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The Sommerville Family #4
Knight's Ransom
KIDNAPPED
In a heartbeat, Catherine Sommerville's world had changed, transforming her from a cosseted heiress to a prize held for ransom by a battle-scarred knight. Reason demanded that she despise Gervase St. Juste, but her soul whispered that they had been born beneath the same star ...
Though murderous blood flowed through her veins, the woman Gervase had stolen was not the coldhearted shrew he had been led to believe. Gentle as a spring rain, Cat brought on a fury of an entirely different sort, raising within him a tempest of forbidden desire ...
In a heartbeat, Catherine Sommerville's world had changed, transforming her from a cosseted heiress to a prize held for ransom by a battle-scarred knight. Reason demanded that she despise Gervase St. Juste, but her soul whispered that they had been born beneath the same star ...
Though murderous blood flowed through her veins, the woman Gervase had stolen was not the coldhearted shrew he had been led to believe. Gentle as a spring rain, Cat brought on a fury of an entirely different sort, raising within him a tempest of forbidden desire ...
344 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1996
7 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Suzanne Barclay
63 books26 followersCarol Suzanne was born on 20 December 1945 in USA, daughter of Phyllis and Whit Hoose. She married Kenneth E. Backus, and obtained four stepchildren.
Published since 1992 as Suzanne Barclay, was an author for Harlequin Historical, specializing in romance set in the Medieval era. She founded the Lake Country Romance Writers in 1993, and served as the chapter's first president. She passed away on 15 September 1999 after a long battle with cancer.
Published since 1992 as Suzanne Barclay, was an author for Harlequin Historical, specializing in romance set in the Medieval era. She founded the Lake Country Romance Writers in 1993, and served as the chapter's first president. She passed away on 15 September 1999 after a long battle with cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 11, 2017
3.5
This starts the next generation of Sommerville's with Cat, Ruarke and Gaby's oldest daughter. She's willful and independent and after a bit of a scandal, distrustful of men. Which is why Gervase St. Juste, a man bent on revenge and attempting to kidnap her, has such a hard time of charming her to get her alone. But he manages and begins the journey back to his keep, so he can ransom her back to her father and get the money he needs to rebuild the keep that he believes Ruark Sommerville destroyed. He doesn't expect to fall in love with Cat, nor she with him. Their journey is frought with brigands, treachery and betraying uncles.
A nice continuation with a very honorable kidnapper. Gervase is determined to see the worst in Cat and is determined to hate her, and yet despite that, he is unwilling to harm her and does everything he can to set aside his attraction for her. For the most part, their friendship and love felt like it came about naturally except for at the very beginning when Cat ultimately decides she can trust Gervase and stops trying to spurn him. Her later realizations that he is truly a good man who she can forgive for kidnapping her felt perfectly natural. I wasn't a very huge fan of Cat's tendency to collect orphans. It's probably one of my least favorite tropes. Cat is apparently the kind of heroine who wins over everybody with her charm and wins the loyalty of the most hardened of people by her saintly actions. I kinda think she was border-line Mary Sue. But their angst there at the end, with questions about the validity of their marriage was decent, even if it could be spotted a mile away...and the solution to it was obvious and alluded to back in the first book of the series. The epilogue was satisfactory, but I found myself wondering what happened to the orphans she collected earlier...like Jolie, Ila, Faye and Tearlach. I found this an engaging read with mostly likeable characters, but wish there had been a bit less orphan-collecting...and the orphan-collecting gets even worse in the epilogue.
This starts the next generation of Sommerville's with Cat, Ruarke and Gaby's oldest daughter. She's willful and independent and after a bit of a scandal, distrustful of men. Which is why Gervase St. Juste, a man bent on revenge and attempting to kidnap her, has such a hard time of charming her to get her alone. But he manages and begins the journey back to his keep, so he can ransom her back to her father and get the money he needs to rebuild the keep that he believes Ruark Sommerville destroyed. He doesn't expect to fall in love with Cat, nor she with him. Their journey is frought with brigands, treachery and betraying uncles.
A nice continuation with a very honorable kidnapper. Gervase is determined to see the worst in Cat and is determined to hate her, and yet despite that, he is unwilling to harm her and does everything he can to set aside his attraction for her. For the most part, their friendship and love felt like it came about naturally except for at the very beginning when Cat ultimately decides she can trust Gervase and stops trying to spurn him. Her later realizations that he is truly a good man who she can forgive for kidnapping her felt perfectly natural. I wasn't a very huge fan of Cat's tendency to collect orphans. It's probably one of my least favorite tropes. Cat is apparently the kind of heroine who wins over everybody with her charm and wins the loyalty of the most hardened of people by her saintly actions. I kinda think she was border-line Mary Sue. But their angst there at the end, with questions about the validity of their marriage was decent, even if it could be spotted a mile away...and the solution to it was obvious and alluded to back in the first book of the series. The epilogue was satisfactory, but I found myself wondering what happened to the orphans she collected earlier...like Jolie, Ila, Faye and Tearlach. I found this an engaging read with mostly likeable characters, but wish there had been a bit less orphan-collecting...and the orphan-collecting gets even worse in the epilogue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2020
ganhei - Veronica,romance,
November 25, 2023
Could have done without the incest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2025
It was okay. It had all the components of a knight in shining armor romance story but there was no feeling. It was very bland.
January 15, 2014
Catherine Sommerville's world changes when she's kidnapped and held for ransom by Gervase St. Juste. Gervase believes that Cat's father is responsible for the destruction of his keep and the death of his wife during the war. He plans to ransom Cat and leave her father destitute, but Cat is not what he expected the daughter of a cold blooded killer to be.
Re-reading through books I've held on to over the years has made for an interesting experience. I wasn't aware this was part of a series. There was a time when this book sent me swooning. Not so much nowadays. It is what it is, a romance novel. Overly flowery language. Harden knights tearing up over the seeming fragility of their iron steeled women. Stockholm syndrome and a painfully contrived ending. An okay book for checking out with if you can get over rape being thrown around left and right.
Re-reading through books I've held on to over the years has made for an interesting experience. I wasn't aware this was part of a series. There was a time when this book sent me swooning. Not so much nowadays. It is what it is, a romance novel. Overly flowery language. Harden knights tearing up over the seeming fragility of their iron steeled women. Stockholm syndrome and a painfully contrived ending. An okay book for checking out with if you can get over rape being thrown around left and right.
March 14, 2014
2,5 stars.
While reading the prologue, there was something "strange" in this book... the names Ruarke and Sommerville were familiar to me, as if I had already read elsewhere these names... and I was right! My first book from this author it's Knight's Rebellion (The Sommerville Family #6), so of course these names were familiar to me! XD
Anyway, it were nice to read again about Ruarke (although, I should've read this book before the other... whatever! It's not like at that time I knew it was part of a series XD).
Although, I like the other book way more than this (Gowain it's way better than Gervase, imho), I liked this book too.
While reading the prologue, there was something "strange" in this book... the names Ruarke and Sommerville were familiar to me, as if I had already read elsewhere these names... and I was right! My first book from this author it's Knight's Rebellion (The Sommerville Family #6), so of course these names were familiar to me! XD
Anyway, it were nice to read again about Ruarke (although, I should've read this book before the other... whatever! It's not like at that time I knew it was part of a series XD).
Although, I like the other book way more than this (Gowain it's way better than Gervase, imho), I liked this book too.
November 17, 2012
Gervase St. Just is convinced that Catherine Sommerville’s father’s men raped, murdered and pillaged his castle, while in France just after the war. He kidnaps her to force her father to pay ransom to rebuild. Of course, he discovers she is not the spoiled heiress he expected and begins to doubt that the information he was given about her father was true. During their travels to his home they must rescue a baby, a traveling acting troupe and a town all beset by a roving band of ruthless brigands. This was an adventurous story of personal discovery. Good story.
February 9, 2008
This was my first book by Suzanne Barclay. I was instantly hooked! This is one of those stories that stay with you.
April 16, 2010
I really enjoyed this book. I have to find all the previous books and read them as well now.
This is the story of Gervase and Cat.
This is the story of Gervase and Cat.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews