Rating: 
Summary: If you like Small, you will like this
Review: .In 1152 England, the Lord of Ashlin Manor, Richard de Montfort, marries Isleen de Warenne. With both of her parents dead, Richard's in-laws convince him to send his five-year old sister Elf to live in a monastery. Nine years later, Elf returns home because her brother is dying. Since he has no legitimate children, Elf inherits the estate. Elf learns that her sister-in-law Isleen is evil and probably poisoned Richard. Isleen shares her bed with her cousin Saer. Their plan is to bury Richard and have Saer rape Elf so that she is forced to marry him. Elf is rescued and the King marries her to his loyal knight Ranulf. As Elf and Ranulf fall in love, their land prospers under their intelligent, pragmatic, but just rule. However, Isleen is not finished with the woman she blames for all her troubles and failures. With the help of the evil Welsh Lord Merin ap Owen Elf is kidnapped. Ranulf will do anything to accomplish the safe return of his beloved. NY Times bestseller Bertrice Small returns with a new erotic Medieval romance that will thrill her vast legion of fans. The story line is very interesting and the characters are very well developed, but readers need to be aware that the novel places strong emphasis on rough sex, especially sado-masochism. Additionally, Ms. Small has scribed the same plot several times before. Still her large audience will savor Ms. Small's latest entry, THE INNOCENT. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: This was one of her better books.
Review: Although this was yet another example of her wonderful gift for descriptive time-periods, Mrs. Small's THE INNOCENT left me somewhat cold with her description of a fourteen year-old and a thirty-year old making love. Of course, it could merely be a realistic depiction of man's lust for adolescence, but... Other than that, the plot and characters were believable and the story was drawing. i especially liked the abductor's character.
Rating:
Summary: A very sweet, toned-down offering from Bertrice Small
Review: Bertrice Small is known for her steamy historical romances that generally involve repeated ravishings of the kidnapped heroine. Here, Small offers a surprisingly restrained and enjoyable story set in the middle ages. The setting is a nice change of pace from the glut of regency-era romances, and Small does a pretty good job of striving for historical accuracy. A fair portion of the novel is set in a convent, and it is an interesting exploration of the education and lifestyle experienced by young women of the era. The core love story is very sweet, and even the villains have redeeming virtues. Yes, there are still some explicit scenes some may find offensive, but they fit into the story better than in most of Small's books. The heroine is actually treated nicely, and the emotional relationships among the characters are well done.
Rating:
Summary: A very sweet, toned-down offering from Bertrice Small
Review: Bertrice Small is known for her steamy historical romances that generally involve repeated ravishings of the kidnapped heroine. Here, Small offers a surprisingly restrained and enjoyable story set in the middle ages. The setting is a nice change of pace from the glut of regency-era romances, and Small does a pretty good job of striving for historical accuracy. A fair portion of the novel is set in a convent, and it is an interesting exploration of the education and lifestyle experienced by young women of the era. The core love story is very sweet, and even the villains have redeeming virtues. Yes, there are still some explicit scenes some may find offensive, but they fit into the story better than in most of Small's books. The heroine is actually treated nicely, and the emotional relationships among the characters are well done.
Rating: 
Summary: It's not Small's best but I've sure read worse books.
Review: Eleanore (Elf) is a lucky girl and an even luckier woman. Though her parents die and her brother is smitten by a real witch (b) she is taken in by loving nuns. Ready to take her final vows she is called to dying brother's side (poisoned by his wife). She meets a noble and landless knight (Ranulf) who she enventually must marry by order of the king to maintain peace on the border by Wales. Ranulf is patient and tender. The marriage is consummated by mutual consent and a son is born. Ranulf is sent to France and Elf is kidnapped by her brother's widow and a dark knight/thief (Merin). Elf brings out the good Merin and she is returned unharmed to her husband and son. I have certainly read better stories, especially by Ms Small. Certainly not pornographic it is graphic (but in my opinion, mild for Ms Small). Elf is angelic, Ranulf is a saint, the widow has no redeeming qualities. Merin is the only character with both good and bad points to his character.
Rating: 
Summary: Miss Goody Two Shoes Meets Mr. Right
Review: Elf is too goody gumdrops for words. Her bland love interest, Rannulf is another snore and a half. Two perfect people making perfect love in a perfect pastoral idyllic setting sharing their perfect dreams and lives...get the idea? Dull as day old dishwater. The villains are the opposite of perfect (which is why they are villains, I suppose?) In Small's world, the hero/heroine are boring adn the villains (in spite of their skankiness or perhaps because of it?) shine. The gratuitous skanky sex, meaness, pettiness, evil tinged overblown dialogue, and ridiculous machinations of the villains are what kept the book going and remotely interesting. And that's not saying much! Shouldn't a romance be...well...romantic? Shouldn't the love story be the point? Shouldn't it be believable? (Note to the author--perfect and believable are not synonimous--nor is perfect and interesting one and the same!) It is sad when the bad guys are what keeps the pages turning and when the bad guys are the ones this reader invariable 'roots' for (at least a little). I couldn't relate to any of the characters and found this book largely forgettable--if only I could say the same about the money it cost to buy it! How dare they publish this mess in a trade edition! I'll bet Small is laughing all the way to the bank with this, her latest flimsy contribution. Isn't that just perfect!
Rating:
Summary: Very light-weight for Small -- I think she needs a vacation.
Review: Having been a Bertice Small fan since 1978 ("The Kadin" is still my favorite book), I've seen her have ups and downs in the quality of her plots and characters. This book is definitely a down -- it could have been so much better. I guess what I missed most in "The Innocent" was the attention to detail one finds in most of her other books -- there just were not as many details about the clothes, food, lifestyles, politics and culture of the time. There were also several missed opportunities where confrontations between the characters could have been so much more intense. Yes, it took a little while for Elf and Ranulf to consummate their marraige but there was never any sense of sexual tension generated between the two. There could have been some real heat,even without sex, between Elf and Merin. Merin should have fought a little harder to keep Elf. And I would have loved to see a more "dangerous" confrontation between Elf and Isleen. Oh well, I can only help Small's next book, featuring the descendents of my beloved Cyra/Janet from "The Kadin" is back to her usual excellence.
Rating: 
Summary: A really good read
Review: Having only read one book of Ms. Small's, The Innocent being the one, I can't compare it to her other works. But I really liked this book. I read it in about three days and had a hard time putting it down. The historical content was quite accurate and I was impressed. I liked the characters, the setting and the time period. There wasn't any sexual tension between Eleanor and Ranulf, but in light of the situation, I don't think there should have been. If we were to believe Eleanor was indeed "innocent," then there shouldn't have been any sexual tension between her and her husband. And yes, there could have been a more confrontational impact between Isleen and Eleanor, but if you think of the character of Eleanor, she would not have confronted her violently. She was a gentle, kind person, not at all like the evil Isleen. I thought the author portrayed her heroine accurately to what she wanted her to be. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Good only if you like RAPE and STUPID, Stupid women.
Review: I am generally a big fan of Bertrice Small's romance novels. However, The Innocent was almost a complete disappointment. The story begins well, telling about how Elf becomes forced to leave her beloved convent to care for her sick brother. The story becomes far-fetched when readers learn how "perfect" Elf tries to be. To think, she actually tries to tend to Saer de Bude, the man who attempts to rape her when he becomes injured in his attack on her. You would think that a girl frantically trying to preserve her virtue would run as far away from this man as humanly possible. Another detail is that when Elf is examined to see if she has been raped, she faints dead away. However, her first time with Ranulf (remember, she has been in a convent almost all of her life), she turns into a complete sex kitten!!! Also, characters in the story such as her friend Isa, Saer de Bude and eventually Elf's evil sister-in-law Isleen, seem to just disappear into thin air. Finally, it is really hard to believe that Elf is so good that she drives all the evil impulses out of her captor, Merin Ap Owen. All in all, the characters seem rather one sided, with no real dimension within. If only Small had just let Elf have a single flaw (such as having an affair with Merin Ap Owen, the captor she grows fond of), the story would have obtained more realism.
Rating: 
Summary: Completely Far-Fetched
Review: I am generally a big fan of Bertrice Small's romance novels. However, The Innocent was almost a complete disappointment. The story begins well, telling about how Elf becomes forced to leave her beloved convent to care for her sick brother. The story becomes far-fetched when readers learn how "perfect" Elf tries to be. To think, she actually tries to tend to Saer de Bude, the man who attempts to rape her when he becomes injured in his attack on her. You would think that a girl frantically trying to preserve her virtue would run as far away from this man as humanly possible. Another detail is that when Elf is examined to see if she has been raped, she faints dead away. However, her first time with Ranulf (remember, she has been in a convent almost all of her life), she turns into a complete sex kitten!!! Also, characters in the story such as her friend Isa, Saer de Bude and eventually Elf's evil sister-in-law Isleen, seem to just disappear into thin air. Finally, it is really hard to believe that Elf is so good that she drives all the evil impulses out of her captor, Merin Ap Owen. All in all, the characters seem rather one sided, with no real dimension within. If only Small had just let Elf have a single flaw (such as having an affair with Merin Ap Owen, the captor she grows fond of), the story would have obtained more realism.
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