TEST
I was very excited to review Lynsay Sands’ newest release. Her novel The Key is one of my favorite funnies, and I also enjoyed her anthology piece in Five Gold Rings. But despite a promising start, Always falters under the weight of too-familiar characters and plot developments.
Aric of Burkhart has just discovered his fiancee coupling with another man and is drunkenly vowing never to wed when a cloaked man orders him to marry or die. The stranger is Aric’s king, Henry II, and Aric must marry Rosamunde, Henry’s illegitimate daughter by the love of his life (also named Rosamunde). Henry’s lover died under mysterious circumstances and is assumed to have been murdered my Henry’s wife, Eleanor of Aquitane. Henry wants his daughter protected as he goes to battle his traitorous sons. Rosamunde has been raised in a convent and had planned to take the veil the very next day, but she obeys her father’s command to marry the handsome stranger and obey him – always. Henry even orders the two to consummate their marriage as he waits outside to prevent an annulment. All that Rosamunde knows of the marital act comes from the abbey’s animals and a nun’s declaration that “Lips are for speaking, and breasts are for milking.” The consummation is the funniest and most poignant scene of the book.
Unfortunately, the novel goes downhill after this promising start. Aric behaves like a lout for most of the book. His fiancee and his mother were both unfaithful, so he assumes that Rosamunde will be as well and is forever subjecting her to jealous fits of temper. I would expect that a man so terrified of being drawn and quartered by his father-in-law would treat his bride with a little more kindness. And can someone please explain to me why the hero’s best friend is always nicer to the heroine than the hero is?
Rosamunde is your basic Perfect Heroine – she can catch more rabbits before breakfast than most of us do all day, perform veterinary miracles, and charm anyone, but she believes that she cannot do anything right. When she decides that she loves Aric, I couldn’t figure out why – he had done nothing but scream at her and boink her. The plentiful sex scenes actually provided the best interaction between the two, as Aric tries to convince his bride to enjoy herself.
There are other issues that are distracting as well. Several plot issues were mentioned and then barely explored, like Rosamunde’s relationship with her royal father and Aric’s jealousy. Language was also a problem at times. I’m willing to tolerate a lot of anachronisms if I’m enjoying the story, but I couldn’t get past phrases such as “skinny-dipping,” “chugging along,” and a heroine telling the villain to “stuff it.” Speaking of villains, the one in this book is stereotypical and fairly obvious to readers of medievals. And readers who dislike coarse humor may be less than amused by the subject matter of some of the jokes, such as a flatulent horse. Still, I enjoyed the use of real historical figures such as Henry and his lost love.
Lynsay Sands has shown a good deal of promise in her work, and she’s talented at creating endearing romps. But this book fell flat for me because of its reliance on stock characters and situations. I recommend that those wishing to try Sands find a copy of her more original, far superior The Key instead.
Grade: D+
Book Type: Medieval Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 14/07/00
Publication Date: 2000
Related Reviews
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.