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Almost Innocent
Growing up behind the impenetrable walls of an English fortress, young Magdalen does not know that she is the illegitimate daughter of a powerful English prince and his murdered French mistress -- or that she has been a pawn in the struggle between England and France ever since she slipped from her dying mother's womb.
All she knows is that she longs for excitement. And then one day, as if in answer to her prayers, the splendid figure of Guy de Gervais, a true knight in shining armor, rides into her cloistered world and spirits her away.
For Magdalen it is love at first sight. The one and only love of her life. Yet Guy sees only his responsibility to keep Magdalen safe until she can be wed to his nephew and thus fulfill her political destiny.
Then duty calls Guy to the bloody battlefields of France, and when he returns, time has transformed Magdalen into a stunningly sensual beauty. Suddenly the noble knight is fighting the fiercest battle of his life: against a searing desire for a woman he cannot have.
All she knows is that she longs for excitement. And then one day, as if in answer to her prayers, the splendid figure of Guy de Gervais, a true knight in shining armor, rides into her cloistered world and spirits her away.
For Magdalen it is love at first sight. The one and only love of her life. Yet Guy sees only his responsibility to keep Magdalen safe until she can be wed to his nephew and thus fulfill her political destiny.
Then duty calls Guy to the bloody battlefields of France, and when he returns, time has transformed Magdalen into a stunningly sensual beauty. Suddenly the noble knight is fighting the fiercest battle of his life: against a searing desire for a woman he cannot have.
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
41 people are currently reading
626 people want to read
About the author
Jane Feather
170 books630 followersJane Feather (born Jane Robotham) is a popular British–American writer of historical romance novels. In 1984 she wrote five contemporary romances under the pseudonym Claudia Bishop. She is a New York Times-bestselling, award–winning writer, and has more than ten million romance novels in print.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
June 25, 2024
Jane Feather certainly got the flavor of the era right. We get barbaric punishments (a man in stocks has a decomposing cat wrapped around his neck, to the utter delight of our heroine, for example), a beheading by sword while on horseback (very Game of Thrones), jousts, poisonings, and royal intrigue galore.
However, for me, the main protagonists were annoying and underwhelming. The plot was a hot mess that went nowhere. If you want a really good, riveting fictional story about John of Gaunt, may I humbly suggest Katherine, by Anya Seton.
DNF exactly at the halfway mark.
However, for me, the main protagonists were annoying and underwhelming. The plot was a hot mess that went nowhere. If you want a really good, riveting fictional story about John of Gaunt, may I humbly suggest Katherine, by Anya Seton.
DNF exactly at the halfway mark.
November 7, 2021
One thing I can say in favour of this medieval romance is that it unashamedly lived up to its reputation: ie, that of a bloated, albeit highly engrossing, tale of forbidden love set in the 14th century.
The book follows John of Gaunt’s (fictional) bastard daughter, aptly named Magdalen, whose gory birth in the prologue sets the tone for the entire story, and her tumultuous love story with Guy de Gervais, a Lancaster knight and lord.
What started out as a platonic and tender relationship between a lady and the knight sworn to protect her soon turns into a torrid extramarital affair.
These star-crossed lovers didn’t spare much thought for politics, marriage vows, or even the threat on their own lives if their affair was ever discovered: the heroine’s witchy wiles were just too compelling for the hero to resist.
While I don’t tolerate cheating between the MC, I barely bat an eyelid when the hero/heroine cheat on their spouse in order to be be together (John of Gaunt inspired morals, I know), and in this case I definitely didn’t feel like blaming the heroine for grasping any shred of happiness life threw at her.
And in any case, both her and the hero had to walk a long and winding road to their HEA, which felt highly deserved.
Jane Feather’s determination to remind the reader that this book is set in the dark ages compelled her to sprinkle casual acts of violence and rape (which even befalls the heroine) every couple pages, lest the reader forget how brutal life was at the time. Keeping these TWs in mind, I recommend this book to anyone who’s in the mood for a tormented romance between two imperfect but ultimately honourable people, set against a distinctively medieval backdrop and suffering from an overwhelmingly purple prose.
The book follows John of Gaunt’s (fictional) bastard daughter, aptly named Magdalen, whose gory birth in the prologue sets the tone for the entire story, and her tumultuous love story with Guy de Gervais, a Lancaster knight and lord.
What started out as a platonic and tender relationship between a lady and the knight sworn to protect her soon turns into a torrid extramarital affair.
These star-crossed lovers didn’t spare much thought for politics, marriage vows, or even the threat on their own lives if their affair was ever discovered: the heroine’s witchy wiles were just too compelling for the hero to resist.
While I don’t tolerate cheating between the MC, I barely bat an eyelid when the hero/heroine cheat on their spouse in order to be be together (John of Gaunt inspired morals, I know), and in this case I definitely didn’t feel like blaming the heroine for grasping any shred of happiness life threw at her.
And in any case, both her and the hero had to walk a long and winding road to their HEA, which felt highly deserved.
Jane Feather’s determination to remind the reader that this book is set in the dark ages compelled her to sprinkle casual acts of violence and rape (which even befalls the heroine) every couple pages, lest the reader forget how brutal life was at the time. Keeping these TWs in mind, I recommend this book to anyone who’s in the mood for a tormented romance between two imperfect but ultimately honourable people, set against a distinctively medieval backdrop and suffering from an overwhelmingly purple prose.
November 17, 2021
Тук баба Джейн е подхванала тема, която любовните романи избягват като дявол - тамян. Изневярата. И то в късното средновековие, когато жените са били собственост. И то при красив, млад и добър съпруг, който заслужава нещо по-добро от това, което му е отредено. Но сърцето си е сърце, и когато на един брак не му е писано, просто не му е писано и толкова. Никакви добри намерения, закони и насилие не могат да го закрепят.
За разлика от доста моралните други читателки, които са писнали срещу изневярата на главната героиня, аз съм точно на обратното мнение и, за разлика от нея, не бих простила на главния герой, че я хвърли на обществените порядки заради гузната си съвест. Не само, че нищо не оправи, ами за малко да прецака всички. За близките си - дори когато обществото го забранява - трябва да се бориш. А не да ги зарязваш. Стана ми жал и за съпруга, че авторката все пак го уби накрая - момчето не го заслужаваше. Затова и хепи ендът ми дойде изкуствен. Но иначе добре разказана история.
⭐️3,5 звезди⭐️
За разлика от доста моралните други читателки, които са писнали срещу изневярата на главната героиня, аз съм точно на обратното мнение и, за разлика от нея, не бих простила на главния герой, че я хвърли на обществените порядки заради гузната си съвест. Не само, че нищо не оправи, ами за малко да прецака всички. За близките си - дори когато обществото го забранява - трябва да се бориш. А не да ги зарязваш. Стана ми жал и за съпруга, че авторката все пак го уби накрая - момчето не го заслужаваше. Затова и хепи ендът ми дойде изкуствен. Но иначе добре разказана история.
⭐️3,5 звезди⭐️
July 4, 2020
Pretty decent but not the authors best. I found it hard to like Magdalen. She loved Guy since childhood, though he starts out as a father figure. The problem is she has a husband that loves her and is a good man. When her husband is believed dead she jumps in bed with Guy even though she didn't believe Edmund is dead. I felt so sorry for Edmund, she never gives him a chance. She is so naive that she thinks she can still have Guy. Guy is another great, chivalrous hero. He feels guilt from the beginning, thouhh it did not stop him sleeping with her. They do have a great romance.The villians were a little predictable. The story is well written just not anything special. I give 3 1/2 stars.
April 23, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was epic. I loved it from start to finish and it had all my favorite tropes. Age gap, ward/warden, and true true love 🥰
I know people will hate it for exactly those reasons, but F that. Go into this with an open mind, save judgmental bullshit til the END, remember it’s just a story, and you should be fine.
This was epic. I loved it from start to finish and it had all my favorite tropes. Age gap, ward/warden, and true true love 🥰
I know people will hate it for exactly those reasons, but F that. Go into this with an open mind, save judgmental bullshit til the END, remember it’s just a story, and you should be fine.
July 1, 2012
Setting: France and England, Mid-14th Century.
Heroine: Magdalen, the illegitimate daughter of John of Gaunt and Isolde de Beauregard, his mistress, who, at the opening of the book, attempts to kill him. He turns the tables, and as she dies of her own poison, the baby she was carrying is born. John considers leaving the infant to die with her mother but instead takes her and names her after a whore like her mother. Nice guy. Magdalen was raised on the Welsh borders by a man who pretended to be her father but treated her with no kindness, and whipped her when she displeased him (this is not presented as abuse, since at the time it was not considered such).
Hero: Guy de Gervais. Guy is an older (by more than a decade) married man whose liege is John of Gaunt. John sends him to collect the girl when she reaches a marriageable age. She's been legitimized and is to be betrothed by proxy to Edmund de Bresse, Guy's nephew and also a hostage of John's. Edmund is heir to some important lands in France, and John plans to use his daughter (whom he hates on sight since she looks much like her mother) to bind the two families and cement Edmund's allegiance for himself and the English crown.
Magdalen develops a nice little crush on Guy, but he loves his dying wife. Then Magdalen is married to de Bresse. The story goes on from there with a lot of really complicated twists and turns. Let's just say that Guy and Magdalen do finally connect; the connection turns out to be adulterous when Magdalen's husband, presumed dead, turns up quite alive, lots of angst and heartache and betrayal and intrigue and in general a pretty good, not easy to describe story.
If you like Medieval history this is a great read. Feather definitely puts you deep into the place and time, lets you see how people then thought and lived. It's a worthy read and the romance itself is satisfying. I'm not usually keen on stories involving adultery but here it didn't bother me too much.
Heroine: Magdalen, the illegitimate daughter of John of Gaunt and Isolde de Beauregard, his mistress, who, at the opening of the book, attempts to kill him. He turns the tables, and as she dies of her own poison, the baby she was carrying is born. John considers leaving the infant to die with her mother but instead takes her and names her after a whore like her mother. Nice guy. Magdalen was raised on the Welsh borders by a man who pretended to be her father but treated her with no kindness, and whipped her when she displeased him (this is not presented as abuse, since at the time it was not considered such).
Hero: Guy de Gervais. Guy is an older (by more than a decade) married man whose liege is John of Gaunt. John sends him to collect the girl when she reaches a marriageable age. She's been legitimized and is to be betrothed by proxy to Edmund de Bresse, Guy's nephew and also a hostage of John's. Edmund is heir to some important lands in France, and John plans to use his daughter (whom he hates on sight since she looks much like her mother) to bind the two families and cement Edmund's allegiance for himself and the English crown.
Magdalen develops a nice little crush on Guy, but he loves his dying wife. Then Magdalen is married to de Bresse. The story goes on from there with a lot of really complicated twists and turns. Let's just say that Guy and Magdalen do finally connect; the connection turns out to be adulterous when Magdalen's husband, presumed dead, turns up quite alive, lots of angst and heartache and betrayal and intrigue and in general a pretty good, not easy to describe story.
If you like Medieval history this is a great read. Feather definitely puts you deep into the place and time, lets you see how people then thought and lived. It's a worthy read and the romance itself is satisfying. I'm not usually keen on stories involving adultery but here it didn't bother me too much.
August 22, 2015
Let me go on record to say that when I first read Almost Innocent by Jane Feather years ago, I was sympathetic towards the plight of the two main characters, Guy and Magdalen, and was in fact moved by their passionate love for each other.
However, when I picked it up again to read recently (go here for the synopsis, for I shall not summarize it), I wasn’t too enamoured of the way they deluded themselves into carrying on an adulterous relationship. Granted, Guy had believed Magdalen’s young hubby, Edmund, to be dead by mishap but not our dear heroine. She’s so strong willed and self-serving when it comes to preserving their relationship that to me, she became almost as spoiled and ruthless as her royal father.
Read the rest here: https://inmybooks.wordpress.com/2007/...
However, when I picked it up again to read recently (go here for the synopsis, for I shall not summarize it), I wasn’t too enamoured of the way they deluded themselves into carrying on an adulterous relationship. Granted, Guy had believed Magdalen’s young hubby, Edmund, to be dead by mishap but not our dear heroine. She’s so strong willed and self-serving when it comes to preserving their relationship that to me, she became almost as spoiled and ruthless as her royal father.
Read the rest here: https://inmybooks.wordpress.com/2007/...
April 26, 2016
This was the very first romance novel I ever read. It opened my heart to romance and most likely my love for reading.
Sometimes it takes a book like this to create a reader for life. I have to thank Jane Feather for that.
My tastes in books has changed over the years but this one will always be held near and dear to my heart. Romance usually does that.
Anyway if you want to read it read it because you wont regret it and if you don't want to read it you are missing out but that's just my opinion. :)
Last read in 2011 and just had to reread, still love it! :D
Sometimes it takes a book like this to create a reader for life. I have to thank Jane Feather for that.
My tastes in books has changed over the years but this one will always be held near and dear to my heart. Romance usually does that.
Anyway if you want to read it read it because you wont regret it and if you don't want to read it you are missing out but that's just my opinion. :)
Last read in 2011 and just had to reread, still love it! :D
November 8, 2012
One of my favorite romances of all time. Sensual, moving, and packed with terror, action, and adventure! Magdalen and Guy are characters that I will never forget, and I love that he is her ward, and, eventually, her lover (much, much later.) She is headstrong and stubborn, but not overly so, a characteristic I like in my heroine. Guy is dominant, controlling, but tender- my favorite kind of hero. This book is beautifully written, and remains my favorite historical romance of all time.
July 14, 2013
"Almost Innocent" is the one that started it all. This was my first romance EVER - it had illegitimate offspring , intrigue, love triangles , unrequited love and of course a happy ending ( at least for our protagonists )
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September 19, 2023This book was my first romance book EVER. I was like 11 years old, I saw it in line at the grocery store aisle, got entranced at the gorgeous cover and the promise of a love story with knights, begged my mom for it. She looked askance at the scantily clad books alongside it on the shelf, but at my continued begging she gave the back summary a cursory look... Then put it promptly back on the shelf. No, she said.
Well. I got home and searched high and low for any spare change I could find, then snuck back and bought the book. I read it, totally swept away, and my eyes got BIG at what were my first sex scenes. I knew it was bad bad bad (I grew up in purity culture) so I finished it all in secret, then tore it apart and threw it into a trash heap in the backyard.
And I've since spent the last 20+ years wishing I could remember the title, only remembering the gorgeous cover with a dark haired lady in a purple gown, looking over the countryside from a castle window. Oh....and of course the seduction scene 😁
Just this summer, I was at my local bookstore which sells new and used books, browsing morosely, down in the dumps. You know. I was even so down that I plopped on the floor without energy. My eyes strayed a little and, even though it was only the dime-size image in the spine, I recognized it. At last. At long last. Reunited!
I'm glad I got to read it again! It was a terrible, absolutely dated romance, and I loved it for that too. It was so long-winded that it's taken me weeks to actually finish it, and I love that too.
I'll treasure it always <3
Well. I got home and searched high and low for any spare change I could find, then snuck back and bought the book. I read it, totally swept away, and my eyes got BIG at what were my first sex scenes. I knew it was bad bad bad (I grew up in purity culture) so I finished it all in secret, then tore it apart and threw it into a trash heap in the backyard.
And I've since spent the last 20+ years wishing I could remember the title, only remembering the gorgeous cover with a dark haired lady in a purple gown, looking over the countryside from a castle window. Oh....and of course the seduction scene 😁
Just this summer, I was at my local bookstore which sells new and used books, browsing morosely, down in the dumps. You know. I was even so down that I plopped on the floor without energy. My eyes strayed a little and, even though it was only the dime-size image in the spine, I recognized it. At last. At long last. Reunited!
I'm glad I got to read it again! It was a terrible, absolutely dated romance, and I loved it for that too. It was so long-winded that it's taken me weeks to actually finish it, and I love that too.
I'll treasure it always <3
February 9, 2025
3.5 stars
It’s hard to review this book objectively because of my history with it. Back in the early 2000s, I convinced my mom to buy this for me at the grocery store. It was my very first romance novel, and I promptly passed it around to all of my friends after I read it. It’s now legendary among our friend group and gets passed on as each of us has gotten married. My copy is tattered, taped together, and has numerous annotations from amused 12 year-olds reading romance for the first time ever.
As for the story… I reread it recently for the first time in nearly 25 years, and it held up fairly well. I did find the age gap a little more disturbing this time around, and I felt sorry for Edmund, the cuckolded husband believed dead.
Something that impressed me was the amount of detail about the time period. It was clear Feather did her research about the Middle Ages. She seemed to know the correct term for each medieval garment, ritual, armor, etc.
There were several places where the prose dragged and I felt the text could have been cut down. But I enjoyed the story overall. I hadn’t remembered much about the plot, so I still felt some surprise throughout as it developed.
It’s hard to review this book objectively because of my history with it. Back in the early 2000s, I convinced my mom to buy this for me at the grocery store. It was my very first romance novel, and I promptly passed it around to all of my friends after I read it. It’s now legendary among our friend group and gets passed on as each of us has gotten married. My copy is tattered, taped together, and has numerous annotations from amused 12 year-olds reading romance for the first time ever.
As for the story… I reread it recently for the first time in nearly 25 years, and it held up fairly well. I did find the age gap a little more disturbing this time around, and I felt sorry for Edmund, the cuckolded husband believed dead.
Something that impressed me was the amount of detail about the time period. It was clear Feather did her research about the Middle Ages. She seemed to know the correct term for each medieval garment, ritual, armor, etc.
There were several places where the prose dragged and I felt the text could have been cut down. But I enjoyed the story overall. I hadn’t remembered much about the plot, so I still felt some surprise throughout as it developed.
January 9, 2012
I was recommended this book as a fan of the Outlander series. Although I expected a lighter romance given the blurb and cover, I was surprised to find the book filled with well researched historical information, lots of political intrigue, and, at least at the beginning, a heroine I could like. Then near the middle this became a wallbanger, and I struggled to finish it. I can't discuss what I hated about this book so much without spoilers, so here goes...
I have a very hard time with adultery in romance. In Outlander, I kind of got it due to the whole time-travel thing. Not here. This is blatant, I think my husband is alive but I don't care, adultery between the hero and heroine and it disgusted me. Even if I could have looked past Magdelen's miscarriage just two days before, the way she shows up in Guy's tent with the argument "I've had a crush on you since I was 11, and I don't care that I'm married to your beloved nephew or that I just lost the baby I carried with him" to encourage the lovin' had this book hitting the wall. I could only skim the book after that as her husband returns and she proceeds to keep both the husband and her lover (his uncle). It would have been a DNF, but it became such a hot mess I had to see it to the end. Ultimately, I wish I hadn't bothered.
I have a very hard time with adultery in romance. In Outlander, I kind of got it due to the whole time-travel thing. Not here. This is blatant, I think my husband is alive but I don't care, adultery between the hero and heroine and it disgusted me. Even if I could have looked past Magdelen's miscarriage just two days before, the way she shows up in Guy's tent with the argument "I've had a crush on you since I was 11, and I don't care that I'm married to your beloved nephew or that I just lost the baby I carried with him" to encourage the lovin' had this book hitting the wall. I could only skim the book after that as her husband returns and she proceeds to keep both the husband and her lover (his uncle). It would have been a DNF, but it became such a hot mess I had to see it to the end. Ultimately, I wish I hadn't bothered.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2012
I loved the characters especially the hero, Guy. The writing was a little frustrating because it was so wordy. Overall a lot of history and not enough romance.
November 5, 2025
A little bit Game of Throne's.
November 15, 2020
Muchos años sin leer a esta escritora y decido hacerlo con esta trilogía, esta por demás decir que lo disfrute mucho
June 15, 2020
There is something unsavory about the pairing in this tale, making it difficult to see them as hero and heroine. When first they meet, Guy de Gervais is a 26 year old married knight come to escort 11 year old illegitimate Magdalen from her foster parents to meet John of Gaunt who sired her with a traitorous mistress, a bewitching siren dead of poison she meant for her lover. Because of her royal father, the girl is a useful pawn to secure lands in France to the English House of Lancaster through marriage. She is betrothed to 14 year old Edmund, Guy's nephew and ward. Until old enough to marry, Magdalen is in the care of Guy and his ailing wife as is Edmund though he is busy preparing for knighthood. So that's the start of the triangle for the rest of the book - an 11 year old girl, her 14 year old betrothed and the married 26 year old guardian of both. Ewwww.
The 11 year old girl develops a case of hero worship for Guy that becomes an unhealthy attachment without his noticing. He treats her like the other young wards in his household (no children of his own), calling her Pippin with casual affection. Much to his surprise after his beloved wife's death and just before the scheduled marriage of Magdalen with Edmund, she declares her love and passionate devotion to Guy! He discourages her and the marriage goes through as intended but he is not repelled as he should have been by the girl's obsession with him to the detriment of his nephew.
And so on it goes. Magdalen is a reasonably dutiful wife but whenever possible acts like a stalker of Guy. Her husband conveniently disappears for 7 months after being grievously injured by French rivals for his lands and is presumed dead by everyone but the pregnant Magdalen. After she miscarries Edmund's baby on the way to secure their French lands, she makes her move on now widowed Guy and succeeds in seducing him. At least he believes his nephew dead whereas Magdalen with her witchy ways inherited from her infamous mother "knows" he is not. But that didn't stop her from fulfilling her childhood fantasy, carrying on with Guy though she knew an honorable union between them was impossible, becoming pregnant again soon enough that they could pass off the child as Edmund's. Throughout their sexual escapades, Guy continues to call her by the childhood endearment Pippin. Ugh.
Edmund eventually heals enough to reunite with his unsurprised but unhappy bride. The poor chap has done nothing wrong, loves her but cannot break through her obsession with his uncle which he eventually discovers first to his horror and anger, then to his deep sadness. Of course he has to be bumped off for real this time to give Magdalen and Guy their undeserved HEA. A more fair ending would have been for the spoiled spooky Magdalen to be left alone to raise her child as a regretful Guy rides off into the sunset out of guilt for what he unwittingly and she selfishly did to his nephew and ward Edmund. The title "Almost Innocent" does NOT apply to Magdalen, the cheating wife.
What a disappointment. I read Ms. Feather's 2nd novel in this series "Almost a Bride" first and found it excellent. This one is just a hot mess of adultery and betrayal by a self indulgent woman against an innocent husband.
The 11 year old girl develops a case of hero worship for Guy that becomes an unhealthy attachment without his noticing. He treats her like the other young wards in his household (no children of his own), calling her Pippin with casual affection. Much to his surprise after his beloved wife's death and just before the scheduled marriage of Magdalen with Edmund, she declares her love and passionate devotion to Guy! He discourages her and the marriage goes through as intended but he is not repelled as he should have been by the girl's obsession with him to the detriment of his nephew.
And so on it goes. Magdalen is a reasonably dutiful wife but whenever possible acts like a stalker of Guy. Her husband conveniently disappears for 7 months after being grievously injured by French rivals for his lands and is presumed dead by everyone but the pregnant Magdalen. After she miscarries Edmund's baby on the way to secure their French lands, she makes her move on now widowed Guy and succeeds in seducing him. At least he believes his nephew dead whereas Magdalen with her witchy ways inherited from her infamous mother "knows" he is not. But that didn't stop her from fulfilling her childhood fantasy, carrying on with Guy though she knew an honorable union between them was impossible, becoming pregnant again soon enough that they could pass off the child as Edmund's. Throughout their sexual escapades, Guy continues to call her by the childhood endearment Pippin. Ugh.
Edmund eventually heals enough to reunite with his unsurprised but unhappy bride. The poor chap has done nothing wrong, loves her but cannot break through her obsession with his uncle which he eventually discovers first to his horror and anger, then to his deep sadness. Of course he has to be bumped off for real this time to give Magdalen and Guy their undeserved HEA. A more fair ending would have been for the spoiled spooky Magdalen to be left alone to raise her child as a regretful Guy rides off into the sunset out of guilt for what he unwittingly and she selfishly did to his nephew and ward Edmund. The title "Almost Innocent" does NOT apply to Magdalen, the cheating wife.
What a disappointment. I read Ms. Feather's 2nd novel in this series "Almost a Bride" first and found it excellent. This one is just a hot mess of adultery and betrayal by a self indulgent woman against an innocent husband.
September 11, 2023
Call me crazy but I do not believe that novels written about a time period in which the norm was to marry off literal children without a thought to their own happiness and in which the plight of women was so overwhelmingly destitute should ever take the form of romance novels in which any of that reality is glorified or romanticized. It was not just the setting that was irredeemable for a romance novel in this book.
The central love story between Guy and Magdalen was so emblematic of the misogyny and the subjugation of women that is unavoidable in the time period that there was nothing in the relationship that was not tainted in a way that made my stomach turn. The whole premise of her being his ward as a child only to grow up to be his lover, while not unheard of for the historical period, is nothing to be romanticized. If this novel had been presented as a grim and harrowing fictionalization of the bleak and brutal time period then I would have seen fit to give it a much higher rating. Because ultimately that is how it read to me. I did not feel any warmth or any romance while reading this, and, frankly, I don't understand how anyone could have come away from it with that impression. Because I could not, throughout the entire novel, see the relationship as anything but the sad and desperate infatuation of a girl whose whole life had been devoid of love and affection and gentility to the point that she clung desperately to these feelings of girlish devotion to the first and only man who had ever been kind to her.
To me this was not an epic and passionate love story as had been sold in the summary. This was a realistic and dark depiction of the demoralizing and tormented lives of the overwhelming majority of people but especially women during this particularly unsavory period in human history. I don't understand how anyone could read this story of rape and child marriage and child soldiers sent into brutal savage wars, and women viewed as having no value beyond their use as political pawns as a passionate love story.
And to be honest, I went into the book knowing that it would either be horribly historically inaccurate or it would be this because it could not be both accurate to the time period and be a love story full of passion and romance to fill my daydreams. I would have quit early on in it if it were not for the fact that I'm reading it for a bookclub. This is one of the better examples I have found of how branding can change everything about a book. Because if this had been branded as historical literature and not glorified as a romance novel it would be an incredible work of fiction that would have stuck with me for days after finishing. But as it is the only thing that stuck with me was how horrified I was that someone tried to present this as a romance as though it was anything but tragic right down to the central romance itself.
The central love story between Guy and Magdalen was so emblematic of the misogyny and the subjugation of women that is unavoidable in the time period that there was nothing in the relationship that was not tainted in a way that made my stomach turn. The whole premise of her being his ward as a child only to grow up to be his lover, while not unheard of for the historical period, is nothing to be romanticized. If this novel had been presented as a grim and harrowing fictionalization of the bleak and brutal time period then I would have seen fit to give it a much higher rating. Because ultimately that is how it read to me. I did not feel any warmth or any romance while reading this, and, frankly, I don't understand how anyone could have come away from it with that impression. Because I could not, throughout the entire novel, see the relationship as anything but the sad and desperate infatuation of a girl whose whole life had been devoid of love and affection and gentility to the point that she clung desperately to these feelings of girlish devotion to the first and only man who had ever been kind to her.
To me this was not an epic and passionate love story as had been sold in the summary. This was a realistic and dark depiction of the demoralizing and tormented lives of the overwhelming majority of people but especially women during this particularly unsavory period in human history. I don't understand how anyone could read this story of rape and child marriage and child soldiers sent into brutal savage wars, and women viewed as having no value beyond their use as political pawns as a passionate love story.
And to be honest, I went into the book knowing that it would either be horribly historically inaccurate or it would be this because it could not be both accurate to the time period and be a love story full of passion and romance to fill my daydreams. I would have quit early on in it if it were not for the fact that I'm reading it for a bookclub. This is one of the better examples I have found of how branding can change everything about a book. Because if this had been branded as historical literature and not glorified as a romance novel it would be an incredible work of fiction that would have stuck with me for days after finishing. But as it is the only thing that stuck with me was how horrified I was that someone tried to present this as a romance as though it was anything but tragic right down to the central romance itself.
March 5, 2019
It was one of those books that aggressively perpetuates all of the BS about women. Woman as temptress, man as can't control himself in her presence, even when she is doing nothing overtly seductive, man hits woman and it is her fault because he just can't control himself in her presence, etc. Man orders woman and woman obeys. That kind of stuff. I know this kind of thing is par for the course in mass market romance, but this was worse than usual.
On top of that, it just wasn't that great of a book. Plot was myeh. Too much misogyny and not enough anything else.
On top of that, it just wasn't that great of a book. Plot was myeh. Too much misogyny and not enough anything else.
January 3, 2023
3.5
Heroine father kills her mother and carves her out of her mom’s womb. He then dumps her off to someone to care for until the age of 11. H is set with task to retrieve her and marry her off to his nephew. h falls in love with H instantly and vows to love him only. H goes off to war and comes back to an adult h. Her husband ends up dying so H takes her to her husband’s family estate so she can give birth there and claim his lands for England and h is successful in seducing H into falling in love with her
Heroine father kills her mother and carves her out of her mom’s womb. He then dumps her off to someone to care for until the age of 11. H is set with task to retrieve her and marry her off to his nephew. h falls in love with H instantly and vows to love him only. H goes off to war and comes back to an adult h. Her husband ends up dying so H takes her to her husband’s family estate so she can give birth there and claim his lands for England and h is successful in seducing H into falling in love with her
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2020
I guess I would consider this a pretty good book but it was more of a 3 1/2 star than a four-star. I had a little trouble with Meg Glenn playing fast and loose with her wedding vows even though she knew in her heart that her husband was not dead. It was an interesting set up where she suspected her husband wasn’t dead but G did not. Of course the convenient ending of the story allowed for a happily ever after
February 28, 2022
What I loved most about this book is the memories of when I went to Carcassonne, France in High school not long after reading this novel.
Although Magdalen’s birth and family dynamics weren’t ideal and at time down right crappy. She still kept going. She was a woman that made the best of most of what life through at her. She loved hard for a man she shouldn’t have - but to her it was love at first look.
Although Magdalen’s birth and family dynamics weren’t ideal and at time down right crappy. She still kept going. She was a woman that made the best of most of what life through at her. She loved hard for a man she shouldn’t have - but to her it was love at first look.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2021
(3.5 stars). I both like and dislike this book. Guy and Magdalen are clearly meant for each other but poor Edmund gets the shaft constantly and not even a happy ending. It’s hard to enjoy their love when it comes at the cost of Edmund’s!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2021
Disappointing. The language was very descriptive and very historical but I found the writing a bit jerky and choppy emotions. Plus parts of the story did not seem to ring true. A lot of telling and thoughts and not much dialogue.
January 21, 2022
Almost innocent is a stand alone set in medieval times and the insight into the culture back then was really interesting, but there was a love triangle which is annoying. I was happy with how it all ended.
February 12, 2018
Ugh. Terrible. Way too rapey and torturey.
November 29, 2025
I’m disappointed the time I gave this horrible, pointless, too long story. “I hit you because you made me do it.” “I’m obsessed with you and your looks because you’ve bewitched me.” No thanks!
September 14, 2011
Redonk Nutshell: Illegitimate daughter of renowned parents falls in love with her married guardian
On a whim, I pulled this off the library shelf because a) I want to read more of Jane Feather and b) I liked that it was set in an earlier period of history than what I usually read. So here's what we get:
Magdalen is born amid a betrayal of her mother, who was French, to her father, who is English. Because of her illegitimacy, she is sent off and raised with supporters of her father. When she turns eleven, she is shuffled to the care of Guy de Gervais, a handsome and chivalrous knight. Guy explains she is destined to marry his nephew, Edmund and she accepts it as her duty. Though spirited, Magdalen knows her responsibilities and expectations leveled upon her. As she grows up in the Gervais household she becomes even more enamored with Guy. Guy is happily married and has a huge brood of nephews and nieces under his roof, and dismisses Magdalen's attachment to him as innocent. Which, honestly, it is. But Magdalen is an old soul, and she knows in her heart she loves him. On the night before her wedding to Edmund she professes her love for Guy and tells him her arrangement with her fiance is ill advised, but Guy dismisses her.
Years later, Magalden is grown up and married several years to Edmund. When a conspiracy unfolds to remove Edmund and Magdalen from the picture, Magdalen is removed to her husband's land under Guy's escort. When Edmund is attacked along the road and presumed dead, a romance between Magdalen and Guy reluctantly unfolds. When Edmund turns up over a year later, both Magdalen and Guy are forced to face their actions and emotions.
Lawd, I had a time of it getting through this one. It started off intriguing enough, but from moment one the plot was one predictable cliche after another. Magdalen is a hard heroine to like, and while try not to hold that against her, I had a heck of a time sympathizing with her. She's just...meh. Bland. In fact, most of the characters are. By the halfway point of the book I found myself skimming through the pages. In fact, the last quarter I didn't really "read" at all. It was the "epic" conclusion involving a kidnapping and rescue in which only one of her men will live. And we all know which one it will be.
Definitely not my favorite read of Ms. Feather's, though I haven't given up on her.
Almost Innocent by Jane Feather, 432 pgs, 1990
Rating: D
Romance: 2/5 Raunch: 3/5
On a whim, I pulled this off the library shelf because a) I want to read more of Jane Feather and b) I liked that it was set in an earlier period of history than what I usually read. So here's what we get:
Magdalen is born amid a betrayal of her mother, who was French, to her father, who is English. Because of her illegitimacy, she is sent off and raised with supporters of her father. When she turns eleven, she is shuffled to the care of Guy de Gervais, a handsome and chivalrous knight. Guy explains she is destined to marry his nephew, Edmund and she accepts it as her duty. Though spirited, Magdalen knows her responsibilities and expectations leveled upon her. As she grows up in the Gervais household she becomes even more enamored with Guy. Guy is happily married and has a huge brood of nephews and nieces under his roof, and dismisses Magdalen's attachment to him as innocent. Which, honestly, it is. But Magdalen is an old soul, and she knows in her heart she loves him. On the night before her wedding to Edmund she professes her love for Guy and tells him her arrangement with her fiance is ill advised, but Guy dismisses her.
Years later, Magalden is grown up and married several years to Edmund. When a conspiracy unfolds to remove Edmund and Magdalen from the picture, Magdalen is removed to her husband's land under Guy's escort. When Edmund is attacked along the road and presumed dead, a romance between Magdalen and Guy reluctantly unfolds. When Edmund turns up over a year later, both Magdalen and Guy are forced to face their actions and emotions.
Lawd, I had a time of it getting through this one. It started off intriguing enough, but from moment one the plot was one predictable cliche after another. Magdalen is a hard heroine to like, and while try not to hold that against her, I had a heck of a time sympathizing with her. She's just...meh. Bland. In fact, most of the characters are. By the halfway point of the book I found myself skimming through the pages. In fact, the last quarter I didn't really "read" at all. It was the "epic" conclusion involving a kidnapping and rescue in which only one of her men will live. And we all know which one it will be.
Definitely not my favorite read of Ms. Feather's, though I haven't given up on her.
Almost Innocent by Jane Feather, 432 pgs, 1990
Rating: D
Romance: 2/5 Raunch: 3/5
May 24, 2013
I picked this up for $0.10 at my library's book sale, and I'm certainly glad not to have paid any more than that. I got through half, and I just can't bring myself to read any more than that. The blurb really doesn't give an idea of just how unlikeable I found the book.
The first quarter was rather slow. The first 50 pages were all about the heroine at age 11, and how no one liked her, and what an odd child she was, and how she developed a crush on her betrothed's uncle. All that seemed like backstory that could easily have been summed up in much fewer pages. Nothing much happened in the next 50 pages, either, except the heroine having a flashback to her rather unpleasant wedding night (afternoon?) with the hero's nephew, which I really could have done without, and the heroine lusting after the hero, despite being married only a couple months and pregnant. Then her husband disappears, presumed dead, except that she doesn't believe it, due to having a mystical "sense" that he's alive. This doesn't stop her from seducing the hero, though, mere days after having a miscarriage. And although he thinks it's wrong to sleep with his nephew's wife, it doesn't stop him from giving in quite easily.
The heroine soon realizes she's pregnant again, and decides this is a great way to bind the hero to her (while pretending it's still the not-dead husband's child) because otherwise he'd leave her once he realized there was something wrong with banging his not-dead nephew's wife.
Around here I just got fed up with the characters and the book and didn't want to read anymore. Hints of the not-dead husband coming back certainly didn't help my enthusiasm, because I could just see that going in directions I really didn't want it to. (Why not just kill the husband off in the beginning? Is that so hard to do? Instead, he'll presumably be killed off in the end, and I can't see how that's a happy occurrence for anyone, despite it allowing for the HEA between the supposed hero and heroine. The husband's the hero's beloved nephew, and seemingly not all that bad a guy, except for having the bad taste to get in the middle of a destined HEA.)
And the heroine is, what, 15? 16? 17? (She's 11 plus however many years it takes to conquer land held by the French, but surely that wouldn't take too long.) And yet she's apparently a super-seductress, and every single man wants her, despite having very little actual practice in seducing. And what's with the title? What does "almost" innocent even mean? I like the original title of "Brazen Whispers" better.
The first quarter was rather slow. The first 50 pages were all about the heroine at age 11, and how no one liked her, and what an odd child she was, and how she developed a crush on her betrothed's uncle. All that seemed like backstory that could easily have been summed up in much fewer pages. Nothing much happened in the next 50 pages, either, except the heroine having a flashback to her rather unpleasant wedding night (afternoon?) with the hero's nephew, which I really could have done without, and the heroine lusting after the hero, despite being married only a couple months and pregnant. Then her husband disappears, presumed dead, except that she doesn't believe it, due to having a mystical "sense" that he's alive. This doesn't stop her from seducing the hero, though, mere days after having a miscarriage. And although he thinks it's wrong to sleep with his nephew's wife, it doesn't stop him from giving in quite easily.
The heroine soon realizes she's pregnant again, and decides this is a great way to bind the hero to her (while pretending it's still the not-dead husband's child) because otherwise he'd leave her once he realized there was something wrong with banging his not-dead nephew's wife.
Around here I just got fed up with the characters and the book and didn't want to read anymore. Hints of the not-dead husband coming back certainly didn't help my enthusiasm, because I could just see that going in directions I really didn't want it to. (Why not just kill the husband off in the beginning? Is that so hard to do? Instead, he'll presumably be killed off in the end, and I can't see how that's a happy occurrence for anyone, despite it allowing for the HEA between the supposed hero and heroine. The husband's the hero's beloved nephew, and seemingly not all that bad a guy, except for having the bad taste to get in the middle of a destined HEA.)
And the heroine is, what, 15? 16? 17? (She's 11 plus however many years it takes to conquer land held by the French, but surely that wouldn't take too long.) And yet she's apparently a super-seductress, and every single man wants her, despite having very little actual practice in seducing. And what's with the title? What does "almost" innocent even mean? I like the original title of "Brazen Whispers" better.
did-not-finish
August 27, 2014I'm sorry to say that I got through 37% of the book and could go no further. I can maybe allow for the falling in infatuation-turned-love on the part of Magdalen, but blatantly throwing herself at Guy while being married, then while pregnant with her husband's child, and immediately after her miscarriage is simply unexcusable. Love does not excuse all. I very much doubt her husband would be so understanding, despite their arranged marriage. If the roles were reversed, Magdalen herself being so proud and headstrong would certainly not look the other way. I simply cannot stomache adultery all in the name of love. If one can cheat on another, what's to stop them from 'falling in love' with someone else and cheat on you?
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