What do you think?
Rate this book
Where Love Dwells
In an age when duty was sovereign, the highlands of Wales resounded with the clash of arms as a Welsh lord and English knight met in a bloody conflict. And amid the rage of battle, two fiery spirits surrendered their enemy hears to an unquenchable passion...
Lady Elen of Teifi-Last in a proud line of Celtic warrior lords, she would seduce her dashing English captor into a last, deadly betrayal - until her impassioned heart would betray her secret yearning...
Sir Richard of Kent-King Edward's liege knight of storied bravery and wisdom, he would vanquish a dreaded foe by luring him with the defiant lady captive - but lose himself in her scorching, scheming, sapphire eyes...
Knight and Lady - adversaries in a conflict they did not create - parried in a perilous duel of treachery and trust. For she held the secret to his campaign's success - and he the promise of peace. Together they forged an invincible love that would burn eternal and endure all treasons.
Lady Elen of Teifi-Last in a proud line of Celtic warrior lords, she would seduce her dashing English captor into a last, deadly betrayal - until her impassioned heart would betray her secret yearning...
Sir Richard of Kent-King Edward's liege knight of storied bravery and wisdom, he would vanquish a dreaded foe by luring him with the defiant lady captive - but lose himself in her scorching, scheming, sapphire eyes...
Knight and Lady - adversaries in a conflict they did not create - parried in a perilous duel of treachery and trust. For she held the secret to his campaign's success - and he the promise of peace. Together they forged an invincible love that would burn eternal and endure all treasons.
457 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1990
3 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Stuart
5 books19 followersAka Elizabeth Awbrey
Elizabeth spent her childhood on an Arkansas farm surrounded by animals. Later, she spent ten years in Louisiana working in hospital management. She enjoys horseback riding (reflected in her novels) and has traveled in Europe. When last heard of she was residing in St. Louis.
Unfortunately for her readers (but fortunately, I’m sure, for her family), she stopped writing in 1995 to raise a family.
Source: Regan Walker
Librarian Note: There is more than one author writing under this name. This one is uniquely identified by using 2 spaces between the first and last name.
Elizabeth spent her childhood on an Arkansas farm surrounded by animals. Later, she spent ten years in Louisiana working in hospital management. She enjoys horseback riding (reflected in her novels) and has traveled in Europe. When last heard of she was residing in St. Louis.
Unfortunately for her readers (but fortunately, I’m sure, for her family), she stopped writing in 1995 to raise a family.
Source: Regan Walker
Librarian Note: There is more than one author writing under this name. This one is uniquely identified by using 2 spaces between the first and last name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 1, 2022
Read: 11/30/22
3.0 stars
A Welsh princess trying to save her people from the oppressive English. I love a good enemies to lovers plot!
Unfortunately, for some reason, I couldn't get into this book. I should have learned my lesson with this author but I never do! All the three of her books I've read, had great plots but for some reason I never felt part of the story. My attention is never really engaged completely. I'm hoping it's just me and others will enjoy her works more.
What I didn't like:
1. The H was waay too honorable! He fell for the h's lies over and over. He was just too trusting for a warrior.
2. Edward Longshanks and his Queen were not as nice as portrayed in this book. This must of been written before Braveheart 😉 Yes, I know, not a good factorial example but he wasn't known as the "Hammer of The Scots" for nothing.
The rest of the book is very good. All the characters were well written and the plot was good. Again, I think it's just my mood because I can't find much fault with the story.
3.0 stars
A Welsh princess trying to save her people from the oppressive English. I love a good enemies to lovers plot!
Unfortunately, for some reason, I couldn't get into this book. I should have learned my lesson with this author but I never do! All the three of her books I've read, had great plots but for some reason I never felt part of the story. My attention is never really engaged completely. I'm hoping it's just me and others will enjoy her works more.
What I didn't like:
1. The H was waay too honorable! He fell for the h's lies over and over. He was just too trusting for a warrior.
2. Edward Longshanks and his Queen were not as nice as portrayed in this book. This must of been written before Braveheart 😉 Yes, I know, not a good factorial example but he wasn't known as the "Hammer of The Scots" for nothing.
The rest of the book is very good. All the characters were well written and the plot was good. Again, I think it's just my mood because I can't find much fault with the story.
December 23, 2013
"Enemies who are allies, countrymen who are adversaries, priests who are rebel spies - Holy God, I suppose this is Wales!"
That just about sums this up. The story begins after the death of Llywelyn the Last. The English have now control Wales (so they think), and since I'm three reviews behind I'm going to cheat a bit and quote from the jacket:
"Lady Elen of Teifi-Last in a proud line of Celtic warrior lords, she would seduce her dashing English captor into a last, deadly betrayal - until her impassioned heart would betray her secret yearning...
Sir Richard of Kent-King Edward's liege knight of storied bravery and wisdom, he would vanquish a dreaded foe by luring him with the defiant lady captive - but lose himself in her scorching, scheming, sapphire eyes...
Richard captures Elen, but he thinks she's the mistress of a notorious Welsh rebel he'd love to get his hands on and she'll make for a handy hostage. Elen keeps quiet on her true identity and bides her time waiting for any and every chance to escape, and who cares if she offs an Englishman whilst doing it. Since this is a romance novel, you know the two are going to be smoking off the pages despite their differing loyalties.
"Somehow, knowing a man made it infinitely more difficult to consider taking his life."
This was quite a wild ride, and I had a hard time putting this down - read it in one day. There's plenty of broken hearts, treachery, betrayal, double-dealing and kidnappings to keep the action going. Just one cautionary note, and that is if you're looking for a sex-on-every-page kind of romance, you won't get that here. Yes, the chemistry starts from the get-go and they share a few steamy kisses, but you're going to wait a long time for any real bedroom payola. All in all, a very satisfying read and one I'd pick up again. Probably my only real quibble is wanting to strangle Elen for taking so long to see the forest through the trees.
That just about sums this up. The story begins after the death of Llywelyn the Last. The English have now control Wales (so they think), and since I'm three reviews behind I'm going to cheat a bit and quote from the jacket:
"Lady Elen of Teifi-Last in a proud line of Celtic warrior lords, she would seduce her dashing English captor into a last, deadly betrayal - until her impassioned heart would betray her secret yearning...
Sir Richard of Kent-King Edward's liege knight of storied bravery and wisdom, he would vanquish a dreaded foe by luring him with the defiant lady captive - but lose himself in her scorching, scheming, sapphire eyes...
Richard captures Elen, but he thinks she's the mistress of a notorious Welsh rebel he'd love to get his hands on and she'll make for a handy hostage. Elen keeps quiet on her true identity and bides her time waiting for any and every chance to escape, and who cares if she offs an Englishman whilst doing it. Since this is a romance novel, you know the two are going to be smoking off the pages despite their differing loyalties.
"Somehow, knowing a man made it infinitely more difficult to consider taking his life."
This was quite a wild ride, and I had a hard time putting this down - read it in one day. There's plenty of broken hearts, treachery, betrayal, double-dealing and kidnappings to keep the action going. Just one cautionary note, and that is if you're looking for a sex-on-every-page kind of romance, you won't get that here. Yes, the chemistry starts from the get-go and they share a few steamy kisses, but you're going to wait a long time for any real bedroom payola. All in all, a very satisfying read and one I'd pick up again. Probably my only real quibble is wanting to strangle Elen for taking so long to see the forest through the trees.
April 5, 2017
Captivating Tale of Love Among Enemies in 13th Century Wales
This book won the RITA Award for Best Historical in 1991 and was one of several wonderful romances by this author--each garnering 5 stars from me. This one is one of those sweeping sagas that draw you in and hold you captive. Stuart is superb at integrating historical details and building characters with believable histories. Since she is Welsh and this is a tale set in Wales in the late 13th century, it was a labor of love for her.
This is the story of the battles between England and Wales as the Welsh fought to hold onto their independence and their lands. Of course, it was a losing battle. The story opens as Lady Elen of Teifi loses her family (and her betrothed) in a battle that leaves her the last of her ruling family, a Welsh princess. Escaping into the north woods, she helps her remaining people lead raids on the English knights. The man who has protected her all her life becomes the Welsh Fox the English dread. In a raid on her rebel camp, Elen is taken prisoner by Sir Richard of Kent, King Edward’s liege knight who has been given the assignment to rid Wales of the rebels. He doesn’t know the young woman he has captured is the last of the royal Welsh family. Instead, he thinks she is the mistress of the rebel known as the Welsh Fox.
The story of how Elen and Richard discover their love for each other notwithstanding they are enemies is a wonderful tale well told. However, there were some improbable occurrences early in the story that just didn’t make sense. I found that surprising for a RITA award winner until I read on—the book was so worth it. Here are some examples of what I found improbable:
--Richard assumes from her appearance that Elen is a “mere girl”--13 or 14 (she is really turning 17) -- yet he instantly concludes she must be the mistress of the Red Fox who he believes to be well over 30, and therefore he also concludes she is not a virgin. He doesn’t even ask her.
--Elen speaks beautiful French and Welsh, but Richard assumes she cannot speak English, too. He doesn’t even test his theory and speaks freely of his plans to capture the Fox in front of her. An experienced warrior, as he was, would never do that.
--Knowing she is the only hope of her people to birth the next generation of Welsh rulers, she plots to kill Richard by using seduction to gain his weapon, never thinking that if she slept with him, she would give birth to the children of her enemy. I just can’t see a patriot engaging in that behavior.
--Richard continues to believe Elen is the mistress of the Red Fox even after she told him her betrothed was slain by him in an earlier battle. If she was 16 and betrothed, she’d be no man’s mistress. Yet, Richard never even thinks about that inconsistency.
In addition, the author spoke of the Welsh and English as different “races.” Of course they are all one race, Caucasian.
Even with these negatives, this is an amazing story and I do recommend it as a “keeper.”
See my review of her book WITHOUT HONOR, a wonderful Scottish historical to which I gave 5 stars.
This book won the RITA Award for Best Historical in 1991 and was one of several wonderful romances by this author--each garnering 5 stars from me. This one is one of those sweeping sagas that draw you in and hold you captive. Stuart is superb at integrating historical details and building characters with believable histories. Since she is Welsh and this is a tale set in Wales in the late 13th century, it was a labor of love for her.
This is the story of the battles between England and Wales as the Welsh fought to hold onto their independence and their lands. Of course, it was a losing battle. The story opens as Lady Elen of Teifi loses her family (and her betrothed) in a battle that leaves her the last of her ruling family, a Welsh princess. Escaping into the north woods, she helps her remaining people lead raids on the English knights. The man who has protected her all her life becomes the Welsh Fox the English dread. In a raid on her rebel camp, Elen is taken prisoner by Sir Richard of Kent, King Edward’s liege knight who has been given the assignment to rid Wales of the rebels. He doesn’t know the young woman he has captured is the last of the royal Welsh family. Instead, he thinks she is the mistress of the rebel known as the Welsh Fox.
The story of how Elen and Richard discover their love for each other notwithstanding they are enemies is a wonderful tale well told. However, there were some improbable occurrences early in the story that just didn’t make sense. I found that surprising for a RITA award winner until I read on—the book was so worth it. Here are some examples of what I found improbable:
--Richard assumes from her appearance that Elen is a “mere girl”--13 or 14 (she is really turning 17) -- yet he instantly concludes she must be the mistress of the Red Fox who he believes to be well over 30, and therefore he also concludes she is not a virgin. He doesn’t even ask her.
--Elen speaks beautiful French and Welsh, but Richard assumes she cannot speak English, too. He doesn’t even test his theory and speaks freely of his plans to capture the Fox in front of her. An experienced warrior, as he was, would never do that.
--Knowing she is the only hope of her people to birth the next generation of Welsh rulers, she plots to kill Richard by using seduction to gain his weapon, never thinking that if she slept with him, she would give birth to the children of her enemy. I just can’t see a patriot engaging in that behavior.
--Richard continues to believe Elen is the mistress of the Red Fox even after she told him her betrothed was slain by him in an earlier battle. If she was 16 and betrothed, she’d be no man’s mistress. Yet, Richard never even thinks about that inconsistency.
In addition, the author spoke of the Welsh and English as different “races.” Of course they are all one race, Caucasian.
Even with these negatives, this is an amazing story and I do recommend it as a “keeper.”
See my review of her book WITHOUT HONOR, a wonderful Scottish historical to which I gave 5 stars.
December 31, 2020
Not the kind of thing to read for escapism.
But this is a sweeping romance, the kind publishers don’t have the patience for (or maybe it’s readers?) anymore. There's almost too much of a story underneath. Yet there was time to build the foundation for an actual enemies-to lovers, but still very much reconciling two sides of the same war.
For some reason, Elizabeth Stuart is not released in e-book form. Still, if you can find this used for a reasonable price, I’d grab it. I love reading these to see how far we’ve come in romance and how different the modern sensibilities are reflected even 30 years ago, but also, they don’t make ‘em like this anymore. A slow build of trust, a sudden crack in it and back again. But lovely overall. Cruel, cruel hardships by both men and time.
3.5 / rounded up.
I would, however, skip the first 2 novels by Stuart.
tw/cw:
But this is a sweeping romance, the kind publishers don’t have the patience for (or maybe it’s readers?) anymore. There's almost too much of a story underneath. Yet there was time to build the foundation for an actual enemies-to lovers, but still very much reconciling two sides of the same war.
For some reason, Elizabeth Stuart is not released in e-book form. Still, if you can find this used for a reasonable price, I’d grab it. I love reading these to see how far we’ve come in romance and how different the modern sensibilities are reflected even 30 years ago, but also, they don’t make ‘em like this anymore. A slow build of trust, a sudden crack in it and back again. But lovely overall. Cruel, cruel hardships by both men and time.
3.5 / rounded up.
I would, however, skip the first 2 novels by Stuart.
tw/cw:
April 4, 2022
Modern ETL romances want what this 1991 RITA award winner has!
February 6, 2013
Absolutely LOVED it!
October 28, 2023
4.5 stars.
April 9, 2019
THIS WAS A PRETTY GOOD CLASSIC, AND IM ECSTATIC THAT THE HERO ISN'T A BODICE RIPPER JERK, IN FACT HE CAN BE QUITE SWEET AT TIMES.
HERO is the Wolf of Kent, he's not rich but he has the ear of the King, having fought many campaigns and is near undefeatable by the overall I feel about him. England and Wales are at war...or the people anyway because England has already won over Wales when this story began and Richard was sent to capture the Welsh rebellion leader - the Fox. One distraction led him to meet his fated love, who disguised herself as the fox in order to let him escape. Richard is immediately intrigued by this small but fierce slip of a girl, bringing her with him as a prisoner though he doesn't really know what to do with her. There were plenty of tumultuous moments that made no chapter dull as Richard and our heroine were meant to be enemies, their duty leading to a lot of friction despite their growing emotions.
HEROINE is a loyal lady, whom after losing her father, fiance and home, was adopted by one of her father's man and is also known as the fox of Wales. She will do anything to protect him, even risking her life with the English. Luckily it was Richard whom she met and from the beginning they were always at odds. Our heroine is wiser and mature for her age of 16 coming into 17, she's also brave and intelligent, sometimes too stubborn with pride and there will be times you will be vexed by her actions (yet she can't be faulted for them).
OVERALL this was a lengthy novel that I managed to enjoy mainly because the characters weren't annoying or assholes like most late 90s classic. The characters actually do talk things out with the other, which helped to settle disputes and differences.
HERO is the Wolf of Kent, he's not rich but he has the ear of the King, having fought many campaigns and is near undefeatable by the overall I feel about him. England and Wales are at war...or the people anyway because England has already won over Wales when this story began and Richard was sent to capture the Welsh rebellion leader - the Fox. One distraction led him to meet his fated love, who disguised herself as the fox in order to let him escape. Richard is immediately intrigued by this small but fierce slip of a girl, bringing her with him as a prisoner though he doesn't really know what to do with her. There were plenty of tumultuous moments that made no chapter dull as Richard and our heroine were meant to be enemies, their duty leading to a lot of friction despite their growing emotions.
HEROINE is a loyal lady, whom after losing her father, fiance and home, was adopted by one of her father's man and is also known as the fox of Wales. She will do anything to protect him, even risking her life with the English. Luckily it was Richard whom she met and from the beginning they were always at odds. Our heroine is wiser and mature for her age of 16 coming into 17, she's also brave and intelligent, sometimes too stubborn with pride and there will be times you will be vexed by her actions (yet she can't be faulted for them).
OVERALL this was a lengthy novel that I managed to enjoy mainly because the characters weren't annoying or assholes like most late 90s classic. The characters actually do talk things out with the other, which helped to settle disputes and differences.
October 1, 2022
I wish this author wrote more books. I love how she writes her characters for this kind of genre. For once, it's great to read about a heroine who's not throwing "You have no right" and "I hate you" in her lines all the time! Or a hero who who's always shouting and verbally abusing the heroine anytime he gets (In short, there's no solid plot but just the H/h like having sex despite hating and despising each other. Like what in the world?) Anyway, Where Love Dwells, while not without flaws, is not like that. It has an engaging story with developed characters.
October 31, 2019
It was good the first half and then it went downhill from there
July 17, 2024
Classic medieval 🏰 romance story of enemies turned lovers. 💕
March 20, 2025
Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews