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Royal Weddings #2
Rumores en la corte
Hicieron una extraña alianza…
Lady Cecily despreciaba a los rehenes franceses que eran retenidos en la corte. Tratados con honores de invitados, los hombres participaban de todo tipo de juegos amorosos y Cecily temía que su señora, la princesa, fuera desgraciada.
Cansado de la guerra, el caballero Marc de Marcel solo deseaba regresar a su hogar. Sin tener la certeza de que fueran a pagar su rescate, estableció una improbable alianza con la distante y apasionada Cecily. Él la ayudaría a salvar a la princesa de la ruina y ella lo ayudaría a escapar. Un pacto que podría conducirlos a los dos al desastre.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 19, 2015
7 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Blythe Gifford
55 books64 followersAfter many years in public relations, advertising, and marketing, Blythe Gifford started writing seriously after a corporate layoff. Ten years and one layoff later, she became an overnight success when she sold her Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist manuscript to Harlequin.
She has since written medieval romances featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. Now, she’s launching a new series set on the turbulent Scottish Borders.
The Chicago Tribune has called her work “the perfect balance between history and romance.”
Photo by Jennifer Girard.
She has since written medieval romances featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. Now, she’s launching a new series set on the turbulent Scottish Borders.
The Chicago Tribune has called her work “the perfect balance between history and romance.”
Photo by Jennifer Girard.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 4, 2024
It's always a pleasure to read a historical that truly feels, well...historical. Whispers at Court is such a book. Set during the Hundred Years' War, this tale of English nobility and their French captives was sweetly romantic, and the historical backdrop fascinated me.
Cecily, Countess of Losford, has little sympathy for the French hostages held at Court. She lost her beloved father to war with the French and then her mother died not long after. Cecily herself serves as a lady in waiting to the Princess Isabella, while anticipating that King Edward will soon choose a husband for her. After all, Cecily has inherited valuable lands and a fortress that must be defended. In the meantime, she lives a mostly pampered existence, though she visibly chafes against the tedium of her routine and the entertainments in which the higher-born hostages are permitted to take part.
Cecily's first encounter with Marc de Marcel is especially distasteful to her. The French knights fight a joust for the amusement of the court, and she sees Marc defeat a young English nobleman in a manner that appears particularly unchivalrous. A few prickly exchanges follow, but Cecily's attention gets diverted by something more alarming - Princess Isabella appears quite taken with one of the hostages, Enguerrand, the French Lord de Coucy. Determined to stop Isabella from making what Cecily thinks would be a foolish mistake, she joins forces with Marc, hoping that as de Coucy's close friend, he can assist her in preventing what could be a disastrous fling.
Along the way, Cecily's disgust for Marc turns into a greater respect as she starts to understand more about what drives him. And since this story takes place against the backdrop of the English court's Yuletide celebrations, the two have occasion to spend much time together. It will probably surprise no one that their bid to prevent a forbidden love affair starts spawning another one instead.
This is a partial review. You can find the complete text at All About Romance: https://allaboutromance.com/book-revi...
Cecily, Countess of Losford, has little sympathy for the French hostages held at Court. She lost her beloved father to war with the French and then her mother died not long after. Cecily herself serves as a lady in waiting to the Princess Isabella, while anticipating that King Edward will soon choose a husband for her. After all, Cecily has inherited valuable lands and a fortress that must be defended. In the meantime, she lives a mostly pampered existence, though she visibly chafes against the tedium of her routine and the entertainments in which the higher-born hostages are permitted to take part.
Cecily's first encounter with Marc de Marcel is especially distasteful to her. The French knights fight a joust for the amusement of the court, and she sees Marc defeat a young English nobleman in a manner that appears particularly unchivalrous. A few prickly exchanges follow, but Cecily's attention gets diverted by something more alarming - Princess Isabella appears quite taken with one of the hostages, Enguerrand, the French Lord de Coucy. Determined to stop Isabella from making what Cecily thinks would be a foolish mistake, she joins forces with Marc, hoping that as de Coucy's close friend, he can assist her in preventing what could be a disastrous fling.
Along the way, Cecily's disgust for Marc turns into a greater respect as she starts to understand more about what drives him. And since this story takes place against the backdrop of the English court's Yuletide celebrations, the two have occasion to spend much time together. It will probably surprise no one that their bid to prevent a forbidden love affair starts spawning another one instead.
This is a partial review. You can find the complete text at All About Romance: https://allaboutromance.com/book-revi...
November 2, 2018
About the same quality and type of story as the first in the series, Secrets at Court. It's a well-researched novel that features a two-for-one romance (one being an actual royal couple and the other being the protagonists). I think the romance itself was less developed here than it could have been, simply because there was a lot of historical background and other shenanigans being plotted. I liked it, but it wasn't ~great~ by any means.
January 4, 2019
This book was a total random find, and I was glad for it. I don't think I would have ever picked it up of my own accord. My mom found it near the neighbourhood trash bins with some other books, and decided only this one was worth bringing. The fact that it seemed to have some erotic undertones and she was the one bringing it for me was quirky enough for me to decide to start reading it for the laughs. I mean, if it was in the trash, it must be a trash romance novel right? Let's do it for the clichés!
And, well, while this did have common tropes and clichés in books that depict romance, I found myself binge reading it in 2 days and seriously enjoying it.
It portrays two seemingly unlikely romances, one royal, and the other the protagonists', Cecily, a countess, and Marc, a French knight. It is the formula of a love-hate relationship, and of forbidden love in the end. So, that makes for some juicy tense scenes. The medieval setting I also think is well portrayed, with the use of some historical facts and events to support it. I would've liked more description of the setting, nonetheless. I am not very familiar with how the dresses looked like then, what the court was like, or even the castles. Not having that description made me struggle to create that image in my head, and a google search in the middle of reading is not the best thing for immersion. Without having read any other book by Gifford, I think I can safely say that she focuses a lot more on dialogue than description.
I think the fact that made me enjoy this story the most was that the love-hate aspect was put aside in the middle! The characters actually grew! They changed their minds about their priorities, actually admitted they were wrong in some aspects, and that was interesting to read. AND, and this is very important, the male protagonist was a REALLY nice and respectful guy, a total gentleman who considered her consent important! Total swoon. I grew a bit tired of Cecily at times, but oh well. Can't have it all.
While some choices and events seemed a bit unrealistic at times , I was still really hooked because overall it was a happy romance story that I used to create in my head all the time when I was younger, and that I needed to read about. It did have some sexy scenes in the middle, something to make dames blush, but nothing too provocative, I'd say.
In the end, a guilty pleasure read! Since I don't read a lot of these kinds of books, I don't have anything to compare it to, so tread lightly. It might be trash, but for me it was enjoyable trash. Made me want to read more about medieval English history at least!
TRANSLATION
I read the (PT) Portuguese translation from the publisher Harlequin, which is Harper Collins Iberica. Because it is mostly a Spanish publisher in the region, this translation was pretty bad. It really threw me off at times (like, wth is "meneou a cabeça"?). I mean, I may be ignorant of some Portuguese expressions, but I guarantee you that some have never popped up in any other Portuguese book I read, nor did I ever hear it. That said, the editing was awful too. There were circular sentences, repeated sentence forms in the same paragraph (e.g. Isabella had told her that it was still in construction (...) "Oh, so I see you are still in construction" (...) It was apparent it was still in construction.) That was across three paragraphs, and it was so annoying. A good edit would have solved that. And there were mistakes in names, like twice Cecily was referred as Isabella, and Charles was used in one part of the book, while in the end Carlos was used. Also, in Portugal we would never translate Elisabeth to "Isabella", ok? Geesh. It would either be Elisabete or Isabel. So little things like that... Really grind my gears. And also made me think if the author's writing was the real problem. But while the writing is not astounding, by no means, I still think the biggest issue is the translation here.
And, well, while this did have common tropes and clichés in books that depict romance, I found myself binge reading it in 2 days and seriously enjoying it.
It portrays two seemingly unlikely romances, one royal, and the other the protagonists', Cecily, a countess, and Marc, a French knight. It is the formula of a love-hate relationship, and of forbidden love in the end. So, that makes for some juicy tense scenes. The medieval setting I also think is well portrayed, with the use of some historical facts and events to support it. I would've liked more description of the setting, nonetheless. I am not very familiar with how the dresses looked like then, what the court was like, or even the castles. Not having that description made me struggle to create that image in my head, and a google search in the middle of reading is not the best thing for immersion. Without having read any other book by Gifford, I think I can safely say that she focuses a lot more on dialogue than description.
I think the fact that made me enjoy this story the most was that the love-hate aspect was put aside in the middle! The characters actually grew! They changed their minds about their priorities, actually admitted they were wrong in some aspects, and that was interesting to read. AND, and this is very important, the male protagonist was a REALLY nice and respectful guy, a total gentleman who considered her consent important! Total swoon. I grew a bit tired of Cecily at times, but oh well. Can't have it all.
While some choices and events seemed a bit unrealistic at times , I was still really hooked because overall it was a happy romance story that I used to create in my head all the time when I was younger, and that I needed to read about. It did have some sexy scenes in the middle, something to make dames blush, but nothing too provocative, I'd say.
In the end, a guilty pleasure read! Since I don't read a lot of these kinds of books, I don't have anything to compare it to, so tread lightly. It might be trash, but for me it was enjoyable trash. Made me want to read more about medieval English history at least!
TRANSLATION
I read the (PT) Portuguese translation from the publisher Harlequin, which is Harper Collins Iberica. Because it is mostly a Spanish publisher in the region, this translation was pretty bad. It really threw me off at times (like, wth is "meneou a cabeça"?). I mean, I may be ignorant of some Portuguese expressions, but I guarantee you that some have never popped up in any other Portuguese book I read, nor did I ever hear it. That said, the editing was awful too. There were circular sentences, repeated sentence forms in the same paragraph (e.g. Isabella had told her that it was still in construction (...) "Oh, so I see you are still in construction" (...) It was apparent it was still in construction.) That was across three paragraphs, and it was so annoying. A good edit would have solved that. And there were mistakes in names, like twice Cecily was referred as Isabella, and Charles was used in one part of the book, while in the end Carlos was used. Also, in Portugal we would never translate Elisabeth to "Isabella", ok? Geesh. It would either be Elisabete or Isabel. So little things like that... Really grind my gears. And also made me think if the author's writing was the real problem. But while the writing is not astounding, by no means, I still think the biggest issue is the translation here.
August 28, 2020
I do love a little historical fiction, especially in this era, and with a bit of romance. Well written and well researched, with a collection of characters who are at once believable and liable, with others who make the whole a historically fun story worth reading, whether you like historical romance or not, it has a lot of insight to what life was like at the time, making you transport yourself there, to the Duke of Lancaster and his Spanish bride's court, where the lives of men and women alike were not their own, even the Duke's, and where plans can change on a whim!
Very much the book to take on holiday, catch some rays, imagine yourself in corset and thick dress with jewels and ribbons, with men romancing as troubadours and love everywhere and in reality, very hard to find for real!
Very much the book to take on holiday, catch some rays, imagine yourself in corset and thick dress with jewels and ribbons, with men romancing as troubadours and love everywhere and in reality, very hard to find for real!
October 31, 2015
Lady Cecily despises the French because they killed her father. Seeing the French hostages at court treated as honored guests feels to her like a slap in the face of all those who have died in the wars.One man has become especially dangerous in Cecily's mind - the French captive Lord de Coucy has captured the interest of the Princess. A love affair between the two could spell doom for the young lady.
Marc de Marcel wants only to return home but as a lowly chevalier he hasn't the money to pay his own ransom and it seems as though the Lord whose place he took has no intention of making good on the debt. The idea of escaping and putting such a stain on his honor is initially abhorrent to him but as the wheels and deals of politics spin all around him he realizes that honor is rarely a term one should associate with men of power. Trapped and desperate he makes a deal with Cecily - he will help keep Lord de Coucy away from the princess if she will help him escape. But can the two escape the destiny love has in store for them?
This book was okay but I struggled with the character of Cecily. At a time when you could die from the common cold or a simple infection it seemed odd that she mourned her father soooooo deeply. Death was an accepted part of life in those times. I also found the boar hunt scene a bit over the top. Otherwise an enjoyable historical.
Anniversary Challenge #1
Marc de Marcel wants only to return home but as a lowly chevalier he hasn't the money to pay his own ransom and it seems as though the Lord whose place he took has no intention of making good on the debt. The idea of escaping and putting such a stain on his honor is initially abhorrent to him but as the wheels and deals of politics spin all around him he realizes that honor is rarely a term one should associate with men of power. Trapped and desperate he makes a deal with Cecily - he will help keep Lord de Coucy away from the princess if she will help him escape. But can the two escape the destiny love has in store for them?
This book was okay but I struggled with the character of Cecily. At a time when you could die from the common cold or a simple infection it seemed odd that she mourned her father soooooo deeply. Death was an accepted part of life in those times. I also found the boar hunt scene a bit over the top. Otherwise an enjoyable historical.
Anniversary Challenge #1
October 28, 2015
Good read. This book and its companion, Secrets at Court, are focused around the two children of English King Edward III who were allowed to marry for love. The heroine in this book is a lady serving the princess, who is attracted to one of the French hostages being held for ransom. The princess and her beau are real historical people who really did marry, but didn't live happily ever after. However, they are not the man characters in the book. The heroine hates the French because her father died there, presumably in battle. The hero is a hostage who came to England to take the place of another hostage and hang out with his friend de Coucy, the guy the princess likes. The heroine is worried the princess will get in too deep with her crush, and tries to recruit the hero to help her keep them out of trouble, but they wind up being used to help the couple get together. And getting past their antipathy for each other to know each other as human beings, and not just French or English. The heroine also has a lot of growing up to do. It's a good story with good history underpinning it. I liked it a whole lot.
January 2, 2016
Set in medieval England, Marc de Marcel is a French hostage of lowly birth, sent to replace a noble, but his ransom is not forthcoming.
Cecily has lost both her parents, and is duty bound as the Countess of Losford to wed according to the king's pleasure. Until she happens on one of the hated French responsible for the deaths of her countrymen. Sheltered, there is much she doesn't know about the world, and the hostage chevalier becomes her tutor.
I loved Ms. Gifford's attention to historical details and was as impressed by her story notes as with the story itself. A heart rending tale of duty and honor.
Cecily has lost both her parents, and is duty bound as the Countess of Losford to wed according to the king's pleasure. Until she happens on one of the hated French responsible for the deaths of her countrymen. Sheltered, there is much she doesn't know about the world, and the hostage chevalier becomes her tutor.
I loved Ms. Gifford's attention to historical details and was as impressed by her story notes as with the story itself. A heart rending tale of duty and honor.
June 29, 2016
This book is so boring! Even the one sex scene is boring. Cecily spends all her days keeping the princess company at the castle, and is sad because her parents have passed away. Marc is a grumpy French knight who has been taken hostage by Cecily's English king, and Marc really doesn't give the impression of being attracted to her; he just wants to go back home to France. I quit reading this tedious book on page 252 out of 274. I really didn't care how it ended by then; it was just a complete waste of time .
December 27, 2015
I just finished this book, I love Gifford as a writer and this story was good, particularly her attention to historical detail, its rare a romance book entices me to go research history further but upon finishing this book I had to learn more about Isabella of Woodstock.
The romance in the book starts out well but I wish it had been drawn out a bit, the real issue once they fell in love by mid way through the book was to figure out how they would get together.
The romance in the book starts out well but I wish it had been drawn out a bit, the real issue once they fell in love by mid way through the book was to figure out how they would get together.
Read
January 12, 2016"Gifford creates memorable characters and stories with such passion and authenticity that they capture the hearts of fans worldwide. This is book two of her Royal Weddings series about stubborn lovers who fight as strongly as they love" (RT Book Reviews, 4 stars).
Miniseries: Royal Weddings
Miniseries: Royal Weddings
Read
July 6, 2015Miniseries: Royal Weddings
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews