Amazon.in:Customer reviews: The Beauty Bride: Library Edition (Jewels of Kinfairlie)

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Frags McFraggle

Not bad

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 16 June 2012

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I enjoyed this story for the most part. The lowered rating is due to (a few, but very noticeable) grammar issues and a few plot holes/unresolved dilemmas, with an Other Man who is pure foil. It is also very formulaic, but that's not here nor there.

PROS:
-Roguish H and non-quivering h
-Stories within Stories (H is a story-teller who tells many stories)
-Engaging story itself
-Good writing style for the most part (not the whole part, sadly).
-Can easily be standalone. Though the sampling shown of the second book is a very horrid cliffhanger!

CONS:
Some things that I had issues with:
* numerous errors - missing words, wrong words used, messy punctuation. For the most part it didn't interfere with the story, but it did trip me up quite a bit. (Location 3138- "He a deliberate glance over the contents of..." or Loc 3931, "'...prefer not to be seen,' Madeline concluded, no censure in her town.") I've never felt a need to start highlighting so much. There are more, but those are just to show how it can break you from the book.
* Author changing sporadically from third person into 2nd person POV. Yes, second person. Where the audience is being actively spoken to by the author. Perhaps this is intended to make it seem as if the author is telling a tale like Rhys does, but it just isn't appreciated by this reader nor does it add a homey/earthy tone to the story. Of course this only happens when she's talking about fairies or spriggens.
* fairies and spriggens. Just seemed kinda ... pointless. The bit about the ribbons was interesting, but eh, still kinda made it lame. Wasn't really a fairy story and yet it tries so hard to be. To the point of it taking away from the story.
* Unrealistic characterizations: The sisters at the wedding feast, eager to sell h's most intimate secrets for a laugh, completely trusting a stranger they'd just been terrified of a few hours earlier. The brother being well-loved and forgiven no matter how much of a ____ he is. The H never making concessions and the h accepting it all. He showeth her much scorn but she hath not much fury. An Uncle who goes from not caring what people think of him to being a complete prude suddenly.
* no resolutions on a half dozen of the H's boorish/trollish statements. "If you don't want me to cheat on you, then you better give me a male heir." Heroine than screams and rants and then says "You're absolutely right. Let's get jiggy." It's not so much that it's a different culture he comes from or (blahblahblah whatever justification he gives) as much as I felt she should stick to her guns on the matter. Until he ceded the principle at the least. As opposed to "I'm gonna love doing it too!" maybe he would say "It is regrettable that I may need to boink someone else if you hit menopause before giving me a boy child. I assure you I will find no joy in the matter SHOULD IT HAPPEN, GD FORBID, and will even let you pick her out so that you know she will truly mean nothing to me." (Yes, I get that he was born to someone other than his father's wife and everything, but again, cede the principle if you claim to love her so much and don't want to lose her!). There are other trollish things he says, but that really bugged me. Le Scoundrel!
* The whole bit with Rosemunde and her (foster?)brother. *minor spoiler* Just didn't make sense about the whole cheating her out of her inheritance thing and is she a pirate? Why would her parents let her be a pirate? They did adopt her, right? Just confusing and the way it was resolved was rather unsettling.
* The brother is a piece of *censored* and yet they keep loving and forgiving him and thinking so highly of him even when he arranges for one sister to be auctioned and *MAJOR SPOILER FOR SECOND BOOK?* his second sister to be raped in her sleep i.e. have a disfigured exboyfriend sneak into her room without her knowledge/consent and have sex with her so she'll be forced to marry him. This is only because he's not allowed to auction his sisters off anymore. *END SPOILER*

Some loose ends, grammar issues, unrealistic behaviors (everyone is ultra forgiving and accepting of everything right away). Traditional Romance, if formulaic. Engaging and fun to read (for the most part).
Not bad.

119 people found this helpful

Shauni

The Beauty Bride, A Review for the Blog Bodice Rippers, Femme Fatales and Fantasy

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 28 September 2012

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The Beauty Bride is the first in The Brides of Kinfarlie Series and yes it is a reprint but if you haven't had a chance to read this series or this author give it a try. Claire Delacroix has long been a favorite of mine, although lately she has been sneaking around as Deborah Cooke and writing some wonderful Dragon Stories.. but Beauty is pure Claire. Intricate, interesting, detailed, sensual, simply divine.

The new Laird of Kinfarlie has all sorts of troubles, first off winter is not that far off and he just can't imagine how he is going to be able to feed his family.. and he has not 1, not 2 not 3, not 4 but FIVE sisters to marry off.. and none of them will marry before the eldest and she is just not willing. Head in hands not sure what to do, he decides to auction of the Jewel of Kinfarlie in a private auction. Of course he doesn't bother to tell any of his sisters about this. One would think this would be bad enough but once they get to their uncle's keep, the youngest sister, Elizabeth starts seeing fairies. An ugly, malicious faerie, determined to cause as much mischief as possible.

Lady Madeline is on pissed off sister. To think not only is her brother auctioning her off, yes that's right auctioning her off but it's at her Uncle's Keep and both her aunt and uncle are involved.. Determined to not be sold as cattle or chattel she tries to devise a means of escape.. Finally leaving the keep in the dead of the night with only one guard for protection she is off. Of course said guard is not there to guard her...

Rhys FitzHenry, the bastard son of a Welsh lord branded a traitor to the crown, is determined to gain title to his home. Thinking that Madeline is in actuality the long lost child of the missing heir he determines to purchase her, marry her and claim his castle. Easy Peasy.. *rolls eyes* Men really can be clueless. Sure he buys his bride, but before he can even think of marrying her he must track her down. Saving her from being raped isn't enough now he must find the quickest way to marry her and get them to Welsh soil.

You have to feel for Rhys, this man faces ridiculous obstacles, a recalcitrant bride, a greedy aunt who wants to gain Madeline's bride price as a dower for her abby, family hunting them down and a former fiance say, the love of Madeline's life back from the dead.. On the run from just about everyone these two meet as equals in their marriage and learn just what a real marriage consists of. Working together to survive seems to be the perfect environment for a couple to bond. To discover just what real love can be..

I am so glad to see this series in reprint and am looking forward to reading the entire series and can't wait until the continuation series begins next spring..

Shauni

3 people found this helpful

Christmas Carol

Lovely romance

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 5 October 2022

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What starts out looking black in a nook can only turn out golden just as the relations prospered for Madelyn and Rhys

Karen Talley

***********Possible spoilers in review************

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 23 February 2019

Verified Purchase

I liked both the hero and the heroine. Most of the secondary characters are a little on the weird side (except for Thomas, the monk. I liked him a lot.) I had a difficult time with Rosamunde, the heroine's aunt. Is she a pirate? Where did she get all of the religious 'relics' that she sold? Since she acts like a warrior, how and when was she trained? The heroine's brother, Alexander, is a real jerk. I mean, who sells their own sister? But the oddest character is the sister, Elizabeth, who sees and converses with an ugly little fairy who seems to hate everyone and everything. The fairy theme and the 'magical ring' just annoyed me. There is a lot of action: knives poked into eyes, throats slit, blood just gushing everywhere. And the heroine and her sisters were right in there with the slashing and poking. If you can get past the gory scenes, the stupid fairy stuff, and the NUMEROUS editing errors, you will probably like this story. I don't intend to read any more of the series.

Sexual situations may offend some readers.

19 people found this helpful

Book Lover

First appalled and then appeased

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 5 November 2018

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Desperate times take desperate means. This is what the new and young laird of Kinfairlie thought when he did something horrible to the eldest of his sisters in order to save the castle from certain starvation in the upcoming winter. With this one deed he changes the fate of many people and even his own.

I know, I know - above isn’t really a good recap of the story but I’m afraid to put it any other way as I might just give too much away.

In any case, although the book started with an act which had me nearly closing the book, I read on and....... wasn’t disappointed in the end. Amendments were made for this horrible action and I was somehow appeased. There were some paranormal elements, which I don’t like but they were secondary in the storyline and didn’t impact it too much.

Main focus of the book was definitely the relationship between Rhys and Madeline. Taken the vantage point of their relationship into consideration, it was interesting to see how they dealt with each other and how they gradually matured within this relation. This made the plot elaboration a bit slower and towards the end I felt that the author rushed the developments.

However, this wasn’t a bad book. Not at all!

LoriB

Not for the Feminist-Hearted

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 20 May 2018

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... but, that's a good thing.
I certainly didn't find it to be as awful as some claim, but then I'm mature and could figure out that the author was staying true to the time period while also letting the reader enjoy the intrigue that followed such astonishing life choices, only to discover the obvious outcome. I guess you need to be mature to enjoy this type of Romance... which it was, by the way. A true Romance novel that isn't filled with a lot of modern-minded nonsense.
These two started out bad but went on a journey of discovery, of themselves and each other, until it was joyously obvious they were meant to be together and that the wrongs could and should be righted. No kidding!
If you are that uptight after attending your Gender or Womens studies classes, it stands to reason that choosing to read Romance novels (esp Historicals) is a bad idea. Stick to what you've been indoctrinated to believe... all things modern female... and leave the Romance novels to those who know how to enjoy them for their true purpose.

49 people found this helpful

Candace Peterson

Madeline and Rhys

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 10 April 2017

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Madeline is the Jewel of Kinfairlie. Rhys is searching for the daughter of his uncle. He believes Madeline is the missing child. When Alexander, Madeline's brother, auctions off the Jewel of Kinfairlie as wife to the winning bidder, Rhys wins Madeline's hand. Rhys marries Madeline believing she is the means to obtain Caerwyn, a Welsh holding. Their life together is filled with strife because Rhys has a price on his head for treason. Will their marriage grow into a love match, or will it be annulled? Will Rhys be arrested for treason?

This book is an easy read. The main characters are well-rounded. We are told Welsh tales as a means of understanding the characters. The secondary characters -- Alexander, Vivienne, Elisabeth, Rosamonde, Adele and Darg -- were all delightful and, sometimes, funny. The plot and subplots are neatly tied up. The epilogue secured a lot of loose ends. I would read more books in this series. I want to know what becomes of the secondary characters.

One person found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Reasonable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 18 February 2020

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This book probably does not reflect the era it is set in accurately however not possessing a time machine who can tell. The plot is good but the way it is written leaves a lot to be desired.

A Woman of a Certain Age

Very good for a free book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 29 March 2017

Verified Purchase

I downloaded this as I always like to try new authors for free. Skinflint I know - but it does allow you to see if you like the way an author writes. I thoroughly enjoyed this storyline. Some parts were predictable - others not so much so. Got confused occasionally as my knowledge of UK history and all the internal power struggles in the 15th century is pretty abysmal. But overall a good read. Having said all that I would not pay over £3 for each of the other stories in the series.

One person found this helpful

Bel

Nice enough story

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on 5 December 2016

Verified Purchase

This historical romance makes for very light reading. As long as you don't expect another Outlander, or Celtic Brooch series you'll certainly enjoy this book. The language is generally simple, but peppered with Scottish or Welsh expressions which, although they can either be guessed through the context, or are explained, can make listening a little challenging. A glossary wouldn't have gone amiss. The story is fairly simple, too, as are the characters. Except for the lead characters they remain pale, their motivation obscure, and their actions incomprehensible. The author probably plans to go in depth in the sequels, but for me, this lack of background made the ending of the story unconvincing.

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5 star		61%
4 star		24%
3 star		9%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

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