Winter Roses

Fire #5

by Anita Mills

Abandoned by Elias of Woolford and left to raise on her own the infant Elias has refused to acknowledge is his, beautiful Arabella of Byrum soon finds love with another, more worthy, lord, but rumors of her past threaten their union.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Medieval, Historical, Medieval Romance

424 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1992

About the author

A former history and English teacher, Anita Mills turned to writing in the mid-1980's. After her regency romance SCANDAL BOUND was published followed by her highly acclaimed LADY OF FIRE, Anita Mills went on to enjoy an award filled career. Her historical novels and regency short stories are ranked among the best in their respective genres. The parents of four children, Anita and her husband Larry find peace on a small farm near Plattsburgh, Missouri. This former teacher has drawn upon her love for both history and English to enrich her novels.

Reviews

[Jacqueline J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful medieval. It is part of a series but can be read alone. It is very good historical fiction. The feel for the times is right on, not just wallpaper history. I absolutely love William. He is a rough but kind man who is very aware of his bastardy and who wants a woman of his own and a family. Arabella is also a strong character. Much of the book revolves around her love for her son and what she'll do to protect him. William becomes her ally in this even though he thinks the boy is the result of adultry while she was with her first husband. William is basically incapable of cruelty to those weaker than himself. He is a wonderful example of a strong man who is constantly aware that he must be gentle to those less strong. His love for Arabella is very well drawn and believable. Arabella is strong but within the framework of what women were allowed to be at the time. Highly recommended.

[Aneca · Rating 4 out of 5]

And to end this Anita Mill’s medieval week we have Winter Roses, the last instalment in the series. This book is the story of William, Giles’s bastard brother and his wife.

William is used to be no more than a servant when suddenly he finds himself lord of his own keep and with a wedding to a Lady arranged for him. He has high expectations and wants to please her but before the wedding he discovers that there have been rumours that she was unfaithful to her first husband.

Arabella was sold by her father to her first husband, a jealous old man who brutalized her and when she gave birth to a son with a lame leg denied his paternity and declared, before dying, that the child’s leg was the mark of his mother’s unfaithfulness. Unaware of the rumours being spread Arabella would like nothing better than never having to marry again. Since she has to, all her worry is that her future husband accepts her child so they won’t be separated.

Once they are married Arabella and William do their best to deal well with each other and have a good marriage. However Arabella’s son is for William the symbol of her betrayal of her wedding vows and he can’t warm up to the child, and to make matters worse an old enemy of William and his brother comes back planning a revenge.
William and Arabella were both very likeable characters. Both had had their share of misfortune and their lives but both want for their marriage to be a new start. For a while it seems William will never be able to accept Arabella’s son and I was quite happy when he finally started not only spending some time with him but trying to think of a solution for his problem.

Their story was a fitting end for an interesting series that features many of the customs, beliefs and way of life of the Middle Ages.

Grade: B+

[Precious ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miscommunication trope really took a toll on me but I had to see the series through.

[Zoe]

A mother trying to protect her son as a heroine........I will pass.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

They were sweet and the misunderstanding between them never got nasty or exaggerated.

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing was good but I was not really interested in Wiilliam and Arabella's story. I skimmed through 70% of the novel. I would rather have read about the twins born to Elizabeth and Giles. I thought the 5th book was about them. I'm a tad disappointed.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certain aspects of Middle Ages life are challenging to accept, mainly that women were chattel. If a woman got a vicious husband, her life would be hell. Her aristocratic father generally sold her to increase his wealth or familial allegiances. Usually, the young woman had no say in the marriage because she was an item of property. Life during those times was difficult and relatively short. The life expectancy was about 35 years.

This story is about Arabella of Byrum and her misalliance with Elias. He was an older man who beat Arabella routinely and probably damaged the unborn child she carried. When the child was born disfigured, her husband blamed it on Arabella's illicit affair with another. It was all in his head, but he was powerful enough to get every one of his acquaintances to agree with his faulty thinking. When he died suddenly, his adult sons banished Arabella back to her father and the damaged child.

Superstition was rife in those times, and the villagers and most people saw a damaged child as punishment by God against the mother, father, or both. So Nigel, Arabella's father, sold his daughter again but did not allow anyone to tell the prospective groom about the sickly child.

This is a long story of a mother willing to do about anything to protect her child. Unfortunately, I found this book to be tediously slow. I think at least 70 pages could have been cut and not harmed the story. It seemed that the author wanted to wring every ounce of emotion from each scene. Despite my criticisms, this author did a marvelous job of showing the combination of devout Christianity mixed with superstition and pagan beliefs that marked this age.

Fire Series – Total of 5
1. Lady of Fire (1987)
2. Fire and Steel (1988)
3. Hearts of Fire (1989)
4. The Fire and the Fury (1991)
** 5. Winter Roses (1992)

[elliotbronteaustenshelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zero stars. Ruined the entire series for me. I truly hate Arabella and think she is one of the most poorly written characters I have come across. Most characters in this book are poorly written, but she is so awful that I judge the morals of the author.

I do not leave reviews, so take this as a warning. If you liked the series don’t read this book. I hate villains, I love hating them and watching them get their just desserts, but I hated this book so much I wanted the villain to succeed in ruining the lives of the main characters. Don’t get it twisted, the villain is also incredibly poorly written and despicable. I just hated these characters sooooo much I didn’t want any of them to have a happy ending except for the annoying child. He should have been sent away from those god awful, selfish, dumb, naive parents. Seriously, save yourself and the series don’t read this one.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really invested in Jamie, Arabella’s son, so that kept me going when I got irritated with the story. I felt like William’s issue with Arabella was pretty hypocritical and ridiculous even though he acknowledges that. I got fed up with it pretty quickly and it dragged on for a while. But the story was really good overall. Jamie’s arc is probably the most interesting. I loved the bond formed between him and William.

[Kbee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible Romance Package

AUDIOBOOK: Read January 8 & 10 2019
13hrs 18min

Narrator: Sandra Caldwell does a good enough job.
I did like it though it's quite to long/stretched out.

[Henrietta Higginbottom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only just finished this book, having taken several long weeks to work my way through the entire series. I'm rating this one because it was my favorite. It's a shame Mills didn't continue on, as I would have loved to see the boy Jamie feature in his own story.

Trigger warnings for the whole series: The bad guys are all despicably evil; there are graphic battles, abductions, and even a few rape scenes. Not for the faint of heart.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great romance

This writer delivered. I felt the love & desire between H/h. It was enjoyable following their journey to love. The characters were well developed, twists & turns. There were some sex scenes not explicit and short. The story was NOT written as a "turn on" or "sex tutorial" which seems all romance writers think we want. I was sorry it ended!