The Conqueror (The deWarenne Dynasty Book 1)

I so enjoyed this book, it’s very near my all time favorite. The storyline and characters are strong and well written. To those who complain about rape scenes, you should not be reading this genre of fiction and judging it by todays standards. Unfortunately, rape was very common during the setting for this book. I adored Rolfe’s and Ceidre’s love story. The epilogue could have been better, but overall this book is definitely a five star! The sequel leaves a bit to be desired (due to the stupidity of their son Stephen’s wife) however, Rolfe and Creidre are still madly in love. A must read.

This is book 1 of the two medieval stories in the de Warenne Dynasty series (The Promise of the Rose is the second)It's 1069 and William I has conquered England and is handing out land to his knights while still fighting the Danes and the Saxon rebels. Rolfe the Relentless claims Castle Aelfgar and weds the Lady Alice, a bitter woman who comes with the land, but the woman he wants is her illegitimate sister, Ceidre, who he would rather have married.Ceidre is a fiery lass, a healer and a loyal Saxon who, in league with her brothers Edwin and Morcar, risks all to restore Aelfgar to her family. She seeks to thwart Rolf at every turn, while being wildly attracted to the Norman. He treats her very badly most of the time but he's still obsessed with her. Having caught her in treason and flogged her till she bled (the usual punishment for a woman), he decides to get rid of her by marrying her to one of his knights. But then he finds he cannot give her up entirely and decides he will first have his pleasure....Joyce serves up a suspenseful tale full of history and with wonderful characters. I loved the heroine for her courage and her defiance of the Norman overlord. To be Saxon in those days of William the Conqueror was to know hardship and humiliation. Ceidre tried to do her part to fight against it even at the cost of her personal integrity. Rolfe was a strong leader who was clearly a favored knight of the king, yet he risked much to protect the Saxon maid he wanted.This is a well-researched, well-written story with lots of grist. Though Ceidre and Rolfe are fictional, her two brothers, Edwin and Morcar were real historic figures who rebelled against Norman rule till their deaths.I recommend it and the second one.

ROMANCE AUTHORS TAKE HEED...Because they are many who write NEGATIVE reviews or refuse to read a book with "CHEATING" in it.....(and boy are they missing out )Many AUTHORS today stifle their creativity trying too hard to be PC and in the process ends up writing the SAME romance books over and over with just different storylines ...YAWN !THE BEST ROMANCE BOOKS that are often mentioned and well remembered DO have "cheating " or a hero /heroine who are "fighting the relationship (or for any reason ) and becomes involved with OW /OM ...These are the books that make you FEEL and are REALISTIC...Today... books are sugary sweet FLUFF...and while ...yes !...they can be good reads and swoon worthy... THEY ARE ALSO FORGETTABLE! They are wayyyy more readers out their like me who want to read a romance book that is well written with realistic characters (flaws and all) who are involved with OW/OM and have to work for what they want !Do yourself a favor ..read negative reviews carefully ...mostly they are written because of the "C" wordIf you are one of those who only likes the PC Romance books ...BOY are you missing out! and for those PC AUTHORS ...BOY are you forgettable !

I was a little shocked by this book. It is very intense. The hero is not entirely likeable, but he manages to stay just over the line of likeable. I realized that Brenda Joyce made this man A MAN. He's realistic. He has flaws. He doesn't always act the way you want him too. And yet, there is something about him....He is infatuated with the heroine, but doesn't want to be, leading to a lot of intense moments. The books ends well, but there are so many twists and turns that I feared that it wouldn't.I was a little shocked by some of the things that took place in the book. There's adultry, crazy sex scenes, rape... this book has it all. But somehow the story was likeable, and the fateful love between the two main characters is palpable. The book captured some barbaric scenes that seemed to fit that time in history.I enjoyed the book immensely, despite some of the irksome scenes it contains, and will definitely be keeping it on my shelf.

I really wanted to read this for a long time but finally when i read it i did not enjoy it that much. I huess i did not like the hero here. Or how the story turned and twisted.

Une belle histoire assez violente se déroulant au Moyen Age au moment de la conquête par Guillaume le Conquérant de l'Angleterre, les deux personnages principaux sont très bien dessinés et leur amour est un grand amour.L'histoire et l'écriture de ce roman font, comme disent les américaines, que c'est un keeperNiveau de sensualité sur 5 : 3

This is a stark, harsh realistically brutal story! Brenda Joyce has a knack for creating pretty harrowing scenarios for her protagonists. Her 'hero' in this book is not your average romantic male - far from it but this author has the confidence to stay true to his savage nature and not 'pretty up' his image by making him likeable. He's a beast in many ways as one would expect a Norman warrior to be which is why this works so well - Brenda Joyce tells it like it is and it's not a palatable tale. Nevertheless, this author manages to write an epic tale which draws out the romantic scenario to breaking point. One can't help being drawn into the love story - and ultimately falling in love with it.I can completely understand this book alienating those of us who prefer a bog standard alpha male romantic hero with all the qualities one expects in this genre - a heart of gold underneath etc but for me, this story hits the spot because the character of Rolfe is really quite brutal but like his counterpart Ceidre who is drawn to him against her better judgement one can't help feeling the whole love/hate thin line scenario very keenly.If you're after a pretty story, my advice is not to go here. However, I think this is a very well written rollercoaster rampage of a tale which never fails to shock with its brutality but which also succeeds in setting the heart beating with it's lush romantiscism in the face of adversity!

Not as good as Julie Garwood. I enjoyed her tapestry romance novels most. But I read them all and this is similar. It's a good and easy read for a rainy afternoon. It's not Garwood but I enjoyed it

ce roman est une très bonne histoire bien dans le contexte médiéval et retranscrit bien la violence de cette époque : on est tout de suite dans le bain . le premier chapitre donne le ton ou on brule le village, le champ de mais et ou on assiste pratiquement à un viol .les deux protagonistes sont consistants et l'histoire d'amour est belle quoique violente et peut choquer les lecteurs : le héros n'hésite pas à marier l'heroïne à un de ses vassal et à réclamer ' le droit du Seigneur ' .