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Wales #1
Stormswept
The first wedding night that Lady Juliana St. Albans spent with the dark and daring Rhys Vaughan was intoxicating, the heady culmination of her new husband’s driving hunger and her own awakened sensuality. When he mysteriously disappeared the next morning, she waited for him in hope and desperation. And when he was finally proclaimed dead in a shipwreck, she bitterly mourned the loss of her love.
The second wedding night that Juliana spent with Rhys Vaughan was six years later, after he returned to claim her just as she was about to wed another. This Rhys was different—bolder, harder, and convinced that she’d betrayed him. Only their blazing passion remains from their years apart.
But is it enough to light their way through the maze of mystery, menace, and mistrust—to the love they once shared and would have to find again?
The second wedding night that Juliana spent with Rhys Vaughan was six years later, after he returned to claim her just as she was about to wed another. This Rhys was different—bolder, harder, and convinced that she’d betrayed him. Only their blazing passion remains from their years apart.
But is it enough to light their way through the maze of mystery, menace, and mistrust—to the love they once shared and would have to find again?
Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1995
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About the author
Deborah Martin
20 books60 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Pseudonym of Sabrina Jeffries, under which she wrote eight historical romance novels, Moonlight Enchantment, Creole Nights, By Love Unveiled, Silver Deceptions, Dangerous Angel, Stormswept, Windswept, and Creole Bride, and contributed to two anthologies, A Dance with the Devil, and One Night with a Rogue.
Pseudonym of Sabrina Jeffries, under which she wrote eight historical romance novels, Moonlight Enchantment, Creole Nights, By Love Unveiled, Silver Deceptions, Dangerous Angel, Stormswept, Windswept, and Creole Bride, and contributed to two anthologies, A Dance with the Devil, and One Night with a Rogue.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
May 25, 2016
***5 "To tame a monster!" stars***
This was a wonderful story that caprtivated me from the first page till the last one...
It was a story of passion and betrayal...
A story of revenge and justice...
A story of stolen years and broken dreams...
It was a story of a great love...
Even from the prologue the story kept me its prisoner...
Lady Julianna is about to engage when the engangement is ruined by the appearance of her husband after six years that she had him for dead...
And from this moment everything is turning upside down...
Before six years, Julliana met Rhys and they fell in love with each other...
I won't tell you more about their background, because there are lots of things that happened at the same time, but i will tell you that Juliann's father had destroyed Rhys's father and took his inheritance...
But Rhys truly loved her and the couple run away and got married secretly...
But after the consumating of their marriage, Rhys disappeared... and Julianna left behind alone...
Now, six years later, Rhys is coming back and he is demanding to take his wife and his inheritance back. But Rhys is no longer the gentle young man who used to be...
Now, he is a rough, tough man who is thirsting for revenge...
He knows that his dear wife got scared and betrayed him and he wants to make her pay for the things that he had to get through the years that he was away...
And even though that she is screaming about her innocence, he won't believe her innocent and seductive eyes....
The big problem in this plan is that Julianna is reacting back and he is making his life difficult and not only that but her presence is rising in the surface his buried feelings for her...
Yep, he is lusting over his wife, but that doesn't mean that she didn't betrayed him once upon a time...
Julianna, from the other hand, still loves her husband. She never stopped loving him and she is going wild that he is insisting that she had a part on his exile...
But she is as stubborn as he is and she is not going to make his life easier if he is not realize his mistake and doesn't show her that he is trusting her...
"That only deepened her despair. While he'd been amashing a fortune, nursing his unfounded distrust of her, she'd been mourning him. And all he could see was betrayal."
So what will happen with those two???
Will Rhys accept that Julianna didn't betray him and to forgive her???
Or will he insist to make her life miserable and he will lose her forever???
Will Julianna have the patience to deal with Rhys's accusations???
Will she continue to love him after everything that he will put her through???
Is there a chance for their underlying love for each other to made them as they used to be before six years???
And will the real guilty will pay for what he did to them???
"The bleak abyss in his eyes made her ache to comfort him. But how did one comfort a wounded beast who bit anyone who ventured near?"
To be honest, my heart was aching so badly about those two...
Their love was so deep and real, but because of others, they were hurting each other so much...
Their love was always there and it was leading them in the right way, even though that they had too many obstacles to overcome and mostly their own stubborness...
I loved both Rhys and Julianna...
Julianna was a strong, willing and very independent woman and i liked that!!! She was also so stubborn, but i think that she was right from one hand.
She was being accused for something that she didn't do and her husband didn't believe her...
I also liked her insistence on her family's pressure upon her when Rhys was vanished from her life...
I liked Rhys in the present... He was too gentle and tender for my taste before... But after his return, he was more determined, stubborn, strong willing and yep, on many occassions unfair, but his masculinity was very attractive...
They were fitting so good together and it was such a waste of time that they lost so many years...
And what can i say for the secondary characters???
I loved Morgan and Lettice...
But i hated so damn much Julianna's brothers, especially Darcy...
He deserved more than he got...
Well, i don't have anything more to say than if you love those kind of books who should give it a try!!!
Personally, i had such a wonderful time reading it!!!
***ARC kindly provided via NetGalley for the exchange of an honest review***
This was a wonderful story that caprtivated me from the first page till the last one...
It was a story of passion and betrayal...
A story of revenge and justice...
A story of stolen years and broken dreams...
It was a story of a great love...
Even from the prologue the story kept me its prisoner...
Lady Julianna is about to engage when the engangement is ruined by the appearance of her husband after six years that she had him for dead...
And from this moment everything is turning upside down...
Before six years, Julliana met Rhys and they fell in love with each other...
I won't tell you more about their background, because there are lots of things that happened at the same time, but i will tell you that Juliann's father had destroyed Rhys's father and took his inheritance...
But Rhys truly loved her and the couple run away and got married secretly...
But after the consumating of their marriage, Rhys disappeared... and Julianna left behind alone...
Now, six years later, Rhys is coming back and he is demanding to take his wife and his inheritance back. But Rhys is no longer the gentle young man who used to be...
Now, he is a rough, tough man who is thirsting for revenge...
He knows that his dear wife got scared and betrayed him and he wants to make her pay for the things that he had to get through the years that he was away...
And even though that she is screaming about her innocence, he won't believe her innocent and seductive eyes....
The big problem in this plan is that Julianna is reacting back and he is making his life difficult and not only that but her presence is rising in the surface his buried feelings for her...
Yep, he is lusting over his wife, but that doesn't mean that she didn't betrayed him once upon a time...
Julianna, from the other hand, still loves her husband. She never stopped loving him and she is going wild that he is insisting that she had a part on his exile...
But she is as stubborn as he is and she is not going to make his life easier if he is not realize his mistake and doesn't show her that he is trusting her...
"That only deepened her despair. While he'd been amashing a fortune, nursing his unfounded distrust of her, she'd been mourning him. And all he could see was betrayal."
So what will happen with those two???
Will Rhys accept that Julianna didn't betray him and to forgive her???
Or will he insist to make her life miserable and he will lose her forever???
Will Julianna have the patience to deal with Rhys's accusations???
Will she continue to love him after everything that he will put her through???
Is there a chance for their underlying love for each other to made them as they used to be before six years???
And will the real guilty will pay for what he did to them???
"The bleak abyss in his eyes made her ache to comfort him. But how did one comfort a wounded beast who bit anyone who ventured near?"
To be honest, my heart was aching so badly about those two...
Their love was so deep and real, but because of others, they were hurting each other so much...
Their love was always there and it was leading them in the right way, even though that they had too many obstacles to overcome and mostly their own stubborness...
I loved both Rhys and Julianna...
Julianna was a strong, willing and very independent woman and i liked that!!! She was also so stubborn, but i think that she was right from one hand.
She was being accused for something that she didn't do and her husband didn't believe her...
I also liked her insistence on her family's pressure upon her when Rhys was vanished from her life...
I liked Rhys in the present... He was too gentle and tender for my taste before... But after his return, he was more determined, stubborn, strong willing and yep, on many occassions unfair, but his masculinity was very attractive...
They were fitting so good together and it was such a waste of time that they lost so many years...
And what can i say for the secondary characters???
I loved Morgan and Lettice...
But i hated so damn much Julianna's brothers, especially Darcy...
He deserved more than he got...
Well, i don't have anything more to say than if you love those kind of books who should give it a try!!!
Personally, i had such a wonderful time reading it!!!
***ARC kindly provided via NetGalley for the exchange of an honest review***
June 21, 2016
The bleak abyss in his eyes made her ache to comfort him. But how did one comfort a wounded beast who bit anyone who ventured near?
I feel like I should be getting a bit worried. Either I'm getting really easy to please which I doubt or I have fantastic taste in books... I'm thinking it's probably the latter. This book was so amazing, as in blow my mind, I need to hug this book and author really hard amazing. I read a review that compared this book to The Count of Monte Cristo which I wholeheartedly agree with, but I also have to say that while there are similarities, as I read it and became more and more invested this story, it really just became a story of its own.
Now one thing I wasn't prepared for while reading this book was the angst, the delicious angst that had me so emotional and just periodically screaming at the characters in this book.
You love each other! Isn't that enough? Stop torturing one another!
Let's be honest though. Would I have enjoyed it as much had it been an easy read. A walk in the park? I doubt it.
Stepping closer to her, he lowered his voice. "You think to purge me of my anger with all your tales, but 'twas my anger that kept me alive-and I will honor its cry for vengeance.
Juliana meets Rhys while attending a radical gathering, she's in disguise as a commoner, what's worse is that she's an Englishwoman surrounded by the Welsh. This was an epic romance and the lovers were most certainly star-crossed. What's worse is that Juliana's father is the new owner of what used to Rhys' inheritance! Can this situation get any worse? Yes, it can. As you've most probably guessed Rhys and Julian fall in love, and on their wedding night Rhys is torn from Juliana's arms. He is impressed in the English Navy, and at the time that was as good as a death sentence.
Six years later, Rhys is back. He's come back to claim his wife and his inheritance. The fact is that I don't want to give the entire story away so I'll go back to waxing poetic about how much I loved this book. This wasn't a particularly long book, it was a good length so I was really happy about the fact that the plot and characters were very well developed. The story starts off with Rhys and Juliana reuniting and then goes back to how they met leading up to the scene that first began the story. Rhys is Welsh, and a proud Welshman at that, and I loved how the author grew his character, I honestly felt like I read two books when I'd finished reading this book. There was just so much goodness packed into one good solid read. Juliana's character was fantastic! I loved her strength and courage, I loved how she stayed strong, even when I questioned Rhys' love because of the way he treated her. But the fact that the story is told in dual POV remedied any doubts I had.
When he pivoted to show her his back, she gasped. She'd expected scars, but the reality was far worse. There were no scars on his upper back at all. It was simply an expanse of mottled skin that looked like healed pulp.
If you're an HR fan, if you love angsty reads with loads of conflict between the main character. If you love it when the couple has to overcome scads of obstacles to be together then this is your book. Sabrina Jeffries is a new author to me, but I'll definitely be reading more of her work!
"By thunder," he murmured, "you taste sweeter with each kiss.
What sort of sorcery is this?"
ARC kindly provided by publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review
September 30, 2018
Do NOT listen to the audiobook for this one - the fake Welsh accent for the male character, Rhys, is honestly quite terrible. Ignoring that, the book wasn't particularly great either - the couple meet, he is taken away under mysterious circumstances, and six years later he reappears suddenly at the night of her betrothal ball to another man (none of that is a spoiler, it's all in the blurb). What happens next is that the rest of the entire book is taken up by Rhys being an ass towards Juliana and she tries to push back but mostly just takes it in stride and continues on trying to rebuild their marriage. Until of course he finally comes to his senses. The end. It's drawn out, there's no mystery involved, no real action, just a whole bunch of arguing. Oh and the person who is responsible for everything gets away with almost zero consequences which seems extremely unfair and unsatisfying. Skip.
June 15, 2022
After reading several disappointing romances, I started thinking about the ones I'd read and really loved. This was one of them, and since I'm ahead of my yearly challenge, I decided to treat myself and reread it for the first time.
And it's a good thing I did. I started it one night before bed, and the next morning was one of those mornings where every single thing goes wrong. I hadn't had one of those in a while, so luckily, after all the chaos died down, I was able to soothe my frazzled nerves by reading STORMSWEPT.
I'm so glad I ended up loving it the second time around! I got all sorts of romance feels when Rhys finally came to his senses. Morgan and Lettice were awesome, and I even felt sorry for the antagonist. I wish Lord Devon had his own story.
I'll definitely need this in paperback at some point.
ORIGINAL REVIEW
This was so unexpectedly good. I loved this book from the very beginning. The contrast of young, sweet love with a hardened, hate-driven love really affected me. I got teary-eyed several times while reading this.
There was a Count of Monte Cristo angle to this story that I really loved. Rhys shows up to claim his wife, Juliana, on the eve of her engagement to another man. He's been gone six years, and Juliana believed him dead. But he's not, and he wants revenge against those who made him suffer terribly for so long.
I was a little worried about Rhys's behavior at first. He wouldn't listen to Juliana when she repeatedly told him she was innocent of any wrongdoing against him. He was so stubborn in his refusal to believe anything good about her. He undermined their marriage at every step and let jealousy get the best of him.
It was heartbreaking how twisted and hard-hearted Rhys became after the six years spent away due to machinations beyond his control. He wanted so badly to hold on to the evils he believed about Juliana during that time.
Fortunately, Juliana is a woman who knows her worth. The author shows how good of a person she is not by needless comparisons with others, but through her actions. Every time Rhys comes up with another way to keep a wedge between them, she meets him with kindness and rationality and cold logic.
I loved reading her thoughts about his behavior. She loved him deeply but wouldn't put up with his nonsense. She refused to give in to his ridiculous demands because she knew doing so would only destroy their marriage.
I loved Juliana as a heroine, and Rhys was a refreshing change from the typical rakish duke or boring good guy. He was a passionate man who stood for a worthy cause. Though he held on to his bitterness for a very long time, he was no match for Juliana.
The romance was so swoony and the conversations were wonderful. I loved the way the hero and heroine connected over Welsh poetry, and the stanzas at the beginning of each chapter were lovely.
So much heartbreak! So much passion! And an ending much better than the book version of Monte Cristo.
I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
And it's a good thing I did. I started it one night before bed, and the next morning was one of those mornings where every single thing goes wrong. I hadn't had one of those in a while, so luckily, after all the chaos died down, I was able to soothe my frazzled nerves by reading STORMSWEPT.
I'm so glad I ended up loving it the second time around! I got all sorts of romance feels when Rhys finally came to his senses. Morgan and Lettice were awesome, and I even felt sorry for the antagonist. I wish Lord Devon had his own story.
I'll definitely need this in paperback at some point.
ORIGINAL REVIEW
This was so unexpectedly good. I loved this book from the very beginning. The contrast of young, sweet love with a hardened, hate-driven love really affected me. I got teary-eyed several times while reading this.
There was a Count of Monte Cristo angle to this story that I really loved. Rhys shows up to claim his wife, Juliana, on the eve of her engagement to another man. He's been gone six years, and Juliana believed him dead. But he's not, and he wants revenge against those who made him suffer terribly for so long.
I was a little worried about Rhys's behavior at first. He wouldn't listen to Juliana when she repeatedly told him she was innocent of any wrongdoing against him. He was so stubborn in his refusal to believe anything good about her. He undermined their marriage at every step and let jealousy get the best of him.
It was heartbreaking how twisted and hard-hearted Rhys became after the six years spent away due to machinations beyond his control. He wanted so badly to hold on to the evils he believed about Juliana during that time.
"I've tormented you and deliberately sought to hurt you, even when you met my anger with kindness. If I doubt your love, 'tis only because I can't believe you'd love me when there's so little in me to love."
Fortunately, Juliana is a woman who knows her worth. The author shows how good of a person she is not by needless comparisons with others, but through her actions. Every time Rhys comes up with another way to keep a wedge between them, she meets him with kindness and rationality and cold logic.
"You want me to sell you my soul—to be a docile wife outside the bedchamber and a wanton inside the bedchamber. You want me not to ask questions when you leave to go on God knows what fool's errand for Morgan. In return, you offer me only the ashes of your mistrust. Unfortunately, my price is higher than that."
I loved reading her thoughts about his behavior. She loved him deeply but wouldn't put up with his nonsense. She refused to give in to his ridiculous demands because she knew doing so would only destroy their marriage.
"I think you're a two-faced devil with one set of standards for himself, and another for his wife."
I loved Juliana as a heroine, and Rhys was a refreshing change from the typical rakish duke or boring good guy. He was a passionate man who stood for a worthy cause. Though he held on to his bitterness for a very long time, he was no match for Juliana.
The romance was so swoony and the conversations were wonderful. I loved the way the hero and heroine connected over Welsh poetry, and the stanzas at the beginning of each chapter were lovely.
So much heartbreak! So much passion! And an ending much better than the book version of Monte Cristo.
I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
August 7, 2016
I'm sad I didn't end up liking this novel more, and that's mostly because of the second half to last third of it. However, if I were rating this book simply based on the writing and planning of the novel itself, I'd give it a five (though, as it is, it's not a three, but it wasn't quite a four either, so I ended up rounding down). This is a very well and thoroughly plotted novel. Unlike other novels in which I wonder why a certain thing has been included, even by the end not having an answer to it, I didn't feel that was the case with this book. Whenever I wondered about the inclusion of something, the author always brought it back up at a later point and used it as part of the plot. So even if I didn't agree with certain actions, I still liked that the author at least acknowledged them and shared with the reader that she was aware of them.
So, onto the novel itself. It's a second chance romance between Rhys and Juliana, a married couple that were separated six years ago. Their love was total and complete instalove, which for some reason didn't bother me in this case, which might be because the characters felt developed and it wasn't just as wow, that person is SOOOO hot. The two meet and he ends up getting her into trouble. Afterwards, he tries to make it up to her, which leads to them spending more time together. Within a week, they're confessing love and getting married. A day later, they're separated and they don't see one another again until six years later.
The author established early on that Rhys had reasons behind why he disliked Juliana's family and why he wouldn't be able to trust them. Juliana's father (allegedly) cheated Rhys's father out of their ancestral home (which later became Juliana's dowry) during a card game. Afterwards, he committed suicide. Rhys alleges that Juliana's father cheated or took advantage of his father, though he's not sure exactly. Either way, something shady happened. Because of this, Rhys hates Juliana's family and is none to happy when he finds out she's the daughter of his enemy. On top of that, she's also English, which he dislikes as a Welshman. Also, he's part of a group of radicals. However, he gets over this dislike once he gets to know Juliana and falls in love with her.
Darcy, Juliana's oldest brother, dislikes Rhys for a variety of reasons. After he finds out Juliana has eloped with Rhys, he concocts a plan to separate them and has Rhys impressed into the Navy against his will, using his ties to radicals as a reason. He, of course, doesn't tell Juliana this and pretends he knows nothing. However, when he has Rhys tied up, he tells him that Juliana asked for her brothers (Darcy and Overton) to get rid of Rhys because she's having regrets about their marriage. Rhys tries to deny it, but doubts start creeping in as he wonders how her brothers would've even known where to find them if she hadn't sent them word (because they'd eloped and promised not to inform anyone until much later). (And if you're wondering why he even showed his face to Rhys here, it's because he wanted to ingrain in him that Juliana doesn't care for him, which he hopes will be enough to destroy any desire Rhys has to ever return to Wales...which doesn't work, of course.)
So that brings the book to the present. Rhys comes back and obviously hates Juliana because he thinks she played a part in sending him away. On top of that, he arrives when she's preparing to get engaged to another man. (And that's because she was told by an investigator a year ago that Rhys was dead. And she hasn't heard from him in all these years, in the form of a letter or otherwise. But she's young and still wants kids, and she's friends with her betrothed, Stephen, so that's why she agrees to marry.) This, combined with his years of suffering in the Navy, is the reason why he holds such bitterness towards Juliana.
I didn't mind how angry he was and how he just didn't believe her, despite her protests to the contrary. I felt that he had multiple very valid reasons to do so, and that's not because I thought she was guilty, but because the author showed me why and how it would be possible that he'd be likely to believe she was wrong. (This goes back to what I mentioned above with how well the book is plotted. The author laid out the multiple reasons behind why her guilt seemed obvious to him. He played with the idea that she wasn't guilty, and even had his friend question whether he should automatically believe the worst of her, but he was set in his thoughts that she played a part in his impressment.)
HOWEVER. However, that's where some of my issues come into play. I didn't mind him being bitter and angry and blaming Juliana, but I didn't like how long the author dragged it out for either. I got tired of the extended war between them. Even after they decide to be amicable and put the past behind them, unresolved though it may be, he still doesn't trust her. I felt that the mistrust went on far too long. I felt that he should've found out the truth, or at least started completely trusting her, halfway to two-thirds of the way through. Then, I think the author should've concentrated on him grovelling/making up for his assumptions about her. Regardless of her love and trust in him, she still deserved a grovel, especially because he spent a majority of the book blaming her for what happened to him. (Though I should make clear here that Rhys is never abusive with Juliana. He's angry and resentful, yes, but that never manifests physically. He tries to push emotionless sex on her upon his return, which I think he does to try and convince her he's not emotionally beholden to her and cares for her no longer, but she stands her ground, which causes a retreat on his part rather than force. Although he hurts her emotionally with his obvious mistrust, he's no abuser.)
But that's not what happens. Instead, he obviously still doesn't believe her about the past. On top of that, her method of bringing that trust about did not work for me AT ALL.
And that's the biggest issue I have with this book: Darcy. And this is also why it pissed me off that Juliana wanted Rhys to break bread with a person like this. ( So Rhys could go forever without seeing him again, and that probably STILL wouldn't be long enough, imo.)
However, I don't want my dislike for certain aspects to be a deterrent for potential readers. This book had a lot of fabulous points. I've read books in which there's a separation, and despite the author telling the reader all the things the heroine does in the hero's absence, these things are never acknowledged by either character once they reunite. In this book, however, Juliana makes it clear (to both the reader and Rhys) all she's done for the estate, pulling it out of the hole that Rhys's father put it in and bringing it back to life (financially and aesthetically). She also makes damn sure to remember that, while she waited for him for years, she didn't receive a letter from him, so hell yes she's moving the hell on with someone else. ()
This also plays into how the heroine has a backbone and is not afraid to show it. She stands up to his autocratic attitude and anger time and again, refusing to back down no matter what. Even when she starts to give in, she often finds herself back to steeling her spine with self-respect and pushing him away (because of his refusal to trust her). One thing I do want to mention here that was a negative for me, though, is that, while I liked how strong she was, I wish that the author had included more vulnerability on her part.
Another absolute stellar aspect is the CELIBATE HERO. (Which I'm not even going to spoiler tag because I hope it serves as an incentive to pick this book up.) The hero, Rhys, doesn't sleep with anyone during his six years apart from Juliana. I would've loved this regardless, but I loved it even more because he believes Juliana had played a part in sending him away...yet he stills remained loyal and faithful to her. The only sex-related part that I could've done without is the mention of his sexual past. So while I could've done without it, I liked that the author had a purpose to its inclusion.
So, like I said in the beginning, it was a very well-written and thoroughly plotted novel. I'm disappointed I didn't end up loving it as much as I hoped, but it's still not a bad read. Also, if you're worried because it was originally published in the 90s and you fear it might have bodice ripper-esque elements, don't be. It's nothing at all like that, with a hero who stays loyal and isn't an abusive jerk, and a heroine who actually has a backbone.
So, onto the novel itself. It's a second chance romance between Rhys and Juliana, a married couple that were separated six years ago. Their love was total and complete instalove, which for some reason didn't bother me in this case, which might be because the characters felt developed and it wasn't just as wow, that person is SOOOO hot. The two meet and he ends up getting her into trouble. Afterwards, he tries to make it up to her, which leads to them spending more time together. Within a week, they're confessing love and getting married. A day later, they're separated and they don't see one another again until six years later.
The author established early on that Rhys had reasons behind why he disliked Juliana's family and why he wouldn't be able to trust them. Juliana's father (allegedly) cheated Rhys's father out of their ancestral home (which later became Juliana's dowry) during a card game. Afterwards, he committed suicide. Rhys alleges that Juliana's father cheated or took advantage of his father, though he's not sure exactly. Either way, something shady happened. Because of this, Rhys hates Juliana's family and is none to happy when he finds out she's the daughter of his enemy. On top of that, she's also English, which he dislikes as a Welshman. Also, he's part of a group of radicals. However, he gets over this dislike once he gets to know Juliana and falls in love with her.
Darcy, Juliana's oldest brother, dislikes Rhys for a variety of reasons. After he finds out Juliana has eloped with Rhys, he concocts a plan to separate them and has Rhys impressed into the Navy against his will, using his ties to radicals as a reason. He, of course, doesn't tell Juliana this and pretends he knows nothing. However, when he has Rhys tied up, he tells him that Juliana asked for her brothers (Darcy and Overton) to get rid of Rhys because she's having regrets about their marriage. Rhys tries to deny it, but doubts start creeping in as he wonders how her brothers would've even known where to find them if she hadn't sent them word (because they'd eloped and promised not to inform anyone until much later). (And if you're wondering why he even showed his face to Rhys here, it's because he wanted to ingrain in him that Juliana doesn't care for him, which he hopes will be enough to destroy any desire Rhys has to ever return to Wales...which doesn't work, of course.)
So that brings the book to the present. Rhys comes back and obviously hates Juliana because he thinks she played a part in sending him away. On top of that, he arrives when she's preparing to get engaged to another man. (And that's because she was told by an investigator a year ago that Rhys was dead. And she hasn't heard from him in all these years, in the form of a letter or otherwise. But she's young and still wants kids, and she's friends with her betrothed, Stephen, so that's why she agrees to marry.) This, combined with his years of suffering in the Navy, is the reason why he holds such bitterness towards Juliana.
I didn't mind how angry he was and how he just didn't believe her, despite her protests to the contrary. I felt that he had multiple very valid reasons to do so, and that's not because I thought she was guilty, but because the author showed me why and how it would be possible that he'd be likely to believe she was wrong. (This goes back to what I mentioned above with how well the book is plotted. The author laid out the multiple reasons behind why her guilt seemed obvious to him. He played with the idea that she wasn't guilty, and even had his friend question whether he should automatically believe the worst of her, but he was set in his thoughts that she played a part in his impressment.)
HOWEVER. However, that's where some of my issues come into play. I didn't mind him being bitter and angry and blaming Juliana, but I didn't like how long the author dragged it out for either. I got tired of the extended war between them. Even after they decide to be amicable and put the past behind them, unresolved though it may be, he still doesn't trust her. I felt that the mistrust went on far too long. I felt that he should've found out the truth, or at least started completely trusting her, halfway to two-thirds of the way through. Then, I think the author should've concentrated on him grovelling/making up for his assumptions about her. Regardless of her love and trust in him, she still deserved a grovel, especially because he spent a majority of the book blaming her for what happened to him. (Though I should make clear here that Rhys is never abusive with Juliana. He's angry and resentful, yes, but that never manifests physically. He tries to push emotionless sex on her upon his return, which I think he does to try and convince her he's not emotionally beholden to her and cares for her no longer, but she stands her ground, which causes a retreat on his part rather than force. Although he hurts her emotionally with his obvious mistrust, he's no abuser.)
But that's not what happens. Instead, he obviously still doesn't believe her about the past. On top of that, her method of bringing that trust about did not work for me AT ALL.
And that's the biggest issue I have with this book: Darcy. And this is also why it pissed me off that Juliana wanted Rhys to break bread with a person like this. ( So Rhys could go forever without seeing him again, and that probably STILL wouldn't be long enough, imo.)
However, I don't want my dislike for certain aspects to be a deterrent for potential readers. This book had a lot of fabulous points. I've read books in which there's a separation, and despite the author telling the reader all the things the heroine does in the hero's absence, these things are never acknowledged by either character once they reunite. In this book, however, Juliana makes it clear (to both the reader and Rhys) all she's done for the estate, pulling it out of the hole that Rhys's father put it in and bringing it back to life (financially and aesthetically). She also makes damn sure to remember that, while she waited for him for years, she didn't receive a letter from him, so hell yes she's moving the hell on with someone else. ()
This also plays into how the heroine has a backbone and is not afraid to show it. She stands up to his autocratic attitude and anger time and again, refusing to back down no matter what. Even when she starts to give in, she often finds herself back to steeling her spine with self-respect and pushing him away (because of his refusal to trust her). One thing I do want to mention here that was a negative for me, though, is that, while I liked how strong she was, I wish that the author had included more vulnerability on her part.
Another absolute stellar aspect is the CELIBATE HERO. (Which I'm not even going to spoiler tag because I hope it serves as an incentive to pick this book up.) The hero, Rhys, doesn't sleep with anyone during his six years apart from Juliana. I would've loved this regardless, but I loved it even more because he believes Juliana had played a part in sending him away...yet he stills remained loyal and faithful to her. The only sex-related part that I could've done without is the mention of his sexual past. So while I could've done without it, I liked that the author had a purpose to its inclusion.
So, like I said in the beginning, it was a very well-written and thoroughly plotted novel. I'm disappointed I didn't end up loving it as much as I hoped, but it's still not a bad read. Also, if you're worried because it was originally published in the 90s and you fear it might have bodice ripper-esque elements, don't be. It's nothing at all like that, with a hero who stays loyal and isn't an abusive jerk, and a heroine who actually has a backbone.
June 28, 2016
One day after finishing this book and I'm still like...
I love this book! Actually, I love this book so much that I don't know what to say about it. Thinking about Stormswept is like thinking about my favorite sweet treat. It makes me warm inside and it makes my mouth water.
Official description:
To tell you the truth, the book had me since the description. I love the whole Count of Monte Cristo vibe. The innocent young woman, her despicable family, and the vengeful hero... they all appealed to me. And what had me completely, was the lack of a love triangle. True, Juliana was about to marry another man six years after Rhys' disappearance, but her betrothed ditched her as soon as he found out she had been married before. Don't get me wrong, the fiancé is a good man. Upon finding out her brother was behind everything, he requested a meeting with her, to make sure she was treated well. So, yes! No love triangle. No useless let's-make-her/him-jealous trope.
Both Juliana and Rhys are imperfect. They have flaws. They have insecurities. But they love each other. And sometimes, love is enough to help one grow.
Bah! Just go read the book. So far, it's my favorite historical romance of the year.
*I thank NetGalley, Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books, and Sabrina Jeffries for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
I love this book! Actually, I love this book so much that I don't know what to say about it. Thinking about Stormswept is like thinking about my favorite sweet treat. It makes me warm inside and it makes my mouth water.
Official description:
The first wedding night that Lady Juliana St. Albans spent with the dark and daring Rhys Vaughan was intoxicating, the heady culmination of her new husband’s driving hunger and her own awakened sensuality. When he mysteriously disappeared the next morning, she waited for him in hope and desperation. And when he was finally proclaimed dead in a shipwreck, she bitterly mourned the loss of her love.
The second wedding night that Juliana spent with Rhys Vaughan was six years later, after he returned to claim her just as she was about to wed another. This Rhys was different—bolder, harder, and convinced that she’d betrayed him. Only their blazing passion remains from their years apart. But is it enough to light their way through the maze of mystery, menace, and mistrust—to the love they once shared and would have to find again?
To tell you the truth, the book had me since the description. I love the whole Count of Monte Cristo vibe. The innocent young woman, her despicable family, and the vengeful hero... they all appealed to me. And what had me completely, was the lack of a love triangle. True, Juliana was about to marry another man six years after Rhys' disappearance, but her betrothed ditched her as soon as he found out she had been married before. Don't get me wrong, the fiancé is a good man. Upon finding out her brother was behind everything, he requested a meeting with her, to make sure she was treated well. So, yes! No love triangle. No useless let's-make-her/him-jealous trope.
Both Juliana and Rhys are imperfect. They have flaws. They have insecurities. But they love each other. And sometimes, love is enough to help one grow.
Bah! Just go read the book. So far, it's my favorite historical romance of the year.
*I thank NetGalley, Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books, and Sabrina Jeffries for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 21, 2016
Stormswept by Sabrina Jeffries (writing as Deborah Martin) is a 2016 Pocket Books publication. I was provided a copy of this book as an XOXOpert, the official street team of XOXO After Dark.
I like to think I’m pretty knowledgeable about authors, but time and again, I discover I don’t know much at all. I never knew Sabrina Jeffries wrote historical romance novels under the pseudonym of ‘Deborah Martin.’
Originally published back in 1995, this novel has been re-issued by Pocket Books, and I am so happy I had the chance to discover ‘Deborah Martin’ and her backlisted titles.
Lady Juliana St. Albans and Rhys Vaughn fall in love, in this ‘Romeo and Juliet’ meets “The Count of Monte Cristo” setup.
Swept up in their ardor and passion for each other, forbidden lovers run away and get married, but are separated in a diabolical plot, that will keep them separated for six long years, and has Rhys convinced his beloved wife betrayed him.
Now, he has returned to reclaim Julianna and the property she manages, which is now his, by rights, preventing Juliana from finally remarrying.
But, the marriage appears to be doomed as Rhys refuses to listen to Juliana’s protestations that she took no part in the plan to ‘impress’ him, that left him scarred and angry. While the fiery passion that ignited between them all those years ago is still burning as hot as ever, the severed trust between them has left them both feeling frustrated and heartbroken.
Will the truth ever be revealed? Will Juliana ever regain Rhys’ trust so that their marriage can be real and happy?
For those accustomed Sabrina Jeffries regency romances, this one may feel heavier, with a slightly darker tint than you are used to. But, for a person so burned out on regency romance, this one was right up my alley, and very welcome change of pace.
'And though in the desert night
I've wandered many a year
And often had to drink
Of the bitter cup, despair
The yoke I suffered was my gain
And not for nothing came that pain'
William Williams Pantycelyn
'Fair Weather"
I loved the political Welch backdrop, which is something different, for a change, and I’m a sucker for forbidden romance and all the intrigue that implies. While Rhys finds it hard to let go of his lust for revenge and all his hate and bitterness, he eventually comes to see how it will poison his life forever, and ruin all he has worked to gain, if he doesn’t learn to trust his wife.
Juliana plays her hand well, and is a strong female protagonist, with a big heart, I couldn’t help but cheer for.
I really liked this story, and would love to see more of these backlisted titles reissued!
4 stars
I like to think I’m pretty knowledgeable about authors, but time and again, I discover I don’t know much at all. I never knew Sabrina Jeffries wrote historical romance novels under the pseudonym of ‘Deborah Martin.’
Originally published back in 1995, this novel has been re-issued by Pocket Books, and I am so happy I had the chance to discover ‘Deborah Martin’ and her backlisted titles.
Lady Juliana St. Albans and Rhys Vaughn fall in love, in this ‘Romeo and Juliet’ meets “The Count of Monte Cristo” setup.
Swept up in their ardor and passion for each other, forbidden lovers run away and get married, but are separated in a diabolical plot, that will keep them separated for six long years, and has Rhys convinced his beloved wife betrayed him.
Now, he has returned to reclaim Julianna and the property she manages, which is now his, by rights, preventing Juliana from finally remarrying.
But, the marriage appears to be doomed as Rhys refuses to listen to Juliana’s protestations that she took no part in the plan to ‘impress’ him, that left him scarred and angry. While the fiery passion that ignited between them all those years ago is still burning as hot as ever, the severed trust between them has left them both feeling frustrated and heartbroken.
Will the truth ever be revealed? Will Juliana ever regain Rhys’ trust so that their marriage can be real and happy?
For those accustomed Sabrina Jeffries regency romances, this one may feel heavier, with a slightly darker tint than you are used to. But, for a person so burned out on regency romance, this one was right up my alley, and very welcome change of pace.
'And though in the desert night
I've wandered many a year
And often had to drink
Of the bitter cup, despair
The yoke I suffered was my gain
And not for nothing came that pain'
William Williams Pantycelyn
'Fair Weather"
I loved the political Welch backdrop, which is something different, for a change, and I’m a sucker for forbidden romance and all the intrigue that implies. While Rhys finds it hard to let go of his lust for revenge and all his hate and bitterness, he eventually comes to see how it will poison his life forever, and ruin all he has worked to gain, if he doesn’t learn to trust his wife.
Juliana plays her hand well, and is a strong female protagonist, with a big heart, I couldn’t help but cheer for.
I really liked this story, and would love to see more of these backlisted titles reissued!
4 stars
August 19, 2016
Oh, Rhys. You stubborn, woolheaded idiot.
Get in the dungeon.
He had me from the minute he started quoting Welsh poetry. And then he gave Juliana a book of his own poetry? *dying*
Juliana was amazing. She didn't take any of Rhys' shit and was determined to make him see reason. It took the entire book for this to happen but I was on the edge of my seat with my heart in my throat the whole time.
A thoroughly enjoyable story.
♥
4 honeypot Stars
Thanks for the unofficial buddy read Shelly! :D
Get in the dungeon.
He had me from the minute he started quoting Welsh poetry. And then he gave Juliana a book of his own poetry? *dying*
Juliana was amazing. She didn't take any of Rhys' shit and was determined to make him see reason. It took the entire book for this to happen but I was on the edge of my seat with my heart in my throat the whole time.
A thoroughly enjoyable story.
♥
4 honeypot Stars
Thanks for the unofficial buddy read Shelly! :D
May 27, 2016
I am seriously considering whether I should continue my NetGalley experience. I have read 5 ARCs in the past 2 days and rated 4 of them 2 stars or lower.
This book by Sabrina Jeffries, writing under Deborah Martin, is the only book out of 5 ARCs that I could say that "I liked it", albeit rather impassionately.
This book has a tried plot: Rhys met Juliana. They fell in love and got married. Juliana's evil older brother schemed to get rid to Rhys on their wedding day. And after having consummated the marriage, Rhys was taken away because said evil brother did not want him as a brother in law. 6 years later Rhys returned, bent on revenge. Only that he didn't know it was the brother who was responsible. He thought it was Juliana and blamed Juliana for the hardship he had endured.
What I noticed immediately, after reading 4 not-so-great books, is that there is a reason why Sabrina Jeffries is a rather famous writer in this genre and the writers of said 4 not-so-great books, are not. I could say many good things about SJ's ability to weave a story, but they will be wasted. We already know that. I will only add that you will find evidence of that again in this book.
My experience with SJ however, is often that her plot is on the light side for me. I often end up feeling that the plot is too simple or treated too casually, plots and characters not properly explored. While I "like" her stories, they are usually very forgettable and rarely warrant a reread. This book is also evidence of that experience.
I like the Welsh setting. There aren't so many HRs out there with Welsh characters and I find Rhys an interesting character. But Rhys and Juliana's relationship happened rather quickly and almost right away they started going all dreamy eyes about each other. Insta-love is very off-putting. I don't know how many times I have said it and I don't know how many times I have heard people saying that they do not like insta-love. Why aren't the writers listening?
But SJ has a flowery way with words and insta love between Rhys and Juliana was made prettier than it actually was. So it was not the worst case of insta love I have read but I did cringe a bit with all that fluffiness going on.
The reconciliation between Rhys and Juliana was anti-climatic. It was rather simplistic, which again, is usually how I feel about SJ's books. Their emotions feel one dimensional. Rhys was betrayed so he was angry angry angry. Juliana was misunderstood so she was upset upset upset. They both wanted sex so they were horny horny horny. SJ has a lot of materials to work with but she went her usual light-hearted way and rather missed out on the opportunity to turn those materials into a great book.
The side story of Morgan and Lettice felt unnecessary and funnily, sometimes outshines Rhys and Juliana. That is never a good thing.
All in all it is a typical SJ read for me: easy to follow, comfortable writing, simple plots and execution, low angst and emotions.
*I received an ARC from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book by Sabrina Jeffries, writing under Deborah Martin, is the only book out of 5 ARCs that I could say that "I liked it", albeit rather impassionately.
This book has a tried plot: Rhys met Juliana. They fell in love and got married. Juliana's evil older brother schemed to get rid to Rhys on their wedding day. And after having consummated the marriage, Rhys was taken away because said evil brother did not want him as a brother in law. 6 years later Rhys returned, bent on revenge. Only that he didn't know it was the brother who was responsible. He thought it was Juliana and blamed Juliana for the hardship he had endured.
What I noticed immediately, after reading 4 not-so-great books, is that there is a reason why Sabrina Jeffries is a rather famous writer in this genre and the writers of said 4 not-so-great books, are not. I could say many good things about SJ's ability to weave a story, but they will be wasted. We already know that. I will only add that you will find evidence of that again in this book.
My experience with SJ however, is often that her plot is on the light side for me. I often end up feeling that the plot is too simple or treated too casually, plots and characters not properly explored. While I "like" her stories, they are usually very forgettable and rarely warrant a reread. This book is also evidence of that experience.
I like the Welsh setting. There aren't so many HRs out there with Welsh characters and I find Rhys an interesting character. But Rhys and Juliana's relationship happened rather quickly and almost right away they started going all dreamy eyes about each other. Insta-love is very off-putting. I don't know how many times I have said it and I don't know how many times I have heard people saying that they do not like insta-love. Why aren't the writers listening?
But SJ has a flowery way with words and insta love between Rhys and Juliana was made prettier than it actually was. So it was not the worst case of insta love I have read but I did cringe a bit with all that fluffiness going on.
The reconciliation between Rhys and Juliana was anti-climatic. It was rather simplistic, which again, is usually how I feel about SJ's books. Their emotions feel one dimensional. Rhys was betrayed so he was angry angry angry. Juliana was misunderstood so she was upset upset upset. They both wanted sex so they were horny horny horny. SJ has a lot of materials to work with but she went her usual light-hearted way and rather missed out on the opportunity to turn those materials into a great book.
The side story of Morgan and Lettice felt unnecessary and funnily, sometimes outshines Rhys and Juliana. That is never a good thing.
All in all it is a typical SJ read for me: easy to follow, comfortable writing, simple plots and execution, low angst and emotions.
*I received an ARC from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 8, 2018
I liked it, but I didn’t appreciate the constant lack of faith Rhys had in Juliana. Also, she’s way too nice and calm about her brothers and their despicable actions. I wanted more vengeance there.
July 16, 2016
I so very accidentally stumbled upon this book yesterday (thank you, Nenia) and the blurb had me itching to read it.
I loved how the H and h developed feelings for each other over their common love for books and poetry (and Welsh no less).
I loved that the plot was a second chance romance (for which I have a serious weakness).
I loved how the H and h developed feelings for each other over their common love for books and poetry (and Welsh no less).
I loved that the plot was a second chance romance (for which I have a serious weakness).
September 16, 2016
1.65-i-give-up-at-55%-for-the-hero's-bullheadedness-stars
September 26, 2016
I received an eARC, from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
'Stormswept' by Deborah Martin/Sabrina Jeffries is book two in the "Wales" series. This is a re-release of this title. The first release was back in 2014 under Deborah Martin.
This is the story of Lady Juliana St. Albans and Rhys Vaughan.
Juliana and Rhys were married about six years ago and had a wonderful wedding night that took both of them by Storm. But things didn't last long as Rhys was taken from her and Juliana thought him to be dead. Now in their present day she is becoming engaged again but Rhys walks back into her life. Rhys thinks that Juliana is the one that betrayed him and cost him 6 years of his life. Rhys won't listen to a thing Juliana is say...he thinks she cannot be trusted. But all Juliana keeps doing to him is giving him trust, kind words and understanding even when he is at his meanest.
Ms. Jeffries writing takes you on such an emotional roller coaster ride that you truly cant help but enjoy!
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'Stormswept' by Deborah Martin/Sabrina Jeffries is book two in the "Wales" series. This is a re-release of this title. The first release was back in 2014 under Deborah Martin.
This is the story of Lady Juliana St. Albans and Rhys Vaughan.
Juliana and Rhys were married about six years ago and had a wonderful wedding night that took both of them by Storm. But things didn't last long as Rhys was taken from her and Juliana thought him to be dead. Now in their present day she is becoming engaged again but Rhys walks back into her life. Rhys thinks that Juliana is the one that betrayed him and cost him 6 years of his life. Rhys won't listen to a thing Juliana is say...he thinks she cannot be trusted. But all Juliana keeps doing to him is giving him trust, kind words and understanding even when he is at his meanest.
Ms. Jeffries writing takes you on such an emotional roller coaster ride that you truly cant help but enjoy!
Please follow more reviews at the below sites:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1... http://sissymaereads.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sally.mae.39...
http://sissymae.booklikes.com/
https://romancebookreviewforyou.wordp...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/17091...
https://twitter.com/soapsrus68
https://www.pinterest.com/u2soapsrus/
http://romancebookreviewforyoublog.tu...
July 3, 2016
I confess I love to read historical romances where there was some big misunderstanding and the hero thinks the heroine is a backstabbing traitor.
However, enough is enough. The hero can't persist on his path of destruction when it's obvious the woman didn't do anything and would die for him.
That being said, I think I just wasn't in the mood for it.
Plus, I thought Rhys was a bit too much. In the beginning, he was too blind and childish. When he came back, too blind and angry.
August 3, 2016
4.5 “Cariad” Stars!!!
…how did one comfort a wounded beast who bit anyone who ventured near?
My Rhys:
My Juliana:
Part 1:
This book is in 2 parts. The first part is ALL THE SWOONS. It is the beginning of the relationship between Rhys and Juliana. It is a little bit of a romeo-and-juliet story. Juliana is the daughter of a nobleman, the man who stole Rhys’s birthright and home. Rhys and Juliana both share a love of all things Welsh, determined to keep the language and culture alive. I really enjoyed the Welsh poetry in this book.
Rhys and Juliana fall in love, but they cannot be together, so they run away to marry in secret. Juliana’s brother (I want to slaughter him!) lies to both Juliana and Rhys to pull them apart and sends Rhys away to the military. He is forever changed.
”I’ve heard life of a man-of-war is horrible.”
“Aye,” he clipped out. “And after a while you start to hate anyone and anything that put you there.”
Her anger had dimmed, but the hurt burned even brighter. “Even your ‘true love’?”
He closed his eyes against the accusation in her voice. “Especially your true love, if you think she betrayed you.”
Part 2:
The 2nd part of this book is 6 years later, when Rhys comes back to regain his birthright, home, and wife. His experience in the military was not a good one at all, so he is hardened on the inside an out. I loved this darker side of him. He is determined to punish Juliana for “lying” to him, but there is a constant struggle inside himself to believe her and love her.
”But the truth is, I simply refuse to give you the pleasure of being free of me.”
To his surprise, she met his gaze boldly. “That works both ways, dear husband. I may not be free, but neither are you.”
……
He stared into her flashing eyes, wondering if she’d always been this stubborn. Or this achingly beautiful.
“Then it’s hell we’ll be headed for, Juliana. Because this time you won’t escape our marriage.”
The ANGST in this book! DELICIOUS! I am usually not a fan of all the angst. I don’t mind emotional books, but I prefer humor in the midst of all the emotion. This book had me sinking in all the FEELS.
This book is a constant struggle of trust. Rhys continuously struggles to trust Juliana from the beginning all the way to the end, and it is heart-breaking. I felt so much from Juliana as she tries to get her husband to trust her over and over again. Juliana has a spine of steel and the biggest heart for her true love.
A loved the supporting characters in this book too. They was an additional love story that makes the book all the more sweeter and perfect.
ARC courtesy of publisher/netgalley in exchange for an honest review
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…how did one comfort a wounded beast who bit anyone who ventured near?
My Rhys:
My Juliana:
Part 1:
This book is in 2 parts. The first part is ALL THE SWOONS. It is the beginning of the relationship between Rhys and Juliana. It is a little bit of a romeo-and-juliet story. Juliana is the daughter of a nobleman, the man who stole Rhys’s birthright and home. Rhys and Juliana both share a love of all things Welsh, determined to keep the language and culture alive. I really enjoyed the Welsh poetry in this book.
Rhys and Juliana fall in love, but they cannot be together, so they run away to marry in secret. Juliana’s brother (I want to slaughter him!) lies to both Juliana and Rhys to pull them apart and sends Rhys away to the military. He is forever changed.
”I’ve heard life of a man-of-war is horrible.”
“Aye,” he clipped out. “And after a while you start to hate anyone and anything that put you there.”
Her anger had dimmed, but the hurt burned even brighter. “Even your ‘true love’?”
He closed his eyes against the accusation in her voice. “Especially your true love, if you think she betrayed you.”
Part 2:
The 2nd part of this book is 6 years later, when Rhys comes back to regain his birthright, home, and wife. His experience in the military was not a good one at all, so he is hardened on the inside an out. I loved this darker side of him. He is determined to punish Juliana for “lying” to him, but there is a constant struggle inside himself to believe her and love her.
”But the truth is, I simply refuse to give you the pleasure of being free of me.”
To his surprise, she met his gaze boldly. “That works both ways, dear husband. I may not be free, but neither are you.”
……
He stared into her flashing eyes, wondering if she’d always been this stubborn. Or this achingly beautiful.
“Then it’s hell we’ll be headed for, Juliana. Because this time you won’t escape our marriage.”
The ANGST in this book! DELICIOUS! I am usually not a fan of all the angst. I don’t mind emotional books, but I prefer humor in the midst of all the emotion. This book had me sinking in all the FEELS.
This book is a constant struggle of trust. Rhys continuously struggles to trust Juliana from the beginning all the way to the end, and it is heart-breaking. I felt so much from Juliana as she tries to get her husband to trust her over and over again. Juliana has a spine of steel and the biggest heart for her true love.
A loved the supporting characters in this book too. They was an additional love story that makes the book all the more sweeter and perfect.
ARC courtesy of publisher/netgalley in exchange for an honest review
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September 30, 2018
It takes a deft hand to write a male being obstinately stupid in his assumptions and sustain this over the course of a book without irredeemably annoying the reader. Huzzah to the author. I kept waiting to be end-of-the-line exasperated by his behavior but it often just squeezed by that emotion.
She handled a tricky premise with skill and this was a good rewrite of a book I may not have liked in its original bodice ripper form.
Even as updated, the book still retains some rather disturbing possessive relationship overtones that long term could signal an abusive relationship, like controlling a woman's access to transport, accessing her mail and determining who she's allowed to see, but considering the era, and the probable PTSD of the hero it managed to toe the line (barely).
Also I was very proud of Juliana for standing up for herself and not giving in to his control because he 'lurrrved' her. He was beyond ridiculous with his distrust.
Some of the sex scenes came at really awkward times when I would have preferred them to finish whatever usually very important conversation or fight they were having. But I suspect they were inserted in the rewrite so the author probably had difficulty finding scenes to convert so that the supposed modern demand for 'heat' in novels was satisfied (are we, as a whole, even asking for this? because I really would prefer more character and relationship development in place of endless inappropriately inserted shagging, we are all familiar with the mechanics of sex by now) .
In general all the characters were engaging and I really enjoyed the Welsh aspects of the story including the history and the wonderful poetry. In fact this book is worth it just for being set in Wales and touching on their political situation.
Move over Scotland. Y'all weren't the only oppressed people. Anyone else miss the actual history in historicals? I remember when I first started reading them I learnt something new every book.
Nowadays it's like a drop down background in a stage play with no actual depth or facts thrown in and not even minimal effort to tie in the events of the era. No one seems to do background research they are eager to tie into their plot anymore.
Oh and the identification of language being lost equating with losing your identity, as the author mentioned with regards to the Welsh tongue, is a concept I have always agreed with.
She handled a tricky premise with skill and this was a good rewrite of a book I may not have liked in its original bodice ripper form.
Even as updated, the book still retains some rather disturbing possessive relationship overtones that long term could signal an abusive relationship, like controlling a woman's access to transport, accessing her mail and determining who she's allowed to see, but considering the era, and the probable PTSD of the hero it managed to toe the line (barely).
Also I was very proud of Juliana for standing up for herself and not giving in to his control because he 'lurrrved' her. He was beyond ridiculous with his distrust.
Some of the sex scenes came at really awkward times when I would have preferred them to finish whatever usually very important conversation or fight they were having. But I suspect they were inserted in the rewrite so the author probably had difficulty finding scenes to convert so that the supposed modern demand for 'heat' in novels was satisfied (are we, as a whole, even asking for this? because I really would prefer more character and relationship development in place of endless inappropriately inserted shagging, we are all familiar with the mechanics of sex by now) .
In general all the characters were engaging and I really enjoyed the Welsh aspects of the story including the history and the wonderful poetry. In fact this book is worth it just for being set in Wales and touching on their political situation.
Move over Scotland. Y'all weren't the only oppressed people. Anyone else miss the actual history in historicals? I remember when I first started reading them I learnt something new every book.
Nowadays it's like a drop down background in a stage play with no actual depth or facts thrown in and not even minimal effort to tie in the events of the era. No one seems to do background research they are eager to tie into their plot anymore.
Oh and the identification of language being lost equating with losing your identity, as the author mentioned with regards to the Welsh tongue, is a concept I have always agreed with.
September 24, 2016
I've given this a B- at AAR, so I'm rounding 3.5 stars up to 4.
Sabrina Jeffries’ Stormswept is a revised reissue of a novel initially published in 1995 under the name of Deborah Martin. According to the publisher’s blurb, the novel has been newly revised for today’s audience; I haven’t read the original, so I can’t make comparisons, but I can say that there is definitely an “old skool” feel to many of the hero’s actions (nothing rape-y, I hasten to add) which is often extremely frustrating and there are a couple of minor plot points I didn’t particularly care for. That said, however, the book as a whole proved to be surprisingly readable, and while I can’t say that I loved it, I also can’t say that I feel I wasted the time I spent reading it.
When Lady Juliana St. Albans, daughter of the Earl of Northcliffe, meets Rhys Vaughan, it’s love – or at the very least, lust – at first sight. But she is the daughter of an English peer and Rhys is Welsh, a race whose culture and language are looked down upon by the English and seen by them as little more than barbaric. Then there’s the fact that Rhys’ father lost his estate, Llynwydd, in a card game – to the earl – depriving Rhys of his birthright. Even so, and with young love being what it is, the couple meets secretly for a couple of weeks, at the end of which Rhys proposes and asks Juliana to run away with him. Juliana never finds the right time to tell Rhys that his father lost Llynwydd to hers and that her father has given the estate to her, but then figures it doesn’t matter anyway; they love each other and things will all come right. Unfortunately, however, her idyll is shattered almost immediately after the highly enjoyable consummation of her marriage when Rhys suddenly disappears and her brothers show up, telling her that her husband got what he wanted – Llynwydd – and has abandoned her. The truth is that her eldest brother, Darcy, whose political ambitions will be ruined should it be discovered his brother-in-law is a Welsh activist, has sold both Rhys and Rhys’ closest friend to a press-gang, but not before telling Rhys that Juliana changed her mind about her hasty marriage and begged her brothers to get her out of it.
Dejected, Juliana allows herself to be taken home, but she refuses to be brow-beaten into submission by her father or brothers, who are pushing her to get her marriage annulled. Having discovered that Rhys has been impressed and knowing there is little prospect of escape for him, she agrees to keep her marriage a secret while she waits for him to return, but only if her family allows her to live independently at Llynwydd. The years pass and she hears nothing from Rhys, until some five years after his disappearance, she is told of his death.
One year later, at the party being held to announce her betrothal to a marquess, an unexpected guest turns all her plans upside down and inside out. Three years at sea followed by three years as a privateer and fighting as a mercenary in America have made Rhys a rich man and gained him some influential friends. And now, an older, harder and furious Rhys is determined to claim back what is his – and that includes the wife who betrayed him.
I enjoy second chance romances, and the premise of Stormswept is a good one that provides an excellent opportunity for the development of a romance between two people who have spent years apart and who have undergone significant character growth in those years. That is certainly true of Juliana; she begins the book as a somewhat immature twenty-one year-old who gets herself into situations from which she needs rescuing, but when we meet her again, she has become a confident young woman and proved herself to be a very able manager, renovating and restoring Llanwydd and bringing it into profit once again. Rhys is a different matter, however, and that’s the big sticking point. When he reappears at the beginning of the story, he confronts Juliana in front of her brothers and throws her betrayal in her face. Juliana naturally insists she did no such thing, but even in the face of her denials and Darcy’s blatant lies, Rhys persists in believing the worst of her, which he does for practically the entire book. It’s true that he was thrust into life-threatening circumstances and forced to endure some truly horrific treatment, and this makes his anger and his almost overwhelming desire for revenge understandable. But what isn’t understandable is the way he directs that anger in completely the wrong direction time and time again, even given what he knows about Darcy’s propensity for underhandedness and in the face of his closest friend’s belief in Juliana’s innocence.
Rhys’ refusal to listen or to admit the possibility that Juliana is telling the truth is what I meant when I said there is an “old skool” feel to the book; he’s intractable, goes out of his way to be unpleasant and quickly deprives Juliana of her responsibilities and the freedoms she has enjoyed, insisting that until she does exactly what he wants, she will have no say in what goes on at Llanwydd. Fortunately, Juliana’s quiet dignity and her determination to prove him wrong and regain his trust provide a balance in terms of the story; she’s no doormat, but she is prepared to fight to save her marriage and to wait for Rhys to realise that he is wrong about her. Yet it’s difficult at times to see anything in Rhys – other than his hotness, of course – that would make Juliana want to remain with a man who insists on thinking the worst of her. I don’t think it’s giving away too much to say that he does eventually see the error of his ways and that the realisation is handled well, but if you’re someone who likes heroes of his type to grovel big-time, then you’re going to be disappointed.
There are a couple of secondary plotlines in the book that kind of fizzle out part way through, and which would perhaps have benefitted from a little more attention during the revision process; but on a positive note, I liked the Welsh setting and the glimpses we are given of the uneasy political situation between England and Wales at this point in history.
The overall tone of Stormswept is rather different to that of the author’s recent books, but the writing is strong and while Juliana is perhaps a little too good to be true, I really liked her level-headedness and strength of character. There is a raw quality to the emotion that works in the context of this particular story, but there is less humour and a definite emphasis on angst which might not be to all tastes. Yet in spite of my reservations, I was engaged enough to want to keep reading to see how everything was going to work out, which is probably testament to Ms. Jeffries’ ability to tell a good story and to create an interesting conflict between her characters.
Sabrina Jeffries’ Stormswept is a revised reissue of a novel initially published in 1995 under the name of Deborah Martin. According to the publisher’s blurb, the novel has been newly revised for today’s audience; I haven’t read the original, so I can’t make comparisons, but I can say that there is definitely an “old skool” feel to many of the hero’s actions (nothing rape-y, I hasten to add) which is often extremely frustrating and there are a couple of minor plot points I didn’t particularly care for. That said, however, the book as a whole proved to be surprisingly readable, and while I can’t say that I loved it, I also can’t say that I feel I wasted the time I spent reading it.
When Lady Juliana St. Albans, daughter of the Earl of Northcliffe, meets Rhys Vaughan, it’s love – or at the very least, lust – at first sight. But she is the daughter of an English peer and Rhys is Welsh, a race whose culture and language are looked down upon by the English and seen by them as little more than barbaric. Then there’s the fact that Rhys’ father lost his estate, Llynwydd, in a card game – to the earl – depriving Rhys of his birthright. Even so, and with young love being what it is, the couple meets secretly for a couple of weeks, at the end of which Rhys proposes and asks Juliana to run away with him. Juliana never finds the right time to tell Rhys that his father lost Llynwydd to hers and that her father has given the estate to her, but then figures it doesn’t matter anyway; they love each other and things will all come right. Unfortunately, however, her idyll is shattered almost immediately after the highly enjoyable consummation of her marriage when Rhys suddenly disappears and her brothers show up, telling her that her husband got what he wanted – Llynwydd – and has abandoned her. The truth is that her eldest brother, Darcy, whose political ambitions will be ruined should it be discovered his brother-in-law is a Welsh activist, has sold both Rhys and Rhys’ closest friend to a press-gang, but not before telling Rhys that Juliana changed her mind about her hasty marriage and begged her brothers to get her out of it.
Dejected, Juliana allows herself to be taken home, but she refuses to be brow-beaten into submission by her father or brothers, who are pushing her to get her marriage annulled. Having discovered that Rhys has been impressed and knowing there is little prospect of escape for him, she agrees to keep her marriage a secret while she waits for him to return, but only if her family allows her to live independently at Llynwydd. The years pass and she hears nothing from Rhys, until some five years after his disappearance, she is told of his death.
One year later, at the party being held to announce her betrothal to a marquess, an unexpected guest turns all her plans upside down and inside out. Three years at sea followed by three years as a privateer and fighting as a mercenary in America have made Rhys a rich man and gained him some influential friends. And now, an older, harder and furious Rhys is determined to claim back what is his – and that includes the wife who betrayed him.
I enjoy second chance romances, and the premise of Stormswept is a good one that provides an excellent opportunity for the development of a romance between two people who have spent years apart and who have undergone significant character growth in those years. That is certainly true of Juliana; she begins the book as a somewhat immature twenty-one year-old who gets herself into situations from which she needs rescuing, but when we meet her again, she has become a confident young woman and proved herself to be a very able manager, renovating and restoring Llanwydd and bringing it into profit once again. Rhys is a different matter, however, and that’s the big sticking point. When he reappears at the beginning of the story, he confronts Juliana in front of her brothers and throws her betrayal in her face. Juliana naturally insists she did no such thing, but even in the face of her denials and Darcy’s blatant lies, Rhys persists in believing the worst of her, which he does for practically the entire book. It’s true that he was thrust into life-threatening circumstances and forced to endure some truly horrific treatment, and this makes his anger and his almost overwhelming desire for revenge understandable. But what isn’t understandable is the way he directs that anger in completely the wrong direction time and time again, even given what he knows about Darcy’s propensity for underhandedness and in the face of his closest friend’s belief in Juliana’s innocence.
Rhys’ refusal to listen or to admit the possibility that Juliana is telling the truth is what I meant when I said there is an “old skool” feel to the book; he’s intractable, goes out of his way to be unpleasant and quickly deprives Juliana of her responsibilities and the freedoms she has enjoyed, insisting that until she does exactly what he wants, she will have no say in what goes on at Llanwydd. Fortunately, Juliana’s quiet dignity and her determination to prove him wrong and regain his trust provide a balance in terms of the story; she’s no doormat, but she is prepared to fight to save her marriage and to wait for Rhys to realise that he is wrong about her. Yet it’s difficult at times to see anything in Rhys – other than his hotness, of course – that would make Juliana want to remain with a man who insists on thinking the worst of her. I don’t think it’s giving away too much to say that he does eventually see the error of his ways and that the realisation is handled well, but if you’re someone who likes heroes of his type to grovel big-time, then you’re going to be disappointed.
There are a couple of secondary plotlines in the book that kind of fizzle out part way through, and which would perhaps have benefitted from a little more attention during the revision process; but on a positive note, I liked the Welsh setting and the glimpses we are given of the uneasy political situation between England and Wales at this point in history.
The overall tone of Stormswept is rather different to that of the author’s recent books, but the writing is strong and while Juliana is perhaps a little too good to be true, I really liked her level-headedness and strength of character. There is a raw quality to the emotion that works in the context of this particular story, but there is less humour and a definite emphasis on angst which might not be to all tastes. Yet in spite of my reservations, I was engaged enough to want to keep reading to see how everything was going to work out, which is probably testament to Ms. Jeffries’ ability to tell a good story and to create an interesting conflict between her characters.
March 1, 2024
My first Sabrina Jeffries, and I really enjoyed it. I love adding another HR author to my list. Historical romances hold a very special place in my heart, and I tend to ration them so I don’t get burned out and they can remain my comforting break-in-case-of-emergency books
More specifically, this one has that “hero thinks heroine BETRAYED HIM and wants REVENGE, oh snap, she’s totally innocent” trope, and I will read that every single time. This was very angsty and satisfying.
More specifically, this one has that “hero thinks heroine BETRAYED HIM and wants REVENGE, oh snap, she’s totally innocent” trope, and I will read that every single time. This was very angsty and satisfying.
June 4, 2016
*** I received this book courtesy of Netgallery in exchange for an honest review
1.5 stars, rounded up out of the goodness of my glacial heart
On any other day i would read a book like this and be excited at the amount of angst. Not today.
At the 15% mark , i lost some of the will to continue. I hate instant loves, cant stand it. When the two MC's made their declaration of love, i knew that was tantamount to a tectonic shift for me because again, if there's anything i hate in a book , its people who say they love each other after having known each for only a couple of weeks. As it happen, i was right about how this would turn out.
Contains Spoilers
Juliana kept going on about her "my poor Rhys" her "dear sweet husband" . Talks like these are the reason i hate insta love. Rhys was a jerk. When he first met Juliana , she had attended one of his radical speeches dressed as a maid. When he found out she wasn't a maid, he figures she might be a spy for her father , the English Lord who had the deeds to his estate after his father lost it in a card game. He decides to confront her father with his wild accusation , with no proof whatsoever , leading to Juliana's father finding out she snuck out to attend a speech of his "enemy" and in his apoplectic rage , wants to cane her "within an inch" of her life . I forgave his jump to conclusion at this point. Then he comes and does it again.
Rhys and Juliana decide to get married and run off because they know her parents would not agree to the match. They get married and consummate the marriage. Juliana's brothers find the letter Juliana penned about their plot and decide they are going to find a way to get rid of Rhys, because apparently one of her brothers, Darcy, intends to run/join a political party and he cant have a brother-inlaw who is a well known radical and he also wants Letty, Juliana's maid who is one of the radical's lover. He finds Rhys, spins a tale of Juliana not wanting him anymore and that she divulged all the secrets of their seditious meeting. Rhys believing his Juliana is impulsive and fickle, would do anything to avoid the consequences of her actions refuses to believe and vows to return after being put in a ship run by British soldiers whom hate radicals . When he returns six years later , on the night of Juliana's betrothal ceremony, the first thing he does after stopping the ceremony is accuse Juliana of being in cahoot with her brothers. I mean , really. This was at page 95 and i already had so many issues with it. Typically , i would DNF right about now but for some reason i can't imagine, i continued on.
Did it get any better? No,not really. Rhys gets mad Juliana wanted to remarry after waiting six years. I guess she's suppose to remain alone until she dies. He implies she is loose and might have sampled her betrothals wares. What crap.
The bit about Letty and Morgan. Again, another Dunderhead of a semi-MC. Darcy, being the character we want to hate, also captures Morgan and puts him on the ship with Rhys. He makes Letty his mistress because she's fiery and his wife, Elizabeth is not. Letty is 'mistressing' because that's the only way she can take care of her son whom Darcy thinks he fathers when in truth Morgan fathers. Anywho, Morgan after believing all the lies Darcy spewed, returns and blames Letty for his impression with the British navy without even a 'How do you do'. That's exactly what Rhys did! I can't help but imagine that they planned exactly how it would play out before it happened. These men were supposedly " in love " with the ladies but all it took was someone to fabricate a story and that was it. They fell.
I got pretty tired of the rigmarole between Rhys and Juliana. I did not even skim through this book, i was flipping and picking pages at random to see if they had resolve their issues. They did almost at the very end, i'm glad i skipped though 10's and 20's of pages which would only have contained their squabbles.
The resolution, i didn't enjoy. I wanted Rhys to grovel for not trusting Juliana, the entire book would have ended 50 odd pages ago if Rhys had just trusted Juliana but nope. We go on a lengthylengthy case of marital dispute. Juliana forgives him after Rhys "finally" believes her over her brother and that's it. Scene.
I can't help but think this book would have ended before it ever began if Rhys had not believed Darcy when he was impressed in the British Navyand decided to stay away for 3 years after his escape . I can just imagine how brief this would have been.
Pfft , time wasted that can never be gotten back. I could have spent the entire time watching cat videos on youtube but alas i was reading ze's book.
I occasionally enjoy Sabrina Jefferies but this is just breathtakingly bad. Or maybe i just subconsciously hate her pseudonym.
1.5 stars, rounded up out of the goodness of my glacial heart
On any other day i would read a book like this and be excited at the amount of angst. Not today.
At the 15% mark , i lost some of the will to continue. I hate instant loves, cant stand it. When the two MC's made their declaration of love, i knew that was tantamount to a tectonic shift for me because again, if there's anything i hate in a book , its people who say they love each other after having known each for only a couple of weeks. As it happen, i was right about how this would turn out.
Contains Spoilers
Juliana kept going on about her "my poor Rhys" her "dear sweet husband" . Talks like these are the reason i hate insta love. Rhys was a jerk. When he first met Juliana , she had attended one of his radical speeches dressed as a maid. When he found out she wasn't a maid, he figures she might be a spy for her father , the English Lord who had the deeds to his estate after his father lost it in a card game. He decides to confront her father with his wild accusation , with no proof whatsoever , leading to Juliana's father finding out she snuck out to attend a speech of his "enemy" and in his apoplectic rage , wants to cane her "within an inch" of her life . I forgave his jump to conclusion at this point. Then he comes and does it again.
Rhys and Juliana decide to get married and run off because they know her parents would not agree to the match. They get married and consummate the marriage. Juliana's brothers find the letter Juliana penned about their plot and decide they are going to find a way to get rid of Rhys, because apparently one of her brothers, Darcy, intends to run/join a political party and he cant have a brother-inlaw who is a well known radical and he also wants Letty, Juliana's maid who is one of the radical's lover. He finds Rhys, spins a tale of Juliana not wanting him anymore and that she divulged all the secrets of their seditious meeting. Rhys believing his Juliana is impulsive and fickle, would do anything to avoid the consequences of her actions refuses to believe and vows to return after being put in a ship run by British soldiers whom hate radicals . When he returns six years later , on the night of Juliana's betrothal ceremony, the first thing he does after stopping the ceremony is accuse Juliana of being in cahoot with her brothers. I mean , really. This was at page 95 and i already had so many issues with it. Typically , i would DNF right about now but for some reason i can't imagine, i continued on.
Did it get any better? No,not really. Rhys gets mad Juliana wanted to remarry after waiting six years. I guess she's suppose to remain alone until she dies. He implies she is loose and might have sampled her betrothals wares. What crap.
The bit about Letty and Morgan. Again, another Dunderhead of a semi-MC. Darcy, being the character we want to hate, also captures Morgan and puts him on the ship with Rhys. He makes Letty his mistress because she's fiery and his wife, Elizabeth is not. Letty is 'mistressing' because that's the only way she can take care of her son whom Darcy thinks he fathers when in truth Morgan fathers. Anywho, Morgan after believing all the lies Darcy spewed, returns and blames Letty for his impression with the British navy without even a 'How do you do'. That's exactly what Rhys did! I can't help but imagine that they planned exactly how it would play out before it happened. These men were supposedly " in love " with the ladies but all it took was someone to fabricate a story and that was it. They fell.
I got pretty tired of the rigmarole between Rhys and Juliana. I did not even skim through this book, i was flipping and picking pages at random to see if they had resolve their issues. They did almost at the very end, i'm glad i skipped though 10's and 20's of pages which would only have contained their squabbles.
The resolution, i didn't enjoy. I wanted Rhys to grovel for not trusting Juliana, the entire book would have ended 50 odd pages ago if Rhys had just trusted Juliana but nope. We go on a lengthy
I can't help but think this book would have ended before it ever began if Rhys had not believed Darcy when he was impressed in the British Navyand decided to stay away for 3 years after his escape . I can just imagine how brief this would have been.
Pfft , time wasted that can never be gotten back. I could have spent the entire time watching cat videos on youtube but alas i was reading ze's book.
I occasionally enjoy Sabrina Jefferies but this is just breathtakingly bad. Or maybe i just subconsciously hate her pseudonym.
June 12, 2016
I have read many novels by this author now and I was excited to see a remake of this previously released book. Sabrina Jeffries knows how to make a historical romance mainstream and gives voice to these strong women of the ancient ages and their lusty loves.
I love the fact that she does not showcase women as simpering dishrags with no voice or aim in life but yet strong women with a cause and dedication to life. Her lead heroes are also strong and usually have some sort of issue that can be annoying to some. However, when Sabrina Jeffries brings them together, their stories combine to bring us a heated, sexual tension filled, passionate read that you wish never ended.
When Sabrina Jeffries rewrote this book for today’s audience, she took the best of today, blended it with the story of yesterday for a beautiful read that we certainly won’t forget tomorrow.
I loved this book! sigh………
I love the fact that she does not showcase women as simpering dishrags with no voice or aim in life but yet strong women with a cause and dedication to life. Her lead heroes are also strong and usually have some sort of issue that can be annoying to some. However, when Sabrina Jeffries brings them together, their stories combine to bring us a heated, sexual tension filled, passionate read that you wish never ended.
When Sabrina Jeffries rewrote this book for today’s audience, she took the best of today, blended it with the story of yesterday for a beautiful read that we certainly won’t forget tomorrow.
I loved this book! sigh………
August 16, 2016
It shows that this is Sabrina Jeffries earlier work, it's a little too dramatic and heavy handed, although this is not a bad read by any means. It's just that her books are usually bantery, light and touching and a high standard for other HR authors. This was too internalized, the plot had that misunderstanding on a grand scale trope and the Hero had some painfully stupid moments. Still, spending an afternoon reading any Sabrina Jeffries book is wholeheartedly enjoyable.
January 22, 2023
Too politically correct that all the story was told not felt!
May 26, 2016
An ARC was provided via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I'm giving this 3.5 stars but rounding down because for about the first half or so I really enjoyed it, and then the second half left me more disappointed than not. Sabrina Jeffries/Deborah Martin most certainly is a talented writer; her writing flows easily and simply, yet is also descriptive and easy to get swept up in. I read this pretty quickly without really wanting to put it down until nearing the end. I enjoyed the historical details regarding Wales and its political relationship with England. It was primarily in the characterization that she really lost me here.
The main issues:
1. Instalust. (Which is a plot issue, not character, but it's what starts everything off.) Upon the first night they meet, the H, Rhys, kisses the h passionately in a public place without knowing who she even is. After getting her in trouble with her family and feeling badly about it, he starts coming secretly to her room every night for a week or two. Then they elope. It's not the worst I've encountered, but the MC's don't have a lot of time to build a strong foundation for a relationship. It's very lust-driven and physical more than anything else. But...this part of this book also did sweep me up and really get me hooked. I would have appreciated a longer courtship and more substance between them, but maybe that would have wrecked the plot point of Rhys believing Juliana capable of betrayal. Which brings me to point second....
2. Rhys is kind of a dick (and some might argue there was no "kind of" about it). Yes, he was forced into horrific circumstances and made to endure the worst of treatment and conditions. I totally get his anger and lust for revenge. But....he focused that anger on the wrong person, and was an ass to Juliana for the vast majority of the book. I got so frustrated that he just would not believe her no matter what she did. By the last 1/4 or so of the book, he really lost me. He wanted Juliana to act his wife in every way but still treat her with contempt and still not trust her. I found that very unlikeable. Then, almost all of a sudden, Well, duh, but too little too late, imo. He really got off easy considering how he treated Juliana. There was not nearly enough groveling and begging for forgiveness. Heck, she even even though he still didn't trust her and kept acting all nasty alpha with her. Which brings me to....
3. Juliana was just too perfect in every way. She's beautiful, likes interesting things, down-to-earth, well-read, humble, (all of which are fine and plausible, but....) AND somehow willing to deal with Rhys's behavior towards her and love him despite his inability to trust her or really listen to her side of the story. There is no way I would be having any kind of relations with someone who snapped and yelled at me and kept bringing up the fact that I'd betrayed him when I absolutely didn't. She was willing to prove her love to Rhys by initiating romance with him when she knew he still didn't trust her. I don't think her actions were very realistic; hell, she even made amends with her pathetic, useless brothers. (Which there is no way I could have done.) On that note...
Which, btw...I felt Lettice and Morgan were a much bigger part of the book early on, and then kind of dropped of. The Darcy/Lettice saga was pretty anti-climactic. It ticked me off that Morgan believed Lettice from the get-go, but Rhys took forever. Doesn't say much about Rhys as an H, does it?
So, in a nutshell, this started off well and could have been exceptional, but it fell short of that mark for me. I was fully intending on this being a 4 or even 5 star book, but it didn't end up that way. Bummer.
I'm giving this 3.5 stars but rounding down because for about the first half or so I really enjoyed it, and then the second half left me more disappointed than not. Sabrina Jeffries/Deborah Martin most certainly is a talented writer; her writing flows easily and simply, yet is also descriptive and easy to get swept up in. I read this pretty quickly without really wanting to put it down until nearing the end. I enjoyed the historical details regarding Wales and its political relationship with England. It was primarily in the characterization that she really lost me here.
The main issues:
1. Instalust. (Which is a plot issue, not character, but it's what starts everything off.) Upon the first night they meet, the H, Rhys, kisses the h passionately in a public place without knowing who she even is. After getting her in trouble with her family and feeling badly about it, he starts coming secretly to her room every night for a week or two. Then they elope. It's not the worst I've encountered, but the MC's don't have a lot of time to build a strong foundation for a relationship. It's very lust-driven and physical more than anything else. But...this part of this book also did sweep me up and really get me hooked. I would have appreciated a longer courtship and more substance between them, but maybe that would have wrecked the plot point of Rhys believing Juliana capable of betrayal. Which brings me to point second....
2. Rhys is kind of a dick (and some might argue there was no "kind of" about it). Yes, he was forced into horrific circumstances and made to endure the worst of treatment and conditions. I totally get his anger and lust for revenge. But....he focused that anger on the wrong person, and was an ass to Juliana for the vast majority of the book. I got so frustrated that he just would not believe her no matter what she did. By the last 1/4 or so of the book, he really lost me. He wanted Juliana to act his wife in every way but still treat her with contempt and still not trust her. I found that very unlikeable. Then, almost all of a sudden, Well, duh, but too little too late, imo. He really got off easy considering how he treated Juliana. There was not nearly enough groveling and begging for forgiveness. Heck, she even even though he still didn't trust her and kept acting all nasty alpha with her. Which brings me to....
3. Juliana was just too perfect in every way. She's beautiful, likes interesting things, down-to-earth, well-read, humble, (all of which are fine and plausible, but....) AND somehow willing to deal with Rhys's behavior towards her and love him despite his inability to trust her or really listen to her side of the story. There is no way I would be having any kind of relations with someone who snapped and yelled at me and kept bringing up the fact that I'd betrayed him when I absolutely didn't. She was willing to prove her love to Rhys by initiating romance with him when she knew he still didn't trust her. I don't think her actions were very realistic; hell, she even made amends with her pathetic, useless brothers. (Which there is no way I could have done.) On that note...
Which, btw...I felt Lettice and Morgan were a much bigger part of the book early on, and then kind of dropped of. The Darcy/Lettice saga was pretty anti-climactic. It ticked me off that Morgan believed Lettice from the get-go, but Rhys took forever. Doesn't say much about Rhys as an H, does it?
So, in a nutshell, this started off well and could have been exceptional, but it fell short of that mark for me. I was fully intending on this being a 4 or even 5 star book, but it didn't end up that way. Bummer.
February 24, 2017
3 stars for the whole story, but
4 stars for the angst and frustration man I love pain (:
4 stars for the angst and frustration man I love pain (:
August 23, 2016
To see review with gifs click here.
Remember, how I was griping the other day—okay, last post about reunited love interests who should call it quit?
This is another one of those books.
So, get out the liquor folks because I’m going to bitch and moan about Stormswept.
Yeah, I know, me bitching and moaning nothing really new there. The thing is, I sort of do it to myself. When done right, I love reunion stories especially if it involves high drama. What can I say, but I was a soap opera baby (I grew up on ABC soaps). So back from the dead, marriages that hadn’t been quite yet annulled, all that good stuff gets me reading. The thing is, in romance especially—Stormswept being a prime example the fallout is often handled in a despicable way where the bad guys aren’t punished, the hero has suffered so it gives him every right to be a douche, and the heroine suffers from a little too much TSTL.
This all occurred in Stormswept. To be fair, it was originally written in the 90’s BUT the book had been revised. Some of the problem tropes of that era—and yes, there were problem tropes—still existed in the revision.
Okay, a lot of these tropes did.
Whenever I review something, I always try to list something positive believe it or not. I know as of late, I’ve been whining a lot about my reading choices and to be honest I sort of hate that. I love reading, and I do try to find something nice to say about each book I read and for this book I will say it had trope after trope that sucked me in. Which made the reading experience, at least swift.
Okay, nice bits over. The execution of the tropes, the characters. HATED.
HATED.
HATED.
HATED.
I had a problem with both leads.
The main lead had to be the most immature, dumbest twenty-one year old I’ve read about in awhile. I could buy her maybe being fifteen or sixteen, but not twenty-one or later twenty-seven/twenty-eight. Yes, I understand she was sheltered but for a lady of that period, she would’ve been a little less naïve. Or at least known better than to have smacked lips with a guy at a meeting you weren’t supposed to attend. Besides being extremely stupid, the lead is way too forgiving. Like I expressed in my review for Somewhere I’ll Find You, I’d like for once for the lead to give the returned “tormented” hero the boot when he acts like a asshole for no reason. But nope, completely forgives the boob. She even let’s her treat him horribly when someone offers to tell the douche the truth because he needed to see the truth for himself.
In other words, Jefferies wanted to add thirty or forty extra pages to the readers misery.
That wasn’t sarcasm.
I just couldn’t figure out why Juliana didn’t just have her brother and Rhys’s friend tell the truth. It was clear that Rhys was too pigheaded to realize the truth, and it wasn’t like Juliana was actively doing anything to convince him otherwise except having sex with him.
And yes, I know, sex is the cure for anything in historical romance.
Rolls eyes.
As insipid as I found Juliana, she wasn’t near as bad as Rhys.
God, I hated this fucker more than I hated Jordan in Something Wonderful and if you’ve read my review of that book, you know I wanted Alexandra to ditch his ass for sweet Tony.
Well, at least Jordan’s douche-ness was countered with logic, Rhys though not so much….
I mean, it’s blatantly obvious that Juliana did not betray him. But of course, Rhys can’t get a clue and is controlling. He basically imprisons Juliana until she has sex with him.
True thing.
Once she spreads her legs, he’s like okay you can ride your horse now. But before then…
Nope.
And yes, I get he was tortured we were told about it, but this is where some fucking flashbacks could’ve helped the hero’s cause. Again—I keep making comparisons to it, but the books were so similar—Something Wonderful at least had one or two scenes of Jordan being tortured. It at least allows us to know what happened to the douche, so we don’t outright hate him.
But with Rhys, just get over yourself you annoying crybaby.
I mean, seriously, all he had to do was have one mature conversation with Juliana. And yes, I know, it’s Juliana but still…one fucking conversation and the book would’ve been a lot better.
I think the thing that got me the angriest about this particular stinker was that the villain was never really punished. And boy do we have a particular nasty villain named Darcy of all things.
Sorry, Mr. Darcy.
Really, though was the name supposed to make me like him a bit more? Because it didn’t. If anything it made me hate him because he was running one of literature’s sexiest hero’s names.
Boo to you, Darcy. That’s more than what most of the cast in the novel did to you. As a reader we want payoff. Having a character do so many wretched things, like Darcy, isn’t going to make him endearing to us. We want him to suffer. Giving him a piss poor motive, and a slap on the wrist isn’t what the reader wants.
Then again, that’s what they did with Elizabeth Webber after she kept the secret about Jason’s identity for almost a year on GH so…
Yeah, that storyline sucked too because no payoff. We at least need someone to slap Darcy. Personally, I’d like to see Rhys pummel him but to forgive over one dinner and a big fat donation.
No.
Obviously, I don’t recommend this one. It is flawed even with a rewrite. If you like these tropes read the frequently referenced book (Something Wonderful). It has its problems with a douchey character, but at least there is a payoff and the heroine is not a big fat moron.
Remember, how I was griping the other day—okay, last post about reunited love interests who should call it quit?
This is another one of those books.
So, get out the liquor folks because I’m going to bitch and moan about Stormswept.
Yeah, I know, me bitching and moaning nothing really new there. The thing is, I sort of do it to myself. When done right, I love reunion stories especially if it involves high drama. What can I say, but I was a soap opera baby (I grew up on ABC soaps). So back from the dead, marriages that hadn’t been quite yet annulled, all that good stuff gets me reading. The thing is, in romance especially—Stormswept being a prime example the fallout is often handled in a despicable way where the bad guys aren’t punished, the hero has suffered so it gives him every right to be a douche, and the heroine suffers from a little too much TSTL.
This all occurred in Stormswept. To be fair, it was originally written in the 90’s BUT the book had been revised. Some of the problem tropes of that era—and yes, there were problem tropes—still existed in the revision.
Okay, a lot of these tropes did.
Whenever I review something, I always try to list something positive believe it or not. I know as of late, I’ve been whining a lot about my reading choices and to be honest I sort of hate that. I love reading, and I do try to find something nice to say about each book I read and for this book I will say it had trope after trope that sucked me in. Which made the reading experience, at least swift.
Okay, nice bits over. The execution of the tropes, the characters. HATED.
HATED.
HATED.
HATED.
I had a problem with both leads.
The main lead had to be the most immature, dumbest twenty-one year old I’ve read about in awhile. I could buy her maybe being fifteen or sixteen, but not twenty-one or later twenty-seven/twenty-eight. Yes, I understand she was sheltered but for a lady of that period, she would’ve been a little less naïve. Or at least known better than to have smacked lips with a guy at a meeting you weren’t supposed to attend. Besides being extremely stupid, the lead is way too forgiving. Like I expressed in my review for Somewhere I’ll Find You, I’d like for once for the lead to give the returned “tormented” hero the boot when he acts like a asshole for no reason. But nope, completely forgives the boob. She even let’s her treat him horribly when someone offers to tell the douche the truth because he needed to see the truth for himself.
In other words, Jefferies wanted to add thirty or forty extra pages to the readers misery.
That wasn’t sarcasm.
I just couldn’t figure out why Juliana didn’t just have her brother and Rhys’s friend tell the truth. It was clear that Rhys was too pigheaded to realize the truth, and it wasn’t like Juliana was actively doing anything to convince him otherwise except having sex with him.
And yes, I know, sex is the cure for anything in historical romance.
Rolls eyes.
As insipid as I found Juliana, she wasn’t near as bad as Rhys.
God, I hated this fucker more than I hated Jordan in Something Wonderful and if you’ve read my review of that book, you know I wanted Alexandra to ditch his ass for sweet Tony.
Well, at least Jordan’s douche-ness was countered with logic, Rhys though not so much….
I mean, it’s blatantly obvious that Juliana did not betray him. But of course, Rhys can’t get a clue and is controlling. He basically imprisons Juliana until she has sex with him.
True thing.
Once she spreads her legs, he’s like okay you can ride your horse now. But before then…
Nope.
And yes, I get he was tortured we were told about it, but this is where some fucking flashbacks could’ve helped the hero’s cause. Again—I keep making comparisons to it, but the books were so similar—Something Wonderful at least had one or two scenes of Jordan being tortured. It at least allows us to know what happened to the douche, so we don’t outright hate him.
But with Rhys, just get over yourself you annoying crybaby.
I mean, seriously, all he had to do was have one mature conversation with Juliana. And yes, I know, it’s Juliana but still…one fucking conversation and the book would’ve been a lot better.
I think the thing that got me the angriest about this particular stinker was that the villain was never really punished. And boy do we have a particular nasty villain named Darcy of all things.
Sorry, Mr. Darcy.
Really, though was the name supposed to make me like him a bit more? Because it didn’t. If anything it made me hate him because he was running one of literature’s sexiest hero’s names.
Boo to you, Darcy. That’s more than what most of the cast in the novel did to you. As a reader we want payoff. Having a character do so many wretched things, like Darcy, isn’t going to make him endearing to us. We want him to suffer. Giving him a piss poor motive, and a slap on the wrist isn’t what the reader wants.
Then again, that’s what they did with Elizabeth Webber after she kept the secret about Jason’s identity for almost a year on GH so…
Yeah, that storyline sucked too because no payoff. We at least need someone to slap Darcy. Personally, I’d like to see Rhys pummel him but to forgive over one dinner and a big fat donation.
No.
Obviously, I don’t recommend this one. It is flawed even with a rewrite. If you like these tropes read the frequently referenced book (Something Wonderful). It has its problems with a douchey character, but at least there is a payoff and the heroine is not a big fat moron.
January 9, 2023
On their wedding night Rhys Vaughn was pressed in to the navy, and his wife Juliana St. Albans taken home by her brothers. Later she was told he was dead.
Six years later, on the eve of her betrothal to Stephen Wyndham, Marquess of Devon, Rhys returns!
Thus begins a tale of lost love, unforgiveness lies and deceit. And finally redemption.
Potentially a good novel but in the end I was frustrated by the length of time it took the tale to reach resolution.
A Gallery Pocket Books ARC via NetGalley.
Six years later, on the eve of her betrothal to Stephen Wyndham, Marquess of Devon, Rhys returns!
Thus begins a tale of lost love, unforgiveness lies and deceit. And finally redemption.
Potentially a good novel but in the end I was frustrated by the length of time it took the tale to reach resolution.
A Gallery Pocket Books ARC via NetGalley.
February 5, 2023
Boring af….plus has all of the elements I hate. Instalove, plot so silly I can’t believe anyone felt one iota of angst. Two couples stories in one book. Throw in another bit about starting schools…. Just boring. I guess I read too much dark romance. I thought the H treated the h like a queen considering he wanted revenge on her for supposedly having him impressed into the British navy. Hea—- but who cares?
June 28, 2016
I did want to hit Rhys over the head a few times, oh you know me, I always want to hit book characters over the head!
Rhys and Juliana met and fell in love, in secret of course. And married, in secret of course. They were enemies after all.
Juliana was sweet and naive. And I did not mind, how could she be any other way?
While Rhys wanted to save his Wales, and could not help falling for her. Though he had some issues.
And this book is all about those issues. See he disappears and comes back with one big chip on his shoulder. And I was all Hold up! You are angry? She could be angry too! And I wish she had been mad too. He is all You betrayed me! And he is so nasty about it. I wanted her to stop explaining and just be that mad too. She had every right. But that was not her.
I also had some fears when I realised it was written in the 90s, cos he was so angry. And well at least 80s book can go a bit too far, but it never did. And I am glad it did not. Rhys is mad, just not crazy.
I must mention that her brother is an ass. And I want to hit him, but at the same time I kind of wanted a book with him. So he could redeem himself, but since it was written 20 years ago then that has passed.
A good book where 2 lovers has to find each other again and find forgiveness and trust. r again and find forgiveness and trust.
Rhys and Juliana met and fell in love, in secret of course. And married, in secret of course. They were enemies after all.
Juliana was sweet and naive. And I did not mind, how could she be any other way?
While Rhys wanted to save his Wales, and could not help falling for her. Though he had some issues.
And this book is all about those issues. See he disappears and comes back with one big chip on his shoulder. And I was all Hold up! You are angry? She could be angry too! And I wish she had been mad too. He is all You betrayed me! And he is so nasty about it. I wanted her to stop explaining and just be that mad too. She had every right. But that was not her.
I also had some fears when I realised it was written in the 90s, cos he was so angry. And well at least 80s book can go a bit too far, but it never did. And I am glad it did not. Rhys is mad, just not crazy.
I must mention that her brother is an ass. And I want to hit him, but at the same time I kind of wanted a book with him. So he could redeem himself, but since it was written 20 years ago then that has passed.
A good book where 2 lovers has to find each other again and find forgiveness and trust. r again and find forgiveness and trust.
December 17, 2016
This started really good.
The relationship starts with insta-love (our kids fall in love in a week) but it feels like those fairy tales where prince and princess fall in love at first sight. Complete with balcony scene and everything! Then the couple are separated forcefully. Rhys is imprisoned and Julianna told he left her and eventually died.
Fast forward many years to the present and Julianna is about to remarry when Rhys comes back announcing that he's actually not dead and he wants his wife back. However, he blames her for his misfortune and plans to make her life hell. Julianna who still loves him (after six years!) decides to go with him.
The pacing of the novel is good but I felt there was a lot of drama. Plus the actual guilty party is never punished which annoys the hell out of me.
The relationship starts with insta-love (our kids fall in love in a week) but it feels like those fairy tales where prince and princess fall in love at first sight. Complete with balcony scene and everything! Then the couple are separated forcefully. Rhys is imprisoned and Julianna told he left her and eventually died.
Fast forward many years to the present and Julianna is about to remarry when Rhys comes back announcing that he's actually not dead and he wants his wife back. However, he blames her for his misfortune and plans to make her life hell. Julianna who still loves him (after six years!) decides to go with him.
The pacing of the novel is good but I felt there was a lot of drama. Plus the actual guilty party is never punished which annoys the hell out of me.
June 18, 2017
I seriously considered giving this book only one or two stars. I like the here heroine, but the hero is an untrusting jerk. The secondary love story is better than the primary. What caused me to move up to three stars was the fact that the hero admitted he lied about being unfaithful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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