The Crystal Heart

by Katherine Deauxville (AKA Maggie Davis)

Emmeline, the wife to a powerful guild master, needs to provide her aging husband with an heir. Forced to make harsh decisions, she pays her servant to go out and to pay a man for a night of 'service' that will leave her with the child she needs to give her husband. She knows nothing about the nameless man who takes up her offer. For coin, he will give her what she needs. However, instead of paying the man and them parting with little thought to what happened, she gets a night of passion that haunts her forever. She gets the child she bought...only life demands a higher payment ten years later. Niall fitzJulien is the new overlord of Castle Morlaix. To his shock, the woman who stands before him to pay homage holds the hand of his son--his ten-year-old son. He recalls that night a decade ago, when he'd awoken the next morning from a night of passion only to discover the woman had slipped away from his bed...and taken his heart. Now he sees how cruelly he was used, how he has been denied his son. No longer. Now she is his vassal, she serves him. A dark, strong tale of a Medieval woman who does what she must to survive, of the man she came to love, the man she must now face with her deceit.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Medieval, Historical, Medieval Romance

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1995

Reviews

[Arlenis Ralfsdóttir · Rating 1 out of 5]

Esta demás decir que no me gustó. Hay algo en este libro, la historia y sus personajes, que me sacó de mis casillas hasta mas no poder. Normalmente me gustan mucho esas historias donde la doncella es obligada a casarse con el caballero y discuten mucho, se enfrentan uno al otro pero terminan enamorándose, pero en este caso no me he creído nada del supuesto romance entre ellos. Detesté a Niall y a Emmaline por ser tan estúpida. Realmente odie el libro.

[Kym · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to give it less ratings than what everyone else gave this book. I think had I come away feeling like I had just read a love story it would have helped alot in my rating.

I would give this 3.5 stars I think. I really enjoyed the beginning and thought Niall was so wonderful. Then the rest of the way I felt so bad for Emmeline. That man was a beast and was cruel in his ways toward her. I did not feel love between the two until the very last pages, and even then I'm not sure I could get past the things he put her through. It was almost as though I held a grudge and I felt it was to little to late as far as I was concerned. It was an easy read and well written. I just find a little more kindness sooner in the book would have helped me to connect with Niall, and maybe grown to care about his feelings.

[Scherezade00]

Una historia medieval. Tdo pasa entre Gales e Inglaterra. Me encontré con la sopresa que hablan del rey Enrique Plantagenet y su famosa esposa Leonord de Aquitania. Nobles solo de nombre sin dinero y muchos con hijos bastardos.
lo malo que el rey iba y les quitaba todo si queria. De fondo la historia de Emmeline una mujer artesana orfebre que aprendió a tallar de la mano de su esposo un hombre mayo rque no le pudo dar un hijo y a ella se le ocurre la loca idea de conseguir un semental y tener su hijo.
Años después se encuentra con Nial que al descubrir que tiene un hijo y saber que fue utilizado por ella ahora viuda se quiere vengar de ella. Qué tiempo tan oscuro, guerraras, conspiraciones, un mundo de hombres. Las mujeres un cero a la izquierda solo servian para llevar la casa y cumplir su deber de esposa, no tenian ni voz ni voto. Una gran historia me gustó. Primera vez que leo la escritora.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young lad spends the night with a lady. Years later he learns h is the father of her son.

[Aldy · Rating 1 out of 5]

El protagonista masculino me pareció violento todo el tiempo, al principio irrealmente enamorado y después un loco desquiciado