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A Flame Run Wild
Treachery Was Their Battleground...Love Was The Elusive PrizeTo her scheming family, the beautiful French-born Liliane del Pinal was a valuable prize to be traded. To Alexandre de Brueil, proud Crusader, his wealthy, golden-haired bride was a dangerous lure he could neither trust nor resist. Yet to Liliane, the stranger she had married sparked a fire in her innocent heart, and when he was called to war, she was compelled to follow...She became a woman of daring, defiance, and a thousand disguises, her captivating loveliness dancing like wildfire across a warrior's soul - tempting him with the promise of paradise...or the hell of betrayal...and urging him always toward total surrender...
393 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1988
2 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Christine Monson
7 books84 followersChristine Monson was born in 1946. Raised in a West Virginia coal camp, she read for escape, learning to coax the ordinary out of the extraordinary. She published her controversial debut novel, Stormfire, in 1984.
Lauded by some readers as lyrical and moving, and condemned by others as a violently immoral tale, Stormfire, a romance set during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, has gained a cult following since its release. After Stormfire’s publication, Monson continued combining high-angst historical romance with political conflict: Rangoon is set prior to the third Anglo-Burmese War, Surrender the Night breaks apart the main couple during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and A Flame Run Wild follows a weary Crusader. She published her last two novels, Golden Nights and This Fiery Splendor, in the early 90s.
Lauded by some readers as lyrical and moving, and condemned by others as a violently immoral tale, Stormfire, a romance set during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, has gained a cult following since its release. After Stormfire’s publication, Monson continued combining high-angst historical romance with political conflict: Rangoon is set prior to the third Anglo-Burmese War, Surrender the Night breaks apart the main couple during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and A Flame Run Wild follows a weary Crusader. She published her last two novels, Golden Nights and This Fiery Splendor, in the early 90s.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 16, 2023
re-read 2023
Ugh … feel free to ignore any reviews of mine older than 10 years. 😑
10 plus years ago, I gave this 5 stars…now… I found it kinda boring.
Got half way, then decided to DNF 😂… will read it later.😑
The writing style is very purple pose-y.
Sample writing from H’s pov
“No ill, he thought. When you have brought me nothing but confusion and a troubled heart? And yet. . . and yet... I had not thought to know love in my life. So much time has passed, so many weary roads have I traveled in fighting other men's battles. And when I so desperately needed peace, I was forced into this marriage, one that promised only emptiness with a stranger. Then you come, my bride and temptress, my eternal torment. If this is love, my hope of peace is forever gone. He stroked her hair. Stay. Stay and take whatever peace I have left. Make my days restless with longing, turn my ambitions to dust; only kiss me as you did one rain-swept night when the fire and the moon were spent, and ancient lovers danced round us. . . .”
........
Unlike this author book Stormfire, this book does not have a hero who cheats, beat or abuse the heroine. Its been ages since I read this so the plot is mostly vague to me now, but I thought I would mention this here for the people looking for some info about this book. When I read this, I thought the story refreshingly new and unusual like most of her books. I didn't find myself being bored by the plot or the characters.
SPOILER:
There is a very detailed and dragged out scene in this book where the heroine is on her death bed, and the hero is preparing to follow her (he was ready to commit suicide). It was a chilling scene because clearly he meant it.
I bawled, I kid you not. lol
I vividly recall this powerfully touching scene til this day,.... of crying, not just for the characters in this book, but also because I knew the author had a troubled soul and in this book, this one scene gave you a glimpse of her torment....
R.I.P. Christine Monson.
Ugh … feel free to ignore any reviews of mine older than 10 years. 😑
10 plus years ago, I gave this 5 stars…now… I found it kinda boring.
Got half way, then decided to DNF 😂… will read it later.😑
The writing style is very purple pose-y.
Sample writing from H’s pov
“No ill, he thought. When you have brought me nothing but confusion and a troubled heart? And yet. . . and yet... I had not thought to know love in my life. So much time has passed, so many weary roads have I traveled in fighting other men's battles. And when I so desperately needed peace, I was forced into this marriage, one that promised only emptiness with a stranger. Then you come, my bride and temptress, my eternal torment. If this is love, my hope of peace is forever gone. He stroked her hair. Stay. Stay and take whatever peace I have left. Make my days restless with longing, turn my ambitions to dust; only kiss me as you did one rain-swept night when the fire and the moon were spent, and ancient lovers danced round us. . . .”
........
Unlike this author book Stormfire, this book does not have a hero who cheats, beat or abuse the heroine. Its been ages since I read this so the plot is mostly vague to me now, but I thought I would mention this here for the people looking for some info about this book. When I read this, I thought the story refreshingly new and unusual like most of her books. I didn't find myself being bored by the plot or the characters.
SPOILER:
There is a very detailed and dragged out scene in this book where the heroine is on her death bed, and the hero is preparing to follow her (he was ready to commit suicide). It was a chilling scene because clearly he meant it.
I bawled, I kid you not. lol
I vividly recall this powerfully touching scene til this day,.... of crying, not just for the characters in this book, but also because I knew the author had a troubled soul and in this book, this one scene gave you a glimpse of her torment....
R.I.P. Christine Monson.
Read
February 10, 2022DNF The plot is just too out there.
March 26, 2022
I did that thing. Where you read your lowest average rated book. It's this book.
And let me tell you this...
It definitely didn't deserve the 3.11 average rating. (But then again, only 36 people rated it).
It was a bit difficult to get into the story at first (what's with the secret identities and all) but after a little bit of perseverance, I enjoyed it the fuck a lot. My favourite arc is when they settled in Acre. Everything about that plot was so freaking amazing. There was this scene that brought tears to my eyes. Bah, I love it!
The only reason why I couldn't give it a full five stars is because of the ending. I mean, this book contains treachery, assassinations, war between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart and French politics. Guess what's the final climax was?
A game of chess. For three hours.
Legit, I'm so disappointed. It should've just ended in Acre.
And let me tell you this...
It definitely didn't deserve the 3.11 average rating. (But then again, only 36 people rated it).
It was a bit difficult to get into the story at first (what's with the secret identities and all) but after a little bit of perseverance, I enjoyed it the fuck a lot. My favourite arc is when they settled in Acre. Everything about that plot was so freaking amazing. There was this scene that brought tears to my eyes. Bah, I love it!
The only reason why I couldn't give it a full five stars is because of the ending. I mean, this book contains treachery, assassinations, war between Saladin and Richard the Lionheart and French politics. Guess what's the final climax was?
A game of chess. For three hours.
Legit, I'm so disappointed. It should've just ended in Acre.
June 25, 2024
*sigh* DNF @ page 89. It was just a hot mess. Great Big Terrible Misunderstandings are not my cuppa and this one started with a doozy. Our medieval heroine meets up with her betrothed before her arranged marriage. He pretends he is her fiance's bastard half bro. She pretends she is betrothed to another. They have a one night stand during which they both fall in luuuurrrvvve. Whatever.
The next day, the bride to be gallops to the castle where her impending marriage is to take place. She meets her ONS (gasp) but thinks it is his twin brother. Her fiance recognizes the wanton wench he bedded the night before but pretends he is meeting her for the first time.
These two continue to lie, pretend, and add on to more Great, Terrible Misunderstandings.
I just couldn't go on. This type of caper is just not my cuppa.
The next day, the bride to be gallops to the castle where her impending marriage is to take place. She meets her ONS (gasp) but thinks it is his twin brother. Her fiance recognizes the wanton wench he bedded the night before but pretends he is meeting her for the first time.
These two continue to lie, pretend, and add on to more Great, Terrible Misunderstandings.
I just couldn't go on. This type of caper is just not my cuppa.
Read
February 18, 2012Pino Daeni cover
November 1, 2015
Not Monson’s Usual
Let me begin by saying I am a fan of Monson’s romances. To her others I’ve read, I gave 5 stars. STORMFIRE is on my “top 20” list. That said, this one is a bit hard to review and even harder to slog through. I’m giving it 4 stars because it was ok at the outset, but I could not finish and in fairness to the author, I could not rate it lower.
There was so much back and forth with the hero and heroine, so much of them missing each other in communication, that it fairly wore me out. Certainly it did not need to be quite so long at nearly 400 pages.
It begins as French-born Liliane del Pinal is living in Spain where her aged husband is killed, possibly by one of her scheming relatives. It’s made to look like an accident but Liliane swears revenge, for she cared for the man. Then she is wed to a knight returned from the Crusades, one Alexandre de Brueil, who needs her dowry to fix up his crumbling castle. Her family wants the marriage for what it can gain them… knowledge and access to King Phillip who is close to Alexandre.
Alexandre is lured to her beauty when he meets her in the forest. Posing as a nonexistent bastard brother, “Jean”, he claims her innocence in one night of passion (her first husband never consummated the marriage). The next day she is wed to Alexandre never knowing he is the Jean she has fallen for. The fact they look identical is ameliorated by Alexandre’s harsh treatment of her whereas Jean was the sweetest lover. However, some of it was unbelievable. She sees them both naked and observes the scars from war and yet never wonders how two men who look identical can have exactly the same scars…? (She finally figures it out but I had to wonder why it took her so long...)
Meanwhile, Alexandre does not let her know how he cares for her because he worries he will be at the mercy of the treachery of her family… and her. But Liliane has no desire to betray her new husband. And so goes the story.
Based upon other reviews I understand the story picks up but I could bring myself to slog through it to get to that part. If you think I should have kept reading, do let me know.
Let me begin by saying I am a fan of Monson’s romances. To her others I’ve read, I gave 5 stars. STORMFIRE is on my “top 20” list. That said, this one is a bit hard to review and even harder to slog through. I’m giving it 4 stars because it was ok at the outset, but I could not finish and in fairness to the author, I could not rate it lower.
There was so much back and forth with the hero and heroine, so much of them missing each other in communication, that it fairly wore me out. Certainly it did not need to be quite so long at nearly 400 pages.
It begins as French-born Liliane del Pinal is living in Spain where her aged husband is killed, possibly by one of her scheming relatives. It’s made to look like an accident but Liliane swears revenge, for she cared for the man. Then she is wed to a knight returned from the Crusades, one Alexandre de Brueil, who needs her dowry to fix up his crumbling castle. Her family wants the marriage for what it can gain them… knowledge and access to King Phillip who is close to Alexandre.
Alexandre is lured to her beauty when he meets her in the forest. Posing as a nonexistent bastard brother, “Jean”, he claims her innocence in one night of passion (her first husband never consummated the marriage). The next day she is wed to Alexandre never knowing he is the Jean she has fallen for. The fact they look identical is ameliorated by Alexandre’s harsh treatment of her whereas Jean was the sweetest lover. However, some of it was unbelievable. She sees them both naked and observes the scars from war and yet never wonders how two men who look identical can have exactly the same scars…? (She finally figures it out but I had to wonder why it took her so long...)
Meanwhile, Alexandre does not let her know how he cares for her because he worries he will be at the mercy of the treachery of her family… and her. But Liliane has no desire to betray her new husband. And so goes the story.
Based upon other reviews I understand the story picks up but I could bring myself to slog through it to get to that part. If you think I should have kept reading, do let me know.
December 13, 2025
A widow whose fortune makes her a pawn for arranged marriages must protect her beloved new husband against her greedy uncle and the perils of war during the Crusades.
Monson reverses the knight-in-shining armor trope in this historical romance epic. Liliane is an amazing heroine, so much so that she and Alexander seem so unevenly matched. Monson's skilled, lyrical prose is present here, but the secrets and miscommunication between these two just went on for far too long.
The themes are unique and ambitious for a historical romance. Monson uses the Crusades to explore the toll of wars abroad on an individual (written in 1988, it predates the Gulf War, so she probably had the Vietnam War in mind). She also uses Liliane to show the many hats and masks a woman must put onto survive in a patriarchal world. However, a fragmented, over-the-top plot and uneven tone and pace keep the story from coming together. Divided into three parts, the chapters in Acre are outstanding, but the bookend chapters are meandering and frustrating.
Recommended only for fans of Christine Monson who aim to read all of her works.
Monson reverses the knight-in-shining armor trope in this historical romance epic. Liliane is an amazing heroine, so much so that she and Alexander seem so unevenly matched. Monson's skilled, lyrical prose is present here, but the secrets and miscommunication between these two just went on for far too long.
The themes are unique and ambitious for a historical romance. Monson uses the Crusades to explore the toll of wars abroad on an individual (written in 1988, it predates the Gulf War, so she probably had the Vietnam War in mind). She also uses Liliane to show the many hats and masks a woman must put onto survive in a patriarchal world. However, a fragmented, over-the-top plot and uneven tone and pace keep the story from coming together. Divided into three parts, the chapters in Acre are outstanding, but the bookend chapters are meandering and frustrating.
Recommended only for fans of Christine Monson who aim to read all of her works.
September 3, 2023
"A Flame Run Wild" runs wildly through the late 12th Century. It starts out as an arranged marriage for Liliane, a headstrong young window, with Alexandre de Breuil as a way to broker peace between two sparring estates. It contains not just one, but two masquerades (one for each protagonist), meanwhile detouring into one of the French King Philip's joint Crusades with Richard the Lionheart in Palestine. After the action returns home, the novel settles into a final act full of family treachery with cliffhanger following cliffhanger. It's frankly a chore. While Monson's vivid writing, strong characterization, and historical research are as strong as ever in this fourth novel, the florid dialogue and purple prose of the sex scenes surpass the beloved worst excesses of Kathleen A. Woodiwiss The entire siege of Acre section, while full of action, really contributes little to the plot. Liliane and Alexandre fall in love quickly, but their easily flared tempers and mistrusts of each other grow wearisome long before the novel's end. This was Monson's last novel for Avon, her original publishers;; and while her talent still put her far and away above many of her contemporaries, "A Flame Run Wild" fizzles next to the strength of her debut novel "Stormfire."
August 10, 2019
3.5 *
The first part maybe better but all in all a very passionate and entertaining reading. Memorable protagonists as always.
Viva Monson!!!
The first part maybe better but all in all a very passionate and entertaining reading. Memorable protagonists as always.
Viva Monson!!!
August 8, 2012
Hmmm. I don't know how to review this book. I knew going in that it would be much more "romantic" so to speak than Stormfire. There is no rape or abuse by the hero. And I loved the hero. Alexandre was everything a romance novel hero should be - tough, deliciously hot, and brave. The heroine was the aspect that I didn't like so much. She went against the wishes of Alexandre so many times that I myself felt like strangling her. I think her willfulness (to the point of stupidity) deserved the abuse that Sean gave Catherine in Stormfire. A good backhand across the face would have done wonders for this woman.
Another aspect I didn't love was the heroine spending most of the novel dressed as a boy. Not sexy! There was a large chunk of the middle of the novel where they are in the Middle East and I felt these chapters dragged on and on. Once the novel returned to France, it picked up. All in all, a good read but nothing to compete with the epicness of Monson's Stormfire.
Another aspect I didn't love was the heroine spending most of the novel dressed as a boy. Not sexy! There was a large chunk of the middle of the novel where they are in the Middle East and I felt these chapters dragged on and on. Once the novel returned to France, it picked up. All in all, a good read but nothing to compete with the epicness of Monson's Stormfire.
Want to read
March 2, 2013;D Found this ebook.
April 30, 2015
It's a hit n' miss with these old bodice rippers. I skimmed through 70% of it. DNF as a result.
I'd suggest reading this first before going into Stormfire, not the other way around.
I'd suggest reading this first before going into Stormfire, not the other way around.
January 28, 2021
Could have skipped this one. Extra flowery. Drawn out. She mucks things up over & over being dumb-strong. M i s s conceptions.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews