The Rose Red Bride

Publisher's Summary

More cherished than gold are the Jewels of Kinfairlie, and only the worthiest may fight for their love.

The Laird of Kinfairlie has unmarried sisters, each a gem in her own right. And he has no choice but to see them all wed in haste.

Like a heroine in an ancient tale, Vivienne waited in the highest chamber of Kinfairlie's tower for her fated lover. In the darkness he came for her, cloaked and hooded so that she would not see his face. He loved her sweetly, thoroughly...and Vivienne knew she had met her destiny.

But in the morning light, her dream is shattered. Erik Sinclair of Blackleith is no romantic hero but a disinherited warrior who arranged her abduction to regain his own legacy. Outraged by Erik's insistence that he needs her solely to beget a son, yet ensnared by the passion he awakens, Vivienne realizes that there is more merit in her taciturn spouse than he would admit. Erik is skeptical of her growing faith in his honor and her desire to recapture his stolen birthright.

Little does he suspect that his rare gem of a bride intends to capture his barricaded heart as well.

©2005 Claire Delacroix, Inc. (P)2015 Deborah A. Cooke

a fun, uncomplicated listen

Any additional comments?

Alexander arranges for a suitor for his sister Vivienne. At dinner, Alexander spins a tale to his sister about Kinfairlie’s tower and fairy lovers. She believes him and decides to sleep in the tower and await her fairy lover. A man comes indeed, but it is Erik Sinclair of Blackleith. In the dark of night he woos her sweetly, and then whisks her away to bare his son. Annnd then the fun begins.

I adored Vivienne and her spunky, outspoken manners. Erik is at first flabbergasted at her reactions to him and the banter and dance was delightful. Of course, our hero is seriously flawed! Given his history one cannot help but fill sorry for the man even if at times we think Vivienne should give him a solid thrashing. Despite the intimacy, the romance developed slowly as we saw growth in our characters in mind and heart.

Madeline’s Aunt Rosamunde, adventures on the high sea and a spriggan named Darg added delightful side stories, mischief and many a laugh. Our hero and heroine face danger, and a few setbacks along the way but I truly enjoyed their adventures. Delacroix weaves laughter into these tales and I laughed, even if the characters did not.

For me, Kinfairlie series on audio is like chocolate and peanut butter. While the tale is not overly complicated, listening is such a treat. Saskia Maarleveld is amazing and I think I would buy audios she narrated for her voice alone. She wooed me, made me laugh and captured the characters souls bringing them to life.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Wonderful Medieval historical romance!

Any additional comments?

The Red Rose Bride is the second book in The Jewels of Kinfarlie Series and it is simply wonderful. I thought the first book, the Beauty Bride was one of the best historical romance stories I've read or listened to in many years and this one is not far behind.

The story centers around Vivienne, who believes that if she sleeps in Kinfairlie’s tower, she will be visited by a fairy lover who will steal her away for all time. Indeed Erik Sinclair of Blackleith comes for her, loves her sweetly, and steals her away so she can bare him a son. Although Erik is gruff and taciturn, Vivienne realizes that Erik is honorable and she quickly falls in love with him. The rest of the story is her attempt to convince him she is sincere and to make Erik realize how much he desires her too for more than her ability to bare children.

Saskia Maarleveld’s narration is enchanting. She gives each character their own distinct voice and has a rhythm to her reading that is melodic. She also has great voices for the children in the story without them sounding too babyish. Great job!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Did I read the same book as everyone else??

I'm a pretty avid reader of these types of romance novels, so I'm quite used to suspending my belief and looking past historical inaccuracies, etc. That being said, this book was just too much for me. The hero actually buys the heroine and her brother agrees that he can just go up and essentially rape her. Then, afterwards, he obviously doesn't keep his word and just kidnaps her without marrying her (what did the brother think would happen??? The guy he thought he was selling his sister to had a terrible reputation!).

I get that there are all kinds of reasons he has, etc. etc., but at one point he actually threatens to rape her AGAIN when she says she won't sleep with him anymore. He may have just been trying to threaten or scare her, but that's not okay. I realize that if this book were historically accurate this would not have been uncommon, but we are already suspending our belief for a lot of historical inaccuracies, so that one really shouldn't be let go. As the book goes on, it just seems like the heroine succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome. What does he actually do to redeem himself? Nothing, really, yet she falls in love with him??? By the end it's like they just forgot about that whole deceit and kidnapping thing.

Also, I know that this is another very unpopular opinion, but the whole Daug subplot is absurd. To me that is an entirely pointless character that is kind of just a little drunken bitch who just likes to torture people because the author can't think of any other ways to complicate the story for the main characters. I know this is harsh, but like...either make this into a full blown fantasy novel or leave it alone.

Anyway, the point of this review is that the story did not go far enough for the characters (especially the hero and the heroine's older brother) to truly redeem themselves for the wrongs they committed against Vivienne. I know it would be much more difficult for me to forgive a man who snuck into my room, took my innocence, and then kidnapped me for his own aims, then threatened to rape me if I didn't cooperate by giving him a son. There were so many other ways to go about that...

All this being said, however, I will read book 3 mostly because I want to see if Alexander gets his for auctioning one sister and then selling another, even though he did feel bad about it afterwards (sort of).

Vivian's determination...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Would I recommend this audio book to my friends...Oh Absolutely! Ilovely listening to the audible version of "The Rose Red Bride"! Saskia Maarleveld did an absolutely wonderful job narrating the story. Her talent for being able to change her voice and accent to suit the numerous characters is amazing.. I am in awe of her wonderous ability...

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Rose Red Bride?

Once again, Darg (the fairy) was one of my favorite characters. I loved the grotto scene where she was biting Rosamund and causing her to fall back into the water, knowing she could not swim... I also felt sad when the caverns of Ravensmuir began to be destroyed. It left me wondering if each character survived and what their future would bring.

Have you listened to any of Saskia Maarleveld’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, I have always enjoyed her performances. It's often difficult to find a woman who can so well make the male characters seem real. She does an excellent job!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This author is a master storyteller and touches many emotions. You laugh and you cry or at least stress in wonder of what comes next.

Any additional comments?

I throughly enjoyed listening to this audio version since the narrator did such an excellent job of a wonderful book! She has me hooked... now I want ALL of the books as well as the audio books....LOL I do appreciate when the authors allow a discounted price for a while if you buy, or have bought before, the ebook copy.

Fantastic

If you could sum up The Rose Red Bride in three words, what would they be?

Totally enjoyable experience

Which character – as performed by Saskia Maarleveld – was your favorite?

Erik because her empathy for his character rings true through her narration

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Erik realizes that Vivian loves him

Any additional comments?

It was such a pleasure to revisit the second generation of Claire Delacroix’s unparalleled Lammergeir family which I devoured when it was first published in 2005 and be swept away again by her epic medieval tale of adventure, romance, betrayal, redemption and retribution. No one sets a period perfect stage better than she does with dialogue and backdrops that draw readers right into the story and then be utterly beguiled by her fantastic characters human and fae, good and evil. And enchanted by the stars of her story Vivian and Erik. The Red Rose Bride is book two in the Jewels of Kinfarlie series, now available in all formats.

The audible edition was flawlessly rendered by the seductive, alluring, melodious voice of Saskia Maarleveld whose perfection rings through every voice intonation and she masters a wide range of vocalizations that gives listeners a multi-dimensional savoring of the story that’s not possible by reading alone. And so far this is my favorite in audible form of the series.

Erik Sinclair of Blackleith is determined to reclaim all that is rightfully his, which was deceitfully stolen from him by his younger brother. To do this he needs a son, fast and for that he has a certain maiden in mind, the only woman who ever spurned his blackguard of a brother.
Believing the false faiery tale told by her brother, impulsive, fanciful Vivian Lammergeir met and lost her innocence to a man in the tower room of Kinfairlie keep whom she believed to be a fae lover. But the light of day reveals he is but a mere mortal, one who is not her destined mate but who chose her only as a tool for his revenge.
Is there yet a chance for them to find forever love or is fate a fickle mistress indeed?

Another Awesome Addition to the Kinfairlie Series

It feels wonderful to be back in the world of the Jewels of Kinfairlie. This time we follow Vivienne as she is matched with a man who is not who he claims to be, and struggles to come to terms with his overall plan and her desire for him.

Vivienne is outspoken and feels a bit at odds with her rather imperfect nature. Her hair never seems to stay tame, her hems always seem to attract dirt, and she has a habit of cowing people with honesty. I think I love her just as much if not more than her older sister Madeline from Beauty Bride. And I love how passionate she’s capable of being in all aspects of her life. Which is something that Erik is immediately drawn to, but wishes to hold at bay until he can produce the heir he so desperately needs. At first I didn’t really like Erik, he seemed overly distant and his reluctance to marry until he was sure he had a son just rubbed me the wrong way. But as if with so much in this book series, not all is as it seems and by the end of the book I was definitely cheering the pair on as they fought the odds to stay together. One of the best things about this series is that even though it’s lighter fare and feels very much like enjoying your favorite snack food, the writing is still fantastic and enveloping.

Like the first book we do get more than just the main pairs story. In this one we get more on aunt Rosamund and this time we get to see her in her true element, on a ship at sea. We also get more from Elizabeth and Daug, the tiny sprite who plays her own little pivotal role in the lives of the humans around her. To top of the fun and light story the audiobook adds the vocal skills of Saskia Marrleveld, who is steadily becoming a favorite of mine. She has such a great range of voices from the deep, stoic and heavily accented Erik to the tiny and scheming Daug. In short she’s an excellent narrator and I’ll definitely add her to my list of narrators to be on the lookout for in the future.

Can’t wait to listen to book three!

Another good one!

Saskia Maarleveld does a pretty good job.
Fun cute story.Like the little fantasy side in it.
Did like it though it did drag a bit at times.I Liked the plot and I do like when the author brings back characters from previous books in the series.
Will have to get book #3 to see what happens to the old lovers caught in the cave.

Another jewel of a book

No surprises here that after listening to the first book in the series I truly enjoyed this one too. Vivienne is even more adventurous than her sister Madeline, the heroine of the first book. Beleiving her brother's tale of a faery lover, she dreams of finding her own. She did get it but not the way she planned it and he was no faery folk either. I think Erik is my fave hero from the series so far, despite his heartbreak, he remains good hearted. Another great match and the story is worth reading/listening to, being to filled with adventure, danger, laughter, some tears but definitely a happy ending which is my fave. Great secondary characters too.
Again, Ms. Maarleveld did a great narration, loved the accents, the various voices and the passion she shows in the telling of the story. Thank you!

Very enjoyable

Nice story. Good narrator. Enjoyable love story. Nice addidtion of the fierce firey naughty faery.