This HaBO is from Beth, who wants to find an older medieval romance title:
There is a book that I read probably 20 years ago, somewhere around 2000. It was one of many high school-aged me read. . . probably shoved under the bed so my mom wouldn’t find it. For some reason, this one sticks in my memory and I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is. I don’t remember much, but there are a few things that I hope I haven’t distorted beyond recognizability.
It was medieval. It started with a castle under siege. The invading army (not sure if vikings or knights) was breaching the castle at the beginning. I think the heroine was about to be mistreated as a spoil of war when the alpha hero comes across her. From what I recall, he essentially claims her as his and she is now his prisoner/captive. Throughout the book, I’m sure he mistreats her and she falls madly in love with him. As far as she knows, it’s unrequited.
The middle is the fuzziest in my memory. The book continues, she “earns” more freedoms, etc etc. Eventually toward the end, he has to ride off to fight somewhere else. She discovers . .. . something. Whatever it was (a trap?), she felt compelled to ride out and tell/save him. After she leaves the castle, she gets surrounded and captured by the bad guys. She has some scene where she basically tells them she is useless to them because the hero doesn’t care about her, although she is now willing to sacrifice everything for him. He, of course, was returning (because romance book) and overhears the whole thing, right before he then witnesses what he thinks is them killing her. He goes into a rage and then professes his undying love over her not-dead body. HEA
I CANNOT figure out what this is. Was probably written in the 80s or 90s?
I feel like this was a lot of medieval romance plots, but perhaps we can find the right one!
Under the bed? Everyone knows you shove your forbidden read under the mattress and pray your mother doesn’t decide to turn the mattress over (true story, though a friend gave me the book and I’d never read it. It was one of those free books given away with a magazine, no thirteen year old should read!)
I was getting Beauty vibes (the series written by Anne Rice under a different name) but I’m sure that’s is a fantasy setting. Sorry, no help!
How about “Defy Not the Heart” by Johanna Lindsay. Reina’s father died, she need to get married, there’s two guys she’s interested in but they didn’t get back to her, and now some local lord is trying to break into her castle. Then up shows Ranulf, who *=had been going to kidnap her for another guy who says she’s that guy’s intended. He drives off the invaders, she welcomes him in, then he kidnaps her to take her to the one who’s hired him.
She persuades him to marry her instead as she has no intended. He’s a mercenary, was going to just grab a local village lass when he could finally afford a castle of his own, and one of his guys points out how much training a Lady of a Castle needs.
So he marries her. Sex is terrible until he gets some tips from the local lightfoot. He is considerate, dedicated, and acknowledges that Reina’s being fair in treating him. And of course they’re falling in love with each other.
Hasn’t quite got the “allowed more freedoms” part, but there’s some fairly accurate “How to run your medieval castle” and “Marriage is a partnership between two people willing to work at it – the love will come” parts which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was also my first Lindsay, and I was always suspicious that Roberta Gellis may have helped her with some of the historical bits.
This sounds like The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
Probably isn’t it, but it sounds similar to Knight Of Fire, by Shannon Drake. (Published in 1993.)
But like Amanda said, there are a lot of medieval romances that follow the same formula. Good luck!
Prisoner of My Desire by Johanna Lindsey sounds pretty close.
Could this be one of the books in Karin Tabke’s medieval series, The Blood Sword Legacy? Five knights attached to William the Conquoer take on some Saxon (and other) ladies. The first, ROHAN, came out in 2007 or ’08? I remember reading them but they were like over 2000 books ago. I do remember that there’s lots of castle storming and alpha knight posturing and feisty ladies who vow to never give up their hearts and always do. Just a thought.
Don’t know what it is, but it’s not Defy Not The Heart. There’s a siege, but she doesn’t get captured by the bad guy at any point.
The description of the ending part of the book reminds me of Princess of the Veil by Helen Mittermeyer, which was Old Skool but better written than many others of its type. It came out in 1992 and features a similar “he gets captured, she rides out to save him, dramatic gestures on both sides” sequence of events. Here’s the description:
SHE WAS A GODDESS OF FIRE AND ICE…. — A mysterious Viking princess, Iona hid her beauty behind a veil, vowing never to put herself at the mercy of any man. Skilled both in battle and the healing arts, she sailed a fleet of ships across the treacherous sea to her birthplace in the Orkney Islands. But wild winds and fateful tides altered her course, hurling her on Scotland’s northernmost shores…and into the arms of a Scottish warlord.
HE WAS THE HEATHEN WHO WOULD DEFY HEAVEN–OR HELL–TO CLAIM HER….
For his heroic exploits in the frozen North Sea, Magnus Sinclair was legendary; for his romantic exploits among women, the Scottish chieftain was notorious. Yet when his ships defeated lona’s forces in a heated battle at sea, her fierce pride and fragile beauty shook him to his soul. And when Magnus returned to his native Scotland, where a secret enemy plotted his ruin, he was determined to bring his lovely captive with him not as plundered booty…but as his bride and ally.
First time posting1
I’m pretty sure this is an early Catherine Coulter- — “ Fire Song” .
sounds like Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell, especially the last part. The hero has the heroine wear the human equivalent of falcon’s jesses, iirc, while he “tames” her. old skool!
https://www.amazon.com/Untamed-Medieval-Book-Elizabeth-Lowell-ebook/dp/B000GCFXFY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=elizabeth+lowell+untamed&qid=1629209376&s=books&sr=1-1
(not sure if link will work…first time i’ve tried)
I have no idea as the only medievals I’ve read are a few Julie Garwoods, but I adore that right now there are already ten separate guesses and will likely be more to come. 😉
I second @Cora’s suggestion of The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
I 2nd Kristin Glad with Johanna Lindsey and Prisoner of my Desire!
I also wonder if it might be The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen Woodiwiss.
Not discussed above but I half recall a scene where a wound was bandaged with mud and either moss or spider webs.
I requested this one! I can say with certainty that it isn’t Wolf and the Dove – i recently reread this one thinking it might be the one i’m thinking of and it was not (not to mention it was hard to get through). I was thinking johanna lindsey, but none of these sound quite right.
A detail that may be important – I think the book takes place in her castle, of which he is now the lord.
Could it be the Prize by Julie Garwood?
“In the resplendence of William the Conqueror’s London court, the lovely Saxon captive, Nicholaa was forced to choose a husband from the assembled Norman nobles. She chose Royce, a baron warrior whose fierce demeanor could not conceal his chivalrous and tender heart. Resourceful, rebellious and utterly naive, Nicholaa vowed to bend Royce to her will, despite the whirlwind of feelings he aroused in her. Ferocious in battle, seasoned in passion, Royce was surprised by the depth of his emotion whenever he caressed his charming bride.
In a climate of utmost treachery, where Saxons still intrigued against their Norman invaders, Royce and Nicholaa revelled in their precious new love…a fervent bond soon to be disrupted by the call of blood, kin and country!”
Very Judith McNaught, but I’m putting my vote on A Kingdom of Dreams. She likes the dead/not dead confessions of love and is super old skool hate to love.
Another vote for Prisoner of My Desire by Johanna Lindsey. It’s very Old Skool. I remember a lot of details from this one.
Rowena needs an heir from her husband whom her stepbrother forced her to marry. I think the husband dies on their wedding night.
Her stepbrother kidnaps the hero to use him as the stud, thinking he’s just a peon.
She rapes the hero but feels bad about it and lets him go after a few days.
He storms the castle with his army (did I mention he’s actually a mighty lord?) and kidnaps her in revenge.
He treats her as his slave, gives her a scratchy shift to wear, and gives her nice clothes to his grown daughters.
She’s not allowed to leave the castle but later in the book she tries to find him to warn him of some treachery (maybe by his daughter?).
At some point his daughter lies to him and blames Rowena for something evil (maybe her own treachery?).
He finds out later and kicks the daughter out.
Rowena’s stepbrother shows up and wants to marry her but she refuses.
At the end she’s in labor, about to give birth, when the hero shows up and marries her at the last minute so his child will be legitimate.
And they live happily ever after.
I’m not sure when she started writing but Kathryn le Veque writes stories like the one you describe. Perhaps check out those?
Nicholaa with two a’s? Just reading a page of that book would drive me crazy!
I may have read this and for some reason, I think it was a Highlander romance. Maybe a series with a bunch of brothers?
I second “The Prize” by Julie Garwood.
My first thought was one of Johanna Lindsey’s, but the more I read it I was wondering if it was that one by Kathleen Woodewiss< the Wolf and the Dove.
Does the name Erica/Erika ring a bell for the heroine? I’m pretty sure I read this way back when. It was a Zebra Historical with one of those Pino covers.
I read kingdom of dreams and the prize in my efforts to find this. Was neither of those, and I’m probably not alone in thinking those did not age well. The one i’m after probably didn’t age well, either
@Beth S: “A detail that may be important – I think the book takes place in her castle, of which he is now the lord.”
That matches Elizabeth Lowell’s Untamed, mentioned above.
@Roberta Chesler – I also got Kathryn le Veque vibes from this request; maybe The Dark Lord?
Something about this reminds me of Wild Roses (The O’Byrne Brides Book 2), by Miriam Minger–it’s been about fifteen years since I last read it. It was originally published in the 90s, and now it’s in KU. Takes place after the Norman invasion of Ireland. Cover has changed several times. I read some of the reviews on GR and the details there match better than the blurb on Amazon.
Sounds a bit like Samantha James’ My Lord Conqueror. Heroine has a vision about a trap.
I don’t think the publishing timeline is right but the plot is very like “In Bed with a Highlander” by Maya Banks (pub in 2011). The heroine is found in a castle that was just seized by the Scottish hero, he takes her as a “spoil of war”. I remember the hero being super alpha and commanding her, especially in the bedroom.
TW – I’m fairly sure there was sexual assault and possibly rape by her previous captors.
It’s been quite awhile since I read these, I don’t remember the ending.
This is definitely not PRISONER OF MY DESIRE. For one,
the opening rape is unforgettable because the gender of the usual rapist is flipped. And although at the end, the hero fears the heroine is dead (she hides by pretending to jump out a window) the real emotional reveal comes earlier, when he discovers how the abuse of her mother led to that initial rape.
So the key emotional points are much different than the OP remembers.
There are some Bertrice Small medieval books with castles and sieges. They would have definitely been the sort to hide under the bed!
This sounds vaguely like Roseland by Roberta Gellis. Hero was a retainer of Eleanor of Aquitaine and heroine was an heiress. He didn’t mistreat her so much, at least by the standards of the time IIRC. I remember she was kidnapped towards the end and he turned into a berserker.
This sounded a lot like “The King’s Pleasure” By Shannon Drake
“Danielle D’Aville, the ward of Edward III, was sworn to obey the King’s order to marry her enemy Adrien MacLachlan, the legendary Scot who masterminded the fall of Danielle’s beloved home, Aville. Suddenly she was the arrogant knight’s reluctant wife, pledged to a marriage neither desired. But swept off to his castle in the Scottish highlands, and into his strong embrace, Danielle was soon possessed by a raging passion for the husband she had vowed to despise.”
And if I recall correctly, the first chapter is the castle under siege. This book was originally published in 1998 (I read it in the early 2000s)
Keeper of the Dream by Penelope Williamson?
This sounds a lot like “The King’s Pleasure” by Shannon Drake.
If I recall correctly, the first chapter is the siege and then after they head to his castle in Scotland. I read it in the early 2000s but I believe it was published in the late 90s.
I have ruled out Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell. It had so many of the same plot points (minus the beginning siege)! Also, that H was way nicer than I remember this one being. Honestly, I have no idea how I don’t have more relationship issues 😛
I will add the ones mentioned here to my search. If and when I find it, i’ll update. Thanks for all the guesses!
Hello, I am thinking: The Lion’s Bride by Connie Mason.