Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
47 used & new from CDN$ 0.01

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Bride Quest:  The Temptress
 
 

The Bride Quest: The Temptress (Mass Market Paperback)

by Claire Delacroix (Author) "I THINK 'TIS A TERRIBLE IDEA," ESMERAUDE COMplained ..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
Price: CDN$ 9.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Usually ships within 4 to 6 weeks.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

11 new from CDN$ 3.78 36 used from CDN$ 0.01

Product Details


Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Set during the Crusades, the newest entry in Delacroix's Bride Quest series (after The Beauty) brims with rich historical detail, entertaining banter and romantic tension. A handsome knight often smiled upon by fortune, Bayard of Villonne must marry quickly to secure Montvieux, his family's holding and legacy. When he is invited to participate in a contest to win the hand of Esmeraude of Ceinne-beithe, an adventure-seeking rural maid who possesses a considerable dowry, Bayard is confident that his victory will come easily. He is not prepared, however, for her challenge. Determined to settle for nothing less than a love match, Esmeraude leads her suitors on a merry chase, dropping occasional riddles to clue them into her whereabouts. With the help of Dame Fortune, Bayard stumbles upon a damsel in distress, whom he quickly realizes is the missing Esmeraude. Although intrigued by his errant bride-to-be, he is unwilling to give her his heart. But when a competitor for Esmeraude's hand attempts to sabotage their union, Bayard can no longer deny his feelings. Without using antiquated dialogue or description, Delacroix captures the essence of the period. Fans of the series, as well as admirers of Johanna Lindsey, will savor this magical tale.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.



From Booklist

Bayard de Villonne has come home to Montvieux after five years spent on tourneys and crusades, hoping to persuade his grandmother to hand it over to his keeping. King Richard, with whom he's spent much time, wants Montvieux, too, and will take it forcefully or peacefully. Bayard's grandmother agrees to hand it over if he marries, so he promptly joins a Bride Quest in which knights from far and wide compete for the hand of Esmeraude of Ceinn-beithe. She knows she should get married, but wants to do so on her own terms. To that end she convinces her maid to accompany her on a grand adventure, and as they traverse the countryside, they leave riddles as clues for the hapless men. Delacroix's romance is fairy-tale-like, with goddesses, saints, and magic vines appearing intermittently to liven things up, and it does, indeed, hold the reader's interest, in spite of Esmeraude's flighty nature and Bayard's unbelievable patience. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
I THINK 'TIS A TERRIBLE IDEA," ESMERAUDE COMplained. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Search inside this book:

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

 
2.0 out of 5 stars The Bride Quest continues, Oct 2 2002
Courtesy of The Best Reviews

Bayard of Villone has recently returned from the Crusades where he has spent the last five years. He left home after a bitter argument with his father which put him at odds with his entire family. He has returned to protect his family's estates from pending attacks. Upon returning home, Bayard's grandmother ropes him into finding a bride in exchange for his uncle's estate of Montvieux, which Bayard desires above all else. So he grudgingly goes on a bride quest, for a woman he has never even seen, and is pleasantly surprised by what he finds.

Esmeraude of Ceinn-beithe is opposed to the competition for her hand in marriage. She refuses to marry for less then the complete love of her husband and will not settle for a marriage of convenience. So she sets out upon a quest of her own, searching for personal adventure. She issues an additional challenge to her potential suitors, leaving them riddles to lead them to her location, testing their intelligence and commitment.

Bayard is bound and determined to win the competition against the other knights, which include his younger brother and his cousins, even before seeing or talking to Esmeraude. When he finds her on her adventure, disguised as a common maid, he knows immediately who she is. He is intrigued by her wit and intellect, which causes him to desire the marriage for more than the holdings it will secure for him. But he swears he will never allow his life to be ruled my emotions, especially love.

Esmeraude was immediately attracted to Bayard, convinced he was the only one for her, when she thought him to be a complete stranger. She is surprised and disappointed, at first, to discover he is one of her suitors on the Bride Quest. Then he tells her he does not believe in love, but wants to marry her because it is mutually beneficial to the both of them. Esmeraude has decided Bayard has one her heart and is the only man for her. So she takes it upon herself to make him admit he loves her before she will agree to be his wife.

Ms Delacroix falls flat with this latest tale in the Bride Quest series. Bayard is an overly cocky and disillusioned knight who thinks he is always right and that he is the greatest knight around. He can't understand how any woman could possibly be uninterested in him. He treats his family poorly, even to the point of trying to steal his cousin's inheritance out from under him. In the end, he starts to come around and even admits he may have been wrong in the past. However he never quite redeems himself to be worthy of winning the quest, in this reviewer's opinion.

Esmeraude is a young lady who has dreams beyond what is expected of women in her time and wants to have some fun and a lasting marriage full of love. She is a dreamer who wants everyone else to dream too. When she sets her heart and mind on Bayard, she doesn't give up and goes after what she wants, not giving up.

The plot is rather limited, revolving more around the characters than excitement and action in the story. There were some good side stories going on throughout as well, with an enchanted vine and yet another marriage being made while Esmeraude and her knights are on their quests.

This tale is not a favored one of this reviewer and not a "keeper" though it did have some finer points to it. The uninspiring hero detracts from the story and does not seem deserving of his Lady Love, Esmeraude.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3.0 out of 5 stars Hot and cold for me, Jun 6 2002
Maybe I didn't get this book? It was the first Claire Delacroix book I read and I know it's part of a series, so maybe I missed something along the way but I found this book to be confusing and choppy in parts. It started off really good but then it slid into areas that left me scratching my head.

For example: I was shocked with how fast the heroine threw herself at the hero and slept with him just to lose her virginity. It didn't make sense to me that a medieval woman would do that. She was also TSTL at times. The hero was better and he is the only reason I finished reading the book, sad to say. I really got confused when the goddess Fortuna appeared in a tree and was commenting on the hero and heroine. Whats up with that?! Also there were looooong stretches of a poem inserted into the book that went on for chapters and chapters of time. It was a nice poem/story but it seemed like it was just there to fill pages. It took away from the book I thought.

Like I said. Maybe I just did not get this book. Other reviewers seemed to like it so I guess you just have to be the judge. My copy is already in the trade box for the UBS.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Love stories from this time period!, Mar 13 2002
By John Savoy (California, "International Film Maker") - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
"The Temptress" is an amzing read. A story from a time period that I honestly love. Romance and chivalry, damsels and marriages of convenience.

To win a young damsel's hand in marriage seems a simple challenge until the chase begins - Esmeraud's challenge makes her far more exciting than Bayard had dared hoped - But when he follows her across the waters and has to resuce the seductive little minx in disguise he not only knows he has found her but he suddenly realizes she is much too intriguing to ever let her slip through his hands.

"The Temptress" is a magical tale that I found to be both exciting and appealing.

John Savoy
C.E.O. & Financial Advisor
Savoy International
Motion Pictures

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A temptation not to be missed
This is not your average romance. The maiden, Esmeraude is more then willing to give up her virginity and the hero isn't so sure it's a good idea. Read more
Published on Dec 31 2001 by Tisha D. Boldery

4.0 out of 5 stars A Yummy Hero,
THE TEMPTRESS has an almost fairytale quality missing in today's historical offerings and should please those who have been following the tales of the women of Ceinne-beithe. Read more
Published on Dec 17 2001 by Jody Allen

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best
For fans of the Bride Quest books, this is a can't miss installment. 'The Temptress' restored my interest in the series. Read more
Published on Dec 11 2001 by horseshoes3

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting vividly written medieval romance
In 1194, Bayard returns home from the Crusades, but worries over a pending attack on his family holdings. Read more
Published on Dec 4 2001 by Harriet Klausner

Only search this product's reviews



Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.