Customer Reviews

The Princess: The Bride Quest #1

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book. The author could have made it very serious and heavy (and she sometimes gets close to that in parts) but she keeps it lighthearted. It was funny to read what the brothers would bring to make her laugh. I wish Luc's would have been more creative. The tone of the story was more like a fairy tale then serious historical depiction. There is one part of the story that just didn't seem to flow, it was almost like an after thought. At the end, after they are married, for some reason Brianna gets it in her head that Luc married her just for the seal and that he doesn't love her. Brianna was smarter than to truly believe that so it seemed out of place and out of character.

I was really looking forward to this book, and the entire 'bride quest'series, but I didn't like most of the characters in 'The Princess'. I found Brianna a lukewarm heroine at best, throughout the book her childish efforts to deliberately misunderstand everything happening around her were exhausting. I did like the hero, Luc, and Ms. Delacroix wasted a fine character by inserting him into this slow-moving story. By the time the murders began, I was scanning each paragraph for the main idea and wishing the action would speed up, or the whole thing would just come to an end. Although I didn't like this story, I am going to try again with 'The Damsel' and 'The Heiress' and see if the 'bride quest' gets any better.

The first book I have read of Claire Delacroix and I will now collect all of them. I love Luc and Brianna.

Courtesy of Love Romances

Princess Brianna is stunned when her father's castle, Tullymullagh, is overtaken in a siege. She is horrified when King Henry declares she must wed one of the three sons of the mercenary, Gavin Fitzgerald, who conquered them. Brianna swears she "will wed only my one true love." So she sends the brothers on a quest. Whoever of the three that brings her a gift to make her laugh the longest is the one she will wed.

Luc Fitzgavin, the eldest, refuses to go on her foolish quest, infuriating Brianna to no end. He has but one desire, to receive the seal on his beloved Welsh estate, from his brutish father. Luc was once a great knight, who swore to give up his sword forever, after living through a great tragedy brought about by another's dishonorable intentions. He scorns the selfish Brianna's whim, believing her full of nonsense. But as he gets to know her, he starts to realize there is more to her than he previously thought. And he begins to realize much more is at stake here...his very heart.

Brianna and Luc are drawn to each other for reasons they can't understand. For Brianna is on a quest of her own: To return Tullymullagh to its rightful owner, her father. So he can live out his days in the home he built. Luc desires only to return to his beloved home in peace. Until suspicious events start to make them realize danger abounds. The two of them unite to try to solve the mysteries. Soon, it is evident someone wishes to harm them both. Rumors start to surface of a great treasure kept hidden, The Rose of Tullymullagh, and someone is determined to have the legendary piece for their very own.

Ms. Delacroix tries to write a great adventure and mystery here, but falls short in this reviewer's opinion. Brianna comes across as a spoiled little girl who can't stand to not always get her way. She does somewhat redeem herself in the end, but not quite enough. She also comes across as not being the brightest crayon in the box. There are a few instances where the reader is in total disbelief that she cannot see the obvious. The mystery was not much of one as it was figured out almost immediately upon being presented.

When the body count starts stacking up, the plot becomes contrived. It is almost as if Ms. Delacroix was running out of story and had to kill a few people to make her word count. But there are a few bright spots to the story. Luc comes across as a noble and honorable man, determined to do what is right and good, and to protect his lady at any cost. There are also some very funny scenes scattered throughout.

This tale drags at many points and is not one of Ms. Delacroix's best. It was almost a chore to even finish the book. Having read several other of her books, one can only hope this book is just a fluke and the rest of the Bride Quest series is better.

While the story does drag in places, "The Princess" is a wonderful read and a good way to spend a lazy afternoon. The principal characters are well-developed and, for the most part, believable; further, the plot grows more intriguing as the reader gets further into the book. I enjoyed "The Princess" and look forward to reading the other two books in Delacroix' "Bride Quest" series.

A good read, but overly descriptive and somewhat slow at times. You could probably chop off a hundred pages and not lose much of the story.

On the positive side: The plot has some interesting twists and turns (and several dead bodies), and the descriptions of the environment and castle workings are very believable. The principals (Luc, Brianna, Gavin & Connor) are all well developed, and I especially liked the attention given to the secondary characters. All in all it is a good read and well worth a Sunday afternoon.

In response to some previous reviews about winter gardening practices: I prune my rose bushes and hedges during the fall (late September) and again in the winter (early January). I don't have any fruit trees, but I would imagine that you also prune them during the dormant season (winter) before the new growth starts to appear. Any apple growers out there?

Brianna, an innocent princess fighting to save what her father worked all his life to build, sends three brothers out on a quest, but Luc, one of the brothers, was not going to have any of it. Brianna's trust in Luc was almost immediate, though. Maybe it was because he answered all her questions, truthfully, for the price of a "kiss". (so, of course, she asked a lot of questions). As for Connor, he taught his daughter a great lesson in love. A romance story within a romance story, how quaint. I enjoyed the book. Great writing Ms. Delacroix. My favorite of the 3.

This was such a great a book. Despite the mistake of the season thing, i thought it was nice to see a change in the usual stories that i read. You keep guessing who the bad guy is and wondering who she'll have to pick to marry. A great book that should be read by everyone.

There's a good story in it somewhere I'm sure, but really! I think the editor must be asleep to miss the big gaping holes in the plot:

(a) The hero spends time tending the orchard. In winter.

(b) The castle is raided by knights obviously out for bloodlust and to pillage and plunder. Our dear heroine charges into the room in all her finery to confront these men. Alone. And shudder because eyes were on her beautiful swoonsome body.

There's a good story in it somewhere I'm sure, but really! I think the editor must be asleep to miss the big gaping holes in the plot:

(a) The hero spends time tending the orchard. In winter.

(b) The castle is raided by knights obviously out for bloodlust and to pillage and plunder. Our dear heroine charges into the room in all her finery to confront these men. Alone. And shudder because eyes were on her beautiful swoonsome body.