The Angel and the Prince by Laurel ODonnell

The Angel and the Prince Reviews

• 
  Erin

  The Cover is Beautiful and I want it painted on my bedroom wall-( 1996 Zebra books cover). When I saw the cover i was in love.
  
  
  I was looking for a medieval book with a tough heroine and and alpha male-and boy did I find it.
  
  GREAT book-The Heroine,Ryen is a Knight/warrior woman but not so much that you can't see she is still a woman-She i basically a tomboy-hates dresses, rather be out side with the boys type of girl. So when she meets Byrce,The Prince Of Darkness, she knows all about his ''legand'' and he calls her beautiful under the influence of tuth powder-anyway with his being so sexy and mysterious and stuff-she obviously wants to jump his bones. But never dreams of it until her BROTHER,Andre suggests she let of some steam with him. Problem, Ryen is a virgin, having never being interested in men as she is in Byrce.
  
  The Hero,Byrce...Needs to be directed to my bedroom. That is all.
  He is completely Possessive and oh so honerable. He is also ready to start yell the 'SHE IS MINE' and 'YOU ARE MINE''s at even given moment..I loved it.
  
  The only let downs about this book is that The hero's friend Talbot tells Ryen that while she was sick he slept with another woman. WE NEVER GET TO SEE HER RAGE AT AT HIM! She dosent even mention it. He is all for the 'have you slept with someone else' but she was like Mums the word. Readers know that No, he did not sleep with anyone else through out the novel-but still i would of loved to see her get all jealous.
  
  4 STARS
• 
  Laura

  This is a book I read a long time ago, but for some reason it has stuck with me. (I stole this one from my mom-lol) It was one of my first Historicals, and one of the first books that I read several times (I think I was a in jr high school!-'90s) and I can't believe I got rid of it! If you want a good medieval story based in war, with a strong heroine and a very alpha male, it's a good read.
• 
  KatLynne

  Ryen - beautiful, intelligent young woman, well respected warrior and knighted in France, she is the leader of her warriors against England. Due to her great feats on the battle field, she is known as The Angel of Death and one of England's most hated enemies
  
  Bryce - Strong, Alph-male; smokin' hot warrior, well respected in all of England and is known as the Prince of Darkness; he is one of France's most hated enemies.
  
  Being a lover of medival romance, this book certainly fulfilled my craving for this genre. When these two meet, there is angst, distrust, hatred and also a great sensual pull, a desire so strong that cannot be ignored. Their honor and pledge to their countries keep them from admitting their feelings while also making each distrustful of the other.
  
  I fell in love with both and truly enjoyed my first read by this author. There is the perfect balance of angst and sensual desire along with tenderness that kept me reading and enjoying this one.
• 
  KatieV

  I truly enjoyed this although, honestly, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it quite as much if I'd read it instead of listening to the audio. It was very long and I sit in front of a computer all day reading tiny lines of code, my poor eyes and head are losing their tolerance for long tomes such as this. Plus, I think the narrator did an excellent job. Some may nitpick about her not doing a French accent, but I'd rather forgo the accent than listen to one that is poorly done. Plus she really kept the listener engaged and added to the sense of suspense and excitement.
  
  The setting is medieval. Sometime during the hundreds of years that France and England were trying to destroy one another. The story is action-packed and full of twists and turns that were not always predictable I was on the edge of my seat at times, unable to find a good stopping place so I could go to bed, etc. It all takes place in 5-6 months time, but so much happens that it's almost hard to believe. There are other things that are a bit unbelievable, but I was able to overlook them and still highly enjoy the story. Yet, I must quibble because I enjoy complaining. Plus if I wasn't emotionally engaged, I wouldn't care enough to bitch about it :)
  
  The heroine, Ryen De Bouries (aka 'The Angel of Death') leads a French army against the English with her two older brothers under her command. Huh? I could have more easily swallowed that she was a knight under their command, yet highly regarded for her wit and strategic mind. When I think of a female knight, I can't help picturing Brienne from HBO's Game of Thrones who is as big as a man and would never be described as conventionally feminine. Ryen, on the other hand, is not very large. She's described as dainty and soft looking when not in armor and knows how to play the part of a Lady. She's skilled at swordplay and fighting, but relies on her wit more than her strength since she is not as strong as the male knights. I suppose it seemed more dramatic to the author to have her command the army that captured the infamous English Lord the Prince of Darkness, (Bryce Princeton). But I think it made the story less believable.
  
  There were times when our "witty and cunning" heroine is TSTL. As a warrior who relies on brains not brawn, I think she should have been consistently portrayed as more sneaky and introspective about her actions than hot-headed or emotionally obvious. For example, why the heck didn't she just pretend she was still locked in her room when Bryce escaped her father's castle?! I fully expected her to do so. It's what I would have done. She'd have been off the hook. Also, she wakes up in an enemy stronghold after being unconscious for weeks. She's being fed and well tended, so I'd think a rational person would cool their heals and not immediately try to escape in bare feet with only a small dagger when they could barely walk a few steps before hurling due to head injuries. Still, I liked her and couldn't give her the dreaded TSTL tag. She was kind and very honorable, although after 5 years of war you'd think she'd be less shocked about the brutal realities of war. She stubbornly clung to a code of chivalry that everyone else seemed to follow at their convenience. Of course as the only woman, she had to be the best and follow the rules to the letter. That's how it works when you're in the minority.
  
  The hero was the ultimate bad ass and could be swoon-worthy in his protectiveness toward Ryen and his love for his son. Still, there were times I wanted to smack the crap out of him. They both did a lot of wavering on their feelings for one another since they were enemies, but he was downright split personality at times. Ryen was much more consistent in her treatment of him than he of her. He could be flat out cruel. Also, I'm still torn on how I feel about his way of life. He lived in a castle that was dirty, smelly, and as far from civilized as you can imagine. He was hardly ever there, but when he did return I would have thought he'd try to straighten things up. The deal with letting the peasants starve unless they fought for food was possibly historically accurate, but off-putting. Like Ryen, I don't see how he could watch children starve, shrug his shoulders, and say 'only the strong survive'. Then again, that's probably how it was in medieval England. Peasants were basically chattel.
  
  Just a random pop-culture observation: I couldn't help thinking of the Winchester boys from Supernatural during the H's imprisonment. Head injuries galore and beatings no one could just bounce back from in ten minutes. I've always said that, in real life, the Winchesters would be drooling somewhere in a long term care facility. Same goes for our hero, especially since his "angel" had no nifty special healing powers.
  
  Some spoilery musings:
  
  Who the heck was the dead guy in the moat? I assumed it was Bryce's companion, but turns out he survived the jump. Did they just randomly have people falling in this moat and drowning on a regular basis?
  
  Why the hell was Bryce so vicious to Ryen when she asked about the fate of her brothers? This was during a time when he was just waiting for the French King to refuse his outrageous ransom demands so he could basically own her. His plan was to make her his mistress and it was clear that he wanted her to be a willing one. Laughing about the deaths of someone's family members and then mocking any tears is NOT the way to get a willing bed partner. I loved her response to him in that scene. I'm sure he felt about 2 inches tall.
  
  Why did Bryce have her surviving brother Lucien in his dungeons? All French prisoners were supposed to have been killed after the big battle he and Ryen were both captured in. Did he ask the King to spare Lucien's life as well? If so, why? He just locked him away in a filthy dungeon and told him Ryen was dead and told Ryen he was dead. Her brother was cracked, so Bryce supposedly lied to protect Ryen. If so, why was he such a bastard about the whole thing? he could have taken better care of Lucien or put him out of his misery? The mentally health system in medieval Europe was nonexistent. Who'd have thought?
  
  Also, Ryen should have been far more furious about this than she was. She was angry and determined to free Lucien, but she was still going to stay behind after freeing him because she'd given Bryce her word she wouldn't leave. I may have stayed behind to kick his ass, but I'd have thought the whole lying about my brother being dead and mocking my tears for him while he was locked in a dungeon with no light, no sanitation and rats all around would have negated any promises. I suppose I don't understand codes of honor or chivalry. I'd have damn sure made Bryce promise to release Lucien to her father (which he did do) before agreeing to marry him. Yes, he was shell-shocked and dangerous, but he was still her brother. I think I was more pissed than she was.
• 
  Jules2016

  If you like your books without an ounce of grounding in reality, to be totally implausible, with no build up to a romance, and filled with "filler" then this book might be for you.
  
  To be honest it felt like this book was written by someone in junior high school. It wasn't terrible, but barely readable. A total skim fest for me.
• 
  Misfit

  I yield. This stretches credulity too much for my tastes.
• 
  Mary23nm

  I picked up The Angel and the Prince expecting a great medieval romp, since there were so many good reviews. I appear to be in the minority opinion here, but I found the book fraught with issues. I had a hard time getting over the main premise that the best warrior in France(or one of the best), was a petite woman called the Angel of Death. The book never really shares with us how this came about or gives supporting information how this would work in a male oriented society. You never get to see the comraderie or loyalty that kind of thing would inspire between her and her men (with the exception of one of her brothers). There are many decisions made between the hero and heroine that are at odds with their characters. (At one point the French heroine answers "Aye" to a question asked by the hero!) Lots of typos, loose ends and too many things going on, like the book couldn't decide what it wanted to be. It seemed to be part fantasy, part The Taming, part The Kingdom of Dreams and part kitchen sink.
  The Angel and the Prince, had a promising beginning, became a hot mess and had a ok ending. An epilogue was needed to see how things were going to work out, but there wasn't one. I liked the hero and the heroine, but we don't get to know most of the supporting characters that well. It had promise, parts of the book were really good and I would check out more by this author before deciding.
• 
  Julie

  While reading this book, i've gotten so annoyed to the point where i almost stop reading the book, but at other times, all i could do was sigh in happiness. the rating for this book was between a 2 and a 4, so i settled on a 3. There was just so much going on and so many internal battles and misunderstandings that i just wanted to scream and cry and shout at whoever to just let them be together again ! TOO MUUCH DRAMA !
  
  first, there couldn't be together because of their honor and loyalty to their country. and then it was revenge and false hatred that kept them from each other. and then there's a misunderstanding and all these other obstacles that keep them from each other. it's just...so exhausting to keep up with and not good for my heart. But then when they (the hero and heroines) finally get back together- you can't help but feel that it was all worth it.
  
  I LOVE THIS PART: LOL
  "Give me your heart. I must feast!"
  
• 
  Mermarie

  Never had I read a heroine so bold and daring, that I immediately felt the inclination to fling daggers at any random bystander to appease the inner hoyden of every lass. :D
  
  I understand the author's approach to balancing out her persona; the strong spirited warrioress, and to counter with an overly weepy lil' girl begging to be saved in some grandiose manner.
  
  Notwithstanding, the book was exceptionally great. I've no qualms with its deliverance and give & take measure. One question; who did the bloated corpse belong to in the moat??!
• 
  Anna Markland

  I love medieval romance, and this is the second time I've read the book-something I rarely do! There is lots of action and excitement that carries the reader from page to page. The author did a good job of portraying the hero, Bryce Princeton.
  My only criticm would be that the numerous twists, turns, and complications are almost too much and I found myself wondering when the two protagonists would finally admit their love.
• 
  Engineer19

  one of my favorite Historical ever...strong heroine...
  besotted, blindly possessive hero who will gonna shout "YOU'RE DAMN FUCKING MINE" to the heroine..
  i love the plot of the story
  
  this story leads me to purchase the authors other works...
  
• 
  Lorka

  I went into this book knowing it was way out of my comfort zone of fluffy, sweet romance. It had a plethora of war, sword fights, blood and guts, death, etc. And I was ok with it because I actually liked the hero and heroine and found myself looking forward to picking it back up to continue. The heroine was not my typical favorite, she was a warrior, independent, a leader... but I loved how she was written so you could see that she did indeed have feelings, and how she was hurting from her relationship with her father, how she was softening up and realizing that she could be feminine. The hero was a great alpha male that was a classical tough guy... I just didn't like that he had not one but two live-in mistresses (whores) residing at his castle. Like others have said, a few parts were completely unrealistic. Like how the heroine led her own army, how she favored her prisoner (the hero), how her brother Andres recommended that she get the hero out of her system.... how the hero was beaten up soooo many times and never really suffered from it that much.
  
  With that being said, at about half-way thru the book, after many times of them each being prisoner to the other, multiple people constantly interfering to let the hero and heroine be together for 2 minutes, and war battles taking place every 5 minutes, I skimmed alllll the way to the last chapter, read it (and loved it) and felt completely satisfied that I was "finished' with the book :)
  
• 
  Chandra

  AUTHOR: Laurel takes you from the battle-field to a castle in France to the battle-field to England. Major events in each location. Awesome until she seemed to have stalled in England. Some situations were very vague. BUT !!!! Good book so R E A D O N
  
  SETTING: Hundred Years' War. King Charles VI of France, 1410. King Henry of England, 1414
  CENTRAL FEMALE CHARACTER: She is known as the Angel of Death and the champion of France.
  CENTRAL MALE CHARACTER: He is known as the Prince of Darkness and the champion of England.
  Nope, they are not paranormal central characters.
  
  (4 out of 5) Stars. Elements of a Romance Book TEST =
  2 central characters, 1 male, 1 female.......................YES;
  One or both of the main characters are in peril.......YES; pitted against each other
  They work together to resolve the situation......NOPE; they are enemies
  Some amount of conflict and resistance in working together.....YES
  Villain?.............……......YES; warring sides of France and England
  
  PASSION SCALE: This book gets (2) ASTERISK because they do a whole bunch of "wanting to touch each other" and some "touching each other" but you can relax if you can handle a "little": Breasts, Manhood, Groan and Thrusting. Most of the passion is the wanting rather than the thrusting.
  * NOT very descriptive and requires imagination
  ** WILL make you wiggle a little)
  *** WISH it was me;
  **** OH BODY, whew;
  ***** EROTICA and well over the top
  
  FAVORITE PART: Her treatment of the peasants.
  
  LEAST FAVORITE PART: Incomplete characterization of Lucien. What happened to him after the battle and yyyy? How did he get to England and yyyy? Why was he detained the way he was in England and yyyy? What was he state of mind and yyyyy? Vague
  and
  Who, in fact, was the "Wolf Pack". Are we talking paranormal here. Vague.
  and
  Come on.....lets bring in Count Dumas and make him a really bad guy. Interaction directly with him was nil.
  
  YOU WILL LIKE THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE: Historical romance, 15th century, Hundred Years' War, Knights, Romance, a kick butt female
• 
  Readallnight

  3.5
  
  Mmmm... I definitely liked this book. It was out of mine comfort zone. It's one of the first books I've read that was set in war. I think a few things that stopped me from giving this book 4 stars was that it had too much death, I know it's suppose to but I just couldn't deal with it! Also I didn't like how Bryce had kept 2 whores. And again I know it was appropriate for the context....
  
  But this book was good! I liked ryen, she was smart and independent. The plot was interesting as well.
  
  GIVE THIS BOOK A GO!
• 
  Penney

  Great premise, but not so good execution. I was really looking forward to a strong kick-ass heroine but she seemed to forget that was what she was. Most of of the time she was whiney and indecisive. This was a 2.5/5 star rating for me but I'll round up for the effort.
  
• 
  Kaarinedm

  One of my favorite historial romances of all time. Read over and over (years ago)
• 
  Wendy

  I never could get into the story. It got to the point where I didn't think it was ever going to end. It had some okay parts. But all in all ... not a story for me.
• 
  Angela

  3.5 Rating
• 
  ⚡Emily⚡

  Re-read for a second time.
  
  I love this book - it's a really good enemies to lovers historical romance. The H is an English knight and the h is a French knight and they come together in war and end up falling in love - what's not to like?? The H is so possessive as well and I love that shit. He is a bit of a dick in some parts of this book though, just a warning to you all. The way he had sex with her the first time in the beginning being one of his more dickish moments. I loves me a bastard though.
  
  The reason I can't give it 5 stars is it takes too long for the H and h to FINALLY be together - so much stuff stood in their way and it was so annoying. I don't just mean the fact that they are on opposing sides of a war as that is an understandable issue but the petty stuff, and misunderstandings galore, made it so annoying - I just wanted them to get together already. I think it took until around the 75% mark and even after that there was some conflict.
  
  I wanted to see more of Ryen being a badass, she is the Angel of Death after all, and not some love sick puppy who can't stop thinking about Bryce's abs.
  
  I wanted more of an epilogue as well. I wanted to see them in their marriage, kids etc.
  
  I loved Ryen and Bryce's sweet moments though - he said some really lovely things to her that made me swoon. 'My Angel'.
  
  On a final note, the use of the words 'creamy thighs' makes me want to spew a little bit.
• 
  Jena

  Can't continue with this book.... The story is incredibly unrealistic- completely unbelievable, and there wasn't enough character development at the beginning of the book to make it remotely plausible. It's fiction I know, but give me a break. This book makes no sense.
  
  Why is the heroine the best fighter? Why are men following her? Wish all of these questions were shown.
  
  Apparently, she's even better at swordplay than the hero, constantly saving him, which just made the alpha hero seem like a wimp and the biggest fool that ever lived. The hero is the most feared knight and he gets defeated by tiny women... *eye roll*
  
  Try Kingdom of Dreams from Judith McNaught for a fantastic medieval instead.
  
  This book is going on my Did Not Finish shelf.
• 
  L.W.

  Great battles on and off the battle field. Well developed characters as well as a good story. It was hard to put down, I kept looking for that happy ending and then everything unraveled. This was a complete surprise as to how well defined and developed everything was. I will have to check out more of this authors works
• 
  Fera Flies Free

  The last sentence on the epilogue! That last sentence! I love them <33
  I completely fell in love with this book. One of my all-time favorites and the best historical romances I've ever read ;)
• 
  Khandi Tumeo

  A perfect read! It fed my soul.
• 
  Sandra

  4,5 stars and it is a great book!
• 
  rebecca

  Best book ever
  
  I have read most of the author s books. I think this is my favorite. Love and hate relationship. Must read