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The Rose and the Flame
SHE WAS A ROSE RIPE FOR THE PLUCKING...HE WAS A FLAME BURNING HOT WITH DESIRE...THEIRS WAS A LOVE THAT DEFIED THE WORLD...
Sultry and exquisitely beautiful, Elena was sought after by every man in Mary Tudor's court, but only one held her heart. As golden as the sun, Luis de los Santos had given her a taste of ecstasy in his strong arms, but he offered illicit passion instead of a wedding ring.
Driven apart by pride, they would be reunited by destiny on the sun-drenched plains of a Spanish rancho. Now Luis belonged to another, but his forbidden love for Elena knew no bounds, obeyed no strictures. Side by side, they would battle the dangers of their turbulent era and forge a new life together.
Sultry and exquisitely beautiful, Elena was sought after by every man in Mary Tudor's court, but only one held her heart. As golden as the sun, Luis de los Santos had given her a taste of ecstasy in his strong arms, but he offered illicit passion instead of a wedding ring.
Driven apart by pride, they would be reunited by destiny on the sun-drenched plains of a Spanish rancho. Now Luis belonged to another, but his forbidden love for Elena knew no bounds, obeyed no strictures. Side by side, they would battle the dangers of their turbulent era and forge a new life together.
444 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 27, 2021
GOOD: Fun, goofy soap with a likable heroine & interesting historical backdrop.
NOT SO GOOD: Super-duper fondue cheesy sex (+ repetitive descriptions thereof) & a douchebag hero.
This is one of those books where the OM is vastly superior to the primary hero, & you can’t help wishing the heroine would break with formula & choose the other guy. 😢 Cristobal really got the shaft here & I’m disappointed Elena didn’t recognize it; Luis was a whiny dick, plain & simple, & she shouldn’t have taken him back. I even felt bad for Leonora, the OW who ended up married to Luis—she was crackers, but she didn’t deserve to be treated that way.
My first read by Phillips was ROYAL CAPTIVE, & it was one of her earliest rippers—a very raw, dark story with a ruthless heroine & OTT gore. By comparison, this is much more ‘traditional’ romance; the violence is either toned down or converted into soapy lolz, & there’s a HEA (despite my personal feelings re: Cristobal :P). Overall, I think I prefer her older style…but this was an entertaining read, despite being born of that awkward transitional period in romance (late-80s/early-90s), so I give it 4 stars.
NOT SO GOOD: Super-duper fondue cheesy sex (+ repetitive descriptions thereof) & a douchebag hero.
This is one of those books where the OM is vastly superior to the primary hero, & you can’t help wishing the heroine would break with formula & choose the other guy. 😢 Cristobal really got the shaft here & I’m disappointed Elena didn’t recognize it; Luis was a whiny dick, plain & simple, & she shouldn’t have taken him back. I even felt bad for Leonora, the OW who ended up married to Luis—she was crackers, but she didn’t deserve to be treated that way.
My first read by Phillips was ROYAL CAPTIVE, & it was one of her earliest rippers—a very raw, dark story with a ruthless heroine & OTT gore. By comparison, this is much more ‘traditional’ romance; the violence is either toned down or converted into soapy lolz, & there’s a HEA (despite my personal feelings re: Cristobal :P). Overall, I think I prefer her older style…but this was an entertaining read, despite being born of that awkward transitional period in romance (late-80s/early-90s), so I give it 4 stars.
April 12, 2016
I kept flipping from three to four stars with this one.
Don't be fooled, this is not a three star book, much less four stars. This book is full of grammatical errors, typos and cringeworthy quotes. But I had so much fun laughing my way through this book, I had to give it a few extra stars.
Upon further inspection of the front cover I noticed this is a "Gloria Diehl Book Club Selection". Apparently Gloria Diehl selections are chosen by an idependent review board for "Originality, reading interest, plot, and character development". I don't know who this Gloria Diehl chick is, or if this "Independent Board" read the same book I did, but this book provided NONE of these things. what this did provide was hilarious, house-boating entertainment.
The Rose and the Flame (which has nothing to do with Rose or Flame) follows "sultry and exquisitely beautiful" Elena. When betrothed to a rather wimpy and childish Randle Locke, she's disappointed to find out on the night of their wedding that he isn't exactly competent in the bedroom. This becomes a problem for Randles overbearing mother, who desperately wants her grandbabies. Desperate for passion and excitement she escapes off to frickle frackle with the beautiful Luis de los Santos. Their escepades have plenty of pukeworthy sex scenes and terrible dialouge. Lots of "I love you so much" and " I can't live without you"
Eventually Randle dies, Elena rejoices and then feels guilty for two seconds, But surprise! Elena is prego, with Luis' baby(duh). Mrs. Locke is devastated upon her sons death and for whatever reason, Elena thinks its a great idea to tell Mrs Locke about the baby, claiming its Randles. After two attempted escapes and miscarrying, she's finally free. Thus, more choas ensues.
Will they ever reunite in their love??
Yeah. After another fluffy two hundred pages of awful prose.
If you love thick, long winded, craptastic trashy romance: By all means. You'll love this.
If that's not your cup of tea: run far, far away.
Don't be fooled, this is not a three star book, much less four stars. This book is full of grammatical errors, typos and cringeworthy quotes. But I had so much fun laughing my way through this book, I had to give it a few extra stars.
Upon further inspection of the front cover I noticed this is a "Gloria Diehl Book Club Selection". Apparently Gloria Diehl selections are chosen by an idependent review board for "Originality, reading interest, plot, and character development". I don't know who this Gloria Diehl chick is, or if this "Independent Board" read the same book I did, but this book provided NONE of these things. what this did provide was hilarious, house-boating entertainment.
The Rose and the Flame (which has nothing to do with Rose or Flame) follows "sultry and exquisitely beautiful" Elena. When betrothed to a rather wimpy and childish Randle Locke, she's disappointed to find out on the night of their wedding that he isn't exactly competent in the bedroom. This becomes a problem for Randles overbearing mother, who desperately wants her grandbabies. Desperate for passion and excitement she escapes off to frickle frackle with the beautiful Luis de los Santos. Their escepades have plenty of pukeworthy sex scenes and terrible dialouge. Lots of "I love you so much" and " I can't live without you"
Eventually Randle dies, Elena rejoices and then feels guilty for two seconds, But surprise! Elena is prego, with Luis' baby(duh). Mrs. Locke is devastated upon her sons death and for whatever reason, Elena thinks its a great idea to tell Mrs Locke about the baby, claiming its Randles. After two attempted escapes and miscarrying, she's finally free. Thus, more choas ensues.
Will they ever reunite in their love??
Yeah. After another fluffy two hundred pages of awful prose.
If you love thick, long winded, craptastic trashy romance: By all means. You'll love this.
If that's not your cup of tea: run far, far away.
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August 28, 2017didn't read
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews