Most helpful customer reviews
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3.0 out of 5 stars
great start, but then...., Oct 30 2001
Nice start to the book, but it soon let me down. Their marriage was arranged years before to heal two warring Irish Clans. He will not consumate their marriage because of the 'curse' that all brides of the Black Swans die within a year and a day usually through childbirth. His compulsion for this obsession (is never really fleshed out to buy into it) causes him to abandoned her on their wedding night, which causes her brother to kill his father. Her brother kills his father too easily, she forgives groom too easily, she wins his family over too easily, they forgive her brother too easily, and we get tired of him running from her.There are moments of brightness, and the writing craft is well, a nice voice, but then she gets to the point where she is 8 months pregnant and just HAS to go riding on a horse because she is bored and - surprise - ends up in trouble. I am sorry. I hated this when Garwood did it 10 years ago and it plays just as poorly now. Sorry, but 8 month pregnant women DO NOT ride horses for fun. They can barely see their feet, let alone stick them in stirrups!! I have been pregnant and I am an avid rider. The two do not mix. This insults the intelligence of the character, and insults the intelligence of the readers. At my romance site where we discuss books of the genre, this is a big pet peeve!! This forced 'ploy' to put the heroine in danger, with her going to great lengths to escape people warning her it is not safe, seems like the writer gets to a point she cannot think of anything else to do and goes 'I know lets get her to sneak off 8 months pregnant to go riding a horse'... and it should rank up there with 'it was a dark and stormy night...' This sort of cop out gives the romance genre its lack of respect in many corners. I enjoy the books in the Irish Eyes series, some reaching a 5 star rating from all in our group, but this one was disappointing. The writer has good skills and talent, but she needs to be a bit more original than following in the trite ruts trod way too often by others.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A colorful look into Irelandd's past, Jun 5 2001
In 1562 Ireland, Lord Cormac Riordan never planned to marry so that the family curse of wives dying in childbirth will finally end. However, to end a feud, his father forces Cormac to wed Claire O'Donnell, who has loved him even when she was a little girl. Cormac does not want any harm to come to Claire so he decides to marry her, but leave her on their wedding night for a year and a day so that her family can then take her safely back home. However, his ploy fails when her brother Rory kills his father during an angry outburst over Cormac's cowardly desertion. Cormac returns to do the right thing and avoid a bloody outbreak, but is also falling in love with his bride. In 1562 Ireland, Lord Cormac Riordan never planned to marry so that the family curse of wives dying in childbirth will finally end. However, to end a feud, his father forces Cormac to wed Claire O'Donnell, who has loved him even when she was a little girl. Cormac does not want any harm to come to Claire so he decides to marry her, but leave her on their wedding night for a year and a day so that her family can then take her safely back home. However, his ploy fails when her brother Rory kills his father during an angry outburst over Cormac's cowardly desertion. Cormac returns to do the right thing and avoid a bloody outbreak, but is also falling in love with his bride. Once the reader gets pass Cormac's illogical plan of marrying to end the feud but not understanding that running will make it much worse, the audience will find a well written sixteenth century romance. The story line brings alive an Ireland filled with clan warfare through the strong cast, especially the heroine. Ana Seymour has written an entertaining historical romance that will please sub-genre fans, but THE BLACK SWAN requires the reader to follow the arrayed dominoes starting with the second tile. Harriet Klausner
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