The Valcourt Heiress

Jan 04, 2012 Sherri rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read_2010, audiobook_2012, historical-romance, update-2012, rlftci2012chl, romchal12, library

3 stars out of 5
Catherine Coulter has always been a favorite author of mine but it has been years since I picked up one of her romance novels. So when I received this I was pleasantly surprised. It has that fairy tale quality to it that makes it an enjoyable romance read.

Merry flees her home to avoid a forced marriage arranged by her mother. She is almost abducted in the woods but is rescued by a mysterious nobleman, , Garron of Kersey the new earl of Warham Castle. Merry and Garron work togther...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Melanie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It has been a LONG time since I have read a Catherine Coulter book, so I was very excited to find out that she has FINALY written (note: not REWRITTEN) a historical and I was so lucky to snag an Early Reviewers copy (from LibraryThing) of it! The book arrived and I just could not wait to start. The cover photo was great! Now all it needs is for the book to be as well, right?

To start, I must state that I respect the author and I loved her historical romance books (note: PAST tense). My favorite o...more It has been a LONG time since I have read a Catherine Coulter book, so I was very excited to find out that she has FINALY written (note: not REWRITTEN) a historical and I was so lucky to snag an Early Reviewers copy (from LibraryThing) of it! The book arrived and I just could not wait to start. The cover photo was great! Now all it needs is for the book to be as well, right?

To start, I must state that I respect the author and I loved her historical romance books (note: PAST tense). My favorite one is “The Sherbrooke Bride”. This was one of those authors that I had on “automatic” buy. I am not a fan of contemporary romance, or thriller so I’ve never read her FBI series. I KNEW her historical books, and this review is based on the “uncorrected proof” that was provided to me by Putnam Books.

Now, I wanted to like this book, I really, really did. That said, I was shocked and stunned that this got published. This reads as a rough draft manuscript, and even as such, it needs a LOT more work to make it anywhere near interesting, much less believable. There are many weak points in this manuscript. Here are just a few: Merry, upon running away from home, enters the Wareham Castle in which all men are destroyed by The Black Demon who had also destroyed most of the castle in his search for the “hidden silver”. She encounters the remaining servants, who are mostly feeble and old, persuades them to hide her and pretend that she had always lived there as the bastard daughter of the local priest. Then, lo and behold, she begins her work to restore the castle! All within couple of hours! Villains we have aplenty-Merry’s mother, Jason of Brennan, and Sir Halric, are all in pursuit of Merry and the treasure. They all remind me of Three Stooges. As a matter a fact this whole book seems to be Cartoonish. Case in point: Merry’s mother kidnaps her, drugs her and casts a spell on her. Merry’s twin sister impersonates her; Garron runs to rescue her but is thwarted by her mother’s potions. Oh, and those medieval expressions! There are a lot of them. Almost all the characters get to use them at least once through the book. Here’s some that get thrown a lot: “Praise St. Cuthbert‘s padded belly” and “By Saint Florin’s Boils”.

Our Heroine decides she wants Garron, so she seduces him by going to his chamber, candle in hand, and while he sleeps, she gets on top of him (mind you the mighty warrior is still sleeping, even though he asks her ”Are you the enemy?”) and proceeds to kiss him. Our hero is dead to the world, but he still manages to think that the woman with him is some Blanche, so the man just gets the deed done. ASLEEP!!!!

The dialog was boring and unrealistic! The characterization is thin and underdeveloped as well as totally ONE dimensional! Not one solid character or developed plot. Not one single enjoyable moment! I can honestly say that I’ve never read a book where the characters lacked so much personality and chemistry! As for the romance? What romance?! I wanted to care for Garron and Merry, but I could not. They were just plain silly! Try as I might, I really didn’t care for their story.

The people and plots are totally unbelievable. Page after page, I just kept reading; shocked how such uninspired manuscript actually got published! It actually gets worse and worse, as you keep reading it. I kid you not! I had to debate whether to continue reading or just give up! I grew more angry and disgruntled as I plowed through. By the last page, I felt cheated!

This was a disjointed story that left me confused, rolling my eyes in frustration, wondering how a veteran author could write this, and then allow such work to be published. It cannot be just me! Seriously!!! I am embarrassed for her! it’s quite possibly THE worst book I have EVER read. Totally, absolutely ridiculous!!!!! What a waste of paper, time and money! A huge disappointment! I think I had more fun reading David Lee Roth’s “Crazy From the Heat”!

To the reader who is reading this review, I do NOT recommend it. If you absolutely MUST read it, get it from the library. This isn’t worth your hard-earned money. As a matter a fact if you do get to read it, please let me know what you think of it.

Melanie(less)

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Sep 14, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book started out great but the entire end is a disaster. Arthur the poisoned is known to have stolen another's silver treasure but everyone's life is going to ruined if he is alive and regains his title. Now, why would he regain his title being that he is a known theif? He should be in prison.

Jason is still threatening to kill people that anger him and declaires that he is going to marry the Heiress in spite of the fact that he has confessed to murdering hundred of innocent people and is i...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Elizabeth marked it as dnf--did-not-finish · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf-did-not-finish

The summer of romance novels continues - and I'm not sure I can get past page on one this one. I don't care if you're an NYT best-selling author - make your sentences stylistically and grammatically correct.

Opening line, second paragraph "Her mother, Abbess Helen of Meizerling Abbey, had swooped in before nightfall, surrounded by her own contingent of soldiers, imperious and arrogant, recent widow of the Earl of Valcourt, and taken charge." I've read the damn sentence multiple times, and I'm st...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Robin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This is the first time I've read Catherine Coulter, and the first few pages surprised me in their clumsy triteness for a woman so practiced in story telling. It is also not historical fiction in the sense that it is woven and rooted into the time with real dependence on the political/cultural realities and currents of the time. Even the social history, customs and terminology are no more than a deft touch here or there to make the novel feel of a different time without being much the wiser about...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Zbft rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just finished the book (on tape) and all I can say is it's not one of her best - herowise. I like the plot, it kept me guessing though a time or two some turns made me raised my eyebrows. I guess because I am used to her well crafted plots that its odd to read a common turn in her writting. I can't really comment about historical acuracy since I am not an expert but the court drama and the power it weilds I think is one of the best part of the story.
The characters, now most of them are a hoot...more

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Feb 20, 2011 Bookmom rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lord Garron, on the way to the family estate he now owns due to the death of his brother, stops to rescue a lad from kidnappers. During the fight the lad takes off. When Garron arrives at his holding, it's to find that the Black Demon had come looking for silver coins Garron's brother had stolen, killing or driving off most of the people and destroying everything. Only a dozen starving elderly remain.

Merry is kidnapped from her home just as she's trying to run away and is forced to dress as a la...more

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Jan 31, 2011 Anne Toronto1 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

*** "The Valcourt Heiress" by Catherine Coulter is the daughter of a witch in 1278, the time of King Edward of England. The romance is fun until magick (sic) drains the life. Brave Lord Garron rescues Merry, disguised as a lad, from kidnappers. He finds his late brother's people massacred and the castle vandalized in a search for silver coins. Experienced manager and apprentice healer, Merry convinces the keep that she is a learned orphan who can help fix the destruction. The couple make lists,...more

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Nov 29, 2010 Amy Sanders rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hated-it-do-not-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 08, 2010 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

A young woman flees her home to avoid the forced marriage arranged by her wicked witch mother. In a nearby woods she is rescued from kidnappers by a brave young knight. After some days working together to restore the young knight's home, which was destroyed by the woman's betrothed, the woman and the knight start to fall in love. Before they can be married, however, the young woman is once again kidnapped--this time by the evil witch who is her mother. This is pretty much where the story fell ap...more

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May 08, 2011 Farin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was sadly disappointed with The Valcourt Heiress. I went into it with high expectations; my mother is a huge fan of Catherine Coulter's FBI series, and I was excited that she'd turned her hand at a historical romance. The premise was right up my alley: Merry's father dies, and she suddenly finds herself an heiress at the mercy of her mother, an Abbess who also happens to be a powerful witch. When her mother announces that she's selling her to the cruel Jason of Brennan, Merry runs away.

Meanwh...more I was sadly disappointed with The Valcourt Heiress. I went into it with high expectations; my mother is a huge fan of Catherine Coulter's FBI series, and I was excited that she'd turned her hand at a historical romance. The premise was right up my alley: Merry's father dies, and she suddenly finds herself an heiress at the mercy of her mother, an Abbess who also happens to be a powerful witch. When her mother announces that she's selling her to the cruel Jason of Brennan, Merry runs away.

Meanwhile, Garron, a young member of the king's guard, learns that his brother has died and he is the new Earl of Wareham. While on the journey home, he rescues a young boy from a band of ruffians who have kidnapped him. The boy disappears, and Garron and his men continue on to the castle only to find the whole place ransacked by a man the villagers are calling The Black Demon. The villagers explain that Garron's brother stole a cache of silver coins from The Black Demon, and that he'd destroyed the castle and killed almost all its inhabitants in reparation. Garron vows to rebuild the castle and take his revenge on The Black Demon.

Unbeknownst to him, the young boy he saved in the forest, who happens to be Merry in disguise, sneaks into the castle and reveals herself to the elder maids. She promises to rehabilitate the castle if they keep her identity a secret.

And I think you can figure out the rest.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. Unfortunately, the plot felt a little contrived (Did it sound contrived when I summed it up? I thought so.), the twists were extremely predictable, and there were so many redundancies in the writing that I found myself skimming at points (which I hate!). Merry and Garron are extremely likeable protagonists, but the story was so uninteresting to me that they were a little wasted.

I've read worse books in my time, and I finished this one fairly quickly, so if you want to give it a go, I won't say you shouldn't. You might find it a lot more compelling than I did.(less)

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Mar 16, 2011 Emily rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grrrr. When there are so many books to read, I get highly irritated when I spend time reading a bad one. I picked this up because I have enjoyed Catherine Coulter in the past. I have only read her historical romance novels, and I was in the mood for something light since I just finished The Woman in White. She usually has great characters with great chemistry and predictable but enjoyable plots. This book, excuse my bluntness, sucked. Big time. I kept waiting and waiting for the book to be engag...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When the father of Merry the Valcourt Heiress dies unexpectedly, her long-absent mother returns to sell her and her fortune to the unpleasant and malicious Jason of Brennan, a fact which Merry finds repugnant. Running away from both Jason and her mother, Merry, dressed as a stable boy, is kidnapped mid-flight by a vicious man and his band of thieves. After she's rescued by a mysterious nobleman, she again runs away, only this time she decides to hide in the nobleman's retinue and take her chance...more When the father of Merry the Valcourt Heiress dies unexpectedly, her long-absent mother returns to sell her and her fortune to the unpleasant and malicious Jason of Brennan, a fact which Merry finds repugnant. Running away from both Jason and her mother, Merry, dressed as a stable boy, is kidnapped mid-flight by a vicious man and his band of thieves. After she's rescued by a mysterious nobleman, she again runs away, only this time she decides to hide in the nobleman's retinue and take her chances on a new life. As it turns out, this nobleman is none other than Garron of Kersey, the new earl of Warham Castle. Garron is returning to Warham to take control of the castle and its people after his brother's murder. But when Garron arrives, he discovers the castle largely abandoned and the few survivors tell the tale of the invasion and slaughter of Warham and its people by a man known only as the Black Demon. When Merry comes to understand what's happened at Wareham, she begs the remaining residents to keep her identity secret and sets about repairing the damage wrought at Warham, helping Garron restore order in his lands. Merry is a playful and headstrong young girl who is unschooled in the ways of love, and as Garron's interest in her begins to rise, he questions where this girl has some from and what she is doing ruling the kingdom beside him. But Merry and Garron's new found peace and happiness aren't without obstacles. The faceless Black Demon is still unidentified and on the loose, and Merry's mother, rumored to be a powerful witch, is still ruthlessly searching the countryside for her daughter. The Valcourt Heiress is a delectable romp where historical fiction shares the spotlight with fantasy, melding together to form a tale of both high adventure and taut intrigue.

Once again, I made the mistake of judging a book by its cover. It happens all too frequently that I dismiss a book out of hand because the cover doesn't fit my parameters of what I think I should be reading. And looking at this cover, I expected it to be a bodice-ripping romance that would hold little interest for me. After reading the book, I have two points to make. The first is that I need to be a little more open-minded and less judgemental about the types of books I read, and the second (and I feel more important) is that publishers really need to work on more successfully matching the covers of their books to the material inside. This book has nothing even remotely to do with the design on the cover. There is never even a scene in the book like the one depicted on the cover. Publishers, stop doing this to us! You lose readers this way! Okay, I'll stop with the ranting and get on to the reviewing.

I hadn't been expecting it but this book was a lot of fun to read! Coulter has a way of interspersing her action sequences among the more mild and introspective scenes that I really enjoyed. This tactic made the writing feel very smooth and had the effect of making the books feel very pleasingly layered. A lot of the character creation was done in a progressive way as well, so it felt that as I was reading, I was coming to know more and more about the people who populated the book. Instead of having everything thrown at me all at once, I gradually got to feel more and more comfortable with the characters and all their habits and nuances. I especially liked the budding relationship between Merry and Garron and felt that it also evolved in a pleasing and unique way. It's not often I read books that heavily feature romance, but I kind of felt that the romance between these two characters was almost slipped in casually, and instead of being the prime focus of the book, it came off as a satisfying undercurrent.

One of the things I really liked was the continuing intrigue the Black Demon provided. Coulter had a way of reaching back and pulling this storyline off the back burner several times and bringing it into sharp relief throughout the tale, giving the book more than a hint of mystery and suspense. I also enjoyed that the book had some magical and fantastical elements to it as well, and really, although this wasn't a straight fantasy or mystery novel, it incorporated a lot of diverse elements into the story, making it a bit difficult to house under a a specific genre. It was all very finely wrought and in a way it took the best parts of each genre and formed a thrilling and inviting whole. I confess to being very engrossed with the rebuilding of the castle as well, and the logistics of making soap and fashioning furniture were very appealing to me. Maybe this is because I tend to be enamored of the day-to-day practicalities of this time period, but whatever it was, it kept me entertained.

Another thing I liked was that the pacing of the story was so solid and tight. There weren't a lot of needless sections that dawdled on the scenery and weather and things like that. I confess I often find those things boring and sometimes skim over them. When I'm reading, I like meat and grist, and needless pontification about the scenery just ends up bugging me. Some would say those types of things set the mood and tone of the book but I find them to be a little exasperating at times. This book wasn't bogged down with those kids of details and I really liked that. It was straightforward and honest storytelling, and there was more than enough action and specifics to fill the pages without resorting to what the trees outside looked like. It was great to see that Coulter excelled so beautifully with her intended tale, and though I didn't think I would be, I was very impressed with it all.

I suspect this book will be the first in a series, and for that I'm grateful. I found it to be a delightful way to start off the new year, and much to my surprise, I ended up really liking this book a lot. It was an entertaining escapist read and the characters, setting and plot line kept me avidly turning the pages. This is another instance when I would advise you to ignore the cover and just dig in. It's a book that's great fun and I ended up enjoying it a lot! Recommended!
(less)

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May 10, 2011 Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ok, so I have no shame in admitting that I have been an avid reader of Catherine Coulter's formulaic historic romances (and her modern thrillers) since I was in junior high. I have always loved them for a quick escape from the world ... good books to disappear into for a couple of hours and come out the other side with some fun characters and stories to remember.

That being said, this book didn't quite fit the bill. Either this one in particular was just poorly done, OR my memory of the fun in re...more

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May 28, 2013 Trudy Miner rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Garron of Kersey returns to claim his title as Earl of Wareham and finds Wareham Castle in shambles, most of the people murdered and the animals slain. The culprit was the Black Demon who was looking for silver coins which Garron's brother Arthur had stolen. Among the people still at the castle is Merry, the bastard child of the late priest but, Merry can read and write and, Merry makes lists. Just who is Merry really? Garron and Merry work together to bring Wareham Castle back to its former glo...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Melody rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This story is set in 13th century England. Merry, the Valcourt Heiress, has just found out that her mother has sold her to Jason of Brennan, for a hefty sum, so they can wed, just one day after the death of her father. Merry isn't one bit happy about the arrangement and tries to runaway. She's quickly captured by Sir Halric, one of Jason's men and is being escorted back to his master disguised as a boy. She is soon rescued of Garron of Kersey the new Earl of Wareham. When he arrives home he disc...more This story is set in 13th century England. Merry, the Valcourt Heiress, has just found out that her mother has sold her to Jason of Brennan, for a hefty sum, so they can wed, just one day after the death of her father. Merry isn't one bit happy about the arrangement and tries to runaway. She's quickly captured by Sir Halric, one of Jason's men and is being escorted back to his master disguised as a boy. She is soon rescued of Garron of Kersey the new Earl of Wareham. When he arrives home he discovers that shortly after his brothers death, a mysterious man known as the Black Demon came and destroyed everything and brutally slaughtered many of his people. Together with Merry and the few remaining people, he work's to restore Wareham to it's former glory.

I liked the story and how Merry and Garron's relationship developed throughout the story. I wouldn't necessarily say it was love at first sight, not on Garron's part anyway. For him it was more like lust. Some of the 13th century lingo gave me a hard time. I got tongue tied and had to re-read some sentences more than once.

I liked the characters. Merry is a strong girl, she's not the whiney little brat that you think an heiress would be. She's not afraid to speak her mind or fight when the time comes; she's a hard worker and cares for the people of Wareham. Garron likes to have her by his side because they have many things in common and it doesn't hurt that she's the only young lady at Wareham. I suppose he's a typical man from that time period. Apparently there are very few ladies at court who haven't enjoyed his company, some more than others. I really liked Miggins, for an old woman she was a firecracker; you never knew what she was going to say next.

The ending was kind of predictably, at least it was to me. There were a few twists in the plot during the last few chapters that I didn't see coming so that was a pleasant surprise. As far as I know there is no sequel and previous books in the series don't need to be read before this; it's a stand-alone book.

As for the cover...I love it!(less)

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Jul 12, 2011 Traci rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An o.k. story about Merry, an heiress to Valcourt, who is sold by her mother (for a promise of silver coins),to someone she does not want to marry.

Her father had recently died, was he poisoned by her mother, who is a witch? Her parents had separated when she was young, and her mother never visited.

She runs away after her father's funeral. Is kidnapped by men of her fiance's guard. But is rescued by Garron, who is on his way to his home castle, where his brother has just been killed.

Of course,...more

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May 23, 2012 Kerri rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 21, 2010 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I felt this was an okay foray back into historical romance for Catherine Coulter. While it is a step above what she has been writing lately (I won't even go into her suspense novels of late), it lacked the charm that her early novels had. Merry was quick witted, but I didn't really like her enough to be waiting with baited breath for her HEA. Her hero was a strong man, and fair, but really - if you knew your people were in danger, would you really allow an unknown woman to keep something that bi...more

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Oct 04, 2010 Kate (BiblioWino) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, historical-fiction, arc, review-books, read-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Review *slight spoilers*:

I’ll be honest the first few pages of the book were a struggle. I’m not sure if it was the story that I didn’t find engaging or it was due to the fact that I haven’t read a historical fiction novel in a good while. This book didn’t have as much romance as some of the other books I read. Normally, this wouldn’t bother me, since I am a fan of Philippa Gregory and some of the other well-known historical fiction authors.

All hesitations aside, I did enjoy this one for the mo...more Review *slight spoilers*:

I’ll be honest the first few pages of the book were a struggle. I’m not sure if it was the story that I didn’t find engaging or it was due to the fact that I haven’t read a historical fiction novel in a good while. This book didn’t have as much romance as some of the other books I read. Normally, this wouldn’t bother me, since I am a fan of Philippa Gregory and some of the other well-known historical fiction authors.

All hesitations aside, I did enjoy this one for the most part, despite the slow start. It definitely had the fairytale feel with Merry’s mother Helen as the evil witch and the gallant knight, Garron. The magic was a nice addition to the storyline but it would have been nice to see it as more of a focal point throughout the entire story. I felt that it was added in during the last few pages to tie up all the loose ends, and thus lost some of its effect.

Garron and Merry are a decent couple but I would have liked to have seen more romantic scenes between the two of them. Garron was the valiant dedicated lover who tried to rescue her, but unfortunately failed. I just wanted to smack him at times for being so obtuse but I won’t go into that too much for fear of giving away the story. I found Merry a bit annoying and found it unbelievable that Garron’s subjects would just welcome her with open arms after the Retribution. I think they should have been more wary and that Garron could have easily discovered who Merry really was well into the first few pages of the book.

The ending of the book was disappointing despite the epilogue. I didn’t learn anything more about Garron and Merry’s life together after they married and didn’t really feel the love between the two characters, even at the very end. I wasn’t left thinking that these two belong together. I can’t think of anyone else that Merry should have married, but Garron just didn’t portray himself as her true love. I’m a hopeless romantic so I wanted a happy ever after with this book.

I’ve never read anything else by Catherine Coulter so I wasn’t prepared for her style of writing. Maybe her stories just aren’t as focused on romance as other authors? I’m not sure if I’ll pick up another one of her historical fiction books but if she wrote any romance novels I might be willing to give them a try. (less)

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Apr 30, 2011 Laurie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library, audio

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think this will be the last Catherine Coulter book I pick up. Honestly, I'm not even sure why I bothered to finish this one. I've always hated Coulter's contemporary FBI series (couldn't even finish the first one I tried), but her historicals used to be very good. However, this book was mostly boring and far-fetched. IMO, the heroine definitely suffered from "too stupid to live" syndrome. In the beginning, she decides to run away even though she has no idea where she is going to go, no ready f...more I think this will be the last Catherine Coulter book I pick up. Honestly, I'm not even sure why I bothered to finish this one. I've always hated Coulter's contemporary FBI series (couldn't even finish the first one I tried), but her historicals used to be very good. However, this book was mostly boring and far-fetched. IMO, the heroine definitely suffered from "too stupid to live" syndrome. In the beginning, she decides to run away even though she has no idea where she is going to go, no ready funds and limited skills to protect herself. After she is kidnapped (what a surprise), the hero rescues her (though he thinks she is a young boy at the time). Instead of accepting the protection he offers, she hides in the woods until he and his men leave because she doesn't trust him. Despite that, she follows him to his castle and decides to pretend that she has lived there all along. She starts wearing dresses again and decides that because she can read, write, and make lists, she will become the castle steward. This book takes place in the 13th century - how many female stewards would there have been? Probably very few, if any. Also, is list-making all that useful of a skill? Apparently the author thinks it is because the hero, heroine, and queen of England are all held up as examples of good list makers. Coulter talks about list making a LOT - that's probably one of the reasons I found the book to be so boring. The hero and heroine are both weirdly obsessed with soap, too. The witchcraft plot with the heroine's mother was unbelievable and kind of stupid too. There were a number of other plot twists that seemed to come out of left field, which made it very hard to get into the story.

I was bothered by the scene when the heroine loses her virginity because she essentially rapes the hero. Certainly he was not awake to give consent when she flung herself on top of him. Even after he wakes up and it's already too late to undo what has happened, there are a couple of times he says no. Then, all of a sudden when the heroine wants to stop because she's in pain, he wants to keep going. He later describes it as one of the best sexual experiences of his life. Are we supposed to believe that rape is okay just because the man is the victim?

It didn't help that I listened to the audio version of this book and found the narrator to be EXTREMELY irritating. I think she was trying to sound "posh" so she pronounced some words oddly and had an annoying habit of rolling her r's at the end of a word. I wish she would have just spoken normally - her regular speaking voice is quite nice, and I probably would have enjoyed listening to it more had she not jarred me out of the story every time she said something strange.

Overall, I'm generously giving this book 2 stars because I liked a few of the characters and there were a couple of amusing scenes. For the most part, though, I would not recommend this book.(less)

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Feb 14, 2011 Cass Morris rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, romance, historical-medieval

I read this book quickly only because I kept hoping it would get better. There was good material in there, somewhere, I feel sure. It never delivered, though. The dialogue, as others have noted, was distractingly unnatural. Stilted in the extreme, not to mention the bizarre accents she had her lower-class characters indiscriminately using. The characters were flat. The story did not hang together at all -- no one's motivations made any sense, there was no sense of cause-and-effect, actions didn'...more I read this book quickly only because I kept hoping it would get better. There was good material in there, somewhere, I feel sure. It never delivered, though. The dialogue, as others have noted, was distractingly unnatural. Stilted in the extreme, not to mention the bizarre accents she had her lower-class characters indiscriminately using. The characters were flat. The story did not hang together at all -- no one's motivations made any sense, there was no sense of cause-and-effect, actions didn't have plausible consequences... it was a distractingly unsophisticated muddle. And the element of "magick", as she would insist on spelling it, just plain didn't make sense. One of the primary mandates of writing fantasy is that magic has to have rules, it has to have constrictions and consequences, and the reader has to know what those are, but there was no explanation whatsoever here. The book would've been better off without that element at all -- it just made a further mess of an already muddied storyline.

The book also bothered me as a historian -- I know that *all* historical romances take certain liberties. You can't be completely faithful without getting bogged down in details that harm the story. I get that. But this? She goes to the trouble of setting it in a fairly obscure period, and then does nothing with that -- nothing at all to show that she has any understanding of what late-13th century England was like, that she did any research on the royal court beyond the names. A lot of it was really just painful -- the informality of the English court, Coulter had the king and queen doing things and saying things that Plantagenets just plain would never have said or done, tolerating affronts to royal dignity, shrugging their shoulders at the way their courtiers were acting... it was absurd. I freely grant, this might not bother someone else, reading the story with less awareness of the historical realities -- but compared to some of the really stellar historical fiction I've read in the last year, this was a jarring disappointment.

I give the book two stars instead of one only because I did finish it. There was just enough of interest there to, as I said, make me keep hoping it would get better. I generally only one-star things I truly can't get through at all.

This was my first Catherine Coulter, and, after having heard good things about her, I was really disappointed. I may look for other books of hers that have been more highly rated... but I won't be bothering with it for a while, at least. (less)

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Mar 17, 2013 Donna Mcnab rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This story takes place in 1278 in the time of King Edward. Marianna de Luce de Mornay, better known as "Merry" flees Valcourt, as her mother, the wicked but beautiful Abbess Helen of Meizerling is forcing her to marry a handsome but evil man in exchange for much silver. At the same time, Garron of Kersey is returning home to take his place as Earl of Wareham on the death of his older brother. Garren reaches his destination to find that his castle has been ransacked and most of his people killed,...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Penelopye Ericksen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The entire story left a lot to be desired. From the very beginning I was disappointed but kept reading on, hoping and praying that this author I used to admire when I was a teenager would live up to former expectations, but alas, it was not to be. Too much time was spent on pieces that had nothing to do with the plot, dragging the story on much longer than would have been necessary. For me, things didn't even remotely start getting interesting until about 200 pages in, and even then it was still...more

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May 26, 2012 Kimberly rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

Words can not describe how disappointed I was by this book. I'm usually a big fan of Catherine Coulter's work, bother her historical & contemporary books. However, this story was long, slow & boring. I liked the heroine, but didn't care for the hero. Even when writing a historical book, the author must remember the readers have modern sensibilities. I can't like a hero who voluntarily engages in torture. In the last 150 pages of the book the story suddenly changed from a historical roman...more

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May 05, 2012 Jody rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, library

This book turned out better that I thought it would. Both of the main characters father's have died. His brother is also said to have died under mysteries circumstances, and he inherits his holdings. Well on his way to his new home, he rescues a boy and never thinks anything about it changing his life but eventually he comes to realize that it has. When he finally arrives at his new home, it is to find it nearly destroyed and with the help of a mysteries woman whom he knows is telling him numero...more

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Sep 29, 2010 Mandi Murphy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, first-reads, owned

I won this book from firstreads and I was really excited because I thought I was getting a sweet, clean, historical romance. I didn't. I had never read any of Coulter's work before. I'm giving it three stars instead of two because I felt it was well written and the story was actually very interesting in and of itself. Through out the book I wondered if there were things that I didn't understand happening. When I hit chapter 29, I couldn't misunderstand. I skipped to the end to read the happy end...more

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Nov 21, 2010 Valerie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed, historical-fiction, books-i-own

I almost put this book down a couple of times while reading it. Seemed like there was something missing at one point early on. I had to go back & literally re-read one section because it didn't make sense... It had to do with ppl playing chess, and next thing I know it says they dismounted their horses... I was like... "What the heck?!?" I went back & re-read a full page & a half to make sure that I hadn't skipped something. It still didn't make sense how it went from the chess playi...more

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May 14, 2011 Me Lin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-british-historical, z-coulter-catherine, 2-stars

Things this book made me realize about Coulter’s historical fiction:

-I don’t like it and probably never will
-Coulter’s heroines seem more like spoiled, outspoken children than the bright, forward-thinking women that Coulter wants them to be
-I don’t find Coulter’s sense of humor funny…I don’t know why, but I just don’t. I feel like she tries to be witty and it falls flat.
-I find Coulter’s fixation with redheads rather stifling – I love red hair, I really do, but it seems like every one of her her...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Clare rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Valcourt Heiress - Merry - is hiding from her wicked fiancee and plotting mother in the household of Sir Garron. Garron is a man's man, tough, smart and forced to take over his dead brother's property as he comes home to find his home wrecked and half the village killed, while a portion hides in the woods. Merry, who has been hiding all long, slips into the household as one of the villagers and seamlessly fits it. She becomes the chatelaine/housekeeper for the property, giving people hope an...more

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The Valcourt Heiress (Medieval Song #7)

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The Valcourt Heiress (Medieval Song #7)

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