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The Conquered Heart
Marrying against her will after her father is dethroned, Eve MacMurrough, the former princess of Leinster, vows to never surrender her heart to Norman baron Richard de Clare, a man who must help reclaim the MacMurrough realm. Original.
383 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 2, 2021
Pretty good read!! The story takes place in Ireland during the reign of King Henry ii. It was different than most settings and had a nice love story.
Only problem is it moved slow in someplace .
Only problem is it moved slow in someplace .
April 10, 2010
(3.5 stars)
It’s 1170 and Dermot MacMurrough is desperate to regain control of his kingdom from rival Rory O'Connor. He pledges his daughter and the lands she’ll inherit from him to the powerful Norman Earl Richard de Clare. A proud Irish Princess, Eve (Aoife) is none too thrilled with the match but princesses must do what princesses must do and she eventually weds him. As desirable as Richard finds Eve, he still yearns for his lost love Rosamund Clifford, who King Henry II took as his mistress. Can he forget Rosamund in Eve's embraces? Can Eve learn to love Richard, hated Norman or not? Will her father's constant betrayals and shenanigans keep the two apart? Can their marriage withstand the hatred the Irish have for the Norman invaders as well as the bigotry the Normans carry against the Irish?
I found this to be a light, entertaining read with a nice blend of history and romance. The sex was fairly tame compared to what's in today's romances and outside of a couple of anachronisms and a bit too modern speech out of Eve at times it was good fun. The Rosamund Clifford twist was an interesting one, and gives a good basis for some of the *tensions* between Henry and his otherwise loyal Earl. The story is based on people and events that really happened and for those who are fans of Elizabeth Chadwick's The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion should note that Richard and Eve are the parents of Isabel, who went on to marry my favorite hunk in history, William Marshal. Not the greatest book ever written but still entertaining when you're in the mood for a lighter read and a bit of romance. 3.5/5 stars.
It’s 1170 and Dermot MacMurrough is desperate to regain control of his kingdom from rival Rory O'Connor. He pledges his daughter and the lands she’ll inherit from him to the powerful Norman Earl Richard de Clare. A proud Irish Princess, Eve (Aoife) is none too thrilled with the match but princesses must do what princesses must do and she eventually weds him. As desirable as Richard finds Eve, he still yearns for his lost love Rosamund Clifford, who King Henry II took as his mistress. Can he forget Rosamund in Eve's embraces? Can Eve learn to love Richard, hated Norman or not? Will her father's constant betrayals and shenanigans keep the two apart? Can their marriage withstand the hatred the Irish have for the Norman invaders as well as the bigotry the Normans carry against the Irish?
I found this to be a light, entertaining read with a nice blend of history and romance. The sex was fairly tame compared to what's in today's romances and outside of a couple of anachronisms and a bit too modern speech out of Eve at times it was good fun. The Rosamund Clifford twist was an interesting one, and gives a good basis for some of the *tensions* between Henry and his otherwise loyal Earl. The story is based on people and events that really happened and for those who are fans of Elizabeth Chadwick's The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion should note that Richard and Eve are the parents of Isabel, who went on to marry my favorite hunk in history, William Marshal. Not the greatest book ever written but still entertaining when you're in the mood for a lighter read and a bit of romance. 3.5/5 stars.
January 7, 2016
Aylar sonra tekrar elime alıp bir oturuşta bitirdim. Ayrıca aylar sonra ilk bitirdiğim kitap oldu. Duygulu anlar yaşamaktayım :'(
June 5, 2025
it would’ve been 5 stars if the author didn’t write that line in the beginning of the book and also make mmc protect the fmc from being attacked… smh
July 15, 2018
This is a book I first read a long time ago. I remembered enjoying it very much but since I read it in my pre-blog days I had never written a review. This week I was looking to my shelves to find something suitable for the ABC challenge when I looked at this one and thought this would be the perfect choice.
The Conquered Heart is an historical romance, the story of the marriage of Eve MacMurrough and Richard Strongbow de Clare. Readers of historical fiction will remember them as the parents of Isabel de Clare, the heroine of Elizabeth Chadwick's The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion.
On the last page of the book Cody writes:
No one knows if the marriage between Richard, Earl of Pembroke, and Eve, Princess of Leinster was happy or disastrous. I choose to believe they loved each other.
And so she writes about two people who come together with different goals, protecting Ireland for Eve and lands and wealth for Richard, who must come to an understanding to succeed. Together they must learn that their alliance has brought them enemies, on both sides there are people who dislike them for treating well those who are perceived as the enemy. For Richard it also means learning about a different law and giving women a measure of respect that he is not used to in his Norman world. But it's Eve that stands out as the main character in this story. She is Ireland, she tells Richard in one of their first meetings, and in fact she does everything to protect her land and to have him rule by Irish laws. She is a strong woman and more than his match.
In the backdrop we are treated to the war between Dermot MacMurrough and Rory O'Connor for the High Kingship of Ireland, which lead to Dermot asking for Henry of England's help and thus for Richard's arrival. And also to Henry's lack of trust if his barons, Richard being one of them, and a bit about the Thomas Beckett affair. This is a romanticised version of the events and historical romance (as opposed to historical fiction) but Cody manages a very satisfying story that lead me to research the main characters and see that people like Dervorgilla or Lorcan, Archbishop of Dublin actually existed and had a role in the political events.
Denée Cody wrote 4 books in the 90s. The other 3 books are a family series and, in at least one of them, Eleanor of Aquitaine features as a secondary character. I always found her stories engaging and well researched and I wish she had written more books. A few years back there was a rumour that she was writing an historical fiction novel but I haven't heard anything in a long time and sadly there doesn't seem to be much information about her on the internet.
I would definitely like to know more about these characters so if there's any other historical fiction novels out there about them I would love to hear it.
This is my H read for the ABC challenge.
Grade: 4.5/5
The Conquered Heart is an historical romance, the story of the marriage of Eve MacMurrough and Richard Strongbow de Clare. Readers of historical fiction will remember them as the parents of Isabel de Clare, the heroine of Elizabeth Chadwick's The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion.
On the last page of the book Cody writes:
No one knows if the marriage between Richard, Earl of Pembroke, and Eve, Princess of Leinster was happy or disastrous. I choose to believe they loved each other.
And so she writes about two people who come together with different goals, protecting Ireland for Eve and lands and wealth for Richard, who must come to an understanding to succeed. Together they must learn that their alliance has brought them enemies, on both sides there are people who dislike them for treating well those who are perceived as the enemy. For Richard it also means learning about a different law and giving women a measure of respect that he is not used to in his Norman world. But it's Eve that stands out as the main character in this story. She is Ireland, she tells Richard in one of their first meetings, and in fact she does everything to protect her land and to have him rule by Irish laws. She is a strong woman and more than his match.
In the backdrop we are treated to the war between Dermot MacMurrough and Rory O'Connor for the High Kingship of Ireland, which lead to Dermot asking for Henry of England's help and thus for Richard's arrival. And also to Henry's lack of trust if his barons, Richard being one of them, and a bit about the Thomas Beckett affair. This is a romanticised version of the events and historical romance (as opposed to historical fiction) but Cody manages a very satisfying story that lead me to research the main characters and see that people like Dervorgilla or Lorcan, Archbishop of Dublin actually existed and had a role in the political events.
Denée Cody wrote 4 books in the 90s. The other 3 books are a family series and, in at least one of them, Eleanor of Aquitaine features as a secondary character. I always found her stories engaging and well researched and I wish she had written more books. A few years back there was a rumour that she was writing an historical fiction novel but I haven't heard anything in a long time and sadly there doesn't seem to be much information about her on the internet.
I would definitely like to know more about these characters so if there's any other historical fiction novels out there about them I would love to hear it.
This is my H read for the ABC challenge.
Grade: 4.5/5
May 1, 2015
Enjoyed the action and the fast pace. I really enjoyed reading about places that I have visited. We are planning to Wales and Ireland again before going to Scotland next spring.
Richard was fun to read and so was Eve. There were places in the book where I laughed so hard the tears were rolling. The love scenes were tame but the rest of the story was strong.
Richard was fun to read and so was Eve. There were places in the book where I laughed so hard the tears were rolling. The love scenes were tame but the rest of the story was strong.
October 12, 2014
an ok read
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews