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Bride of Fury
Who is Kate Kingsley's husband?
A lecherous millionaire wanted her for his mistress. A nobleman wanted her for his wife. But headstrong Kate Kingsley gave herself to the wild and wicked Harry, who wanted her body.
But her happiness shattered when Kate was forced to marry Harry's older brother. The three of them shared the same house--and sometimes the same bed. What they would not share were their terrible secrets.
Who is this man who calls himself husband? Is he the kindly doctor, the tender lover--or a monstrous killer known as Jack the Ripper? As their tormented passions reach a terrifying crescendo, Kate must learn the terrible truth...
A lecherous millionaire wanted her for his mistress. A nobleman wanted her for his wife. But headstrong Kate Kingsley gave herself to the wild and wicked Harry, who wanted her body.
But her happiness shattered when Kate was forced to marry Harry's older brother. The three of them shared the same house--and sometimes the same bed. What they would not share were their terrible secrets.
Who is this man who calls himself husband? Is he the kindly doctor, the tender lover--or a monstrous killer known as Jack the Ripper? As their tormented passions reach a terrifying crescendo, Kate must learn the terrible truth...
351 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1980
About the author
Rachel Cosgrove Payes
41 books8 followersRachel R. Cosgrove Payes was an American genre novelist. A research biologist by training, she married Norman Morris Payes in 1954. The bulk of Cosgrove's work consisted of historical romance novels, many published by Playboy Press.
Used These Alternate Names: E.L. Arch, Joanne Kaye, Rachel Payes, Rachel R. Cosgrove, Rachel Cosgrove.
Used These Alternate Names: E.L. Arch, Joanne Kaye, Rachel Payes, Rachel R. Cosgrove, Rachel Cosgrove.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 3, 2015
Good grief. This book...*sigh*
Talk about wasted potential. The supposed premise of this masterpiece o' suckitude is a good one -- speaking as someone who loved the movie From Hell, the cover blurb filled me with all sorts of fabulous WTF plot bunnies o' doom.
Alas, such is not the case. Not even fabulous WTF plot bunnies had the will to sustain this epic fail. Of course, who can blame the poor things? Their fuzzy bunny souls were sucked through the nose by our trio of central characters -- a mind-numbing trinity of ineptitude such as rarely seen outside MST3K gifs. This is a book where the same. damn. conversations. are held on endless repeat for all but the very beginning & very end of the page count -- and these conversations do absolutely nothing to further the plot, let alone propel the helpless reader toward anything of interest. Verily, I lost track of how many times we looped through this riveting story cycle:
KATE: "I love Harry! Harry makes my loins burn!"
HARRY: "Let's have sex before I leave town & act like a douchebag."
KATE: "Why is Harry a douchebag?!"
HARRY: "Because my older brother is a bore who could never satisfy you. Let's go to bed."
DEREK: "My little brother is a douchebag. Love me instead."
KATE: "But I love Harry! Harry makes my loins burn!"
HARRY: "Wanna go to bed with me?"
KATE: "I'm married to your big brother! But you still make my loins burn!"
DEREK: "My little brother is a douchebag. Love me instead."
KATE: "Derek also makes my loins burn. Oh noes!"
HARRY: "I'm a douchebag. Let's go to bed again."
KATE: "But I'm married to Derek! And he makes my loins burn!"
HARRY: "My big brother is boring. And I make your loins burn better than Derek."
DEREK: "Love me instead. I'm not a douchebag like my little brother."
KATE: "I love Harry & Derek! Woe is me & my horrible life!"
So what does this book have to do with Jack the Ripper? NOT A DAMN THING. There's some lame Scooby Doo crisis (Who is Jack the Ripper?? OMG is he my husband?! Is he my old boyfriend?! OMG WOE IS ME!) & an incredibly eye-rolling closure during which the legacy of the Ripper's unknown identity is explained away & Kate snuggles against the brother that makes her loins burn with True Love...after which I stumbled away from this book, opened a bottle of Excedrin Migraine, & downed a matched pair of little white pills.
Yeah, I hated this book. But is there anything good to say about it?
*checks*
*checks again*
...Nope. Not unless you count "clearing space for better books" as a positive.
Talk about wasted potential. The supposed premise of this masterpiece o' suckitude is a good one -- speaking as someone who loved the movie From Hell, the cover blurb filled me with all sorts of fabulous WTF plot bunnies o' doom.
Alas, such is not the case. Not even fabulous WTF plot bunnies had the will to sustain this epic fail. Of course, who can blame the poor things? Their fuzzy bunny souls were sucked through the nose by our trio of central characters -- a mind-numbing trinity of ineptitude such as rarely seen outside MST3K gifs. This is a book where the same. damn. conversations. are held on endless repeat for all but the very beginning & very end of the page count -- and these conversations do absolutely nothing to further the plot, let alone propel the helpless reader toward anything of interest. Verily, I lost track of how many times we looped through this riveting story cycle:
KATE: "I love Harry! Harry makes my loins burn!"
HARRY: "Let's have sex before I leave town & act like a douchebag."
KATE: "Why is Harry a douchebag?!"
HARRY: "Because my older brother is a bore who could never satisfy you. Let's go to bed."
DEREK: "My little brother is a douchebag. Love me instead."
KATE: "But I love Harry! Harry makes my loins burn!"
HARRY: "Wanna go to bed with me?"
KATE: "I'm married to your big brother! But you still make my loins burn!"
DEREK: "My little brother is a douchebag. Love me instead."
KATE: "Derek also makes my loins burn. Oh noes!"
HARRY: "I'm a douchebag. Let's go to bed again."
KATE: "But I'm married to Derek! And he makes my loins burn!"
HARRY: "My big brother is boring. And I make your loins burn better than Derek."
DEREK: "Love me instead. I'm not a douchebag like my little brother."
KATE: "I love Harry & Derek! Woe is me & my horrible life!"
So what does this book have to do with Jack the Ripper? NOT A DAMN THING. There's some lame Scooby Doo crisis (Who is Jack the Ripper?? OMG is he my husband?! Is he my old boyfriend?! OMG WOE IS ME!) & an incredibly eye-rolling closure during which the legacy of the Ripper's unknown identity is explained away & Kate snuggles against the brother that makes her loins burn with True Love...after which I stumbled away from this book, opened a bottle of Excedrin Migraine, & downed a matched pair of little white pills.
Yeah, I hated this book. But is there anything good to say about it?
*checks*
*checks again*
...Nope. Not unless you count "clearing space for better books" as a positive.
March 28, 2018
This book was such a disappointment. Stupid, pointless drama the last half of the book. Even the revelation of the identity of the ripper was unsatisfying. So much potential, and it was wasted.
November 30, 2023
What does one even begin to say about this book!? Normally I'd have avoided a Jack the Ripper plot, as I find it distasteful to profit off of a real life serial killer regardless of legendary status, but i bought this book without knowing anything about it.
Cosgrove Paynes writes female characters that I find interesting to read. They feel like women of their time and station, and while often in the beginning I find them unlikeable and incredibly naive, they are written like products of their upbringing and make sense, and usually as the book goes on the heroine's world perceptions are widened, and we get to see them blossom into worthy leads.
This book had a few lovely surprises that delighted me, and a few 'omg, seriously!?' face palm moments which made this book a really enjoyable rollercoaster to read. I was entertained, and I enjoyed nearly every moment of this book, no matter how bonkers it started to get. The abrupt ending has me cackling bc damn, we're really just gonna end this without unpacking what this news means to any of the character's left!? Classic.
Cosgrove Paynes writes female characters that I find interesting to read. They feel like women of their time and station, and while often in the beginning I find them unlikeable and incredibly naive, they are written like products of their upbringing and make sense, and usually as the book goes on the heroine's world perceptions are widened, and we get to see them blossom into worthy leads.
This book had a few lovely surprises that delighted me, and a few 'omg, seriously!?' face palm moments which made this book a really enjoyable rollercoaster to read. I was entertained, and I enjoyed nearly every moment of this book, no matter how bonkers it started to get. The abrupt ending has me cackling bc damn, we're really just gonna end this without unpacking what this news means to any of the character's left!? Classic.
June 16, 2019
Okay, okay - I paid ten cents for this oldie and I had NO IDEA it was a Jack the Ripper novel.
Started off with MUCHO potential.
The beginning - bam!
The ending - I sorta predicted it.
But for a bodice ripper of a bodice ripper Jack the Ripper, it took me away for a two hour trip to a dark period of Victorian England.
Snip snip, slash slash.
Did anyone else get the giggles when "Jack" ends up drowning and recalled the Jackie Chan movie when they "pushed" Jack the Ripper into the Thames?! OMG, I was laughing.
But I liked the book. Eh, it was a cheap read on a rainy day - and it gets an honest three stars.
Started off with MUCHO potential.
The beginning - bam!
The ending - I sorta predicted it.
But for a bodice ripper of a bodice ripper Jack the Ripper, it took me away for a two hour trip to a dark period of Victorian England.
Snip snip, slash slash.
Did anyone else get the giggles when "Jack" ends up drowning and recalled the Jackie Chan movie when they "pushed" Jack the Ripper into the Thames?! OMG, I was laughing.
But I liked the book. Eh, it was a cheap read on a rainy day - and it gets an honest three stars.
April 2, 2016
Kate & Derek
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews