need time and patience to work through.

And speaking of patience what a superb hero we get in in Gavin, he's just, well...such a nice guy. I fell a little bit in love with him even though I prefer my heroes more on the alpha side. And without going into detail I also have to give credit to the research into the time, it felt very authentic. I even learned me a thing or two.

Alexandra Warren and her young daughter are returning from Australia after the death of her husband when their ship is attacked by pirates. Captured, separated and sold into slavery its going to be 6 months before Alex gets her first glimpse at rescue in that of Captain Elliot.

American shipping merchant Gavin Elliot has built a fortune in the Far East but his adventures are coming to en end. En route to England he has one last anchor drop before he starts a new life. Whilst being shown around the (make believe) Indonesian island of Maduri by the ruling Sultan, Gavin is appalled to see a European woman being auctioned off in a slave market. Before he can buy her freedom the sultan acquires the woman for himself, (to use against Gavin as a means of blackmail and to acquire his shipping fleet.) The Sultan then offers a wager; if Gavin can beat him in "the lion's game"- a series of tests decided on by the role of the dice, the woman is his; if Gavin loses he gives up his fleet and ten years of his life in servitude.

The first half of this book is just awesome, I never knew what contest the role of the dice would bring next, I defiantly didn't expect "worshipping the goddess" however. And while this enters into bodice ripper territory its handled here with ... can I get away with sensitivity? Yeah it's still rape no matter how you look at it but remember Gavin is a nice guy and kinda forced into it.

Okay anyways, the second half of the book takes place in England and while very different its no less enthralling. We have a marriage of convenience, two strangers getting to know and trust each other, a forced lordship, a kidnapping, some surprising sex scenes and charges of murder.

While others have complained about the predictability of the plot here it didn't bother me. Yeah the villains were a bit cartoonish but I found it clever how the story opens with Gavin awaiting trial in the tower of London and then makes its way back to how he got there (big surprise who he "murdered") Towards the end of the story I had forgotten all about his fate and was then on absolute pins as he walks to the hangman's noose, assured of certain death. His inner thoughts here were real and heart wrenching. I'm just so happy to have found a new author with such a huge backlist for me to discover. Adventure and romance await. Cheers

Alexandra Warren left England as a young bride, eager to experience the adventures of a military wife whose husband was stationed in Australia -- that far-off continent Alex thought to be a grand and romantic place. More than a decade later, she sets sail for her homeland as a widow and a mother of an eight-year old daughter, her perspective tainted by the reality of living in Australia and of losing her husband to a shockingly aggressive fever. Although theirs was not a perfect marriage, Alex still grieves for the loss of companionship.

Her daughter, Katie, is a godsend in that respect. Every mother's nightmare is about to come true, however, when the ship they are traveling on is attacked by pirates off the coast of Maduri. A bitterly short battle ensues; while Alex and her daughter wait in their cabin below, the crew of the Amstel abandons ship, leaving the lone female occupants to their grim fate with a cowardly lack of conscience. Slavery is a fact of life on this island in the East Indies. After a desperate struggle, mother and daughter are separated and sold on Maduri, their disparate fates a cruel blessing.

Six months later, an American sea captain weighs anchor in Maduri Harbor. Gavin Elliott has cargo onboard his ship for Sultan Kasan, ruler of this deceptively beautiful island. Kasan has plans for Gavin and his shipping company, Elliott House, a partnership of sorts the Sultan would like to form with it. A tour of the island is meant to persuade Gavin to accept the Sultan's lucrative proposition. Instead, Gavin stumbles upon a slave market where a distinctly European woman is being auctioned off. Appalled, he offers to buy the woman, only to grant the Sultan leverage in a dangerous game where more than one life is at stake.

Honor demands that Gavin stay in Maduri and obtain Alexandra's freedom, whatever the cost. The price of a woman's freedom is high indeed, however. Is Gavin willing to risk his own freedom to release Alex from her damnable fate, to help erase the haunted look from her shimmering, aqua eyes? It's miraculous she has endured life as a slave for as long as she has. Clearly, Gavin must barter with the devil -- and dance to his merry tune -- before Alex's fate can be settled and her daughter found. If they need to scour the world, so be it!

Emotionally fragile Alex has endured hell on earth while in captivity. Her emotional and mental scars run deep, so deep in fact that the thought of intimacy terrifies her. Mary Jo Putney executes these emotional highs and lows with achingly accurate precision. A reader shares Alex's sense of defilement and desperation, and celebrates her indomitable will and ability to endure what could easily shatter a person's soul. Needless to say, Ms. Putney's characterizations are riveting and multi-layered. Her prose is equally textured, and her plot is daringly different. A reader risks emotional devastation along with the heroine, however. THE BARTERED BRIDE is brutally intense on so many levels; it's difficult to remain unaffected by it.

For instance, Gavin and Alex's first physical encounter is devastating and controversial. I've purposefully refrained from revealing more as Ms. Putney has made an obvious choice to shock and disturb her readers, to make an emotional investment in this novel impossible to avoid. Gavin's heroic behaviour is tainted somewhat by the necessity of this act. However, time heals all wounds. Alex is gradually able to overcome her past, to forgive the actions initiated by Sultan Kasan and Gavin's part in fulfilling them. Like a bad memory, the encounter slowly fades from a reader's mind, and a beautifully unfolding love story takes its place.

Both Alex and Gavin are amazingly resilient, complex characters. They marry to stave off a possible scandal upon Alex's return to England, and Gavin's as well. No common marriage, this. A widower himself, Gavin is reluctant to settle for a lukewarm commitment from his wife. He's remarkably patient with Alex, though: a noble man through and through. THE BARTERED BRIDE is filled to brimming with such noble and richly detailed characters. Exotic locales, meticulous research and a haunting humanity complete this novel. Alex and Gavin have more monsters yet to face, but their bond is one that adversity can only strengthen, not destroy.

Ms. Putney is an author of daring, fortitude and fearlessness. THE BARTERED BRIDE is a bargain at any price. It's an evocative and alluring love story that grief and sorrow only sharpen into stunning relief.

I am usually a huge fan of Mary Jo Putney but this particular book left me wanting more. One of the issues is that the first chapter is actually near the end of the story. This sort of tells you what things are leading up to. This for some reason really annoyed me.

Another issue was that while the book was unabridged by tape 5 I found myself skipping parts that seemed to have no bearing on the story as I thought it was dragging on and on and not going anywhere fast.

In this story you learn about Alex who was taken prisoner (along with her daughter) while sailing home from Australia to England. Along comes Gavin 6 months later and sees Alex up for auction at a slave market in the East Indies. He tries to buy her but the Sultan know what he wants and makes him win her instead, yes the last item in the game is easy to figure out is going to happen.

Then they find her daughter and eventually get married along the way there is fires, murders, dishonesty, brutal rapes, unexpected inheritance, deception, an almost hanging etc...

I still recommend the book but I wouldn't put it on my top 10.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Going back to what was!
I opened the book and read the Prologue entitled The End Game dated Autumn 1835 Place The Tower of London

Gavin Elliott is being held for trial, he is accused (falsely, of... Read more

Published on July 18 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting adventure with emotional depth
When returning to England from Australia, Alexandra Warren's ship is attacked by pirates and she is separated from her daughter and sold into slavery. Read more

Published on Aug 14 2002 by booksforabuck

5.0 out of 5 stars WHY did it take me so long to discover this AWESOME author?
Okay, I have to share right off the bat, this is my first Mary Jo Putney book. How this writer escaped me, I'll never know. Read more

Published on Aug 5 2002 by Melissa

4.0 out of 5 stars A little dry, but still good.
I agree with other reviewers who discussed the lack of written emotion in this novel. In fact, I considered it as I read it and noticed that as the novel progresses, so to the... Read more

Published on July 29 2002 by M. Barrera

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Expectations Unfulfilled
I must say that I agree with the previous reviewers who expressed disappointment in this latest effort by Mary Jo Putney. Read more

Published on July 11 2002

2.0 out of 5 stars What Has Happened to Mary Jo Putney?
Mary Jo Putney used to be one of my all time favorites because her characters who had depth. Like many readers, I reread books because I fall in love with the men and women. Read more

Published on May 29 2002 by lovesbooks

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed Again
My favorite Mary Jo Putney books are about characters fighting their own flaws(Rake and the Reformer). Read more

Published on May 15 2002 by Irene McHugh

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
I'm a big fan of Mary Jo Putney, having most recently finished the China Bride (which I heartily recommend), but this book seems contrived to me. Read more

Published on May 8 2002 by dreamweaver25

5.0 out of 5 stars Puntey never disappoints
Gavin, the owner and captain of a shipping line, first sees Alexandra when she has been put up for sale as a slave on an East Indies island. Read more

Published on May 8 2002 by Monica Wanat

4.0 out of 5 stars action-packed historical romance
In 1834, American sea merchant Gavin Elliot sets sail from The East Indies for London after making his fortune in trade. Read more

Published on May 4 2002 by Harriet Klausner

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