Bedazzled

Skye's Legacy #2

by Bertrice Small

Building on the popularity of her bestselling Skye O'Malley historical romances, this second volume of Small's Skye's Legacy series (after Deceived) begins in 1625, and follows the volatile Lady India Lindley in her conversion from an innocent, headstrong English heiress with forthright views about fashion and romance, into the beguiling, sensual, diplomatic wife of the mysterious Caynan Reis, ruler of the Barbary state of El Sinut. Because Small is compelled at the outset to explain how her current crop of characters relates to the individuals portrayed in her earlier books, the novel's beginning is dragged down by references that would boggle an experienced genealogist. The plot finally acquires a breathless pace when Lady India, attempting to elope with a questionable suitor, is kidnapped by Ottoman pirates and becomes the body slave of the local ruler. She thus finds herself in a cross-cultural adventure that mimics her aristocratic ancestors' experiences. Small contrasts two vastly different 17th-century venues--Europe's lavish upper class with its religious and political conflicts and Barbary's exotic El Sinut, an Islamic state with entirely different customs concerning marriage, costume and worldly affairs. Small knows how to tweak the historical romance formula with just the right touch of originality, when India is kidnapped yet again and brought back to the family manse in England. The inevitable happy end has the correct mix of suspense, sensuality and romance. (July) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Harem

308 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1999

About the author

Bertrice Williams was born on December 9, 1937 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, the daughter of Doris S. and David R. Williams, both broadcasters. She studied at Attended Western College for Women and Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School. On October 5, 1963, she married George Sumner Small, a photographer and designer with a History Major at Princeton. They had a son Thomas David. She lived on eastern Long Island for over 30 years. Her greatest passions were her family; Finnegan and Sylvester, the family cats; Nicki, the elderly cockatiel who whistles the NY Mets charge call; her garden; her work, and just life in general.

Published since 1947, Bertrice Small was the author of over 50 romance novels. A New York Times bestselling author, she had also appeared on other best-seller lists including Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and the L.A. Times. She was the recipient of numerous awards including Career Achievement for Historical Romance; Best Historical Romance; Outstanding Historical Romance Series; Career Achievement for Historical Fantasy; a Golden Leaf from the New Jersey Romance Writers chapter of Romance Writers of America; an Author of the Year (2006) and Big Apple Award from the New York City Romance Writers chapter of RWA, and several Reviewers Choice awards from Romantic Times. She had a "Silver Pen" from Affair De Coeur, and an Honorable Mention from The West Coast Review of Books. In 2004 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by ROMANTIC TIMES magazine for her contributions to the Historical Romance genre. And in 2008 she was named by ROMANTIC TIMES along with her friends Jennifer Blake, Roberta Gellis and Janelle Taylor, a Pioneer of Romance.

Bertrice Small was a member of The Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, PAN, and PASIC. She was also a member of RWA's Long Island chapter, L.I.R.W., and is its easternmost member on the North Fork of Eastern Long Island.

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bedazzled is one of Bertrice Small's "harem" books. She has written several of them and almost all her main heroines, from Janet Leslie (The Kadin) to Jasmine Leslie (Wild Jasmine), have spent some time in a harem or two :) In this one, it is India Lindley who finds herself kidnapped by pirates while on the high seas and taken to a remote coast that is part of the Ottoman Empire. There, she falls under the spell of the local "dey", Caynan, who is not what he seems. This was a a very silly, highly enjoyable swashbuckler of an adventure that was fast-paced and riveting.

I started off hating India, the spoiled, selfish brat who would defy her family and even turn thief in order to pursue a highly unsuitable love interest. It is a testament to Small's writing that India came off so realistically. I have actually known several girls in real life who were spoiled heiresses running off to elope with gold diggers, and India is described to a tee. I was not even sure if I wanted to continue with the story until it took a twist for the better and she ended up in the harem. The relationship between India and Caynan was a nicely drawn slow burn (although not too slow) and very romantic. But what I liked best was that the author shows India's gradual maturing from a hateful, selfish girl to a strong woman who would not hesitate to bear great pain for her loved ones. She did this very realistically and by the end I came to love India.

A couple of negatives for me were that India's parents, Jasmine and Jemmie, who I had come to love from the previous books in which they were featured, Wild Jasmine and Darling Jasmine, come off here as monsters. What they do to India is absolutely unforgivable and worse, completely untrue to their character development in the previous books. The author always has gone to great length to draw parallels between Jasmine and her grandmother Skye O'Malley, whose namesake book began the whole O'Malley series and its numerous sequels. But the actions of India's mother are hypocritical, weak, and horrendous and she has never been farther from Skye O'Malley than here. For fans of Small who have followed the series chronologically starting from the matriarch Skye O'Malley's namesake book to all her descendants, this will be a blow. For others, this book can be read as a stand alone and they probably would not be shocked by the actions of India's parents in the context of 17th century England, where social mores would harshly punish any young woman who defied conventions.

Another disappointment was the botched ending, which unfortunately seems to be a weak point for most books that start out great. It is like the author ran out of steam. I know this is a completely unbelievable, escapist fantasy of a swashbuckling bodice-ripper but even in the context of the story, the ending of the book makes no sense. Would you not recognize the great love of your life simply because he now has a scar running down a side of his face and his hair is cut short? Laughably weak plot contrivance.

All in all though, this was a very enjoyable book and I would recommend it.

[Sonia N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omgoodness! First of all I am a die hard fan of the much beloved Bertrice Small! My first book was Adora and I was 15. This book is a beautiful and richly detailed in every way.
This storyline is action packed with a heroine who is not only beautiful, but stubborn, but also strong and smart. She is the daughter of Jasmine she is Velvet de Marisco and Skye O’Malley daughter.
The characters are familiar to me from previous books.
This is a beautiful majestic love story! With a handsome ruler of the Barbary state of El Sinut, Caynan Reis. Theirs is a sensual romantic story. As the story progresses so much happens and in all of the confusion, India finds herself back in England instead of in the arms and home of her Muslim husband.
Wonderfully, brilliantly written! I’m so in love with all of her books and I hope Audible produces them all. But with Justine Eyre.
I just finished listening to this book on Audible and fell in love again ❤️♥️. I have also read this book several times as well! I have read this book so many times and now Audible has it !! I just Love Bertrice Small and miss her so much! Justine Eyre is the narrator for this audio book and I love her voice!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my god. Bertrice Small. Why did I even try?

Um, it’s a Bertrice Small book. I went into it expecting it to be pretty bad. And it is. Bad and dated and full of revenge sex. Also, set in a harem, so there is this one scene that, had it not been paraphrased by the female participants in conversation with other women, would have been straight-up erotica rather than romance. Not that that’s a bad thing. It’s just that at some point, you reach a level of graphicness that pulls a book out of the romance genre and pushes it over into erotica. And Bertrice Small? Bertrice Small is the queen of this stuff.

Anyway, it’s set in the 17th century, but it’s a 17th century that never ever happened. Filled with silly names and impossible doings and punishing kisses and kidnappings and DRAHMA. Seriously, so many llamas it could be a petting zoo.

Sweet baby Jesus, but the genre has changed in … this was published in 1999? What!? I thought this was from the ’70s or ’80s! Bertrice Small must be stopped!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skye's daughter India

[Wytzia Raspe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovestory set during the reign of king Charles the first. Good reading but the end is a bit unbelievable.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me cry like a baby when Jemmie took Rowan away. In my view that makes it a good book, because it reached me on an emotional level. I was also filled with outrage over the actions of India's family, I doubt I would have ever been able to forgive them. Few books reach me on an emotional level, and yes, this is a bodice ripper and has lot's of purple prose, it's good, and I'm glad I decided to read it as part of my current harem obsession.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read every one of the Skye O'Malley series and now I am working my way thru the Skye's Legacy books. India is so much like her great grandmother. She is headstrong and determined to live her life her way. Bertrice Small has always had a way of making you feel connected to the heroines in her books. I wanted to cry right along with India when her son was taken from her. I can't wait to see what the next book has in store for me.

[Cem73 · Rating 5 out of 5]

De tous les B. Small que j'ai pu lire c'est le seul livre où :
1_ les personnages ne sont pas tête à claques (par contre le fait que notre héroïne ne reconnaisse pas notre héros sans sa barbe, c'était quand même un brin limite lol )
2_ l'histoire n'est pas noyée par l'Histoire
3_ Point le plus incroyable : il n'y a pas de partenaire multiple ni infidélité!!!!
J'ai adoré ce livre :)

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical romance with plenty of sizzle.

[Kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable even for a romance, with too few and too superficial sex scenes to redeem itself

[thismomlovesromancebooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good and the beginning was great. But the middle drag a little bit and her parents were annoying when she made it back home.

[Ella Spang]

Okay-

Main character who’s name I’ve forgotten: I wanna be in a harem and I’m also very silly and stupid.

Main love interest who’s name I’ve forgotten: I’m a white guy who somehow climbed the ranks and I have a harem in the Middle East somewhere. (I’ve forgotten)

They fall in love ❤️

Harem ☹️

Not to worry- he is killed off somehow? But he lives!

She marries him- but she thinks he’s dead so she doesn’t recognize him without a beard.

He reveals himself!

She hates him.

She loves him!

No more harem. They live happily ever after in Europe after all.

[Dione Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Repetitive

I am a huge Skye O'Malley fan but these stories are becoming so repetitive. I really want to read the next book but I am all Ottoman Sexed out. And is Adali ever going to reveal the truth about Fortune?

[Rubia La Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read

In the days of king Charles I a young lady falls in love with a young viscount her parents reject. She ends op a Barbary slave.
Nicely done but I cannot imagine what happens at the end. You will know.

[Marisa Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this family needs to tie these women to their home. lol. i loved getting to follow yet another generation of skye's family out of the country. it was a beautiful story about true love and keeping your person once you find them. <3

[Beth Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this book

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.75 ⭐️

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this typical Bertrice read. Everyone gets sold into slavery! Or gifted to the ruler!

[BlueBootedBiblioGirl]

Have two copies of this version soft cover and one hardcover from 1999.

[Eliza · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not prepared for how bad this book would be. I should have done some research before setting out with a different author that I was unfamiliar with. I wanted to read a romance, not a straight up porn in words. Not only that, but in the way that Beatrice Small wrote this book I seriously had to continue to question whether hers was a pen name and she was actually a man. There is so much chauvinism in this book that I just about gagged. Not to mention to the degradation of women.

The book was so difficult to navigate in the first dozen pages that I considered putting it down before even beginning. It was so boring I about cried. Then after pushing through the slow start I figured I was getting somewhere when she finally settled for an obvious liar. This was so disheartening to the promising character that India had started out as, besides being too spoiled rotten for my taste... But then to sacrifice all that potential to make her into a harem whore???

After which, her family which in the beginning so open and loving suddenly became this atrocious group of people who were unwilling to allow her child to remain with her? I don't understand the absolute vacillation of the story. If I had to hazard a guess I felt like one person began the book and failed to make it worthy, so another took up the cause and figured with loads of perversion and male chauvinism it would be made better, and a last had to quickly wrap things up because someone realized that the book was less than worthy in all ways.

Seriously would reconsider if you are considering this book...

[Eddy DarkSidhePrincess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt sorry for India in this book.
This is one of those rare Beatrice Small books where the heroine is not repeatable raped nor is she subjected several different partners.
One. Just one.
On a different note I was so p!$$ed at Jasmine for not fighting harder for India to keep her baby.
Jemmie, if I had been reading it in paperback it would have been flung across the room.
Why didn't they embellish the truth, that she had been married and her husband was murdered.
For someone who was supposedly so like her grandmother, Jasmine knuckles under to her husband and let him send India away so she wouldn't bring shame and dishonor to his name, by having a 'bastard'.

when India is finally reunited with her husband and they get their baby back.

Now here is where if I would have been Cayman I would have beaten the $h!+ of Jemmie for putting India through that. On India if it were me, I honedtly don't think I could have forgiven Jemmie. And Jasmine it v would have taken time.

[Chubby Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't THAT great but it was entertaining for the most part especially towards the end. Once again, with Bertrice Small's writing, we are mainly focused on lust but I am glad that India, daughter of Jasmine, is much more tamed than Small's other heroines.

Of course this series is part of the Skye O' Malley Legacy and other components involved are being abducted to become a sex slave in a harem by a powerful dey but luckily India is spared and basically does housekeeping as well as choosing the dey's bed partners. However, love (or lust) brings them together and both marry. Soon some rebellion happens and the dey is killed. India, who is pregnant, is sent back to her family and is forced to remarry. From there, it gets interesting.


So I gave this a three star because it was an okay read. Corny, smutty, cliche, but interesting.

[Fairyposs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lady India Lindley elopes with Alasdair on her cousin Thomas ship but is hijacked and given to to the Bey Caynen Reis. Thomas rescues India by kidnapping her and returns her home where her baby is taken away from her and she's married to Deverell (the Bey).

[Judy Kieffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is okay does follow the Skye O Malley series well

I did enjoy the book. Differently follows the series over well and the book is very good. would recommend the series to everyone who enjoys romantic books

[Sydney Mello · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book taught me what a harem was. Found it in my local library when I was 15. Worth it.

[Wendi · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I like it. I had a hard time believing that India could sneak away so easily, but it quickly got better.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un des premiers A&P que j'ai lu et que j'ai adoré !!!

[Oda · Rating 1 out of 5]

The part where she doesn't recognize her own husband... Aaah I don't even.