Uncommon Vows
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4.5 • 37 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
A medieval prequel to the Bride Trilogy
In England's tumultuous 12th century...
Wrenched from a monastery before taking final vows, Adrian de Lancey's fighting skill wins him an earldom. Fierce discipline masters his darker nature—until he finds a winsome slip of a girl lost in his forest, an illegal falcon on her wrist.
Encountering the ice-blond warrior Earl of Shropshire, Meriel de Vere knows his dangerous reputation—and hides her identity to protect her brother's estate from the enemy earl. She does not expect to be arrested. Still less does she expect such a great lord to want her as his mistress.
Her passionate need for freedom clashes disastrously with his obsession with his enchanting captive. Given a second chance to properly woo Meriel, can Adrian learn tenderness? Will the two of them claim lasting happiness—or will they lose all to a brutal sworn enemy?
Praise for Uncommon Vows:
"…a wondrous tale, brimming with adventure, intrigue, and memorable romance.""
—Romantic Times
"A triumph!"
—Laura Kinsale
"Uncommon Vows …is some of (Putney's) strongest and most inspired writing…A romance that definite qualifies as uncommon."
—All About Romance
About the Author
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USAToday bestselling author, Mary Jo Putney's novels are known for psychological depth and intensity and include historical and contemporary romance, fantasy, and young adult fantasy. Winner of numerous writing awards, including two RITAs, three Romantic Times Career Achievement awards, and the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from Romance Writers of America, she has had numerous books listed among Library Journal's and Booklist's top romances of the year.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This disappointing historical romance serves up a plot hinging on amnesia--a hopelessly overworked gimmick--and a distressing scenario of abuse that even Putney's ( Dearly Beloved ) substantial doses of Christian piety cannot disguise. The effect is as uninspired as the work's inclusion of the hoary, ugly stereotype of a Jewish moneylender. Twelfth-century England is troubled by political unrest, and Meriel de Vere, not knowing if her family and the Earl of Shropshire are friends or enemies, conceals her identity when she is mistaken for a poacher by the hunting party of the earl, Adrian of Warfield. Adrian is attracted to the beautiful, spirited Meriel, so he locks her into a chamber in his castle and tries to coerce her into becoming his mistress; when this fails, he proposes marriage. Meriel would rather die than marry Adrian, and hurls herself out of a window. She survives the fall, but is afflicted with amnesia. Having forgotten her aversion to Adrian, she promptly falls in love and marries him. Yet Adrian knows his wedded bliss is a fragile thing that could be destroyed when Meriel's memory returns--as, of course, it does.
