The Holding

Medieval Knights #1

by Claudia Dain

Book One in a five book series. England. Winter 1155. Cathryn and Greneforde are as one; to possess the woman is to possess the land. William, a knight under King Henry, has been gifted Greneforde Tower as a reward for his service to the king.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Medieval, Historical, Medieval Romance, Historical Fiction, Ebooks

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

About the author

It was while writing a descriptive essay in seventh grade English (that was the assignment, to write a 'descriptive essay') that Claudia first fell in love. With descriptive essays. Boys being what they are in seventh grade, there was hardly much choice.
By her ninth grade year, Claudia was spending hours each week in her bedroom writing descriptive essays that heavily featured older boys (eleventh grade). She also practiced her kissing technique on a pole lamp next to her bed. It was less than satisfactory, but the writing was fun.

She attended the University of Southern California as an English major. She'd mastered kissing by this time and writing, strangely enough, was still fun. 'Strangely' because while it had become obvious to her that almost everyone enjoyed kissing, it was equally obvious that very few people enjoyed writing. This was as peculiar to her as, well, not enjoying kissing.

Clearly, something had to be done. The idea of combining kissing and writing seemed the obvious course of action. While Claudia does not claim to have invented the romance novel, she certainly has a lot of fun describing kisses and inventing men to bestow them upon. And not a one of her heroes looks remotely like a pole lamp. (And don't act like one either.)

Claudia was first published in 2000, is a two-time Rita finalist, and a USA Today Bestselling author. Which just goes to prove that you can make a career out of kissing and writing about it.

Reviews

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Medieval historical romance--it's a time many of us find hard to understand as the culture, even in Western Europe, was so inhumane and destructive to women. Courtly manners and "love" were well regarded social "jokes" in that they were all just a glaze over an attitude that women were necessary for children and keeping the society growing, but ultimately they were chattal, just like your favorite stallion or a property to be bartered. Yet amidst this difficult and dark time, there were individuals of honor and conscience, even though they lived according to their understanding, still viewed spouses with respect, still wanted a partnership (as far as it was possible in that day) and still saw the relationship as being necessary for both their happiness. In this story there are some serious difficulties, even for that day, and while the new husband, lord and master of Greneford is in charge, getting on the good side of his wife and coming to understand her cold response to him was every bit as important as securing the "holding" as the properties were termed. A good book--a freebie for a limited time at All Romance eBooks, and I really did enjoy this read.

[Susan (the other Susan) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delicious medieval romance.

[kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a book that was a overly loooong the ending was a tad abrupt. But both the Hero and heroine were 5 star and the historical detail amazing so I won't quibble . Four stars.

[Yayita Leen · Rating 3 out of 5]

El argumento suena interesante pero la manera en que desarrolla la historia es mala. La mayoría de las acciones de los personajes no tiene lógica, el gran secreto que todos ocultan no era algo tan misterioso y la insistencia del él para con ella incluso cuando sabe la verdad mató del todo la novela.
Además se vuelve tediosa por momentos y le sobran muchas páginas.

[Aayesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book, it had a great plot with extremely likeable characters. I didn't like Cathry very much at the beginning, but soon you begin to realise how very brave and unselfish she is. It was a good read.

[Nessa]

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO REALIZES THE WOMAN ON THE COVER ISN'T BLONDE LIKE THE HEROINE SHOULD BE? LOL!!

First meetings between MCs are important to me. When it fell flat, I knew this was going to be just an average story.

Dropped.

[Bárbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘La propiedad’ es una historia con un planteamiento muy interesante, pero que la autora resuelve de una forma muy simplona y poco trabajada. Los personajes van de más a menos, al igual que la narración. Se echa de menos un desenlace consistente que no arruine la novela. No obstante, el personaje de Cathryn es atrayente y consigue engatusar al lector lo suficiente como para acabar la lectura.

Reseña completa

[AH]

Free download from Allromance.com 4/4/12

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the characters well enough and the story line kept me intrigued throughout the book, but I felt that something was missing, especially at the end. I hate when you get invested in a character's life, but the author does not feel the need to give you more information of their past or their future.

To me, it seemed to be your basic historical fiction romance.

[Lala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fue extraño leerlo
La historia transcurre en cómo 5 días y los protagonistas ya se aman xD
Igual disfruté como narraba la época, ambientaba bien
Pero siento que tocó muy mal el tema de una violación y el trauma que deja en la víctima
La idea de trama era ambiciosa pero la trama se desarrolla lento y termina abruptamente

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buena historia, aunque el final me pareció abrupto y sin un cierre adecuado (¿sexo después de un ataque? Really?)
Me hubiera gustado ver el regreso a sus tierras, y un epílogo. Pero me ha gustado, me mantuvo cautiva de esos pequeños misterios que aparecen desde el principio.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good 3.5🌟 Only the end was a little to rushed for my liking.
A damsel in distress, a knight in shining armour who is tender and sweet... Ah....

[Rainelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book was not good

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author shows complete misunderstanding of rape and its psychological consequences.

[Tetty Marlinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

#192 - 2024
Genre: Historical Romance

[Stevie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. I really love the author's writing style. The dialogue brought the time period to life. The story moved well and there was a bit of angst that kept the pages turning in a hurried pace. The characters were strong and chemistry was pretty good. The secondary characters could have had a bit more depth. The reason that I didn't give this a 4 star rating was the ending. It could have been so much more. The build throughout the book lead the reader to cliff top but the drop off was so slight from the expectation that it bordered disappointment. It was too abrupt and anti-climatic to match the rest of the book. I think this could have been really excellent had the ending provided the drama the book deserved. Being that this is the first of the series, I have high hopes the next will surpass and this talented author will extend herself a bit more.

[Susy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel has potential. It has interesting characters and a promising set-up. Unfortunately, that is about it. The writing is poor- a mess, actually. POV randomly shifts within a scene. Flashbacks are hard to distinguish from the present, and foreshadowing of the "mystery" of Cathryn of Greneford is very nearly incomprehensible.

The use of archaic language, instead of creating a sense of time/place rather only made reading laborious.

I don't fault the "magic healing penis" trope as this novel was set in a time very different from our own with its psychology-obsession. But still...this could have been handled better.

I read this book because I am interested in the time period, and would welcome an authorial re-write, as the story deserves one.

Writing: .5/5
Story: 3.5/5

[Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante... 2-3 estrellas en relación a cuando lo leí la primera vez (y era más joven). Hoy en día veo que la historia es un poco más apegada a "el romance/amor lo vence todo", que a la idea real de mostrar las secuelas que tiene alguien en la situación de Cathryn.
Es muy rosa sin duda pero no realista.

[Azhureheart · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was well-written and could have been really interesting but unfortunately the author used the "healing cock" trope and that is always hard to believe and even harder to appreciate, IMO. I don't think I'll pick the other books of the series.

[Mitzi]

Free from All Romance Ebooks.

[Elizabeth Jules Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review on my blog: http://moonlighttotwilightblog.blogsp...

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alight.

[Ana Belén · Rating 2 out of 5]

Novela romántica d los más simona y predecible. Si quereis algo sencillito y un macho de sesera hueca, este es vuestro libro

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovingly emotional story that acknowledges the harsh realities of war and privation in medieval England. William's romance of Catheryn is truly beautiful and honest.

[Helen Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to the next book of the series.

[Sassy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Free d/l from All Romance April 4th

[Kay Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was hard to get into the story. Too much detail at points. Would enjoy a little more plot

[Usagi Tsukino · Rating 1 out of 5]

Note to self: Remember me why the heck I started to read this book... oh, yeah, it was free. Dammit.


Note: Free read from ARe.

[Fernanda Zúñiga · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters are amazing, Cathryn is strong and William is brave and kind, beautiful story!

[Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed a woman with such a strong personality would give up the fight so easily and quickly (more than once). Ending was a little anti-climactic, but overall, a good story.