Promise of the Rose

The deWarenne Dynasty #2

by Brenda Joyce

A spellbinding tale of passion, abduction and dangerous love…

She is Mary, the beautiful daughter of the Scottish king—and a unwilling prisoner of the Norman invaders. The headstrong princess refuses to reveal her identity—even if it means sacrificing her virture. But in the arms of a dangerous enemy she discovers a powerful passion and a powerful promise.

Brave and battle-hardened Stephen de Warenne is prepared to defend to the death that which is his by right of conquest—including the golden haired captive who awakens his soul’s most secret yearnings. For theirs is a passion that will not be denied—a magnificent fire that burns hotter and brighter than the blazing flames of war that engulf the land.

Power, Passion, Romance, the deWarenne Dynasty

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Medieval, Medieval Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Historical Fiction

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Brenda Joyce is the bestselling author of forty-one novels and five novellas. She has won many awards, and her debut novel, Innocent Fire, won a Best Western Romance award. She has also won the highly coveted Best Historical Romance award for Splendor and Two Lifetime Achievement Awards from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. There are over 14 million copies of her novels in print and she is published in over a dozen foreign countries.

A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs, and her Arabian and half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions—writing powerful love stories and competing with her horses at regional and national levels. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her Web sites: www.brendajoyce.com, www.thedewarennedynasty.com and http://mastersoftimebooks.com.

Reviews

[Azet · Rating 5 out of 5]

How happy i was when i realized that this book is about Stephen deWarenne,the oldest son of Rolfe deWarenne who was the hero from one of my favourite historical romantic novels "The Conqueror".

It is such a long time ago i read any book by Brenda,and how excited i was to come back to her world.She is one of the authors i know that writes with such passion that always captures my attention from the first word.Brenda Joyce certainly is one of my favourite authors,how can she not be,when she writes romantic love-story`s with such raw passion,sensuality and wickedly exciting plot.She does it all...

Stephen and the heroine Mary were both wonderfully created characters.Stephen has much of his fathers character,but he hasn`t the brutality his father had before he met the heroine,so i could easily compare the two of them.
Mary is an brave heroine,like the heroine from "The Conqueror" Ceidre Stephens mother,she is torn between her loyalty to her family and her love for her husband.Stephen is true Alpha-male,and one who welcomed his love towards heroine with open arms,but later became afraid of it after her betrayal.He was totally besotted and oh so WONDERFUL and i could sympathize with his harsh actions towards the heroine.Heroes always push their heroines away when they hurt or betray them.

I just loved his brothers Geoffrey and i wonder what later happened with his and Adele`s relationship.The author doesn`t mention it,and i would certainly like to know.
And will Stephen know of the seduction Prince Henry tried towards Mary?I mean this is literally the first bodice ripper i came across where a OM almost succeeds in seducing the heroine,LOL!Stephen would likely kill him if he ever knew.And what happens with Duncan later?He abducted Mary..Oh gosh so many questions unanswered.

[L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bland characters going through the motions.

"I hate you!"
[Orgasm]
"I love you!"
[Misunderstanding]
"I hate you and I love you!"
[Hero stops being a douchebag]
"We have the greatest love ever!"

[Izzah ꒰紅葉を期待 ಇ Duchess of Cabria꒱]

It's past 3 am and I'm so pissed

I can't sleep until I get this rant off my chest.

I loved The Conqueror. I loved the harsh hero and the spitfire heroine. I love their angsty and brutal romance.

This isn't my first Brenda Joyce. I've been reading this series out of order for some time now. I know what I'm getting when I pick her books.

Or at least I thought I knew.

There's something I really don't like in romance and, no it's not the hero being with OW after meeting the heroine, which I don't like, sure, but it's a line I've been able to cross before without hating the book, like, oh I don't know... The Conqueror.

No, this time I mean the dreaded two for one. Two "romances" in one story.

This is my first Brenda Joyce where I've had to share my attention with a side romance that isn't even a romance.

Slutty Adele and Slutty Geoffrey.

Why the fuck am I reading about these two? Why make Adele so absolutely disgusting? Some reviews say she sleeps with her half-brother? My copy says step-brother so I don't know if later editions were cleaned up a bit, but they definitely weren't cleaned up enough.

Why make Geoffrey so weak and pathetic? Is he really Rolfe's son?

Speaking of Rolfe, this book is trying to malign him and I won't stand for that. I can't imagine the fierce hero from the first book just sending his son away to be a hostage without secretly making certain he'll be safe.

But even if I ignore that, I just can't stand Adele and Geoffrey. I eventually caved and looked up her name and she's mentioned 191 times! And that's not counting her maiden name and then her married name. She's there until almost the very end! Ugh!

I was really into the MCs' story and while Mary is oh so very weepy, she's only 16, so it was easy to overlook. I didn't make it to the dreaded assault scene, but I think I would've still been able to overlook that too just for the drama and angst. But knowing one of Rolfe's sons falls into the clutches of someone like Adele is a nasty taste that's tainting everything else....

[🐝 Shaz 🐝 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second read of the de Warenne Dynasty. It did not disappoint. Stephen falls for the princess Mary and the story began.
Love, betrayal, abduction, and danger . Are all a part of this story .

[Tenley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stayed up way too late to finish this book and I am facing the consequences this morning. While I didn't love how everything played out, I don't regret my decision to forgo sleep.

This is a medieval romance between a Scottish heroine and an English hero. This book has forced marriage between enemies (ish)-to-lovers, treachery, deceit, miscommunications, secrets, adultery, abductions, attempted murder and war. Needless to say, this book was HEAVY on the drama and I was here for it. Unfortunately, a lot of the conflict didn't sit right with me. The conflict between two MCs was never-ending and I was over it more than halfway through the novel. The two MCs were okay, their "unbelievable, OTT bedroom lust" concept was beaten to death in this book. I get it - they have chemistry. Make them have meaningful conversations though. There are also a lot of side plots and points of view that made the story drag a bit and there's no epilogue (boo!).

Anyway, while I didn't love the story, I did enjoy the drama of it all. Brenda Joyce has been around forever, but this was my first book by her, and it certainly will not be my last.

[Medollga · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book put me through a wringer 🥴

Little disclaimer: this book is more of an imaginary historical novel than a historical romance. No idea how accurate the depiction of life in that time period is, but the romance itself, although taking up the huge part of the story, is severely unromantic and undesirable from a current modern view on what a romance should be. At least in my opinion! 🛑👀🤔

Don't get me wrong: I'm glad I've read this. But partly because my own country is now at war and partly because even without this life experience I can put myself in the shoes of the heroine, I can say with confidence. THE HEROINE WENT THROUGH HELL AND BACK AND FOR WHAT? THE ELUSIVE IDEA OF "LOVE"? 🤬🤬🤬
.
.
🚩SPOILERS AHEAD🚩
.
.
- she was abducted by the hero;
- raped by the hero;
- abandoned by her father and used as a political chess piece;
- married against her will;
- unfairly accused by the hero of treason;
- treated as shit because of it;
- accused some more of treason and treachery, when she only tried to prevent the war between her father and her husband;
- her own father denounced her as his daughter when she spoke of peace with him;
- exiled by her husband to some shithole;
- almost raped by her husband's "friend" in that shithole;
- was cheated on in the meantime, but it's okay, cause it was only with "ugly, dirty whores" (c.) 🤬
- reconciled with the husband only to argue with him again;
- abducted by her half-brother and held captive while 8 months pregnant;
- escaped only to be chase by HOUNDS! in ice cold water;
- LOST HER FATHER AND HER BROTHER TO HER HUSBAND'S ARMY! LOST HER MOTHER, BECAUSE THE POOR WOMAN DIED FROM GRIEF 🤬🤬🤬🤬

But hey, all's well, cause at the end he gAvE hEr A rOsE and with that his promise of love 🤡👉👈😬

[Regan Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Medieval Romance at its Best!

This is book 2 of the two medieval stories in the de Warenne Dynasty series (The Conqueror is the first). It is lusty, full of history and angst and will keep you reading pages.

Set in 1093 (with a prologue in 1076), this tells the story of Stephen de Warenne, bastard son and heir of the Earl of Northumberland, and Mary, daughter of Malcolm Canmore, the King of Scotland.

Proud loyal Mary, when taken captive by Stephen, refuses to reveal her identity so Stephen decides to have her. Afterward, learning she is the Scottish Princess, he conceives of the idea of marrying her for political reasons. And he does, while talking peace but planning to attack Scotland on orders from his king, William Rufus. Thus he betrays Mary. But when he discovers her eavesdropping upon his battle plans (she is shocked by what she hears), he calls her traitor. An unforgiving man, he vows to use her like a wife but give her no affection. Clearly, he did not deserve such a wonderful woman.

I loved this heroine, that she would defy the arrogant Norman knight who thought to claim her. And I loved that she was a Scots patriot, more loyal than many men. Initially I also loved the hero who was a man of honor and firm resolve, but his later harsh treatment of his bride made him look the brutal knight.

It’s fast paced, with well developed characters and great history on every page. Very well researched with many historical figures and very well done. It’s Joyce at her best.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read: 7/31/24
3.5 stars
This was not as good as the 1st book in the series, but it had its moments.
Full RTC

[Lori ◡̈]

No rating, not my style of romance. This book had a little too much of war/politics going on... so it made it too heavy for me. A lot of the characters in this book were disturbing: the brother that was pretty much a man of God that fell for a floozy/trampy woman, the numerous teens/men at court looking for other little boys... I get that that was what court was like back then, but I don't enjoy reading about that aspect of court life. I wanted to read more romance.

[Tuğba Atıcı Coşar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Çok ama çok üzgünüm Stephen ama babanın (ilk kitap Gönülçelen’deki Rolfe karakteri) yakınından bile geçemedim canım.
Gönülçelen’i çok fazla sevmeme rağmen ikinci kitap ne yazık ki hiç hoşuma gimedi. Tarihi açıdan hiçbir sıkıntı yok. O dönemin insanlarını ve hayatlarını anlatmakta yazar inanılmaz başarılı, hakkını yiyemem ama bu sefer işin romantizm ve aşk kısımı hiç bana göre değildi.
Tarihi aşk romanlarında yaş konusuna hiçbir zaman takılmasam da bu sefer nedense inanılmaz rahatsız oldum. Okurken sanki yanımda biri “küçük bunlar küçük” diye fısıldadı adeta. Neden böyle oldu hiç bilmiyorum ama kurgudan da hoşlanmadım.
Okuduğum ana karakterler sanki yan karakter gibi geldi. İlk kitaptan tanıdğımız Rolfe ve Ceidre’nin en büyük oğulları olan şövalye Stephen de Warenne ve İskoç prensesi Mary’nin çalkantılı aşkının hikayesini okuyoruz. İşin tarih ve savaş kısımı çok çok fazlaydı ve bu yüzden biraz sıkıldım aynı zamanda da kopukluk yaşamama sebep oldu.
İkilinin birbirlerine olan aşkından da hoşlanmadım. Hiç ama hiç etkilemedi beni. Ah oysaki Rolfe öyle miydi?
İşin özü ilk kitabı ne kadar çok sevdiysem ikinciden de o kadar hoşlanmadım. Ayrıca yine kapağın çirkinliğine diyecek kelime bulamıyorum. Adamın ağzı ve burnu kızdan daha güzel resmen. Üzülerek söylüyorum ki kitap benim için hayal kırıklığıydı. Ama yılmadan seriye devam edeceğim çünkü Gönülçelen’i inanılmaz sevdim.

[fay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was so promising at the beginning then adele happened

why her story was added ,I don't Khow, it almost ruined the whole book for me , especially her explicit scenes with her stepbrother . Incest is a big no for me.

Plus Geoffrey being a part of the church , an archdeacon just made the affair worse .

Even rolfe was described as a negligent parent to both his oldest sons ,I couldn't associate this behavior to rolfe from the conqueror.
And then there was the non celibacy for Stephen during their separation, I do understand that he was angry and hurt and felt cheated but he took fidelity vows and he broke them, I couldn't help thinking that everytime they will have a fallout, he will be unfaithful.

Even so ms joyce knows how to write a
Captivating historical romance , for I was never bored reading it.

[Nino · Rating 1 out of 5]

The h was not just a doormat but a carpet.

[Artaith · Rating 5 out of 5]

"La promesa de la Rosa" de Brenda Joyce fue el primer libro que leí del genero romántico y el que me abrió las puertas a montones de historias de amor fantásticas. Desde entonces guardo esta novela en un lugar muy especial en mi corazón.
A pesar de que sea una historia bastante simple, llena de tópicos y con personajes absurdos que cambian de humor cada dos por tres y con una personalidad muy cliché también, "La promesa de la Rosa" siempre será para mí mi novela favorita y sin duda el mejor libro del mundo.
Cada año la vuelvo a releer y cada año vuelvo a enamorarme de Stephen, vuelvo a fantasear con la gran fortaleza de Anlwick, vuelvo a imaginarme que yo soy la princesa Mary y vivo sus aventuras, sentimientos y sufrimientos en primera persona. Cada año vuelvo a leer esta novela como si fuera la primera vez y vuelvo a sentir la magia, los sentimientos... absolutamente todo lo que con otros libros no he podido encontrar en la segunda lectura.

En fin, no puedo hacer una mini-reseña correctamente porque me es imposible hablar mal de esta novela.
Sólo puedo decir que es una novela sencilla, con una buena ambientación y una historia de amor un tanto difícil de aguantar (lo digo por sus "te quiero/ahora no") pero al final resulta ser sumamente preciosa y romántica.

¡Muy recomendable! 10/10

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mary, Princess of Scotland, is captured by Stephen de Warenne, a Norman baron.

This was a little better than the first book of the series (The Conqueror). At least this time there is no rape. However, Stephen is still quite an alpha male, raging about. Mary is quite annoying, vacillating between being shrewish and then deciding to take matters into her own hands...over and over again. There would be sweet parts in the book, but then everything would go to hell in a handbasket. Then one of them would inexplicably decide it was time to make peace and start over...and then the cycle would begin again.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

"'Tis not obvious? You are my life—and I almost lost you." His voice lowered, he touched her cheek. "I told you once before, I cannot live without you, madame."

This is a very tiring book to read. I loved it but it has taken me on a roller coaster ride and my emotions have been shredded and torn apart while reading it. Stephen de Warrene, who is clearly obsessed with Mary, is at times gentle and many times...unyielding and cruel. Reading about the travails of Mary has left me simply exhausted. I wanted her to take a cudgel and bash de Warenne on the head many times for being such an obstinate fool!

Unfortunately, I did not care for the secondary love story. I thought it useless and posed a distraction to the main storyline.

[Sangria · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's nothing like Brenda Joyce back in the day. Her Bragg books are still some of my all time historicals. I miss this author so much! Recommend.

[b ü ş r a · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okuduğum en berbat tarihi aşk romanı olabilir. Kitabı bitirdiğimde karakterlere sinirlerim öyle çok bozuldu ki keşke yanlarında olma imkanım olsaydı da iki tane patlatırdım yüzlerine 🙄
Büyük bir hayal kırıklığı yaşadım, başlangıç kısımları öyle güzeldi ki yaşlarının küçük olmasını bile önemsemedim ama ilerleyen bölümler de Stephen'ın salaklıkları, öküzlüğü, at gözlüğü takarak dümdüz önüne bakması beni delirtti. Yaov bir insan bu kadar mı mankafa, gaddar olabilir? Adam karısının sözünü değilde etraftakilere inanıyor ya da kendi bildiğinden başka üstüne laf yok. En nefret ettiğim erkek tipi...Ortada ihanet söz konusu olduğu zaman erkek lafını çatır çutur söyleyecek ama eşine söz hakkı tanımadan yüzüne bakmayacak. Oldu! 🙄 Dönem kitaplarından soğudum yemin ediyorum 😂 Sakın okumayın bu kitabı, kimse okumasın. Yazar hangi mantıkla yazdı bilmiyorum çünkü????

[Choco Con Churros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pues lo dicho. Que me encanta el R. Histórico "arrebatao". Me lo he pasado bomba.

[Addi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Half your age plus seven Stephen it’s not that hard.

[Melluvsbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

💖The swoon-factor on these deWarenne men is eleventy billion. 💖

Yes, that's a real number.

I don't even know what else to say about this series. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Stephen is jealous and possessive and dominant and a little obsessive. He's devoted to the h. Mary is sweet and a little immature but also fierce and loyal and brave.

I know others won't like that he gets a (not descriptive AT ALL) bj from a maid after he meets Mary, but when Mary asks him to be celibate for her, he agrees immediately. In this time period, a nobleman agreeing to fidelity, especially before he's even married, is unheard of, but he's willing do anything for Mary. And, dang it, I think it's the ✨sweetest✨. So, there. 😅

This book has drama and intrigue and passion and adventure. I felt like it dragged a bit in the middle, but mostly because I was just ready for them to start trusting each other. It ends STRONG, so all was forgiven. 💖

If you liked The Conqueror, my all time favorite, Stephen will not disappoint. He's very much like his father, and Mary is just as fierce as his mother. 💖


Bottom Line? I think this book IMPROVED on the reread. I highly recommend! 4.5 stars







⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️

- cheating? 😬 well, that's a little spotty, depending on your definition. 🤷🏼‍♀️ The H gets a bj from a maid that the h witnesses (not in detail)... they have already had sex at this point... but it was under false pretenses and wasn't fully consensual... ITS COMPLICATED 🤡 .... but the h confronts him, and when he sees that she's upset by it, he promises his fidelity. At this point in the story, the h is still actively working against him and claims she doesn't want to marry him... so it's really gray for me, but I'm sure there are plenty of other people who won't see this as *safe* --- later in the book, the couple is basically *separated* and it's left ambiguous on whether or not the H honored his promise during their breakup - the h is told by a non-trustworthy source that the H wasn't celibate, but the h never asks the H about it (there's bigger fish to fry, honestly) and the H never confirms or denies on his own.

- no sharing

- OW drama - sorta - the H is promised to someone else, but her real interest seems to lie elsewhere

- OM drama - comes from several different directions

- dubcon

- the h is nearly sexual assaulted

[Sandra Moreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving 4 stars because somehow this second book lacks something in relation to the 1st one. I think I didn't enjoy the main characters so much as Rolfe and Ceidre. Mary seemed a watering pot through out the all book... I know she as only 17 but it was a little bit to much... and maybe I hoped that Stephen has more compassionate about women, because of the relation of their parents, but after all, even in that relation after all that has happen, Ceidre wasn't a companion to Rolfe she just adapted and submit to the authority of the husband (and pull the strings in a more secretive way). But that's OK, it was the way of the times, it was just mine wishful thinking ;), the author did good not to succumb to the easy way out, well done!!

Once again, loved the historical feeling behind the plot and the romance between the main couple. Brenda Joyce is a great writer in this field.

[Discordia Dieux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the period following the Norman conquest, sequel to the "infamous" Conqueror, I liked the Promise of the Rose a lot, more so because the hero was not the alpha-jerk while the heroine was not the stubborn and annoying type ... their chemistry is good, the only problem was with the "betrayal" theme, which shattered the trust of the hero and made him banish her... All in all, it's a sweet story, with balanced characters who have their flaws of character, as well as their qualities... were I not to have a great detail memory, I would read it monthly, that's how much I like how Brenda Joyce wrote the book and coined the characters.

[Dendera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Promise of the Rose was on my to-read shelf for several months now. I'm excited I finally gave it a try. It was a great read, fantastic story. Significantly better than the first novel I read by Joyce, which was The Conqueror.

[Serialbookstarter:Marla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring, not enough of MC’s. Too much court intrigue. I hate books that focus on two
Romances. FMC grovels, but MMc cheats and hits her in the face hard enough to knock her down and make her see stars… and never grovels. Disappointing… and did I say BORING????

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truly awful.

[Bekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephan was a really stuborn and idiotic hero at times, and when the heroes are like that, I like them to grovel and suffer for it a little more than he did.

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads like a Virginia Henley novel. Fast paced. Adventure. Lots of travel. Scheming. Betrayal. Intrigue. War. Surrender. Love.

[Lady Whitbrooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these old school medieval books! Plot 8 (1-10) steaminess 7 (1-10)

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

The kindle edition is messed up. So many typos—as if the digital version was created by scanning a used copy of a mass-market paperback book, running OCR, and hoping for the best. “Resolve” becomes “resoive, “stern” becomes “stem”, “Mairi” becomes “Main”, “fire” becomes “tire”, “mouth” becomes “mourn”, “No” becomes “Wo”, “staring” becomes “stving”, “learn” becomes “team”, “morn” becomes “mom”:

“what frightens you this mom [sic], mademoiselle?”
“she had no wish to go to mass that mom [sic].”
“You are indeed angry this mom [sic], Mary”

When I started this book and encountered the convoluted list of characters in the first couple of pages (with chaotic formatting, and characters sorted inexplicably by location instead of by familial relations), I should have listened to my first instinct and put the book down forever. Unfortunately, I did not. I don’t have the patience to deal with characters named Edward, Edmund, Edgar (all brothers!) and trying to figure out which one of them is being called “Ed” at any particular moment (at least we can rule out the other brother, Ethelred!).

In addition to a few other problems (listed below), I found the romance lacking and the plot was pretty boring. It didn’t help that Brenda Joyce overuses the “three days later…” transition to skip over most of the actual events in the book (including the wedding night and all battles/sieges. Imagine, essentially: “three days later… they had been married for three days”). The only thing left to the reader to experience directly are conversations and descriptions of castle maintenance (let’s spread some more fresh herbs on these floor rushes, shall we?).

Illogical knife physics:

“He had a dagger in hand, one long and lethal and not meant for eating, and with a motion too fast for her to follow, he had sliced the bread [. . .] Stephen sent his dagger into the table at the same time that he lunged to his feet. The blade quivered, the hall fell silent. [. . .] Mary looked at Stephen’s dagger, where it stood upright, its lethal blade buried in the table nearly to the hilt.”

Ignoring the lightning-speed bread-slicing (so random), it’s very unlikely that it would be possible to plunge a dagger ‘too long for eating’ up to its hilt into a banquet table; even if it was possible, a dagger buried nearly up to its hilt would not quiver.

Baffling (and anachronistic) CPR:

In the year of our lord, 1093, a man somehow knows how to do CPR, and somehow also breaks physics by performing effective rescue breathing at the exact same time as performing chest compressions:

“His hands found her narrow rib cage. He pushed it in as he pumped more of his own air into her lungs.”

Repetitive weeping/sobbing (invest in a new verb, Brenda):

An odd quirk of Brenda Joyce’s female characters (in this novel and in The Prize, and probably in the rest of them): they are forever weeping and/or sobbing in intimate moments.

“she closed her eyes and sobbed”
“…whispering his name, sobbing his name.”
“when he rose up over her, she was sobbing.”
“Mary sobbed her joy.”
“Mary wept. Never had she known such pleasure.”
“Mary threw her head back, exultant, sobbing her intense pleasure. […] Mary wept.”

[Shivani Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hated the heroine. She was dumb. The hero wasn’t very intelligent either.

They were products of their time I suppose.

Both were enemies. But they married. Naturally the path to true love was rocky and hard.

I just found the fool hardiness and the stupid decision making of the heroine very very irritating.

Every time a decision had to be taken she took an irrational dumb and meaningless decision.

I felt like catching her and smacking her hard many many many times.

Dumb.

So this is the second book in the series with a totally stupid heroine.

The hero was cruel and unfeeling. Zero comprehension. Zero understanding. Very brutal.

That’s my take.

I’ve been left feeling irritated.