The Rebel Bride - HRR 1 - Catherine Coulter
Jun 16, 2019 18:40:47 GMT -7
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Post by secretromancejunkie on Jun 16, 2019 18:40:47 GMT -7
The Rebel Bride – Historical Regency Romances 1 – Catherine Coulter
0.5 / 5.0
Heat: 5/10
Genre: HR (regency)
Trigger Warnings: rape (semi graphic description), child abuse, miscarriage
SPOILERS – I’m giving the whole story away here!
Plot: the H of this story meets the h when he sees her (but thinks it’s a him) fall down, having been shot in a dual. Turns out it’s a brother and sister, playing around. He next meets her (dressed as a boy again) when he goes fishing with a friend and finds her fishing in his lake. This is enough for him to decide to court her, which he proceeds to do and they become friends. All goes well until he actually proposes to her. She declines vehemently. Her father beats her, the H has her taken to London where he continues to court her. She runs to Paris, he catches her there, forces a marriage (by threatening to drug her) and they “honeymoon” in Switzerland. Things go badly so they return to England and try to resolve their differences.
I had two main reasons for hating this book. One was the absolutely unbearable dialogue. It was unendingly overwrought. The h is, in a word, nasty. Everything that comes out of her mouth sounds like a hormonal thirteen year old having a tantrum. When she wasn’t being nasty she was trite and clichéd. The H was no better. He prosed on like the worst stuffed shirt, so sure he was right in all things.
The second reason was the vile characters portrayed. The h’s father beat her until she bled. We find out later in the book that she was gang raped when very young. Not sure how young she was supposed to be because it wasn’t clear. But this is not horrible enough. Her father blames her and nearly beats her to death. This is his reason for every subsequent beating too. The h does not remember this rape although it is her reason for being so afraid of contact with any man, including her husband.
The supposed H, not realizing that her fear of him is due to this earlier rape, decides that raping his wife will solve their problems. I don’t mean dubious consent – I mean RAPE! While wearing a disguise, he pulls her from her horse and chloroforms her. Then he ties her naked to a bed in a deserted cabin. After blindfolding her, he proceeds to “give her pleasure” twice before penetration. But during penetration he realizes she is not a virgin and then treats her so roughly she bleeds. He never reveals his identity to her. He chloroforms her again and pretends it never happened. Wow! What a “hero”.
I could go on, but I think I’ve ranted enough. The ½ star is for the meet cute at the beginning. I liked nothing else about the book. Even the ending was trite and unremarkable. How this ridiculous book was published, not once but twice, is beyond my comprehension.
0.5 / 5.0
Heat: 5/10
Genre: HR (regency)
Trigger Warnings: rape (semi graphic description), child abuse, miscarriage
SPOILERS – I’m giving the whole story away here!
Plot: the H of this story meets the h when he sees her (but thinks it’s a him) fall down, having been shot in a dual. Turns out it’s a brother and sister, playing around. He next meets her (dressed as a boy again) when he goes fishing with a friend and finds her fishing in his lake. This is enough for him to decide to court her, which he proceeds to do and they become friends. All goes well until he actually proposes to her. She declines vehemently. Her father beats her, the H has her taken to London where he continues to court her. She runs to Paris, he catches her there, forces a marriage (by threatening to drug her) and they “honeymoon” in Switzerland. Things go badly so they return to England and try to resolve their differences.
I had two main reasons for hating this book. One was the absolutely unbearable dialogue. It was unendingly overwrought. The h is, in a word, nasty. Everything that comes out of her mouth sounds like a hormonal thirteen year old having a tantrum. When she wasn’t being nasty she was trite and clichéd. The H was no better. He prosed on like the worst stuffed shirt, so sure he was right in all things.
The second reason was the vile characters portrayed. The h’s father beat her until she bled. We find out later in the book that she was gang raped when very young. Not sure how young she was supposed to be because it wasn’t clear. But this is not horrible enough. Her father blames her and nearly beats her to death. This is his reason for every subsequent beating too. The h does not remember this rape although it is her reason for being so afraid of contact with any man, including her husband.
The supposed H, not realizing that her fear of him is due to this earlier rape, decides that raping his wife will solve their problems. I don’t mean dubious consent – I mean RAPE! While wearing a disguise, he pulls her from her horse and chloroforms her. Then he ties her naked to a bed in a deserted cabin. After blindfolding her, he proceeds to “give her pleasure” twice before penetration. But during penetration he realizes she is not a virgin and then treats her so roughly she bleeds. He never reveals his identity to her. He chloroforms her again and pretends it never happened. Wow! What a “hero”.
I could go on, but I think I’ve ranted enough. The ½ star is for the meet cute at the beginning. I liked nothing else about the book. Even the ending was trite and unremarkable. How this ridiculous book was published, not once but twice, is beyond my comprehension.
