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The French Maidens #1
Marielle
FOR SOME WOMAN THERE IS ONLY ONE MAN
Marielle Saint-Juste fought her own fears as she entered the prison of Louis XIII that housed her wounded brother. Her chestnut hair was disguised and her silver coins lay in the palm of an old jailer. But when the key turned in the lock and her eyes searched the dark confines of the cell, Marielle saw only the stranger who was her ... more »destiny. In the darkness of a French dungeon, love lit a torch to burn forever!
Marielle Saint-Juste fought her own fears as she entered the prison of Louis XIII that housed her wounded brother. Her chestnut hair was disguised and her silver coins lay in the palm of an old jailer. But when the key turned in the lock and her eyes searched the dark confines of the cell, Marielle saw only the stranger who was her ... more »destiny. In the darkness of a French dungeon, love lit a torch to burn forever!
312 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1982
3 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Ena Halliday
3 books5 followers(Sylvia Baumgarten)
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Louisa Rawlings
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Sylvia Halliday
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Sylvia Halliday
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 8, 2017
Utter dreck that ping-pong'd from sappy rainbows & bunnies to mustache-twirling villainy & Big Misunderstandings -- that is, all the worst bodice ripper tropes mashed into one underdeveloped book. Hell no & STFU. If this is the trumpet-blaring kickoff to the Tapestry Romance mini-line, I can't imagine what pain lurks in lesser installments.
June 14, 2015
I understand people acted and thought differently during the time period this was set, both in the ways women were looked at and standing in society. I can also usually read past the rape, adultery and death knowing that's how things were back then. But this story is just too violent. There was no indication in the synopsis of what Marielle was put through by the evil Gravillac, It just got to be too much and the only reason I kept reading was to see if it got any better. I couldn't wait to finish it. There was also too much French politics that had to be waded through to get to the story.
**POSSIBLE SPOILER**
When Andre rescues Marielle he initially treats her nearly as badly as Gravillac. Then he discovers what she went through and like magic, everything was roses between them.
**POSSIBLE SPOILER**
When Andre rescues Marielle he initially treats her nearly as badly as Gravillac. Then he discovers what she went through and like magic, everything was roses between them.
February 2, 2015
Addictive story
A sweet love story with glimpses into Royal life in France. Good reading.
I especially enjoyed descriptions of the locale and villas.
A sweet love story with glimpses into Royal life in France. Good reading.
I especially enjoyed descriptions of the locale and villas.
no-fcking-ways
July 12, 2025The blurb is confusing.
Also the hero is the same in all the series with different heroine ???
Yuck
Also the hero is the same in all the series with different heroine ???
Yuck
January 16, 2015
I picked this one up after it was re-released on Kindle for free. Author is now Sylvia Halliday and instead of Tapestry Romance, it's the French Maiden Series.
The writing is solid, the plot moves along well, but I spent most of the book wanting to slap the main characters silly. Marielle endures some pretty awful stuff while she is separated from Andre. So of course when they get back together she doesn't tell him all the horrible stuff she's endured and she just takes the abuse he heaps (HEAPS) upon her. Frustrating. And kinda stupid. Just tell the man, it's better than having him hate you, but no as some sort of noble sacrifice she's making them both miserable by keeping her horrible secrets - and what she goes through is HORRIBLE. If violence against women is a trigger for you - skip this one. It's chalk full of it.
Andre is a jerk. He's emotionally immature, going from woman to woman like it's nothing. If this man had actually lived he'd have some series venereal diseases. It seems in the later books that Marielle has died and the stories continue in the trilogy with Andre. No thanks. Again, he's like a great big boy, gravitated to whatever pleases him, heedlessly trampling on people on the way.
The secondary characters are okay, but not fully developed. The maid to Marielle is a total stereotype and Halliday uses her for comic relief in totally unnecessary ways. Ex - she's a larger woman and at one point she's stomping grapes and falls on her bum. Ha Ha. How original.
I think my biggest complaint is that Marielle suffers so very much, Andre very little by comparison, and there is no ending that make that worth the ride. We have to suffer along with her and Andre is not enough of a hero to make that suffering worth it. I put down this book with a 'yesh' kind of feeling and I'm not going to bother with the rest of the series.
Definitely not a romance for someone who likes their characters believable. And again, there's a lot of violence against the female characters including depiction of rape so unless you've got a high tolerance for that stuff, pass on this.
The writing is solid, the plot moves along well, but I spent most of the book wanting to slap the main characters silly. Marielle endures some pretty awful stuff while she is separated from Andre. So of course when they get back together she doesn't tell him all the horrible stuff she's endured and she just takes the abuse he heaps (HEAPS) upon her. Frustrating. And kinda stupid. Just tell the man, it's better than having him hate you, but no as some sort of noble sacrifice she's making them both miserable by keeping her horrible secrets - and what she goes through is HORRIBLE. If violence against women is a trigger for you - skip this one. It's chalk full of it.
Andre is a jerk. He's emotionally immature, going from woman to woman like it's nothing. If this man had actually lived he'd have some series venereal diseases. It seems in the later books that Marielle has died and the stories continue in the trilogy with Andre. No thanks. Again, he's like a great big boy, gravitated to whatever pleases him, heedlessly trampling on people on the way.
The secondary characters are okay, but not fully developed. The maid to Marielle is a total stereotype and Halliday uses her for comic relief in totally unnecessary ways. Ex - she's a larger woman and at one point she's stomping grapes and falls on her bum. Ha Ha. How original.
I think my biggest complaint is that Marielle suffers so very much, Andre very little by comparison, and there is no ending that make that worth the ride. We have to suffer along with her and Andre is not enough of a hero to make that suffering worth it. I put down this book with a 'yesh' kind of feeling and I'm not going to bother with the rest of the series.
Definitely not a romance for someone who likes their characters believable. And again, there's a lot of violence against the female characters including depiction of rape so unless you've got a high tolerance for that stuff, pass on this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews