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Courtly Love
Book by Lynn M. Bartlett
445 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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110 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 10, 2024
Reread: 3/9/24
Retead: 9/6/22
Read:1/17/21
I read this when I need an a**hole H in a dramatic Rollercoaster Bodice-ripper. Sometimes, I'm just in the mood. This is not for everybody!
Original review*****************
I loved this old school romance! I'm a sucker for a good Norman Conquest. This story takes place 11 years after the battle of Hastings.
The book begins with the MC being forced into a MOC. The h was forced by her evil stepmother into the marriage with the H instead of marrying her childhood sweetheart. Likewise, the H is forced by his evil SIL. The SIL is making him sleep with her bc she witnessed him killing his brother, something he has no memory of doing. Yea, nothing fishy about that! The MC characters start off on the wrong foot since both are prideful and stubborn.
Still, the h was fantastic! She was mature and unwilling to wallow in self-pity (TG). She was witty, kind , didn't hold grudges, and a badass with a sword.
The H is a bastard (literally and figuratively) who inherited his dead brother's title. He has a justifiedible reason to disdain women. Unfortunately, he distrust the h regularly, something his enemies use to their advantage. Also, at one point, the Jack*** cheats on his wife. I wanted to smack the s*** out of him many times. Surprisingly, the MC were perfect for each other. Most of their problems in the marriage were caused by their enemies.
I was very impressed with how good the book was. It was well written with very well developed characters. This book could have been written today instead of in the 80's. I can see myself rereading this book.
Problems: The author dragged the ending of the book too long. She could have wrapped it up sooner.
**************
Reread: 10/12/22
I never understood why H kept the villains around out of honor. Why they didn't they get rid of them!!
--the H is more of an asshole than I remember
I would rate this book 3 stars on reread. The H is horrible through most of the book and the h is just fantastic. The best part is the end. He realizes his error and wins my heart by his gestures. 200 pages of groveling is worth it and he is wonderful with his sons.
Still, this is a book I love to read when I want a hate/love book. Sometimes, you just want the cheating asshole. I know I need help!
Retead: 9/6/22
Read:1/17/21
I read this when I need an a**hole H in a dramatic Rollercoaster Bodice-ripper. Sometimes, I'm just in the mood. This is not for everybody!
Original review*****************
I loved this old school romance! I'm a sucker for a good Norman Conquest. This story takes place 11 years after the battle of Hastings.
The book begins with the MC being forced into a MOC. The h was forced by her evil stepmother into the marriage with the H instead of marrying her childhood sweetheart. Likewise, the H is forced by his evil SIL. The SIL is making him sleep with her bc she witnessed him killing his brother, something he has no memory of doing. Yea, nothing fishy about that! The MC characters start off on the wrong foot since both are prideful and stubborn.
Still, the h was fantastic! She was mature and unwilling to wallow in self-pity (TG). She was witty, kind , didn't hold grudges, and a badass with a sword.
The H is a bastard (literally and figuratively) who inherited his dead brother's title. He has a justifiedible reason to disdain women. Unfortunately, he distrust the h regularly, something his enemies use to their advantage. Also, at one point, the Jack*** cheats on his wife. I wanted to smack the s*** out of him many times. Surprisingly, the MC were perfect for each other. Most of their problems in the marriage were caused by their enemies.
I was very impressed with how good the book was. It was well written with very well developed characters. This book could have been written today instead of in the 80's. I can see myself rereading this book.
Problems: The author dragged the ending of the book too long. She could have wrapped it up sooner.
**************
Reread: 10/12/22
I never understood why H kept the villains around out of honor. Why they didn't they get rid of them!!
--the H is more of an asshole than I remember
I would rate this book 3 stars on reread. The H is horrible through most of the book and the h is just fantastic. The best part is the end. He realizes his error and wins my heart by his gestures. 200 pages of groveling is worth it and he is wonderful with his sons.
Still, this is a book I love to read when I want a hate/love book. Sometimes, you just want the cheating asshole. I know I need help!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2025
Not sure how to feel
I finished this book a few days ago and I'm still ambiguous as to how to rate this one.
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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I finished this book a few days ago and I'm still ambiguous as to how to rate this one.
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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dnf
March 1, 2022DNF at 39%.
A pet peeve of mine is a weak-willed hero and the hero in this book, unfortunately, embodies this characteristic to a T. Oh, woe is me! I just couldn’t get over the fact that when the hero wanted a real marriage with the heroine, he commanded the heroine to tell off the ex-mistress to move from the adjoining chamber. And this was after the ex-mistress stabbed her in the shoulder. The hero was the sort to just let things happen to him or run away when the going gets rough. The heroine is my kind of heroine – strong in the face of adversity and trying to do her best in every situation. She was willing to fight for her marriage, even though the marriage was not of her own choosing. If only the hero would meet her halfway. She deserved a better hero than this poor excuse of a man. I also read another reviewer said that the hero cheated on the heroine later in the book with his ex-lover (not the ex-mistress, this lady was the mother of his illegitimate son who married someone else because she couldn’t accept the hero’s illegitimacy, basically the source of his self-doubts – yeah, great). I’d like to be entertained whilst reading, not suffer apoplexy due to rage.
With that being said, the book is well-written. If you don’t mind this type of hero, I’d say go for it.
I don't usually give ratings to books I don't finish because I don't think it's fair and the book might just get better.
A pet peeve of mine is a weak-willed hero and the hero in this book, unfortunately, embodies this characteristic to a T. Oh, woe is me! I just couldn’t get over the fact that when the hero wanted a real marriage with the heroine, he commanded the heroine to tell off the ex-mistress to move from the adjoining chamber. And this was after the ex-mistress stabbed her in the shoulder. The hero was the sort to just let things happen to him or run away when the going gets rough. The heroine is my kind of heroine – strong in the face of adversity and trying to do her best in every situation. She was willing to fight for her marriage, even though the marriage was not of her own choosing. If only the hero would meet her halfway. She deserved a better hero than this poor excuse of a man. I also read another reviewer said that the hero cheated on the heroine later in the book with his ex-lover (not the ex-mistress, this lady was the mother of his illegitimate son who married someone else because she couldn’t accept the hero’s illegitimacy, basically the source of his self-doubts – yeah, great). I’d like to be entertained whilst reading, not suffer apoplexy due to rage.
With that being said, the book is well-written. If you don’t mind this type of hero, I’d say go for it.
I don't usually give ratings to books I don't finish because I don't think it's fair and the book might just get better.
July 2, 2025
I really enjoyed this book, which surprised me, since I don't usually read novels that take place in medieval times, preferring the 17th-19th centuries. But this story was really good, one of those arranged marriages, resented by both parties, that turns to passionate love, but without going overboard with the usual scenes. There's drama, but it never becomes melodrama. They argue, have misunderstandings, and separate for a time, but it's never overdone. (In fact, while they're separated, Serena and Giles keep in touch through letters, though they keep their true feelings guarded. Serena doesn't tell him that she's pregnant, but only because she thought he went back to his former mistress.)
Serena's the kind of h I like. She's nonconformist, but undefiant about it, she's strong and independent, but also sweet and feminine, she has athletic skills and rides a horse like the wind, but also grows herbs and tends the sick. She was furious at her father for arranging her marriage, on the instigation of her selfish stepmother and declared she no longer considered him her father, but later regretted her words and asked his forgiveness. And every time there's a problem between her and Giles, she never lets her anger get overboard and tries to work things out.
Most of their troubles stem from Giles not being able to trust women, because a woman he once loved, and who gave him a son, married a wealthy, titled man, had no interest in their baby (even tried to abort it) and told Giles she never thought him good enough, being a bastard son. His illegitimacy made him feel insecure and less worthy, and he actually resented his mother for not aborting him, that's how troubled he was. He brought all this into his relationship with Serena, preventing him from consummating their marriage for a while, leaving him jealous of any attention she got from other men.
Serena grows to care for Giles's little son, Alan, and he thinks of her as a mother. She wants children of her own, but there again, Giles lets his feelings get in the way. A pregnant woman Serena tried to help suffered terribly and then died, and Giles was afraid the same thing might happen to Serena, so he used a messy form of birth control, that makes you wish tissues had been around back then!
These and other incidents at court, like Serena attracting the attention of the lecherous Prince William and his gentlemanly brother, Prince Henry, and her sneaking into a tournament to show off her skills to Giles, (not to mention Serena's jealousy of the women in Giles's past) cause more troubles but keep things entertaining.
There were two things I really appreciated, considering the book was written around 1980. One was that Serena wasn't raped, and that includes by Giles, who never forced himself on her; things could get a bit rough but never go too far. Also, a brutal rape attempt was stopped in time, before Serena was harmed.
The other thing was no infidelity, except for one regrettable time that Giles slept with Alan's mother, more out of anger than passion, and he regretted it terribly and admitted it to Serena, who later on forgave him. Other than that, he resisted the many advances of his former mistress, Bede, while Serena made it clear to the hopeful Prince Henry that she valued his friendship, but that was as far as it went.
There's more to this story, but I don't want to give anymore away, and will just recommend that you read it.
Serena's the kind of h I like. She's nonconformist, but undefiant about it, she's strong and independent, but also sweet and feminine, she has athletic skills and rides a horse like the wind, but also grows herbs and tends the sick. She was furious at her father for arranging her marriage, on the instigation of her selfish stepmother and declared she no longer considered him her father, but later regretted her words and asked his forgiveness. And every time there's a problem between her and Giles, she never lets her anger get overboard and tries to work things out.
Most of their troubles stem from Giles not being able to trust women, because a woman he once loved, and who gave him a son, married a wealthy, titled man, had no interest in their baby (even tried to abort it) and told Giles she never thought him good enough, being a bastard son. His illegitimacy made him feel insecure and less worthy, and he actually resented his mother for not aborting him, that's how troubled he was. He brought all this into his relationship with Serena, preventing him from consummating their marriage for a while, leaving him jealous of any attention she got from other men.
Serena grows to care for Giles's little son, Alan, and he thinks of her as a mother. She wants children of her own, but there again, Giles lets his feelings get in the way. A pregnant woman Serena tried to help suffered terribly and then died, and Giles was afraid the same thing might happen to Serena, so he used a messy form of birth control, that makes you wish tissues had been around back then!
These and other incidents at court, like Serena attracting the attention of the lecherous Prince William and his gentlemanly brother, Prince Henry, and her sneaking into a tournament to show off her skills to Giles, (not to mention Serena's jealousy of the women in Giles's past) cause more troubles but keep things entertaining.
There were two things I really appreciated, considering the book was written around 1980. One was that Serena wasn't raped, and that includes by Giles, who never forced himself on her; things could get a bit rough but never go too far. Also, a brutal rape attempt was stopped in time, before Serena was harmed.
The other thing was no infidelity, except for one regrettable time that Giles slept with Alan's mother, more out of anger than passion, and he regretted it terribly and admitted it to Serena, who later on forgave him. Other than that, he resisted the many advances of his former mistress, Bede, while Serena made it clear to the hopeful Prince Henry that she valued his friendship, but that was as far as it went.
There's more to this story, but I don't want to give anymore away, and will just recommend that you read it.
September 22, 2016
Revisited this tale from my teen years. For some reason it was on my mind as one of my favorites from way back then and so I found a used copy to see how it measured up after all these years. Well...Gyles is just an arrogant, misogynist, jerk for three quarters of the novel, but for some unaccountable reason Serena continues to love him? Hmmm. Sounds like perfect teenage logic to me. I think I've matured.
May 2, 2017
I have read this book so many times (beginning at age 13) that I had to buy another copy because it was falling apart. I admit it's a bit long and some of the drama is irritating (how many obstacles can a marriage face, after all) but it was the first historical romance I ever read. I credit it with my addiction to the genre and providing a basic history lesson on William the Conquerer.
May 4, 2025
1979 vintage goodies . love love love
July 27, 2023
Eleven years after the Battle of Hastings, tensions between Normans and Saxons still run high in this Medieval romance. Her dowry squandered, Lady Serena agrees to marry Lord Gyles, who doesn't need money but needs legitimate heirs because he is a bastard like King William. The two of course detest each other on sight, which eventually turns to love. Meanwhile, the real reason for their union is a complicated plot between two greedy, scheming Norman sisters, who see this marriage as a way for them eventually to get their hands on the respective estates. Meanwhile, Gyles misinterprets every action of Serena's, in romance novel 101; Serena misunderstands his misunderstandings; an Other Woman and an Other Man, respectively, get in the way at times, while the evil sisters Aurelia and Beda occasionally come and go and stir up trouble. The plotting is rushed at times. In addition, Serena is one of those anachronistic heroines that Johanna Lindsey also loved to employ who can handle weapons (although never successfully enough to completely avoid needing to be rescued) and Gyles' conversion from jerk to devoted husband is clunky. For that matter, an extended set piece at court features Queen Matilda, William Rufus, and the future Henry I but curiously William the Conquerer himself makes no appearance. It's ultimately a rather silly book, a would-be "Wolf and the Dove" obviously written hoping to capture some of that earlier novel's readers, but falling fall short.
June 16, 2023
Illeggibile. Non so se è perché è un romance molto datato (1979) o se perché nella traduzione italiana ci sono stati dei tagli. Privo di qualsiasi spessore (nella trama, nei personaggi, nei dialoghi) o di qualità "estetica" (una noiosa cronaca inframmezzata da descrizioni piatte). Credo che un'adolescente (che va male in italiano) oggi saprebbe fare di meglio su wattpad. Ho tenuto duro per circa 1/4 del romanzo e poi ho abbandonato, perché rischiavo di sentirmi male.
October 4, 2021
It was quite comforting to read the exact same book again, except the main love interest was somehow even more of a dick
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews