Beloved Enemy

by Amanda York, Joan Dial

Love dares all!
From lavish European ballrooms to exotic Caribbean islands, amidst private intrigue and raging war, Lanna Malford knew the ecstasy and torment of love. Driven from one man to another, from the one who adored her to the one who claimed her in heartless revenge, she was ruled by them both...forever stung by the fervor of her dreams...by the love that should never have been.

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Romance, Harlequin, Pirates, Historical Fiction, Fiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1978

About the author

Also wrote under the names:
Katherine Sinclair
Katherine Kent
Joan Dial

Reviews

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really addictive and just outlandish enough to leave me frustrated at every turn. Lanna was your pretty standard heroine (the kind who carries herself regally no matter the situation), but Damon was a bit of an enigma. He was cruel and jealous (and a rapist) but not as cruel as other bodice ripper heroes. In fact, he was kind of a big softy inside, once he got over his pride. I more or less enjoyed his character. I also really liked Alain, but Rafe, the "good" guy of the triangle, was a big ol' piece of shit who, apparently, never even knew his own wife and child had died. O_O

I didn't care for all the war descriptions (I never like those), although it seemed like the author tried to make them as brief yet detailed as possible, given the relatively short length of the book. I can't give this less than three stars for the number of times I gasped in outrage and felt frustrated that the characters weren't doing what I wanted them to do. A definite must-read for bodice ripper fans.

[Mermarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sped through this. I don't imagine it'll be remotely coherent.


Lanna Malford was languishing in her Princess Tower far too long before her family friends decide to give her a much needed season in London. Damon St.Clair, with an axe to grind, accompanies a Prince in Waiting, Rafe Danvers, to London where he uses him for a heroic figure to woo Lanna into pacification whilst he pulls devious antics such as staging a highway robber rescue missions to further lull Lanna into the scheme. Rafe played romantic sort whose courtship gave Damon the cushion and front, because his seething rage and loathing of her father (and her by association) prevented him any measure of kindness towards her. Damon even goes as far as to play peeping-tom to Lanna & Rafe’s botched deflowering, but make no mistake—Damon fully intends on claiming the REST of Lanna’s virginity later. Yes, she must have a freakin’ iron hymen; both hero and secondary hero were known to have broken somethin’ during their hanky panky sessions. Was York afraid Lanna couldn’t possibly love anyone but the first timer? Really? Where are those sorority girls rolling their eyes in the background here?

Beloved Enemy was a rare lit’l treat I originally felt compelled to succor my tasteless reads with and I spread around the joy & WTF tendencies with the girls at work, or on the forums—like it’s a newborn baby while we're all standing around staring down into its cradle in awe; cooing and admiring its loveliness….until the Big Misunderstanding jumped out of the shadows and kept me hamstringed from 50% of the story till it finished.

So many wonderfully, nitty-gritty smut smudges in this one; even –I- felt aghast a few times, however, that was 1/3 of the redeeming factor. Another being the extreme historical tilt. The War of 1812 has NEVER been reeled out so vividly as York’s pictorial. What suffered so greatly and reason for the bitchery I’m building up? Like I require a real reason, but the character development of the H/h; it was starving and bare thread. It wasn’t so much that the hero/heroine didn’t quite connect, because oftentimes true romance is a no-show in these old relics, but it was how it was delivered. It hurt me to realize this, too. I wanted to five star and giggle nervously, side-eyeing, in case anyone ever reads or notices it, but I’m gonna let these puppies fly free today; I can’t hide from the terrible character formula. More than once I reckoned the 1812 smoke laden landscape, these Georgia backwoods romps unfolding—in all marks of seriousness—-then these black suit, top-hat clad characters cane walk themselves onto and off the stage as all manner of randomness takes place. It wasn’t their plotline or actual design—it was the execution, well, that lobbed off all functioning, vital parts of the character into a shiftless sack of lifelessness. The beginning was like an Apocalyptic fallout of sheer mad-dashery. It was makin' all of my BR dreams come true. o.o The awe factor delivered beautifully through BRery, I was fascinated—she went there—she’s gone and done it now! I gluttonized myself on the first half of this book, and the remainder went down painstakingly slow. I believe the author's inspiration floundered and added MISUNDERSTANDING Cannons & Seeing Is Not Believing curtain-calls during very vital scenes the reader should have been exposed to were scribbled out and instead, the most redundant were showboated around aimlessly. Past tense fill-ins are so tired and dry. It was like receiving second-hand information on an important event you were supposed to attend and expected to be joyous and elated by it. Yeah.... no matter how carefully worded and recounted, you still missed the show baby. And that's how York's narration depicted those scenes; someone bragging to you on a show you missed in a passive-aggressive voice. Sadly, this only applied to the H/h, everyone else were spotlighted and you're able to make the transition with them, but the H/h kept the same grit in their craw throughout the novel and we're INFORMED on how those two took off without training wheels one day...

The hero Damon didn't quite evolve or transform through the guns-blazing, down-with-his-ship uproar, either. I wasn't personally asking for an epiphany. His plotting and gallivanting around one scene to the next - reminded me greatly of a Hardy Boys episode. The majority of strife that befell him was simply of his own design, and seriously, usually had no real weight to the story itself. We're supposed to emotionally invest ourselves to a Big Discovery of Serious Shit unfolding, and I was scolding the book hatefully, "WHY WOULD THAT EVEN MATTER?" He flung arrows and FUCK-YOU smatterings all over this book but in the end we're TOLD he had changed. One of the secondary heroes 'noticed' this calm and passive pace to Damon's personal dealings, and I'm supposed to believe it occurred in the background somewhere?

Lanna, despite many hardships, wasn’t genuinely a chronic crier, but at that 50% something mark, it’s like a blackout drunk trying to answer the doorbell, flopping and felled like a tranquilized horse. A lot of times when heroines are put through the wringer, they’ll at least maintain a sharp wit, tongue or knife—-Lanna LITERALLY gazed up with doe-like eyes, “BUT why?” She’s my main gripe. Her love for the secondary hero in the fledgling stages of the story wasn’t at all unacceptable. I want the heroine to find true love; on her terms. She decides in the end, whom she wishes to be with, but York deliberately channeled all possibility for happiness JUST around the heroine and hero, till the AMAZING secondary characters suffered so greatly, they didn’t even receive their HEA…. And that pisses me the fuck off. *cries* How come they(H/h) got HEAs?

Rafe was literally written off of the pages; his staunch devotion to the ‘sea’ in one sentence, then “I guess I can settle here on this island” schizophrenic turn of phrase rankled my nerves. His entire development, which had amassed to a WONDERFUL degree, was to be used as a crutch for the main characters who’re either standing on one leg, as they saw the other out from underneath them?

Even Beth, lifelong fiancee of Rafe’s-—her sole purpose of existence was so that she could be offed and Lanna would grieve and we’d sympathize with her. Cry harder, sweet-tits.






Indigo—ooOoo, the lovely Mulatto Indigo. This character had a few more feathers in her plumage than to simply be Damon’s lifelong mistress. I ADORED her. She was a survivor—THIS –THIS—is the sort of kickback I wanted from Lanna! Indigo had been Damon’s housekeeper/live-in mistress and when Lanna arrived, naturally she wanted her GONE. Hey, I understand, you’re his wife; you want to run the household-—but she sent her to the dogs without her FREE PAPERS, to Rafe’s plantation. And guess where she lands? A slave. Actually, worse than that-—Rafe’s father assaults on her with his cane and mistreatment sickened me to the core, but above all – all so that Lanna had her happiness. Damon wasn’t even present to be the center of conflict. He didn’t sit still very long at all. Indigo continued to fight back—-she wasn’t a woman of pleasure, she simply loved Damon, but after being subjected to unimaginable cruelty, she used what attributes she had to survive. And she did. Stealing a bisexual artist from his gay artist lover, she thought resembled Damon, she gave herself freely. Seducing a side-villain inorder to escape slavery and plot from the sidelines..she strived harder than most to achieve. In the end, she reckoned she should venture back to Alain, whom she had shared the house with Damon, who also loved her very much, as Alain was the cuddle-bear of the novel whom everyone used for a temporary boost to their esteem and left emotionally vampirized. But they never get their reunion. THAT leaves me so unfulfilled! WHYYY!?! The heroine even confesses to Alain she was a little in love with him, too. The Alain + Indigo + Damon + Lanna partner swapfest was an amusing tidbit, I just hate that even Alain had no conclusion. His character, who rescued Lanna—cared for, and comforted her—simply a dead-weight for Lanna & Damon’s selfish finale. Damon's unnursed, unloved mommy issues seem to transpire and rear up where Lanna’s concerned; my guess is that he saw her as the mother who did not love him, as Lanna, indeed, loved Rafe a great deal of the book. Rafe suffered from unrequited love; glad at least the ‘write-off’ he was given was chasing some tail. >;D Git ‘em Rafe!



Lanna showed a spark of development towards the end when she set to find her child; girl in breeches who was found out in a matter of two minutes on deck—I was LOLOL. She was utterly so clumsy—too stupid to lose; I never liked her. Not once. Everyone I love dies. Well, boo-fucking-who, Mary Sue. It's sad when someone else's death is allll about you. Maybe if you weren’t such a self-centered twit, uncaring for the feelings of others, they’d all be alive—kicking your ass. Even her attempts at courage are wrought through a lot of stupidity that she just HAPPENED to land on her feet during. Her marks as anything more than a stick figure in the corner you hang your coat and hat on – was simply for convenience sake. All disapproval I found within this novel can be rooted in Lanna, though. Lanna, you won’t take the pretty star ratings from me, no matter how I loathed you. 3 ½ stars.

All GR Status Updates as I read are found here: CLICKY

[Circa Girl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was drawn in by the vintage, montage cover art and synopsis that included one of my favorite romance novel cliches (torn between the boring, ideal man and passionate "villain"). The writing was pretty awful and not for the reasons you would think for this genre. Everything was so dryly and meticulously captured that it felt less like fiction and more like notes for a first draft. There was no flow. I was also put off by the multiple character perspectives that went no where and the absolute lack of relationship development between the main protagonists. And I don't just mean snappy banter or hate sex (which are good when used right), but a true lack of any significant interaction between the two with the exception of a few rapey moments. As in, hardly any conversation or engagement on a human-social level. Even in the end, they don't really like each other all that much. In a way it was hilarious. No declarations of love or passion really- more like an agreement to tolerate each other for the sake of convenience. It was honestly the worst ending to a romance novel I have ever read.

[Cat The Curious · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one started off good enough. The hero is a real bastard in the beginning. The heroine is in love with the hero's best friend Rafe. Because of revenge the hero Damon forces himself upon the heroine and into a loveless marriage. All the while Damon is having sex with his mistress Indigo. Towards the end I found myself just wanting to get the book over with. There were a lot of loose ends here with secondary characters. The hero transformed from bastard to wimp by the end of the book. That's never good. The heroine I liked at first fizzled for me in the end (probably because I skimmed through some of it). At the end of the day a very promising bodice ripper turned into a lackluster affair by the end for me. Maybe I was just too busy with an infant to care. So I'll give it three stars because I think maybe it was just me. I like vivid characters in the lead. The novel certainly had me at the beginning but lost me at the end. The opposite can be said for Summer Eyes by Joan Lancaster. The first part of the book seemed slow but wow did that one develop into an obsession for me about halfway through the book. I really recommend that one and I do not see many reviews for it.

[Pooja Peravali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lanna, an English gentlewoman, falls in love with one young American but finds herself coerced into marriage with his dark-tempered friend, who seems intent on punishing her for reasons she does not understand.

Look at that cover. Take a moment to appreciate that cover. I really miss old bodice-ripper style romance covers.

Anyway, young, sheltered Lanna falls squarely in the trap of a dastardly devil with mommy issues who's trying to get revenge on her father through her, except it turns out that Lanna is not even his daughter and he couldn't care less, so Damon's really misfiring on all cylinders. The back copy mentions a love triangle, but don't be fooled - this is the Damon and Lanna show all the way. 

Plot elements get decently outlandish but never truly impossible, and there's a decent historical backdrop in the rise and fall of the tensions between the United States and England during the War of 1812. Lanna and Damon have plenty of drama but grow together decently by the end of the story, especially The standout of the book to me is the supporting characters, specifically Indigo and Alain, who are sometimes more interesting than the more stock characters of the hero and heroine. 

The first half is definitely stronger than the second half, though. Once the characters are split up, they wander so dispiritedly through the plot that things begin to drag. I would have liked to see Damon do more of his maturing on the screen too. And I am actually offended how open-ended Indigo and Alain's story is left. Why make us care so much to leave everything unresolved?

We do not speak of Rafe in this house. He might as well not have existed.

Yes, bodices are ripped. Also shifts and sundry underthings, and I think at one point hair? The heroine's vaginal canal also rips open at one point, but that's because she is giving birth to a baby in the middle of a South Carolina swamp.

[Zeina (Taylor's Version) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Things I didn't like about this novel:
1- There wasn't any character development. We get to see the main character go through a lot of bad stuff and terrible things keep happening to her, but still we see the same character and she doesn't change or anything. Damon is a terrible terrible person, he abuses people and he is a r*pist but there was no development or he doesn't even face the consequences of being so horrible.
2- The author tried to make us care about side characters and he just couldn't. The author wrote a lot of side characters but they were just so plain and they all have the same personality.
3- The romance between the main characters was just horrible. They fell in love immediately and for no reason at all. It was awkward and cringey.
4- Rafe was supposed to have a bigger role in the book, Rafe was such an important character and he could have made the story better, but instead the author just tossed him away awkwardly and it was such a bad decision to do that.
5- Damon never got to pay for what he had done, he r*ped women and abused them but still he faced no consequences and the author didn't write anything to point him out as a monster and that the MC should have never loved him. (He is so horrible that I had to write about him twice in my review)

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

[Chrisangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good one, more action/adventure rather than romance and also a bit of a history lesson about the Napoleonic Wars/war of 1812, but one thing this book is not, is dull!

There's just as much time spent on secondary characters (and there were quite a few of them) as with the MC, in fact, the OW sometimes seemed to get more attention than the h, and if she and another character in the story (the H's good friend, who, had things been different, could have been the OM) had found their way to each other at the end of the story (as is hinted, but really a matter of chance) it would have been nice.

As for the H and h, as usual in books written at this time (late 70's/early 80's), they spend most of the book apart and when they're together misunderstandings, jealousy, and lack of trust keep them separated even when they're together. So much that should have drawn them together just seems to keep them apart. If you like books where the H and h have lots of scenes filled with love, affection and tenderness, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. They insult each other, make accusations, he forces himself on her, she points a knife at his throat, they have passionate sex but no cuddling/sweet words. In fact, at one point after the orgasms, the H thinks the h betrayed him to the British and escapes full of angry accusations! Not exactly the stuff HEA is made of.

Unfortunately (again typical with books written at that time), there's also the h getting raped and the H getting lashed at sea, two things that authors at that time seemed to feel had to be included, maybe thinking readers expected it and even looked forward to it? Well, speaking for this reader: "DEFINITELY NOT!!!"

Interestingly, there's quite a lot of romantic mix-ups as well as tragedies., as there's more than one SC. The OM (the h's first love) married his childhood sweetheart, who died tragically while he was at sea, and he soon made a new life for himself and forgot both her and the h. The OW had several men in her life (willingly, out of necessity or without choice) while carrying a torch for the H, even while marrying his worst enemy (who happened to be the h's adopted father). She then transfers those feelings for a time to a bisexual sculptor, who's artist lover (a friend of the h's who poses nude for him, knowing he's gay) and their affair breaks the artist's heart, driving him to suicide.

There's an incident with the h's nude portrait that sparks off a series of events, including the h discovering the identity of her mother (I wish I had been smart enough to pick up on the clues in the story) though her father's identity is only hinted at. It all ties in with her adopted father, as well as the H's parents.

As far as cheating is concerned, the H for a time continues his affair with the OW, but at one point it was excusable as he found out the h was living with the artist and not knowing then that he was gay, assumed they were lovers.

As for the h, at that point in the story she thought the H was dead, and the artist and his minister uncle had helped her out when she needed it and the artist gave her a place to stay and a job as his model. She almost succumbed to the seduction of the sculptor but was interrupted by the artist before things got too far.

There's also the search for the H and h's baby, who was lost to them for a time. (The scene of his birth is incredible!!!)

Yes, it's a convoluted story, but also very entertaining.

[Tee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone is miserable (except maybe Rafe who escapes the dysfunction). Hero didn't deserve her or even his mistress. Hero is also the bad guy & not in the good way. Nothing enjoyable happens.