The Maiden's Abduction

by Juliet Landon

Isolde Medwin should have known better than to throw herself on the mercy of Silas La Vallon. Their families were enemies of long standing, and her impulsive act of seeking refuge at his house in Scarborough had placed her in potential danger. Silas certainly had reason enough to want to avenge himself on her father, so why, when she was compelled aboard Silas's ship headed for Bruges, did Isolde find herself fighting growing feelings of love for her abductor?

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Medieval, Historical, Harlequin

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2001

About the author

As the author of books on embroidery design, the progression in 1994 from fact to fiction was perhaps less daunting for Juliet than it might have been for a complete beginner. But in many ways, the requirements are similar: a strong imagination and sense of design; an eye for detail; a love of color, scenery, and research; and a willingness to share inner thoughts and feelings with readers. Dedication is also useful to Juliet, living in the country, as the temptation to spend time picnicking and sightseeing instead of writing is sometimes very strong.

Reviews

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 star rating- it's ok, but only just.

Set sometime during the mid/ late-medieval period (never specified, but my guess is 1400s), a stupid young noblewoman wants to escape the man who's supposed to be looking after her (I'm not even sure why she wasn't living with her father) because he's some sort of Evil Man. She throws her lot in with a stupid young nobleman who takes her to Scarborough where he has family. There she meets the hero, who because (we later find out) he wants her the minute he lays eyes on her, dupes the stupid young woman, the stupid young nobleman, and takes her on his ship not to York, but to Flanders. Now there was a legitimate reason for him doing this- her father had 'abducted' the hero's sister because they had secretly been in love for years but because of their feuding families, could never get married. So the abduction of the stupid young noblewoman was in response to this. Not much was made of this and if it had, then the story and plot would have been considerably stronger.

Anyway, in Flanders, the stupid girl is treated like a queen, realises that her the hero is really rich and has a few good points, and falls in love with him.

Other than the undeveloped plot, what makes this story fall flat on its face is that the relationship between the hero and the heroine boarders non-consensual intimacy. He's possessive and jealous of her, and tells her outright that he expects that she'll fall in love with him and be in his bed soon and become his mistress. Really, she was such an idiot all he needed to do was produce a bunch of tulips and ask her to marry him and she would have been all his without all the extra rubbish. But of course, one can't have a heroine actually wanting an alpha-male, she has to be forced into it because she's good and virtuous and all that. I thought less of the hero for wanting to have her as his mistress rather than thinking that to really protect her he had to marry her. But of course, if he'd been honourable, then he couldn't have been the rogue she needed to tame.

If the heroine had been less stupid I might have been more angry at the nasty personality elements of the hero. Still, this is a Mills and Boon, you pretty much know what to expect. It's a pity that these books pivot around the falling in love part and not the plot,because I find that romances which focus around the plot rather than the falling in love are much stronger (and more enjoyable) stories.

[Nicole alphAbet]

Fall pile