Sybil’s Review of The Betrothal by Terri Brisbin, Joanne Rock and Miranda Jarrett
Historical Romance by Harlequin Historical
The Claiming of Lady Joanna by Terri Brisbin was the story that caught my eye. I started reading it while in line at Wal-Mart and decided I needed to know what happens at the end of the story.
It is your basic, man wants to marry girl, girl doesn’t want to marry man because of his evil wicked rep. Girl runs away. Yes you didn’t see that one coming did you. Joanna sneaks out dressed as a monk, and she cuts her hair to do it. YES! I gasped. How do all these chicks run around pretending to be men and keep their long hair? I can’t put mine under a hat.
Anyway, I like this story. I hated the hero, wanted to hug him, wanted to slap him being stupid and thought he handled the betrothal well. And this was just in the prologue. And Joanna? Hell if you can argue why you don’t want to marry a man, in front of the man, your parents, king and court – you have balls and I like you. And I thought it was interesting that we didn’t meet Joanna at court, you saw it through Lord Braden’s eyes.
The set-up intrigued me and I wanted to see how it played out. Hence how I ended up with a new book with three authors I have never read before.
Highland Handfast by Joanne Rock had another strong female… stops – thinks – hmmm all three stories did – damn I am quick. Ok, where was I, we start the story with Brenna Kirkpatrick rushing to get help from Gavin Blackburn. She had been imprisoned in England after warning the scots of an attack; her husband’s family had kept her children and wouldn’t give them back.
Blackburn is something of a young crush/love of hers and the only person she can think of to help her. He lost his wife in childbirth a year before, a wife he loved. YES he loved her. And hasn’t left a woman in his home since her death. He agrees to help if she will handfast with him. See he needs an heir and she has three sons, survived childbirth, is a woman he respects and had feelings for at one time.
She doesn’t think so and wants him to do better… you know the rest. I enjoyed the story, but I can say I paid no attention to the history here so I can’t tell you if it was right or wrong. Bad reader
A Marriage in Three Acts by Miranda Jarrett was a much lighter tale than the other two. And well it was something of a star-crossed lovers story. An earl and an actress… the story is really two short for me to buy the pairing. The banter is amusing but I didn’t really care for the story.
Of course if you follow the amazon link (not that there is one because blogger hate me), the one review there is the reverse of mine. Got to love it ;). I would like to read Brisbin’s next The Duchess’s Next Hustband and will look over the next Joanne Rock I see but will need to be rec’ed another Jarrett.
