Maiden Bride

Maiden Bride by Deborah Simmons starts out with Nicholas de Laci brooding over the injustices done to him. His brother in law Piers, had stolen the vengeance he had sought against Lord Hexham and now he feels for and lives for nothing. Until the king sends a royal decree that he is to marry the last Hexham heir, Lady Gillian who has been living in genteel poverty in a nunnery. Gillian's uncle had escaped Nicholas' vengeance but now he has the last Hexham to sate that desire. As he journeys to her convent he delights in thinking up all sorts of punishments befitting her tainted blood. Then he sees the tall, voluptuous red head and his thirst for vengeance falters. He alternates between hating her and lusting after her and he soon drives everyone around him mad with his capricious moods. Pretty soon he cannot stop Gillian from worming her way into his heart and just when he has accepted her and the possibility of a future unclouded with hate, another Hexham heir steps forward. Can his newfound love overcome his once driving need for vengeance? Nicholas de Laci has a single minded need for vengeance that is a little annoying. He's either brooding or yelling and it gets old sometimes. I liked him, but geez, shut up. Gillian tries to make the best of her situation but I think she was a little too much of a doormat. True, there's not much she can do when her lord of the castle husband lays down his feudal law, but still, there was always that nightshade option. Just a little sprinkle and then all her problems would be over. Gillian calls Nicholas a selfish ba*t*rd several times over in this book and it's true. He is. He has this childish need to keep her only for himself that overrides all common sense. He refuses to let her out of the bedroom, refuses to let her take over her duties of chatelaine, refuses to let her help the sick. She is to live only for him and no one else is to come between them. It's almost as if he wants to stick her in his pocket and cart her around wherever he goes. The more onerous of his plans he does not carry out against her but just reading about his inner musings was enough for me to want to break out the poison. He is a little one dimensional with his constant drivel about vengeance but it's okay because it just lets Gillian shine more in this revenge tale. She is a brave, proud and hardworking woman who is doing the best she can, saddled with her lout of a husband. She's courageous yet vulnerable and when she stands up to Nicholas, it's priceless. Their ranting and raving at each other is also priceless. Since I'm a ranter and raver myself, I enjoyed reading about their fights. Even though it probably sounds like I didn't like this book, I did. It was an amusing read with plenty of laugh out loud moments, most of them at Nicholas' expense. Even though he comes across as this domineering, hateful man, half of the book is spent with him trying to please his wife in his own bumbling, misguided way. So he's redeemed in

I read this book and fell in love with it. THe prefect balance of fueding and loving. It takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. Nicholas is the type of man who knows his mind and body until he meets Gillian. She is the embodiment of a fiery redhead and knows what she wants. Together, they forge a life that bond them first through a royal order, then making love, then finally love itself. Powerful characters and the supporting characters made this novel memorable. I named my daughter, her middle name, after Nicholas' sister, Aisley. That is how much I enjoy this novel. I have read and re-read this book more times than I can count.

Rather than going into a lengthy review of the book, let me just say that I enjoyed Maiden Bride even MORE than I did The Devil's Lady.

Nicholas de Laci lived for revenge. His hatred against Lord Hexham was all consuming, it was what fed him. When it was taken from him by his brother-in-law, he was furious. His hatred was so great that when he found out from the king that the niece of Lord Hexham was alive and living in a convent and if he married her, he would by way of marriage, inherit the demense that was Hexham, he was more than willing. He would wed the niece and exact his revenge upon her for the sins of her uncle. He would make her pay - he would make her a slave.Gillian Hexham was an innocent. She never even knew her uncle, had never even laid eyes upon him, but she knew hatred when she saw it and the eyes of Nicholas de Laci were hard as ice and bore right into her soul. She would be torn from the relative safety of the convent and forced to marry this handsome knight who hated her because of her 'tainted' blood.Nicholas' passion for hate was overcome by the passionate resistance of Gillian who fought his proposed enslavement. They would end up enslaved by one another. This was a marvelous story to see the healing powers of love and family, with the characters wonderfully drawn out making it hard to put down. The sexually provocative love scenes will take your breath away. A wonderful sequel to the Devil's Lady. Do try to find a copy - you will not be disappointed.

Not being a great medieval romance fan, I wasn't too sure about reading this. I picked it up used. However, I've enjoyed Ms. Simmons other books that I've read. This one proved to be no exception.Nicholas made me laugh. So hell bent on revenge only to be caught up in confusing emotions about his bride. And Gillian was perfect. She had a temper and a brain. But she isn't of theToo-Stupid-To-Live variety of heroine. She had good reason to fear Nicholas and lived accordingly as she learned more about him.Their romance grew so naturally. Love didn't happen in a day or a week. I don't like books where "forever" happens in a very short time. I almost cried when Nicholas called her back from death.My only reason for the 4 stars is I would like to have had some of the secondary characters fleshed out a bit more. I figured out there is a previous book about Nick's sister, Aisley and The Red Knight. Got to find that! I would like to have known more about Darius. And Gillian's brother never seemed real. I felt he was sort thrown in to give a bit of fireworks toward the end. Oh well.