The Knight and the Rose (Berkley Sensation)

Rating:
Summary: Simply Excellent
Review: As soon as I finished this novel, I immediately went looking for more by the same author. This was truly an historical romance. Inspired by a real Medieval divorce case, the story is about Johanna, so abused by her cruel husband that she is ready to face death to escape. Fate sends her home to her mother, who blackmails a "captured" rebel by forcing him to play Joanna's first husband in a conspiracy to release Joanna from her hideous marriage. Trapped in a situation not of his making, Geraint finds himself falling in love with the icy Joanna, longing to melt her reserve, heal her psychic wounds and become her protector. Unfortunately, his real obligations lie elsewhere, with powerful men, and their paths must part. I confess that the added attraction in this novel was the link with history, which is skillfully woven into the story. Joanna and Geraint are both embroiled with the politics of real British history, and the sights, sounds and smells of an age long gone fill the pages. As the story races to its climax, involving the documented capital punishment of several nobles, we fear for the safety and future of the two star-crossed lovers. Isolde Martyn writes well; the trite cliches and often repeated formulas of so many Romances are noticeably and happily absent. The characters of both the lovers and the other individuals who people the story are well developed - Ms. Martyn has made history come alive and created a pair of passionate, believable lovers and I am eager to discover more of her work.

Rating:
Summary: This is what a medieval romance should be.
Review: I'm horrible at writing plot summaries, so I'll leave that to someone else. I'm a voracious reader and thus far this is the best medieval romance I've had the pleasure of reading. Nothing else comes close. The plot, romance, wit and wealth of characters are everything I could ask for. The nuances of daily life are so well woven into the story that if I didn't know better I would say the author actually lived in England during the 14th century. A keeper.

Rating:
Summary: An absolute winner!
Review: If you're one of those fans of historical romance who's always clamoring for more 'historical' in your romance, look no further than THE KNIGHT AND THE ROSE. Set against the intrigues of King Edward II , his wife Queen Isabella, Roger Mortimer and the Despensers, there's plenty of rich historical fact filling the pages.

The romance here is nothing to be sniffed at, either. The story of Gervase and Johanna is based on a real medieval court case, and all the angst and passion you'd expect is poured onto every page. Ms. Martyn has developed two rich lead characters and a worthy supporting cast---it's a real winner! The second half particularly zips along, offering some surprising plot twists.

You won't be able to put this down--it's a real find for historical romance fans!

Rating:
Summary: If You Can't Get Enough Bickering in Real Life..Read This!
Review: Isolde Martyn's "The Knight and the Rose" had much going for it until she apparently decided that a disagreeable heroine would hit the literary spot. If you are a reader who enjoys endless bickering and conflict based primarily on misunderstandings between the hero and heroine, this is your book; however, I was annoyed about a third of the way though and serious considered not finishing the novel. Because the premise was so interesting to me I decided to complete the book: the story is based upon a real court case of the Middle Ages involving a man who posed as the handfast husband of an abused wife in order to save her from further physcial harm at the hands of her true husband.

Martyn has a good grasp of the time period (England in the year 1322, a very few years before Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabel deposed Edward II) and the culture. She has created a very appealing hero in Geraint, and some memorable secondary characters as well. Unfortunately, Johanna FitzHenry is one of those heroines who is characterized by many romance readers as TSTL (too stupid to live): her judgement is terrible, her logic is flawed, and even when she knows she is wrong she persists in her contrary ways. I found her grating in the extreme.

Ms Martyn is a talented author, who obviously put much time and thought into her research and the writing of this novel. It is a shame that she gave us a conventional romance novel heroine of the feisty-for-its-own-sake school: if someone is trying to save you from a fate worse than death, at the very least common sense dictates that you support them, not thwart them at every turn. I hope that this type of hero/heroine relationship is not characteristic of all of Ms Martyn's novels.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding....But Johanna was a Brat
Review: Isolde Martyn's "The Knight and the Rose" had much going for it until she apparently decided that a disagreeable heroine would hit the literary spot. If you are a reader who enjoys endless bickering and conflict based primarily on misunderstandings between the hero and heroine, this is your book; however, I was annoyed about a third of the way though and serious considered not finishing the novel. Because the premise was so interesting to me I decided to complete the book: the story is based upon a real court case of the Middle Ages involving a man who posed as the handfast husband of an abused wife in order to save her from further physcial harm at the hands of her true husband.

Martyn has a good grasp of the time period (England in the year 1322, a very few years before Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabel deposed Edward II) and the culture. She has created a very appealing hero in Geraint, and some memorable secondary characters as well. Unfortunately, Johanna FitzHenry is one of those heroines who is characterized by many romance readers as TSTL (too stupid to live): her judgement is terrible, her logic is flawed, and even when she knows she is wrong she persists in her contrary ways. I found her grating in the extreme.

Ms Martyn is a talented author, who obviously put much time and thought into her research and the writing of this novel. It is a shame that she gave us a conventional romance novel heroine of the feisty-for-its-own-sake school: if someone is trying to save you from a fate worse than death, at the very least common sense dictates that you support them, not thwart them at every turn. I hope that this type of hero/heroine relationship is not characteristic of all of Ms Martyn's novels.

Rating:
Summary: Mediaeval mayhem
Review: Lady Johanna FitzHenry is a beautiful willful young woman who has been married to her fathers' former companion in arms, a cruel, merciless brute of a man whose idea of getting her with child is to beat her savagely on a daily basis and to rape her nightly. Johanna and her mother devise a plan which will be her only legal escape from the marriage..to convince a man to swear that he had married her, before her forced marriage to her sadistic husband.
By chance, a young man stumbles on to Johannas' parents land, supposedly a scholar but actually a soldier fighting on the opposite side to the current regime. In reurn for help for him and his wounded comrade, Gervase de Laval agrees to the scheme and goes through an examination by a church court which agrees to annul the marriage. Following this, Johanna returns to her parents' home while Gervase follows his feudal lord into battle against the Scots. Four years later, he returns and, after many arguments and much wrangling, the happy pair are reunited.
Personally, I would have loved to have given this shrewish girl a good slap around the legs to put an end to her incessant screeching and bad mouthing of everyone in sight.Yes, she WAS treated shamefully and most cruelly, but as she never ceased her persistant goading of Gervase and was always ready with sarcastic remarks that could be heard all over the castle, I just wonder that he didn't rise off into the sunset forever !

Rating:
Summary: What do you mean this is a romance?
Review: Overall, I was disappointed in this book. The plot was very intriguing. A medieval wife seeks deliverance from her abusive marriage. In an era where the man has all the rights, Johanna's options are limited. If she is to escape the cruelty of her husband, Sir Fulk, she must dare a dangerous scheme. If she can prove that she had contracted with another before she was betrothed to Sir Fulk, she may find her escape.

Enter Gervase. Forced into her scheme, he is torn between two duties... the rebel cause in which he is involved and that of the Lady Johanna. Reluctantly, he agrees to swear that he had plighted his troth to Johanna before she had married Sir Fulk. What follows is true love between the two.

This book is very well written. The plot is interesting. The historical facts are accurate. My disappointment lies in that the romance was dull and almost a second thought to the plot. I found this to be more of a historical novel with some romance as opposed to a historical romance. If you simply want to read a good historical novel, then this is a sure bet. But if you are clamoring for a true romance, then you may disappointed as I was.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Excellent
Review: This is my first book by this author. I couldn't get enough of the great dialogue! I can't say enough about the great characters, either. Gervaint/Gervase was one of the best heros ever. I could read it again, it's that good.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding....But Johanna was a Brat
Review: This is my first book by this author. I loved the dialogue, it was a little different - and bolder, I think than others. I thought Gervase/Geraint was a PERFECT hero. So handsome and intelligent, and strong and gentle. And since he was doing Johanna an enormous favor, one that would affect the rest of her life, if she was to have one, I don't understand why she complained and practically blamed Geraint for trying to help her! I could understand her revulsion to intimacy because of her evil husband, but she and Geraint smoothed through that just fine, so why was she so mean?