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3.0 out of 5 stars
3 1/2 Stars is what I would like 2 give it Long & Drawn out, Jul 18 2003
I recently read this book because someone from Romantic Times Reader Message Board recommended it and because it had Scotland (which is my favorite romance subject) in the plot. I read the book "The Conqueror" years ago (when it first came out) and I just discovered while reading this one that it is the pre-quel to this one. The book starts out as Stephan is a young child being fostered by (more like political hostage) the King of England while he is there he meets 3 other individuals 1st being Duncan, a young boy (who's father is the King of Scotland) is also being held. 2nd being Prince Rufus (who will later become King) and Rufus has a like of men, 3rd being Prince Henry who is brother to Rufus and of course, resents his older brother. Stephen while traveling home is wounded and his men rest in a forest, our heroine Mary (Princess of Scotland) is in disguise and on her way to meet her betrothed for a tryst. She is captured and brought to Stephen he asks her repeatedly who she is because even though she is in disguise he know she must be a noblewoman. His Lust for her overcomes his rational behavior and he beds her... of course this back fires on him. He is already betrothed to someone else (a marriage approved and selected by the King himself)the King HATES Mary's father (the King of Scotland) and her father HATES (with a passion) King Rufus. This sends the story into some very interesting political turmoil at court which includes Stephen's father "Rolfe" in the story. The story was long but I could not put it down. Mary is stubborn and very young (which was a norm for the writing style for when this book was written) she does some stupid things in the course of her relationship with Stephen. She is torn between her naive perception of her Father, her loyalty to Scotland, her growing LUST/LOVE for Stephen and last but not least her own head strong ways. Stephen is no better, he has issues with the King that he never shares with anyone (accept the readers.. if you get what I mean), doesn't trust Mary-exiles her, hits her (although only once), has sexual relations outside of their marriage and goes to war on her family (Kings orders). Geoffrey is Stephen's brother he has a pivotal part in this book too, and I actually found his part more exciting and interesting. He is sexy, virile and sounds gorgeous like his father Rolfe.. but Geoffrey is to be a priest, in fact he is already in the order so you can imagine his story would be a bit more fascinating to watch. His struggle with Religion and his bodies natural "urges" LOL
You also get to see Ceidre, from "The Conqueror", Stephens mother again as well as her and Rolfe's other children. Brenda Joyce always does a Outstanding job at keeping her history 90% accurate and when she strays she has a disclosure at the end of the book. Book does show "Rufus the Red" in a strange and sort of pathetic light. I couldn't figure out if I liked Henry or not there were times when he seemed okay and others were you weren't for certain whose interest he was taking care of. This book has political espionage, incest, murder attempts, homosexuality, the church vs. the crown, betrayal (or was it?) a satisfying read for anyone who likes books and storylines from this time span and written in the 80's. I must also recommend over this one {KINGDOM OF DREAMS} written by Judith McKnaught pretty much almost the same identical story lines but in my opinion more of a fulfilling read... and yes JM's was written first. Respectfully Reviewed
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