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Mandeville #2
Queen of the May
In a time of treacherous rulers and intrepid outlaws...
She lives among the outlaws of Sherwood forest, a beauty as ethereal and fathomless as the Wildwood itself. Yet not even her faithful friends Robyn and Marian can shield Giselle from the harsh laws of King John, or the secret enemy determined to take her life.
...A bold knight and a mysterious maiden discover the passionate destiny that will transform their lives...
One of the late King Richard's most trusted companions, Alexander de Mandeville has left the court of the corrupt King John, to claim the lordship of Wolfhurst. But the barony bequeathed to him is near ruin. Its lush forests are inhabited by bandits—and the ravishing Giselle, who lures him into her lawless world, where desire is their only common ground, and where danger haunts their every embrace.
In a novel set against the timeless world of Robyn Hood and Maid Marian, the celebrated author of The Court of Love and The Conquered Heart brings us another extraordinary historical romance of 13th-century England, as a man and a woman fight for a love born in the mists of legend...
She lives among the outlaws of Sherwood forest, a beauty as ethereal and fathomless as the Wildwood itself. Yet not even her faithful friends Robyn and Marian can shield Giselle from the harsh laws of King John, or the secret enemy determined to take her life.
...A bold knight and a mysterious maiden discover the passionate destiny that will transform their lives...
One of the late King Richard's most trusted companions, Alexander de Mandeville has left the court of the corrupt King John, to claim the lordship of Wolfhurst. But the barony bequeathed to him is near ruin. Its lush forests are inhabited by bandits—and the ravishing Giselle, who lures him into her lawless world, where desire is their only common ground, and where danger haunts their every embrace.
In a novel set against the timeless world of Robyn Hood and Maid Marian, the celebrated author of The Court of Love and The Conquered Heart brings us another extraordinary historical romance of 13th-century England, as a man and a woman fight for a love born in the mists of legend...
346 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1997
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 9, 2016
Poorly written, insta-love ridden garbage with piss poor characters.
Seriously, I hate these two! They're idiots who almost instantly fall in lust/love and are totally obsessed with each after like 2 days. That's not love. True love takes time, getting to truly know and respect each as friends and lovers.
This is just two morons who like to fuck like bunnies and call it love.
Giselle is the most annoying and whiny excuse of a "heroine" who thinks it's ok to fondle someone's chest when they're hurt, poisoned, and knocked out. She's an idiot who thinks its a good idea to keep riding through a snowstorm even though it could possibly kill her, when shes needed to help the villagers. You can't help anyone if you're dead, stupid! She's Judgmental, automatically assuming every noble ever is a jerk and believe pretty much every nobleman ever is a violent scumbag. She spends like half the book whining and worrying and complaining about ho they can never really be together and how much she loves him when she barely knows him. Being stuck in her head is dreadful. And! She's is yet another female protagonist who has no clue she's beautiful.
God, kill me now.
& Alex!
Alex is a hypocritical dick of a "hero" who thinks it ok to nearly trampled someone with a horse then kiss them against their will. A jerk who basically assumed she was a slut who'd slept with all of the outlaws simply because she was a peasant. Who then freaked out and didn't want to sleep with her when he learned she was virgin because that would dishonor her. (But it was ok when he thought other people had slept with her first?) but clearly her honor didn't matter to much after all, cause they had sex like 2 hours after that scene. He's a dick who thinks its ok to use a women for pleasure then toss her aside the second he finds a wife of his own class. A man who punches his brother for calling him out on his bullshit, cause he doesn't like hearing the truth about himself. a man who thinks of a woman as his property after causally sleeping with her twice.
-_-
So.... It's ok for Alex to so all this, yet it's not ok for Guy to be cruel to Alice?
I mean, they tell us several times that Alex doesn't take advantage of women or hit them or whatever. Based on what I've read of him, he's almost as much of a jerk as Guy. Just different in his cruelty. I'm pretty sure chasing a lady down while riding a warhorse, grabbing her and kissing WITHOUT PERMISSION is just as bad as smacking a servant around. Guy was using Alice per the EXACT SAME REASON Alex later uses Giselle. Yet guy is somehow worse?...
Why? Cause guy was more upfront & crude about it? I think the author was trying to make Alex look better than guy, by making guy out to be this awful asshole simply for the sake of being an awful asshole so we could have a bad guy. -_-
all it did was make Alex look hypocritical. He's got this terrible "I'm better than everyone" complex and I hate him!
& according to most of the characters in the novel, nearly all noblemen treat their women like this.
Like shit.
(Except for Steven. Who is a kind, happy ray of sunshine in this shit rest of a book)
So why exactly am I supposed to like Alex and cheer for him?! He's basically just like everyone. My e he's a TINY Fraction of a bit nicer to his peasants, but that's it. There's simply no reason for me ro like him, or cheer for him, or even give half a fuck if he winds up happy or not.
& you know what? I get it. I get that this was a shitty time period. I get that women were treated terribly. I get that peasant women got used for sex. I get that once a wife came along of course the noble is going to ditch his mistress.
I get it. & I even expect crap like this in a historical romance novel. I expect it to feel at least a little bit like the time period, and it did an okish job, at least in the sexist bullshit sense.
But when I pick up a novel, I don't want to be hit over the head with lies about how much better one lord is than the other when he really isn't, if you bother to look closely.
I don't want instant love and lust and possessive obsession calling itself "love.'
I don't want to see the two love interests doing really creepy, rapey things to each other and acting like it's ok. Like all this insta love and obsession and creepiness is love when it's clearly not.
Because these two are supposed to love each, but I simply don't see it.
Perhaps I might have liked it more if the insta love problem and the creepy Rapey bits had been fixed.
I highly doubt it though.
Because it's not just that though. You could take the bit out where she feels him up and when he forces a kiss on her, and I'd still fucking despise this book.
Because it's not just the ew factor. I can totally deal with a bit of sexual assault or harassment or whatever if the story and characters are actually good. Because, oddly enough, with all the complaining I do about these historical romance type books, I do like a few books where that stuff is present. (Don't judge! I reserve the right to be a book hypocrite.) I love "captive prine" & "Evangeline."
But those two books had awesome characters that I adored, and I think that's the REAL deal breaker for me. If I truly despise the characters, I'm gonna despise the book. No matter what.
And I despise Alex and Giselle.
It really is just terrible. It's only a medium sized book, but it felt painfully long and was a struggle to get through.
These main characters here are deplorable. There is nothing redeemable about either of them.
The writing tries to be all flowing and pretty, but it's about as pretty as a roadkill scrapped across the highway.
& why even bother having Robin Hood and maid Marian in it at all if they are going to be such a small part. Seriously. It was the whole reason I picked up this shit fest of a novel, and I barely got any Robin Hood action. They're barely even secondary characters. >:(
Of course that complaint is microscopic compared to my others at this point.
Although I did kinda like how the Allan a sale and his lover ballad was re worked, but that's about it.
0 freaking stars. Don't waste your time or money on this. Recommended to no one.
If you want a good adult Robin Hood novel, try "the outlaw chronicles" "hooded man trilogy" "hunger of Sherwood" or "the forest lord"
If you want a decent romance novel, try "Sundays at Tiffany's" or "captive Prince".
Ugh!!!!
Im off to find something decent to read to try and forget I ever had to suffer through this.
Seriously, I hate these two! They're idiots who almost instantly fall in lust/love and are totally obsessed with each after like 2 days. That's not love. True love takes time, getting to truly know and respect each as friends and lovers.
This is just two morons who like to fuck like bunnies and call it love.
Giselle is the most annoying and whiny excuse of a "heroine" who thinks it's ok to fondle someone's chest when they're hurt, poisoned, and knocked out. She's an idiot who thinks its a good idea to keep riding through a snowstorm even though it could possibly kill her, when shes needed to help the villagers. You can't help anyone if you're dead, stupid! She's Judgmental, automatically assuming every noble ever is a jerk and believe pretty much every nobleman ever is a violent scumbag. She spends like half the book whining and worrying and complaining about ho they can never really be together and how much she loves him when she barely knows him. Being stuck in her head is dreadful. And! She's is yet another female protagonist who has no clue she's beautiful.
God, kill me now.
& Alex!
Alex is a hypocritical dick of a "hero" who thinks it ok to nearly trampled someone with a horse then kiss them against their will. A jerk who basically assumed she was a slut who'd slept with all of the outlaws simply because she was a peasant. Who then freaked out and didn't want to sleep with her when he learned she was virgin because that would dishonor her. (But it was ok when he thought other people had slept with her first?) but clearly her honor didn't matter to much after all, cause they had sex like 2 hours after that scene. He's a dick who thinks its ok to use a women for pleasure then toss her aside the second he finds a wife of his own class. A man who punches his brother for calling him out on his bullshit, cause he doesn't like hearing the truth about himself. a man who thinks of a woman as his property after causally sleeping with her twice.
-_-
So.... It's ok for Alex to so all this, yet it's not ok for Guy to be cruel to Alice?
I mean, they tell us several times that Alex doesn't take advantage of women or hit them or whatever. Based on what I've read of him, he's almost as much of a jerk as Guy. Just different in his cruelty. I'm pretty sure chasing a lady down while riding a warhorse, grabbing her and kissing WITHOUT PERMISSION is just as bad as smacking a servant around. Guy was using Alice per the EXACT SAME REASON Alex later uses Giselle. Yet guy is somehow worse?...
Why? Cause guy was more upfront & crude about it? I think the author was trying to make Alex look better than guy, by making guy out to be this awful asshole simply for the sake of being an awful asshole so we could have a bad guy. -_-
all it did was make Alex look hypocritical. He's got this terrible "I'm better than everyone" complex and I hate him!
& according to most of the characters in the novel, nearly all noblemen treat their women like this.
Like shit.
(Except for Steven. Who is a kind, happy ray of sunshine in this shit rest of a book)
So why exactly am I supposed to like Alex and cheer for him?! He's basically just like everyone. My e he's a TINY Fraction of a bit nicer to his peasants, but that's it. There's simply no reason for me ro like him, or cheer for him, or even give half a fuck if he winds up happy or not.
& you know what? I get it. I get that this was a shitty time period. I get that women were treated terribly. I get that peasant women got used for sex. I get that once a wife came along of course the noble is going to ditch his mistress.
I get it. & I even expect crap like this in a historical romance novel. I expect it to feel at least a little bit like the time period, and it did an okish job, at least in the sexist bullshit sense.
But when I pick up a novel, I don't want to be hit over the head with lies about how much better one lord is than the other when he really isn't, if you bother to look closely.
I don't want instant love and lust and possessive obsession calling itself "love.'
I don't want to see the two love interests doing really creepy, rapey things to each other and acting like it's ok. Like all this insta love and obsession and creepiness is love when it's clearly not.
Because these two are supposed to love each, but I simply don't see it.
Perhaps I might have liked it more if the insta love problem and the creepy Rapey bits had been fixed.
I highly doubt it though.
Because it's not just that though. You could take the bit out where she feels him up and when he forces a kiss on her, and I'd still fucking despise this book.
Because it's not just the ew factor. I can totally deal with a bit of sexual assault or harassment or whatever if the story and characters are actually good. Because, oddly enough, with all the complaining I do about these historical romance type books, I do like a few books where that stuff is present. (Don't judge! I reserve the right to be a book hypocrite.) I love "captive prine" & "Evangeline."
But those two books had awesome characters that I adored, and I think that's the REAL deal breaker for me. If I truly despise the characters, I'm gonna despise the book. No matter what.
And I despise Alex and Giselle.
It really is just terrible. It's only a medium sized book, but it felt painfully long and was a struggle to get through.
These main characters here are deplorable. There is nothing redeemable about either of them.
The writing tries to be all flowing and pretty, but it's about as pretty as a roadkill scrapped across the highway.
& why even bother having Robin Hood and maid Marian in it at all if they are going to be such a small part. Seriously. It was the whole reason I picked up this shit fest of a novel, and I barely got any Robin Hood action. They're barely even secondary characters. >:(
Of course that complaint is microscopic compared to my others at this point.
Although I did kinda like how the Allan a sale and his lover ballad was re worked, but that's about it.
0 freaking stars. Don't waste your time or money on this. Recommended to no one.
If you want a good adult Robin Hood novel, try "the outlaw chronicles" "hooded man trilogy" "hunger of Sherwood" or "the forest lord"
If you want a decent romance novel, try "Sundays at Tiffany's" or "captive Prince".
Ugh!!!!
Im off to find something decent to read to try and forget I ever had to suffer through this.
November 18, 2024
I'm going to remember one thing about this book: Sherwood Forest hot tub hot spring sex. What a concept.
Hilarious and deserving of every eye-roll.
Marian was an adorable delight, although her pregnancy really should have progressed more. This book takes place over the course of at least 6-7 months, and she had morning sickness at the very beginning, but otherwise very little changed? What little character Robin was allowed to have was good enough, and he seemed mostly like himself.
Hilarious and deserving of every eye-roll.
Marian was an adorable delight, although her pregnancy really should have progressed more. This book takes place over the course of at least 6-7 months, and she had morning sickness at the very beginning, but otherwise very little changed? What little character Robin was allowed to have was good enough, and he seemed mostly like himself.
May 23, 2012
Overall Rating: 3.90 // Action: 4 / Emotion: 3.5 / Romance: 4 / Sensuous: 1 / Suspense: 3 // Medieval Flavor: 3 / Laughter: 1 / Teary: 2
Enjoyed Queen of the May, the second book of "The Mandeville Trilogy" by Denée Cody more than the first book because: {1} Alexander and Giselle's story was more enjoyable; {2} had more action and adventure scenes; {3} included Stephan and Julianna; and {4} had interesting supporting characters. This book, however, had some of the same drawbacks as the first book: {1} lack of deep emotional connection to characters; {2} reduced medieval feeling to book; and {3} lack of sensuality.
Would readily recommend Queen of the May as an enjoyable read. Would also recommend that the first book of the series, The Court of Love, be read beforehand. Having read the first book understood {1} what all the whistling was about; {2} why Julianna was so comfortable and supportive of Giselle and her relationship with Alexander; and {3} why Stephan warned Alexander away from making Giselle his mistress.
A more in-depth, detailed review of Queen of the May appears at Wolf Bear Does Books.
Enjoyed Queen of the May, the second book of "The Mandeville Trilogy" by Denée Cody more than the first book because: {1} Alexander and Giselle's story was more enjoyable; {2} had more action and adventure scenes; {3} included Stephan and Julianna; and {4} had interesting supporting characters. This book, however, had some of the same drawbacks as the first book: {1} lack of deep emotional connection to characters; {2} reduced medieval feeling to book; and {3} lack of sensuality.
Would readily recommend Queen of the May as an enjoyable read. Would also recommend that the first book of the series, The Court of Love, be read beforehand. Having read the first book understood {1} what all the whistling was about; {2} why Julianna was so comfortable and supportive of Giselle and her relationship with Alexander; and {3} why Stephan warned Alexander away from making Giselle his mistress.
A more in-depth, detailed review of Queen of the May appears at Wolf Bear Does Books.
July 28, 2014
One and a half stars.
Robin and the Merries tend to be the supporting characters in most historical romance. This novel is no exception.
The one redeeming feature is the author does rework the plots of a couple of the ballads.
Robin and the Merries tend to be the supporting characters in most historical romance. This novel is no exception.
The one redeeming feature is the author does rework the plots of a couple of the ballads.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews