Stolen

by Penelope Neri

Rose Oliver thought she'd been caught red-handed robbing the Duke of Cumberland's London estate. But she soon realized she'd been mistaken for the Duke's mistress, and the tall stranger who'd found her was out for revenge. Suddenly Drummond McLeod was dragging her away on a ship setting sail for the New World—and the defiant beauty was not about to go without a fight.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical

394 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 2 out of 5]

He kidnaps her due to a case of mistaken identity and forces her to marry him. Then, when he finally realizes she is innocent, does he apologize? No, he wants to leave her in the wilderness to fend for herself lol what a prince! The disgusting skanky OW accused her of theft and set her up to be whipped in public. And he still flirts with her in front of his wife. Gross! Heroine rescues an abused dog only for the dog to be killed by the Eeevil Villain. Author should have killed the hero instead! I liked the heroine but hated that she ran after her kidnapper/forced husband and tried so hard to make him love her.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Irrational Hero prone to extreme stubbornness? Check.
Virginal heroine who is incapable of expressing her emotions? Check.
Throw these two together on a boat for at least half the book and wait for something to happen. I should also clarify that I had my kindle read this book out loud to me which was especially delightful despite the slow pace of the book. What made the monotonous robotic narration so enjoyable was that the hero spoke like this, "Och, Rosamund, dinna fash yersel'". So, needless to say, that vernacular lead to moments of confusion for me. Not really a deal breaker though. I simply didn't like the characters and I didn't like the pacing. I should also clarify that I don't usually like romance novels, so if you're a fan just take my words with a grain of salt. Also, there were moments when I thought Drummond teetered on being a little rapey.

"What are you doing!" She protested.
His eyes were heavy lidded, smoky now; "I'm yielding, lassie. Succumbing t' my baser instincts. As, I pray, you will."

I've read romance novels where the hero flat out rapes the women so this one wasn't so bad. I guess I don't understand the fantasy.

So if you enjoy your romance novels syrupy sweet, you might like this one. Here's one last quote:
"Dinna move, lassie. Dinna move," He commanded thickly. "Och, lassie, ye're sae tight. Tighter than a miser's purse, by God."
(Now imagine your kindle's robotic voice reading this out loud to you.)

[Lori ◡̈]

Well, I went in to this book knowing it was GR rated at 3.64 stars… but I’ve surprised myself in the past by loving a lowly rated book. And it’s been forever since I’ve read an old school historical romance, so I was curious how it would feel diving into a 90’s written bodice ripper again.

At first, I was excited at how much I loved the story. I loved the opening scene of how they run into each other, how he kidnaps her, how he seems to be ill/feverish, how they had plans to escape the city….

But once on the ship, it quickly started to fizzle for me. It seemed the focus was more on the heroine being defiant, taking shots at the hero (verbally and physically), trying to run away. Which makes sense I guess, for a kidnapped person to try to escape. But it was missing something, missing the sparkle to catch me and get me invested in their story.

Some scenes felt rushed thru. Like the next paragraph would start by saying, 4 days later…. And I felt it was an important scene and could have been described way for than had been done. (His foot surgery and recovery, for one)

I felt up until the point of the thunderstorm, they rarely had any screen time together. And what screen time they had, I didn’t particularly care for either character. So when it looked as if they were suddenly going to play nice and start making out in the stormy night, I just didn’t care or believe the sudden change of feelings.

After hopping onto GR, I saw another reviewer complain about how once they reach Canada (New France), the hero abandons the heroine, a dog gets killed, the villains from London magically find the heroine in the small small country of Canada without GPS, modern telecommunications or prior knowledge of exactly where she had been headed to…

All sounded dreadful, so I bailed during the thunderstorm.

[Carissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 5%
I'm not liking the writing style at all.

[Ayre · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a case of mistaken identity, Rose is kidnaped by Drummond and taken to New France (Canada). He thinks she's the Duke of Cumberland's mistress but she's really just a thief stealing the mistress' jewels. Ridiculous panty warmer antics ensue.

I bought this book as an impulse cover by from a used book store with the goal of reading something absurd for Valentines day. You can bet this was absurd. This book was objectively bad, there were issues with consent, and some major plot points around men gaslighting and/or refusing to believe women. I still kinda had fun reading it. The sex scenes were awful and I had fun reading them out loud to my partner.

I don't recommend you read this particular book but I do highly recommend going to your local used book store and finding your own bad historical romance to read based entirely on the bad cover.

[Anurag Kanojia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was kind of the first time I was reading a romance/erotic novel. The story seemed a bit stretched and the trope felt dated but I did like it for some reason. Maybe I was a teenager at that time and my raging hormones could be one of the reasons but I liked the story at that time which I might not like today.

Honestly, if I read it today, I might give it a 2-star but I really enjoyed the book and I read it at a time when I wasn't feeling too jolly. It did keep me occupied and that's the reason I still have it in my collection.

If you like old-fashioned, cheesy, hero-heroine and sensual stuff, it's for you. Not bad for a one-time read but I might not read it again as I'm more incined toward science fiction now.

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dated, predictable, and whatever. But I still really enjoyed this book- I’ve read a lot of historical romance and I’ve read a lot worse that couldn’t keep my interest.
Not perfect or 5 stars, but a good read that I wanted to finish and was invested in.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and not totally cheesy

[Aleks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolute trash but so much fun

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

It's a case of mistaken identity.

The last surviving McLeod, Drummond intends to kill the much loved mistress of the Duke of Cumberland, the man who ordered the mass slaughter of Scots at Culloden (including Drummonds older brother) but at the last minute he cannot bring himself to do it and since there’s a price on his head he can’t afford to dally. Unknown to him he’s kidnapped a thief who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, he drags her aboard a ship filled with other fugitives all headed for New France in Quebec. Desperate to flee Rosamund tries to enlist the aid of the ship’s Captain a religious man who insists on marrying them on the spot if Drummond insists they share a cabin. Drummond cannot let her out of his sight so he makes a very convincing mockery of her story and agrees to the marriage much to Rosamund’s horror.

…she stabbed her heel into his shin – an act her full skirts hid from the captain.

“On the contrary, you lecherous, lying brute, I’d sooner kiss the devil’s arse,” she purred, batting her eyelashes at him, “than go anywhere with you.”

She'll have reason to be eating those words before long. At any rate on board and near fresh from Culloden Drummond collapses in a fever and Rosamund nurses him back to health realising he’s not the cold hearted brute she at first believed in fact she’s finding that Drummond is plagued with survivor guilt and he’s fast heating up her blood and he’s not impervious to her charms either, they give in to their passion on the long voyage – of course. Drummond finally believes her claims that she is not who he thinks she is and on arriving in Quebec offers her a return trip back to London with the Captain but Rosamund has other plans. She’s fallen in love with the daftie and unknown to him she’s pregnant. The very morning she decides to tell him of his pending fatherhood and the continuation of the McLeod line he disappears into the wilderness, abandoning her with no intention of ever returning. He believes her better off without a man who cannot keep a single promise to avenge the death of his kin that he was forced to leave lying on the cold Culloden moor. But Rosamund will have none of it. She follows him and they reunite but it’s not all roses, initially they tiptoe round each other and her past comes back to haunt her leaving them severely depleted of winter stores. Drummond is forced to return to Fort Charles for supplies leaving Rosamund behind and alone, heavy with child, returning anxious days later and through a blistering Quebec winter only to find in growing shock and horror a burned out cabin, a grave and a missing Rosamund. He believes the worst.

Of course you know it’s not that cut and dried. Right? Right.

In the beginning Rosamund determined not to be taken by the wild looking Scot who caught her pilfering jewels fought him every step of the way, manhandled his person and gave him a good dose of her street smarts. I laughed. I’ve got this thing about strong heroines who struggle to know their own mind but once they commit the real fun begins in earnest. And so it was…nothing was going to get in the way of her reaching into the heart of her grief stricken Scot and twisting, hard, not even himself.

A tiny quibble that is really just a tiny quibble and aimed at all authors. I really wish care would be given to names. Think about the name then imagine whispering that name in the heat of passion. Drummond and Rosamund? I don't think so.

I like the pace a bit faster and despite the names it was still an enjoyable read.

[DelilahW · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting romance. It's been a long time since I read this novel, but I do remember several scenes vividly. What's unique about Stolen is the setting. This is probably the only romance I have read that takes place in The New World - French Canada. I really did love the two main characters and thought both were beautifully written and the dialogue was lovely.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my first cheesey and quick romances. I like the setting!

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone needs a good romp with highlander now and then. Only thing missing was his kilt.

[Cindy Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story

This is a very sweet story about people who have lost everything and find each other. I would recommend to other romance readers.