| Title | : | The Bride and the Brute |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 222 |
| Publication | : | First published June 1, 1998 |
This is a medieval romance novella.
Adult-content rating:
This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.
First published as part of the anthology
Blushing Brides in 1998
The Bride and the Brute Reviews
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The premise of the first short story, a 14th. c. historical romance, in this sampler hooked me at the outset, dropping me right into a confusing, tense situation. (Loved that despite lackluster writing.) Turns out, that to have his beloved daughter well settled, a father takes desperate action to force a neighboring lord to marry her...and so, leaves her facing a furious man forced into marriage to ransom his sister back from his new father-in-law.
Okay, so that is one juicy situation to untangle. In long or short form, this could've worked. It didn't for me.
Overall, the characters were flat, their dialogue slangy, their names absurd (Reese and Jayce? Um, it's England 1300's not Beverly Hills 90210) and worst, their decisions/actions didn't make sense. We're told that Reese (hero, not Witherspoon) had vowed to wed a wench of his own choosing because his father ended up married to a slattern. But to get his sister back, he must marry Sis' abductor's daughter. Okay, so hero's angry; heroine's kind of blank, just confused by H's anger (Papa lied to her about the circumstances). Really? Her new husband never courted her, no haggling over a typical arranged marriage, he's marrying her out of the blue, clearly pissed off doing it and fakes the consummation. No red flags, missy?
Why not give the conflict/story some substance or plausibility? Or at least grant characters common sense? Or understandable reactions? The obvious possibility of annulment doesn't come up immediately, when it would make sense to discuss or demand. And I have no way to I understand her decision to make the best of it rather than demand annulment herself. In fact, whatever it is that motivates her or him to do what each does remains vague. Her conversations with Reese's angry younger brother, Morse(!), would've made the conflict between H/h clearer if it'd been between H and h. But no.
Then there's the writing (this is only culled from a few consecutive chapters, starting at Ch. 12):
"A numbness slowly crept through her body"..."The word exploded in her mind"..."Anticipation burned through her veins"...."Relief, gratitude and something akin to pride swept through her"..."her pride rose to soaring heights but was deflated by her conscience"..."[his] frigid anger chilled her pride and melted her confidence." And poor Reese "shook himself, and resolve sealed off the fracture she had created in the stone wall he had built around his heart." but after she reminds him that even a dangerous warhorse needs love, her "words pried the fracture open wider"...until "he felt that wash of affection overtake him and race through his veins, filling his very blood with the spirit of her being." Shortly after which, "her heart melted into a pool of contentment."
The hyperbolic language didn't make the characters or story any more compelling, it just lowered my opinion of the writing. (The opening didn't have as much and was far more gripping IMO.) It just got ridiculous and unreadable after a point.
Add to that, little sense of the historical period beyond a vague joust scene and references to some costuming, and this came across as sloppy, superficial doodling. I couldn't continue to read the rest of the samples of her books. However, while I considered it a waste of time, others liked it. And it's free. So there you go. -
This had great potential but didn't reach it. I didn't realize it was as short as it was since there was a preview of another book attached at the end. Anyway, the story/plot itself wasn't bad but the execution of it wasn't to my taste. It seemed choppy and juvenile at times and then the ending was sudden.
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4.5/5.0
Whew! What an attention grabbing, heart-wrenching, sigh-worthy ride of a read! It grips you from the first pages and doesn't release it's hold until it finishes, maybe not even then. The only complaint I could find was it ended to soon, I wanted more once the revelation was made!
It is very seldom that a book - and especially a novella draws a reader into the lives of the characters so expertly that the tears flow freely with each hurt and the heart actually aches with the longing. The prediciment Jayce and Reese find themselves in is written with believability and while their responses to their situation aren't always right, the reasons behind those responses are very understandable. This lends a depth and empathy to the tale that few books achieve, especially one's with less than 200 pages! For a one sitting romance, this tops the cake!
*For those clean readers, there is one mildly steamy scene at the very end* -
I love medieval romance so I chose this one when I saw it up for free on Kindle. It was a short novella which was a surprise to me, but that is my fault because I had not paid attention to the length of the book when I got it.
The story jumps right in with an arranged marriage between Lord Reese and Lady Jayce. I was hooked in right away because Reese was so angry about the marriage though he seemed to be the one who wanted it. It is only a little later that the truth comes out. He has been coerced into marriage because his bride's father holds his sister captive. Jayce is unwitting in all this, but Reese doesn't believe her. He is rude and wants nothing to do with her. He plans to send her back as soon as he has his sister, but then fate takes a part. He gets his sister back, but Jayce's father dies and she has no place to go. Reese reluctantly keeps her. At this point, Reese's younger brother returns and he too is angered on his brother's behalf. Jayce only wants to be a good wife to Reese and only seeks to do well by him. Will she ever win him over?
I liked the premise for this story which is what hooked me in and there was a delightful twist near the end that I did not see coming. The plot was a little weak in spots. There was a resolution to the main characters, but the situation with the brother and sister's subplot is left hanging. The pace is fast, but that is to be expected in a shorter story. I really enjoyed the well written scenes with the war horse, Jayce, and Reese.
Though this would fall under the category of historical romance, the focus is almost entirely on the characters and their situation.
I liked the characters, but felt there could been more in the area of description so that I could know them better.
I think this is a story that would have benefited from having more pages. It is perfect for a light, short read. -
I honestly shouldn't have ignored all the negative, 2 star reviews, because I felt the same way about this as most other people did.
Jayce & Reese are forced to marry each other against their will, though Jayce is more accepting of it, because her father led her to believe that Reese wanted to marry her. However, when she meets him at their wedding, it turns out that is anything but the case. This story takes place in the 1300s, but it honestly could have taken place in the 1800s had that joust scene not been in there. I would have loved some atmospheric castle scenes but oh well.
My main problem with the story was that the romance wasn't developed enough. I wasn't convinced Reese loved her at the end after rejecting her for so long. I can imagine him realizing he actually liked her, but for them to love each other? They barely knew each other, and Reese had been acting like an ass for a while.
Also, why did he take her virginity in the pouring rain when he knew she was scared of thunderstorms?! like wtf! That's not how I would want to lose my virginity. Maybe I would be okay having sex in the rain if I had done it many times before, but not the first time!
I say this about too many books, but I need more conversation!!! (That isn't about the current circumstances, but their pasts or thoughts and ideas, pleaseeeee)
Anyway, this book could have been great. It's a shame because the plot had a lot of potential.
At the end of the book, the author is like "thank you for reading, now check out my other books!". I thought to myself, how can you be proud of this? (sorry, I'm so mean) and how I'm not interested in checking out her full-length books after this novella. -
If you keep reminding yourself that this takes place in 1300s, then you just might get over some things and enjoy this story a bit. Then you won't be annoyed and wishing you could enter the book and strangle one or two characters.
It is too short to fully accept Jayce and Reese. They don't have enough time. Everything that happens is crammed in a few days.
This might have been a better story if it had been longer. That way certain actions would have some other context and the characters wouldn't be as annoying and childish. -
Cheesy with a dollop of angst and a sprinkling of anachronistic cuteness.
-
There is nothing as wonderful as curling up with a good book. It is even better when the book is a good romance. I am a hopeless romantic and have always been partial to a historical romance. I love the Victorian formality of the courtships and then wonder of getting to know this person whom your parents felt would be a good match. The beauty of historical romances is that there is always a happy ending even though the start may have been a bit rocky.
Enter Jayce Cullen, a not so timid woman that has been used a pawn to get a husband. Her strength is not that fierce when matched with thunderstorms, something she has been deathly afraid of all her life. Adding to her fear of thunderstorms is her dark mooded husband Lord Reese Harrington who is weathering some storms of his own.
What I like about this story is that the Jayce is strong. Although she is aware that her husband does not want her, she remains a loyal wife and stands by his side. She stands by his side when he is worried over his lands. She stands by his side against his brother. She stands by his side to tame another unwanted addition to his family, a mean spirited horse. Jayce tames the horse, she tames his family and of course she tames the man.
What I did not like about this book was something so simple, it crumpled the plot. Spoiler alert…please skip this section, if you don’t want to know. If Jayce is afraid of thunderstorms, and she is trapped outside in one, why would this be the moment for Lord Reese to claim her as his own? We are talking the type of fear that paralyzes. Understandably, women have lost their virginities in haylofts, on the prairie in the backs of wagons and on the decks of ships, but outside in a thunderstorm after a tree limb almost crushed her to death? Sorry, I am not that happy to see you Lord Reese, unhand my bloomers kind Sir!
This book is recommended to readers who love a good story and quick a read. I managed to finish this story in a few hours because I was that drawn into the story as well as Ms. O’Donnell’s writing style. I give this novella four out of five writing pens because the writer held my attention. Ms. O’Donnell’s prose is eloquent and the characters make sense. -
This is not a novel, nor is it a novella. It's a short story, plain and simple. I'm not sure how many pages printed it would be, but it only took up 38% of the book in my Kindle. The rest of the 62% of the book as preview chapters, book cover galleries, and back pats for the author. The plot wasn't even that well thought out.
Beautiful Jayce is married to the dark and brooding Reece. The reason for the marriage: Reece's sister has been kidnapped and only a marriage to Jayce will get her back. Is Jayce in on the kidnapping? Reece doesn't know and isn't ready to love the beautiful and headstrong wife he now has. Well, headstrong only when it comes to taming a horse. Other than that, she whimpers and pouts in her room. Yet, Reece's sister is ready to welcome her with open arms. Odd, considering the kidnap plot.
If Laurel had fleshed this out to a decent story, it might have been a good novel. As is, it wasn't worth the free edition I got. I was very vexed that over half the novel was dedicated to things other than the book, that everything wrapped up so quickly, and that the plot was so thin because of how short everything was. The characters weren't well fleshed out. Reece's brother would have made a great antaganist given his venom toward Jayce, but it's resolved all too quickly. A few sharp words from Nicole (Reece's sister) and the plot line with the brother is tossed out. I'm very hesitant to ever buy anything from this author because I will be very angry if I purchase another book that is 38% story and 62% advertising. -
Mmmkay. So I'm kind of torn with this one, so i'll split my review into two parts. Good Vs Bad.
GOOD:
I found myself really very immersed in this story, waiting for the HEA and enjoying the journey there. It was well written and flowed nicely. I loved the characters and couldn't stop reading until the end (Luckily it is a short story).
BAD:
The story ends halfway through the document. It finishes the other pages are notes formt the author and sneak peaks at other stories. Also, The resolution was not complete before the story ended. When the 'bad guy' has a change of heart there is no apologising or atonment from him. He doesn't see the hero/heoine to do so before the story ends. (I FOUND THIS SHODDY). The same goes with the hero's sister. After she confesses she set up the kidnapping to put her brother (The Hero) and the kidnap-ees daughter (The Heroine) together, once again she is unable to tell this to anyone but the once-bad-now-turned brother of the hero, before the story ends. This kinda sucks BUT all in all, I loved the story so much that the pros absolutly far-outweighed the cons!! -
2 1/2 stars (rounded down to 2 stars, because I came too close to hating Reese, the cold-hearted hero)
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Jayce and Reese.
I read this ages ago, but I've been sorting my books and pausing now and then to re-read one.
Anyhoo, This was a fun little freebee that hit the spot. I even gave it another star! I do plan to read more by this author.
Word of warning though, this is listed as being 200 pages and on my kobo it come out as seemingly 150 pages. But really it is only less than 60! The rest is all previews and other crap.
Reese is forced to marry Jayce to save his sister Nicole who was kidnapped by Jayces father. Jayce is unaware of this and like a lamb to slaughter she shows up only to have Reese treat her like garbage. He is so mad at being forced to wed and of course there are issues in his past that exacerbate the chip on his shoulder. He's not a complete nincompoop though, and slowly realizes that she's actually the perfect woman for him... but then his meddling brother steps in.
The ending is very dramatic and OTT, but quite enjoyable and satisfying ; ) -
I was loving this story but then all of a sudden it came to an abrupt end. There was plenty of angst and the H & h had hardly spent any time in each others company and then all of a sudden he is expressing undying love and that was the end!
The writing was smooth and it was an easy read and was well on it's way to be given 4 stars but that abrupt conclusion/ending ruined it for me. -
It's an enjoyable read because it is quick and free, but that's it. I don't know much about medieval times, I usually read regency romances, but there were A LOT of points where I went "no, there's no way that's accurate". Are Jayce, Reese, Nicole, Morse, and Dylan all historically accurate names? Saying that they eat out of a trencher and including a joust do not automatically make it medieval.
The hero is an ass, insists upon a love marriage (would any noble really expect that in those times?) Hates his mother for cheating on his father but thinks about having sex with a serving wench as his wife collapses. All of the supporting cast were merely props and only had emotions or opinion as the plot called for it, then they disappeared.
I would possibly read one of the author's paranormal romances, but only if it was properly published with a real editor to smooth out those rough edges. Something as simple as saying the hero has "primeval urges" when it makes a lot more sense to say "primal urges". I would not read another historical. -
Warning: This is a very very short story. I did not realize that when I started reading it on my Kindle. Once I got to 35% and the hero was professing his insta-love for the crying damsel in distress... I was really upset. I was thinking, 'Wait a second! How could he already be declaring his love for her, its only at 35%. What will the remaining 65% be filled with then?" Question answered: Junk and previews for other books, etc. So that was super disappointing. Basically, the whole story takes place in a 3-4 days of time period. We start the story off with the hero reasonably upset and despising, hating his new wife and within 3-4 days he sees the light and can't live without her. This would have been a perfect story had it not been for how ridiculously short it was. No time to develop the characters or story line. Of the actual story that I did read, it was OK, but the scene of the father waiting outside the door to be handed the bed sheet with proof of consummation... Come on, the bride and groom had only been in that bedchamber less than a minute before opening the door, fully clothed, clothing not even ruffled to hand over the sheet? And the father believed it? Silly scenes like this filled the book.
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MORE, MORE, MORE!!!! What a whirlwind of emotions, what a captivating story from the first page!!! This should have been a full-length book.... The best novella I have ever read so far!!!
Lord Reese Harrington is a man all female readers would want to slap for his brute (!!!) behaviour towards the heroine, though his motives would be considered justified!!! And the fiery, most of the times, Lady Jayce is the epitomy of female patience towards a man's pride and subsequent humiliation repeatedly brought on her by her husband!!! But, doesn't every Beauty always conquer the Beast's heart? and what an adventure this was!!
....In the end, every Satan is tamed by a beauty's love!!!AN EXCELLENT short READ! -
This was pretty cute but there was not enough backstory to the characters as the book was too short.
I wanted to know more about everyone there wasn’t enough here for me.
I also want follow up stories for the evil brother that’s perhaps not so evil, the sister and Dylan! -
**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** In my opinion most novellas or novels with less than 250 pages are usually lacking for detail and development. There were many flashes of brilliance in this novella and yet missing parts to the story...the framework and bones of this story were strong and well constructed but it lacked the flesh and detail that would have made this a block buster.
What was terrific? Well, the author took a story which has been done before and retold it in a unique way. A kidnapping and bribery....a forced marriage, anger, fear, trepidation...wonderful characters both primary and secondary.....The heroine was spunky and sweet...married into an interesting family with intriguing dynamics. The heroine tames a horse much in the same way she tames her husband...with kindness and patience. The love scene in the middle of a bad thunderstorm was also very hot....helped as the back drop to this couple's erupting emotions and admission to their actual feelings.
What could have been better? A bit more time and description of their growing attraction and appreciation for one another....A bit more fight and engagement of the heroine's anger. Maybe another Lord who was friends with the hero who offers to take the Lady after the annulment???? I would have liked to see a more gradual development of feeling for the other...instead the Bride seems to be hurt one minute and devoted the next....the hero is against continuing the marriage and we don't see his inner struggle....It just needed more time...more detail.
All-and-all, I think this author has some pronounce skill at story telling and it may not be fair of me to judge her ability based on one novella...I would be very open to reading a full length novel of hers...I have read novella's of established romance writers and have been left disappointed in those attempts at story telling as well. I don't know of the medium is an easy one to pull off.
I enjoyed the story...bottom line. It was worth reading and I would definitely be open to reading a novel written by this author. -
My remarks on this book require a preface: it's a novella, and it was free. Most novellas suffer from being conceived as a novel and left as a novella because the author didn't have enough time or story to make a full-length novel. That's not what happened here. It was obvious that this book was designed from start to finish to fit within novella length, so what went wrong? Well...
1. In a book set in England in 1392, I was a bit surprised to encounter characters named Jayce, Reese, Nicole, Morse, and Dylan. Jarring, that.
2. Reese, the male character, is an absolute jerk for most of the book, and I just didn't feel like rooting for him when he finally decided to overcome his own issues and chase down his girl. And, in a novella, it shouldn't have felt like "finally," but it did.
3. Jayce, the female character, is almost completely flat. She really only has two character traits: she's afraid of storms, and she feels strongly about the correct way to break in difficult horses.
So why did I keep reading it? There was nothing about it that was so bad that I had to stop reading it, and it's a short enough read that I didn't mind continuing, even though I really hated Reese and everything he did. I wanted to find out what happened at the end, and, in a way, that's the real strength of this novella. The Bride and the Brute rewards you for your patience with a decent ending, and that was enough to make me glad I finished it. -
This had five-star potential. I really liked the plot and characters; it starts off with a punch and sucks you into the story. Since this is a short novella, the story moves along quickly and sometimes it felt like the character and story development were a little lacking. I think it would have made a great full-length novel. Jayce was a likable heroine. She is sweet and kind, and sticks up for herself. I like that she wouldn’t let Reese intimidate her and stood her ground with him. Reese was actually pretty likable too; it’s understandable why he is upset about his forced marriage. Deep down he is honorable though and has a soft heart.
My only real problem with the book was a love scene at the end, while brief was still too descriptive for my taste. If the book were cleaner and developed more I would have given it more stars. I thought it was really enjoyable though and it was a fun way to pass an hour.
Content: Not clean, PG13-Red. Per love scene and a few innuendos throughout. -
It had SOME well-written material and was interesting, and I liked the dynamic of the story... but things began to resolve themselves too quickly. The girl, though she acted strong sometimes, was too needy and pushed herself on the "Brute" as much as she "stood her ground". The "Brute" was too flip-flopped. One day he's yelling, the next the author tells us, "oh, how he loved her, he could never let her go!" The actions spoke louder than the words dude, and his actions were crude and rude. The villain suddenly had a heart and changed his mind about being evil (a no-no in any book. come on, it shouldn't be that easy!) The end was just a big "Just kidding I do love you" bit and that was a big fail as well. And some things were left unresolved and the whole kidnapping... (SPOILER ALERT) was a sham whereas the sister took part, but they didn't show this being revealed to the prince, which would have been a reaction we would need to see to clarify his feelings for the "bride".
I would not recommend it. -
I downloaded this book from Amazon, because of the title. I was to curious to know who this brute was and why anyone would want to get married to a brute.
Reese, the man who has married Jayce is very harsh and did not marry her out of love but simply to get his sister, Nicole, back after her Father kidnapped her.
Jayce has to live with the fact that she is not welcome in his castle and his brother Morse loathes her, but things take a turn when Reese grows to love her and does everything to get her back including going out in the rain and riding Satan, the horse he once believed was a monster that could not be tames.
In the end guess, love does tame the brute-and it's a good read-you can go along with it, but it's very predictable-you already know how it's going to end.
It would have been better if Morse did get to apologize to Jayce, I would have loved to read that part and it'd be more fun if she slapped him! -
I completely agree with others that mentioned the names are not correct for the time period. I am a big history buff and it seemed the author only had a base knowledge of the time period and didn't research further for accurate information. I thought that she wrote well but used words and sentence structures for character quotes that were out of context for the time period. If an author is going to do a period piece there needs to be more research done on the time period of their choice for accuracy. I hope the author takes this into consideration for future novels or novellas. I still think that she is wonderful at writing descriptive details but just needs to work more on content and accuracy of information.
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This book was: okay. There's honestly not much else to say about it.
The plot was: alright.
The beginning was: intriguing.
The middle was: boring.
The crescendo was: highly amusing (which it shouldn't have been).
The finish/ending was: bad...
The Characters were: okay; but not good. They bothered me... and were quite plain, static.
The worldbuilding was: too wrong. The world evolved when you didn't want it to, and remained the same when you wanted change.
The language was: alright.
The themes represented in the book were: good.
Would I recommend this book? Yes/No? Why/why not? No, I wouldn't; for all the reasons I've mentioned above. -
Curse you novellas!! What is up with novellas? The title of this book is stupid but the premise and characters were pretty good. If this hadn't been a novella, this book would have been pretty good.
It was just too short, things moved way to fast and it ended crappy because of it being too short.
Ms. O'Donnell you need to finish this book. -
To read if you have an hour to spare. A very short novella (60% of the book is samples of other works) set in the Dark Ages. The setting does sound wrong, even if the story is sweet enough.
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Cute story, but the description was deceptive. Was led to believe that it was over 200 pages, but was more like 80 or 90 and the rest was excerpts from other books.
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I'm lucky I found this free on Kobo's website. If I actually paid money for this I'd be kicking myself right now
