Вспомни меня, любовь

Wyndham Saga #2

by Bertrice Small, Бертрис Смолл

Юной английской аристократке Ниссе Уиндхем предстояло стать женой короля — но хитрые придворные интриги привели ее вместо этого в объятия неотразимого Вариана де Винтера. Словно сама судьба взялась доказать девушке, что блеск, роскошь и даже королевское могущество — ничто в сравнении с извечным женским счастьем разделенной любви и пылкой, пламенной страсти…

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Medieval, Tudor Period

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Bertrice Williams was born on December 9, 1937 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, the daughter of Doris S. and David R. Williams, both broadcasters. She studied at Attended Western College for Women and Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School. On October 5, 1963, she married George Sumner Small, a photographer and designer with a History Major at Princeton. They had a son Thomas David. She lived on eastern Long Island for over 30 years. Her greatest passions were her family; Finnegan and Sylvester, the family cats; Nicki, the elderly cockatiel who whistles the NY Mets charge call; her garden; her work, and just life in general.

Published since 1947, Bertrice Small was the author of over 50 romance novels. A New York Times bestselling author, she had also appeared on other best-seller lists including Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and the L.A. Times. She was the recipient of numerous awards including Career Achievement for Historical Romance; Best Historical Romance; Outstanding Historical Romance Series; Career Achievement for Historical Fantasy; a Golden Leaf from the New Jersey Romance Writers chapter of Romance Writers of America; an Author of the Year (2006) and Big Apple Award from the New York City Romance Writers chapter of RWA, and several Reviewers Choice awards from Romantic Times. She had a "Silver Pen" from Affair De Coeur, and an Honorable Mention from The West Coast Review of Books. In 2004 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by ROMANTIC TIMES magazine for her contributions to the Historical Romance genre. And in 2008 she was named by ROMANTIC TIMES along with her friends Jennifer Blake, Roberta Gellis and Janelle Taylor, a Pioneer of Romance.

Bertrice Small was a member of The Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, PAN, and PASIC. She was also a member of RWA's Long Island chapter, L.I.R.W., and is its easternmost member on the North Fork of Eastern Long Island.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read:11/23/22

I LOVED IT!!! I never wanted the book to end. The history was well researched and the MC were fabulous!

The story starts of with Nyssa becoming a chamber maid for Anne Of Cleves. She and new queen become best friends. Nyssa is such a likeable character. She's smart, loyal, and mature (TG!!) . While at court she spots a handsome man staring at her but is warned away.

Poor Varian! He just wants a family and to go home. Unfortunately, no man wants him for their daughters. Supposedly, he knocked up a farmer's daughter and wouldn't help her so she committed suicide. I don't understand why any aristocrats would even care? It would never have been a scandal, especially since he didn't do it.

One day his grandfather (Duke of Norfolk, Anne's uncle) sends for him. It seems the king's eyes are on Catherine Howard and Nyssa. Lord Norfolk wants his niece on the throne (worked out great the first time) so he has come up with a plan to drug Nyssa and have her caught in a compromising situation. Varian refuse until his grandfather announces that he'll find another man. Varian has fallen deeply in love for Nyssa and couldn't allow any other man to touch his beloved.

Once married. The two make the best of it and go home. I love how mature and drama free they are. He loves her but is willing to wait. They live a happy life till Katherine Howard call her back to court. Both MC hate court life! Now back Nyssa is forced to witness Katherine's horrible mistakes with Thomas Culpepper.

I love how drama free the MC are. TG!! Cause the Tudor Court is full of drama. They only have each to reliable upon as disaster looms at court.

This is a book history fans would love!! I couldn't get enough of the MC. I DIDN'T want it to end. I highly recommend this book!!!

Sidenote: I love the deal Anne of Cleves and Henry agree to on their wedding night. It was brilliant and makes me hope it was true. It exains a lot! Clever writing!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost the reviews on this book are extreme. One, being that this is a very sexually graphic book. Most romance novels are but we're talking about the queen of romance novels here. I mean look at the cover art of all her books. I heard a comedian once say that romance novels are female porn and he's right, but here, there's actually a story! If you're a prude STAY AWAY!!!

[Kara · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I was in college, someone (I honestly can't remember who) literally placed this in my hands and cheerfully said, "You like the Tudors, you should read this."

So I did.

And then I had to scrub my brain with bleach.

[Naksed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I could never again read another novel about Henry VIII or any of his wives but I was blown away by Bertrice Small' s Love, remember me, set during the era of wives number 4 and 5, Anne of Cleves, and the unfortunate Catherine Howard.

Though the novel presents itself as a historical romance, and the author does include some salacious scenes between the protagonists Nyssa, a Maid of Honor to the Queen, and Varian, grandson of the powerful Duke of Norfolk, the manipulative uncle of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the majority of the book is straight historical fiction.

The writing is delightful. The real life historical characters come to life. There is evidence of research, but also a true joy from the author in her subject. Though I may not agree with her characterizations of the various historical figures, it was a delight to read her perspective and enjoy the court intrigue.

Much like the previous novel I read from this author, the Spitfire, which was set during the reign of Henry VIII' s father,it seems that there are two books that have been forcibly combined into one, one that is a historical fiction, and one that is a romance. Here, the experiment fared a lot better because the historical fiction was very much at the forefront, and the romance between the characters secondary.

It is not that I don't enjoy the romance genre, I really do. And the story between Nyssa and Varian was very satisfying. However, they were definitely used as our eye witnesses to the real drama going on with the King and his unfortunate marriages rather than be the driving force behind the plot. No complaint from me, I loved it. But others who are looking for a romance will be disappointed.

[❁ lilyreadsromance ❁ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book actually took me months to get through. Not because it's bad, nay, but because this book actually delved into Henry VIII life too much for my liking. Hell, I'm here for the main couple but suddenly we're in deep with the king and his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

So, not a fan of that. A little bit of court drama is fine but not half of it.

Anyway, the couple in this one belongs to the okay couple/less problematic ones in the world of Bertrice Small's heroes and heroines. The plot was also not as crazy as I thought it would be. It was just an okay book with okay plot that I still enjoyed reading.

Now, onto the next one!

[Judith A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspense, intrigue and love all wrapped into one story as only Bertrice Small could write.

Any reader who followed Bertice Small will love this story. Not as erotic as some of her past writings but very suspenseful and makes one happy they don’t live in the era that this story takes place. Loved every page and read it in 2 days.

[Kit★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars! Ok, getting down to writing this review finally, in my excitement at rejoining the world of the computer-enabled I've been putting it off while I went traipsing through Goodreads catching up with my groups and typing up all the reviews I had to hand write while my computer was down. Don't know how good this review will be since it's been over a week since I finished the book, but here goes.
When I saw this book at the Goodwill I had to get it. One, because it's by Bertrice Small, who I have a sort of 'guilty pleasure' reading, and two, because it's the sequel to Blaze Wyndham, which was my first Small, and a book I really, really liked. From the description in the cover, it seemed as if poor Nyssa was going to take her mother's old place as Henry VIII's lover. Which probably wouldn't have been pleasant, aside from the yuck factor of sleeping with a guy your mom slept with, there's the yuck factor of by the time this story takes place, ol' Henry is the not entirely healthy and pretty fat guy most people think of when his name's mentioned, y'know, this guy: . However, that's not the case, as Henry, due to his affection he still feels for Blaze, looks upon Nyssa with a more fatherly kind of feeling. So that was great, I was glad. The first option wouldn't have surprised me, this being Small and all, but I was glad she didn't go that way. In fact, I thought this one was rather tame for one of her novels. The heroine is 17 or 18 (when in the last couple I read they were more like 15, at least in the beginning) and she only ever does the dirty with the one man, and that's her husband, and only after they are wed. And the sex never got kinky or rough or anything. Which was ok, but I really read Small to get my bodice-ripping fix, y'know, a little bit of a hard time for the heroine, little bit of adventure, rough sex, etc. But it was ok. It was actually very interesting to me to read about the later wives of Henry, as most of what I know is about Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, and a titch about Jane Seymour. So it was cool to have Anne of Cleves and Cat Howard as characters, I felt like I learned something, especially when after I was done reading I went to Google and looked them up and learned more. I especially liked Anne of Cleves, she was a sympathetic character, and I found myself kind of rooting for her, hoping she'd have a good life after the annulment. Nyssa was good, almost too good, she was nice and everybody liked her and of course she was tiny and beautiful and great in bed, even on her first try, and of course a great mother when she has kids. Varian was almost too good too. He had this dark and bad reputation, but it was all undeserved, as he'd taken the blame for some bad things his younger uncle had done. He's never mean to Nyssa, in fact he's in love with her from the beginning and is always kind and considerate of her, and he's even a good father to their twins to boot, cuddling them, playing with them, stuff you don't really imagine an old-school man doing. So, their marriage is plotted by Varian's grandfather, the Duke of Norfolk, because he thinks Henry has his eye on Nyssa, and wants his niece Cat to be the next queen. So he has Nyssa drugged and put in Varian's bed, and arranges for them to be caught and forced to wed by Henry his self. Of course, Henry didn't like Nyssa in that way, but Norfolk didn't know that, and thought she was Cat's competition. Nyssa and Cat are good friends, which leads to problems later on when Cat demands Nyssa and Varian leave their estate and accompany her and Henry on a progression through the kingdom. Nyssa's a country girl at heart and is loathe to leave her babies, but as the king's commanding it, she can't exactly say no. So off they go, for months, leaving the kid's in Blaze's care. Here we see Cat not as the nice young girl she was in the beginning, but a selfish, spoiled Queen, wanting nothing but frivolity and fun at all times. The main reason Henry married her was to beget another son, and she was too self-centered to even do that, bragging to Nyssa a couple of times that she knew ways to prevent pregnancy. That alone would've led Henry to lock her up and accuse her of treason, but he never finds out. Cat's pretty flighty, and doesn't seem to take her duty seriously. Sure, she does her duty with Henry whenever he wants it, but not without complaining to Nyssa about it. It's when Henry's under the weather for a few weeks that Cat really begins to get herself in trouble. See, there's this guy, Tom Culpepper, who has been brought up in Henry's court and is now one of his favored courtiers. He's also known Cat since forever, and loved her too. She finally decides she wants him, and they begin a torrid and dangerous affair, using one of her ladies as lookout, Lady Rochford, who acts as her friend but is really setting her up to get in trouble as revenge for her husband's death. Her husband was George Boleyn, Anne B.'s brother, and Lady R. is all mad that he was accused of incest and whatnot and executed. Well, Nyssa accidentally walks in on Cat and Culpepper going at it and is horrified, and also afraid for her life. If the Queen falls, her whole family may fall too, including (and especially) Norfolk, and Varian as well. So she doesn't tell anyone until she talks to Cat about it first, and Cat reveals that there wasn't just Culpepper, but others as well, though before her marriage. One of 'em even has a place in her household as secretary, a position he used blackmail to get. Then a servant from the house where Cat lived when she was younger, and where these other affairs took place, comes forward to the archbishop and tells him everything, including that Cat was not a virgin, and that she was sort of betrothed/common law wedded to the secretary guy. The archbishop lets Henry know what he's learned, and Henry is at first disbelieving, but then when he accepts it, he's furious. This is just over the previous relationships, neither of them knows about Culpepper yet, and so Cat is not in quite so much trouble yet. She believes that if she's apologetic and meek, Henry will forgive her, but she doesn't know Henry. He's worse'n a woman scorned. Cat's confined to her apartments and questioned by the archbishop, and she's trying to protect herself, and her explanations for her earlier relationships become so convoluted that it ends up getting her in more trouble. The men in question are arrested and tortured and they all confess to having done things with Cat, including Culpepper, which is most damning of all. Lady R. is arrested too, for her complicity in arranging the affair, and she kinda goes crazy in the Tower, but not crazy enough to keep her from confessing everything. Cat is sent to a remote estate to be quarantined with a couple of her ladies, including Nyssa, keeping her away from Varian for like 6 months. Myself, that would've pissed me off to no end. I would not like being forced to leave my husband for months, not knowing whether or not he's safe, not to mention being away from my baby for a year! Then, the death sentence comes, and Nyssa learns Varian's been sent to the Tower too along with other Howard relatives, but not Norfolk, he turned tail and fled as soon as he sensed trouble was coming. Culpepper and the other men involved are executed, and then it's Cat's turn. Despite her flightiness she goes with dignity, and is buried near her cousin Anne B. After Norfolk begs Henry's forgiveness, and Nyssa begs the archbishop for assistance, Varian is released, and they go home to finally see their kids and their home again, and Nyssa is to have another baby as well. It's a happy ending for them, though not for Cat or Henry, as he never got his wish for another son, even after he remarried again.
I liked this story, the historical side of it was very interesting. The characters were all good, with feelings I could relate to and actions I could understand. There's lots of sex, don't get me wrong, but like I said, it was kinda tame compared to other stuff by her I've read. All in all I'm glad I read it, and am still on the hunt for more of her works. 3.5 Stars

[Lady Whitbrooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. If you like history it is a treat.
Plot 7.5(1-10) steaminess 7.5(1-10)

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Nyssa Wyndham and Varian de Winter. Nyssa comes to court as a maid of honor to Anne of Cleves. Nyssa and Anne form a friendship because they both have a talent at learning other languages in a startlingly fast amount of time. Nyssa also becomes good friends with Cat Howard. Henry VIII is fond of Nyssa because her mother Blaze was once his mistress. This results in a plot to remove Nyssa from the running of next wife. Enter Varian who agrees to dishonor her because he loves her & if he doesn't do it they will find someone else.
So that happens & they marry and work things out. Not much drama between the couple. Back in the day you don't always get that big dramatic moment where one person screws up and then has to apologize. The drama in this is the other characters'. In this case they go back to court because of Nyssa's friendship with Cat Howard. Varian has the fairly unique distinction of living to the end of this book. You are never assured of that with Small.
I've always loved the descriptions of the scenery, the food and the clothes.

[Sonia N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book such a long time ago and absolutely loved it! I just finished listening to it on Audible and of course I loved it ❤️❤️
Lady Nyssa is Blaze Wyndham daughter and she is a beautiful young lady. She goes to the court and finds herself in a compromising situation with the handsome Varian Earl De Winter. They are married and begin to live a quiet and beautiful life until they are called to court!
I Love Bertrice Small’s attention to detail in everything she writes and I enjoyed this book!!

[Mauser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poco convincente
Questo libro non convince davvero del tutto e il sottile filo di suspence e intrigo che teneva legata la struttura di L'amante del re, che racconta le vicende della madre della protagonista, Blaze, non si ritrova qui.L'intera narrazione è one è semplicistica, gli espedienti ridicoli, tutto esageratamente scialbo e banale, con un proliferare di personaggi poco credibili e infantili al massimo, al di là dell'età. Persino l'autrice, che di solito riesce a legare i suoi lettori qui sembra non essere in sé, metà dei misteri/intrighi, per altro assai poco segreti, vengono spiegati con discorso diretto tra i due protagonisti. Non c'è azione, non c'è pathos.
Nel primo volume c'erano moltissimi comprimari che entravano e uscivano nella storia, qui due protagonisti che ci danno dentro come conigli e basta.
Nyssa era un personaggio molto accattivante, per come era stato caratterizzato, una piccola principessina un po' viziata con un caratterino niente male, qui si scopre che si è trasformata da adulta in una personcina affidabile e tranquilla, salvo poi mutare nuovamente nell'eroina standard una volta avuto a che fare col protagonista, per cui il suo odio non dura che lo spazio di un mattino, ma che tiene da solo la struttura di mezzo libro: figuratevi un po'...

[Beverly Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love does Remember

My late Father in law ironically introduced me to Beatrice Small books and I must admit I have blushed knowing he read many of these books. This book was wonderfully written I fell in love with Nyssa and Varian at first site. I will have to look for them in other books. I remember her mother's story right away even though it had been many years since I read it.

[Deborah Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written but...

I loved catching up with the Wyndhams. I was looking forward to reading about Nyssa's path to love. However the book focused alot on Henry Tudor, his court, and Catherine Howard. It was still a good read.

[Ashley Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a warm fuzzy romance novel

While I love the history involved in this story I had not expected the main characters to be so close to kitty Howard and her death. This romance novel was made very depressing and was unfortunately not what I was looking for.

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will probably have to remember this. It's soft-core porn mated with the Britannica article about Anne of Cleves. People at the Tudor court have names like "Bliss" and "Blaze" and Lord Varian de Winter. I. Can't. Even.

[Michele Hall · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book and couldn't finish it.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guess I'm kinda burnt out on the Tudors.

[Phyllis Monk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspense

I did like the way this book flowed. I liked the way the book followed the main characters. This was a good book and I did like it lots.

[shannel k. glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Smalls has done it again!! Great read for those who enjoy historical romances .The characters leap off the page. Kudos!

[Raven Simba · Rating 3 out of 5]

À 3.5 for me. Enlightening historical Read. A lot of research was obviously put into this. Just wasn't sure anymore if this book was about Henry Tudor or the De Winters..?

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gonna watch The Tudors now

[Dark angel🖤🏰]

I want to re-read

[S Walker]

DNF at 66%. The story had alot of detail that did not move the story along. At this point in the book, there’s some resolution so I decided to declare the HEA at that point and ended it.

[DemetraP · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the romance was in the background. The true focus of the story was King Henry and his changing wives.

There were a few steamy scenes with the heroine and her husband.

[Arlene Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multiple reads

This is one of my favorite books. I don’t know how times I’ve read. But every few years I’ll read it again.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all of her books!

[BlueBootedBiblioGirl]

Have two copies of the mass market version and a hardcover 1994 that may be a first edition; have first edition trade size

[Elizabeth Bennet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book. I have read several of Bertrice Small's books and there are some I adore and some that just don't catch my interest. I am not in to the whole harem scene I can't enjoy a book where woman share one common man, it's just not my thing. I enjoyed most of the Pleasure series.

If there is one thing about Small's books I have learned is she writes rough she is not for the true soft romantic as many of her books have not only the hero dieing but in many cases rape or multiple partners. I know what your thinking why would you keep buying them? The answer is not easy to answer other than sometimes I just want a break from the normal. Yes, I like soft, gentle romance but but sometimes you just crave something with more grit to it. I don't reach for the orgies but she does have an unique talent for describing and showing how rough things were in the 1500's at court. She is excellent at giving you the true history (with self made charcters) it interrest me as a woman we take our rights for granted to learn what a woman of those times had to endure just to stay alive.
For instance a woman who was raped was frowned upon more than the offender.

The couple in this book Nyssa and Varien were perfect. At first you wish they would have got together differently and how fast Nyssa just accepts her fate was hard to get, but than the couple begins to grow on you. I think its all the detail Small adds that make it easier to accept what is going on.

*******POSSIBLE SPOILER******

What intrigued me the most was how gripping the ending was. Small does not always give the sweet ending many others do. Cat just accepting her fate and doing so with dignity caught in my throat. I actually pictured myself there as she gave her final words and although I could not fully understand Nyssa for being so gracious to her I was just in aww of the detail that went into all the exicutions. I am a big horror film fan so to read this in a romance novel added a little flare. I'm not saying I want to read a lot of it but it drew you in to how truly barbaric they were in those days.

What truly pleased me about this book was Small did give it a happy ending. I'm afraid to read what she does to these characters in other novels as she claims you will read of them in the future. She has a habbit of killing off heroes, remember?

[Romancing the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by JoAnne
Book provided by the publisher
Originally posted at Romancing the Book

This was an historical romance that was steeped in history surrounding the life of Henry VIII and the Tudors. It was richly written with a lot of historical facts but did not read as a textbook and flowed smoothly with added characters from the author’s imagination. We were introduced to heartwarming characters like Nyssa and the Wyndham family along with some of the maidens in the Queen’s Court and others in the King’s court many whom often had their own agenda which was not always in the best interests of or for the good of the royal family or the King’s Court.

The prologue helped set the stage for the storyline and the book itself was in three parts as we follow the life of King Henry and several of his wives, with Queen Catherine being in the forefront, and all the politics and ceremonies that are a part of their lives. One of the main events in the book was the summer’s progress which seemed to be a long and drawn out affair and I felt sorry for all those who were ordered to participate in it. There were family and friends, servants, lots of people that were in the King’s confidence, individuals that were loyal to the Crown and others who were not. There was love and romance as well as acts that were neither. It was interesting to see where Nyssa grew up and her family situation. She was always the peacemaker and put others before herself since she was so caring while one of the maidens and also to the queen. There was closure both on the historical side as well as for Nyssa.

The Afterword at the end of the book presented additional information on Henry VIII and the other historical figures in the book and what happened to them after the book ended. A nice touch by the author was her statement: “As for the Wyndhams of RiversEdge, and the de Winters of Winterhaven, they are my own creation. Rest assured, however, that they lived happily ever after, and may one day appear in the pages of another of my novels.”

I had not realized there was a book one in the series – Blaze Wyndham – and plan to go back and read it which will help set the stage of things alluded to in book two. I look forward to reading other books by this new to me author – both in the historical and contemporary romance genres.

[AND 1515 · Rating 5 out of 5]

by and1515
Her home was in an uproar the King would be visiting the next day as he was in the area hunting and his messenger had just left with their reply.
With the King's impending arrival
Blaze wasn't about to let an opportunity like this pass them by her older children deserved the same chance as everyone else.
Nyssa was scared and excited all at the same time she knew she'd never get another chance like this and she would make the most of her time.
Court was nothing like she'd ever could imagine the was excitement but there was also dangers to especially for a young woman if she didn't guard herself against the silver tongue rouges with all the dazzle could let to disaster.
Varian shouldn't have been surprised by his grandfather's proposal after all his ambition knew no limits.
He didn't want anything to do with his latest scheme to push his poor foolish cousin at the King.
But then his grandfather would carry-on without him and he knew there was someone else who didn't deserve what he had planned.
Nyssa never dreamed she'd wake up in the middle of a nightmare nor could she figure out how she ended up where she was.
But now she was standing next to a man she barely knew and the were now married.
Once they were finally alone Varian couldn't keep the truth from his new wife; Nyssa deserved to know why.
She knew her parents wouldn't understand her returning home with a new husband and how she came to be his wife.
But she knew once things calmed down the would see what she was starting to realize.
Varian had been totally surprised when his wife presented him with not one but two children.
Then they received summons to rejoin the King's court and he knew his wife didn't want to leave their babies but there was nothing they could do.
Nyssa was stunned her husband's cousin was a reckless fool and here she was behaving totally wanton with someone she shouldn't be with and she knew they all were in danger.
Varian was hopeful that this nightmare would be over soon after suffering for the past few months wondering when or if he'd ever see his wife again.
Then she was finally there and he could think was how lucky he was.