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Anise
LOVE THE CONQUEROR
Proud, strong-willed and beautiful, no man could force Anise into submission or break her spirit. The invaders had seized her home, torn the man she loved from her arms. Now their leader had come to claim the richest prize - Anise herself.
From castles aglow with torchlit merriment to the stark drama of the battlefield - the stirring novel of an age of conquest and the woman beloved by both victor and vanquished.
SIGURD, the handsome young nobleman who had been betrothed to Anise. Defeated in battle and forced into hiding, he vowed to avenge the man who had taken Anise from him.
WALTER DE GRIS, the soldier whose lust for battle was equaled only by his hunger for beautiful women. He had taken Anise's home in the name of his master. Now he wanted to take Anise for his own.
MARGWENT, Anise's cousin. Any man was fair game to her wandering eye. Her ruthless ambition warmed her heart towards those in power - even when the man she wanted belonged to her cousin.
RAOUL OF CAEN, the darkly handsome conqueror, knew he loved Anise the moment he saw her. His victory gave him the right to take her. But his heart wanted her to come to him out of love, not by force.
Proud, strong-willed and beautiful, no man could force Anise into submission or break her spirit. The invaders had seized her home, torn the man she loved from her arms. Now their leader had come to claim the richest prize - Anise herself.
From castles aglow with torchlit merriment to the stark drama of the battlefield - the stirring novel of an age of conquest and the woman beloved by both victor and vanquished.
SIGURD, the handsome young nobleman who had been betrothed to Anise. Defeated in battle and forced into hiding, he vowed to avenge the man who had taken Anise from him.
WALTER DE GRIS, the soldier whose lust for battle was equaled only by his hunger for beautiful women. He had taken Anise's home in the name of his master. Now he wanted to take Anise for his own.
MARGWENT, Anise's cousin. Any man was fair game to her wandering eye. Her ruthless ambition warmed her heart towards those in power - even when the man she wanted belonged to her cousin.
RAOUL OF CAEN, the darkly handsome conqueror, knew he loved Anise the moment he saw her. His victory gave him the right to take her. But his heart wanted her to come to him out of love, not by force.
348 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 7, 2022
Rad 2/27/22
This was a very disappointing read! It was not easy to find. Thanks to Anne for sending me a copy 🙏 I think my expectations were too high bc of it.
This is another Norman Conquest ( a fav. Era) with a Saxon h. Anise is betrothed to a Christian (supposedly) Viking. Both of their fathers went to fight King Harold of Norway and have been gone for a very long time. Anise's home is very isolated and they don't know about the Norman invasion till the Normans attack them.
The women are raped, men killed, and her viking fiancee's fighting hand is cut off....think Jamie Lancaster. Anise manages to help her Sigurd escape. She's about to be punished when the new Lord arrives. Raul brings order to his new holding. He also wants Anise in his bed. Only the first time does he force her after that she soon falls in love with Raul A very common occurrence in Bidice-ripper land!
Anise has problems choosing sides. She's torn between her now crazy pagan ex and the man she now loves. Raul has to deal with the pagan Saxons in the woods and another lord who wants his prize.
The most dangerous villian is Anise's slut cousin. Margaret is very envious of Anise. To call her power hungry would be an understatement. She first tries to steal Sigurd then Raul. She convinced one solider to mutiny against another knight for their holdings. Till the very end she is our H and h biggest threat.
Problems: The h is raped by 3 men and her mental status is never addressed. Now, the author writing is very vague when it comes to sex so I could be wrong about the rape. I had to double check but i think I'm correct. 😉First the H rapes her once, then her ex beats and rapes her several times, then a Norman Lord takes her. Though, knowing the Norman lord would rape her she decides to seduce him. This works and she becomes his mistress in Normandy. The only emotional problems she has is that she misses Raul. Anise is a very one dimension character. The author is also very redundant in her writing. She repeats the same scenarios...over and over again.
All in all, this was just an okay Bodice-ripper . Not worth the trouble or time I took to locate a copy.
This was a very disappointing read! It was not easy to find. Thanks to Anne for sending me a copy 🙏 I think my expectations were too high bc of it.
This is another Norman Conquest ( a fav. Era) with a Saxon h. Anise is betrothed to a Christian (supposedly) Viking. Both of their fathers went to fight King Harold of Norway and have been gone for a very long time. Anise's home is very isolated and they don't know about the Norman invasion till the Normans attack them.
The women are raped, men killed, and her viking fiancee's fighting hand is cut off....think Jamie Lancaster. Anise manages to help her Sigurd escape. She's about to be punished when the new Lord arrives. Raul brings order to his new holding. He also wants Anise in his bed. Only the first time does he force her after that she soon falls in love with Raul A very common occurrence in Bidice-ripper land!
Anise has problems choosing sides. She's torn between her now crazy pagan ex and the man she now loves. Raul has to deal with the pagan Saxons in the woods and another lord who wants his prize.
The most dangerous villian is Anise's slut cousin. Margaret is very envious of Anise. To call her power hungry would be an understatement. She first tries to steal Sigurd then Raul. She convinced one solider to mutiny against another knight for their holdings. Till the very end she is our H and h biggest threat.
Problems: The h is raped by 3 men and her mental status is never addressed. Now, the author writing is very vague when it comes to sex so I could be wrong about the rape. I had to double check but i think I'm correct. 😉First the H rapes her once, then her ex beats and rapes her several times, then a Norman Lord takes her. Though, knowing the Norman lord would rape her she decides to seduce him. This works and she becomes his mistress in Normandy. The only emotional problems she has is that she misses Raul. Anise is a very one dimension character. The author is also very redundant in her writing. She repeats the same scenarios...over and over again.
All in all, this was just an okay Bodice-ripper . Not worth the trouble or time I took to locate a copy.
April 18, 2022
Anise tried to steel herself against that overpowering feeling of desire which swept through her, softening, inflaming, full of forgiveness for his being a Norman, forgetting his was the hated touch of the conqueror, remembering only the fire which made her body thrill. And when she received him it was with shuddering, fulfilling delight, so that she wept against his neck with tears of joy and sadness.
Very good, but very dark. Not so much in terms of the violence (though there is some of that), or even the sex itself (Anise only sleeps with/is raped by three dudes, so it’s not an unending parade of debauchery), but rather the underlying themes—a cry against women’s helplessness vs the hypocrisy & double standards forced upon them by their ‘conquerers’ both literal & metaphorical. Anise herself is something of a pacifist; had this been the 1960s she’d be a Conscientious Objector, tucking flowers in rifles while berating those who insulted returning troops. So far as Anise is concerned, no decent human deserves war, death of family, & disrupted way of life, particularly those forced to perpetuate violence for a conflict nobody grasps except that People In Power tell Group X to go kill Group Y—an understandable position, no matter if the power is William the Conqueror or LBJ. So despite her initial passivity, I grew to like her & respect her thought processes.
…Unfortunately, such principles don’t protect her (or any other women characters) from being repeatedly conquered, mowed over, or disregarded as spoils of war by right of possession. Phillips underlines her point with black Sharpie—not just Anise’s being stuck in a feedback loop o’ subjugation, but also the peasants & slaves, both male AND female, who see very little difference between one ruler & the next beyond calling those in power by a different name. Anise is continually walking a fine line between standing up for herself & not feeding the fires of conflict—but of course her efforts are frequently in vain, or even turned against her.
In short: It’s a dark, moody, gritty period of history, & for good reason.
This is my third foray into Phillips’ romances, & it falls somewhere between Royal Captive (brutal WTFery + no HEA) & The Rose & the Flame (cheesy, ridiculous plot + HEA). Both books have merits & flaws, but as always I lean toward the older, darker style. 😈 Despite the difference in era, this also gave me strong Robin of Sherwood vibes, which is almost always a ticket to my keeper shelf.
EDIT: Upon reflection, I’m changing this to 4.5/5 stars. It gave me feels both good & bad—I wanted to punch the men in the nuts & yank Margwent’s hair by the roots & give poor Anise supportive hugs—which made it a visceral read for yours truly. I also spaced out the reading to make it last longer…all signs that I should be rounding up. 🙃
Very good, but very dark. Not so much in terms of the violence (though there is some of that), or even the sex itself (Anise only sleeps with/is raped by three dudes, so it’s not an unending parade of debauchery), but rather the underlying themes—a cry against women’s helplessness vs the hypocrisy & double standards forced upon them by their ‘conquerers’ both literal & metaphorical. Anise herself is something of a pacifist; had this been the 1960s she’d be a Conscientious Objector, tucking flowers in rifles while berating those who insulted returning troops. So far as Anise is concerned, no decent human deserves war, death of family, & disrupted way of life, particularly those forced to perpetuate violence for a conflict nobody grasps except that People In Power tell Group X to go kill Group Y—an understandable position, no matter if the power is William the Conqueror or LBJ. So despite her initial passivity, I grew to like her & respect her thought processes.
…Unfortunately, such principles don’t protect her (or any other women characters) from being repeatedly conquered, mowed over, or disregarded as spoils of war by right of possession. Phillips underlines her point with black Sharpie—not just Anise’s being stuck in a feedback loop o’ subjugation, but also the peasants & slaves, both male AND female, who see very little difference between one ruler & the next beyond calling those in power by a different name. Anise is continually walking a fine line between standing up for herself & not feeding the fires of conflict—but of course her efforts are frequently in vain, or even turned against her.
In short: It’s a dark, moody, gritty period of history, & for good reason.
This is my third foray into Phillips’ romances, & it falls somewhere between Royal Captive (brutal WTFery + no HEA) & The Rose & the Flame (cheesy, ridiculous plot + HEA). Both books have merits & flaws, but as always I lean toward the older, darker style. 😈 Despite the difference in era, this also gave me strong Robin of Sherwood vibes, which is almost always a ticket to my keeper shelf.
EDIT: Upon reflection, I’m changing this to 4.5/5 stars. It gave me feels both good & bad—I wanted to punch the men in the nuts & yank Margwent’s hair by the roots & give poor Anise supportive hugs—which made it a visceral read for yours truly. I also spaced out the reading to make it last longer…all signs that I should be rounding up. 🙃
August 3, 2016
Anise begins during the Norman 11th century conquest and invasion and ultimately the occupation of England by an army of Norman, Breton, and French led by Duke William II of Normandy, later William the Conqueror. Anise is the daughter of an English Lord who, like most Medieval based novels, was conveniently absent and fighting alongside of King Harold whilst Anise, his only daughter, is left behind with his teenage heir, along with Anise's fiancee Sigurd, which like many others during the time, were afflicted by the pox.
Spoilers ahead. Go back now!
Once the Normans invaded and Walter De Gris took claims on Anise's castle all hell breaks loose. She is beaten,whipped, Sigurd's , among other things. His serial killer pube hair token, woven from the finest vaginas; yes, absolutely abhorrent and SO necessary to set the standard for a Bodice Ripper. Now, I realize the Medieval role of a woman, Lord & Vassal, or even of higher birth, were one condemned to compliance and agreement. We take into consideration it's to be expected and relevant for the timeline. Women were property, as grazing sheep or serfs. UNDERSTOOD! Now then, this IS FICTION. Improvising on a heroine's character to prove her worthiness of heroine status, counters the unhinged, rather unyielding WTFery they're forced to endure by persons who've stacked claims on their person.
Not only did Anise deceive her father's good name, and her fiancee's memory, but even her own brother; her people, her ancestry & everything that entails. No loyalty whatsoever, just a magic vagina compass that navigated here on the path of the most harmless; the promise of the lest amount of conflict, like cattle coming in from a downpour. Anise's rationale amounted to something akin to, "Oh, if I lay low and go with the tide--I'll come out into calmer waters!" Docile. Broken will. Passive even in the face of true adversary. Phillips did her DAMNDEST to artfully defile Sigurd's legacy, but I wasn't buying it. This man was faced with the Normans invasion himself, slaughtering men--whilst Anise was tucked protectively at his back--when the only claim he HAD on the land, was Anise. It wasn't even his fucking birthright. Every man Anise encounters, she's immediately resigned to her fate as their plaything. She jus' knows it's gonna happen, so may as well get it on? She plans and plots nothing. She gets used, she has never tried USING someone else to gain the upperhand or pursue her own dreams. Her dreams, of course, are basically in the 6' and muscle-bound range. She suffers greatly from what I like to call, "door knob, doormat" syndrome.
Anise didn't improve as far as storyline goes. Every BR angle it promised, was usually snuffed out by the post-event sort of scrambling write-ins. Castration of the minstrel? Learned about it after it happened. Author's mad dash to incriminate and systematically demonize the heroine's former fiancee with her supposed abuse? A friendly reminder five chapters in the future. I reckon we'll tally this one up to telling and not an overabundance of showing. :|
In the end, the entire premise of Anise accumulated to a restrictive degree, mostly keeping a handful of characters in an odd love mire, "NO, I LOVE HIM MORE...NO I DO...Mwahaha bitch, you didn't know I've been instigating this since page two!?" and therein the story suffered its failage. She was RELIEVED...I mean RELIEVED when people died--including her fiancee AND lover, lover's other mistress(her own cousin whose sad attempts to deceive & catty snipe bored the fuckin' shit out of me)..AND even her brother, and her lover's potential betroth, JUST to claim the McRape Package she's been panting over all this time. I could tolerate this had the heroine been a sly bitch on the prowl--stomping out competition on her merry way, but she wasn't; she claimed these people were evil now, dark soul'd and beyond saving. You know what? That's likely some of the core reasons I detested her. She dwelled, she thought, innocent and unscathed in her feigned pious life, and others were the predators, and with that refused to rise up from that deplorable state to pursue the life she wanted, but it was so convenient when others died, so she wouldn't ever be forced to make one SINGLE choice in her entire existence. Her frequent homage & humility in the chapel just sickened me beyond belief; if only I could have kicked her into an array of prayer candles. >:|
Spoilers ahead. Go back now!
Once the Normans invaded and Walter De Gris took claims on Anise's castle all hell breaks loose. She is beaten,whipped, Sigurd's , among other things. His serial killer pube hair token, woven from the finest vaginas; yes, absolutely abhorrent and SO necessary to set the standard for a Bodice Ripper. Now, I realize the Medieval role of a woman, Lord & Vassal, or even of higher birth, were one condemned to compliance and agreement. We take into consideration it's to be expected and relevant for the timeline. Women were property, as grazing sheep or serfs. UNDERSTOOD! Now then, this IS FICTION. Improvising on a heroine's character to prove her worthiness of heroine status, counters the unhinged, rather unyielding WTFery they're forced to endure by persons who've stacked claims on their person.
Not only did Anise deceive her father's good name, and her fiancee's memory, but even her own brother; her people, her ancestry & everything that entails. No loyalty whatsoever, just a magic vagina compass that navigated here on the path of the most harmless; the promise of the lest amount of conflict, like cattle coming in from a downpour. Anise's rationale amounted to something akin to, "Oh, if I lay low and go with the tide--I'll come out into calmer waters!" Docile. Broken will. Passive even in the face of true adversary. Phillips did her DAMNDEST to artfully defile Sigurd's legacy, but I wasn't buying it. This man was faced with the Normans invasion himself, slaughtering men--whilst Anise was tucked protectively at his back--when the only claim he HAD on the land, was Anise. It wasn't even his fucking birthright. Every man Anise encounters, she's immediately resigned to her fate as their plaything. She jus' knows it's gonna happen, so may as well get it on? She plans and plots nothing. She gets used, she has never tried USING someone else to gain the upperhand or pursue her own dreams. Her dreams, of course, are basically in the 6' and muscle-bound range. She suffers greatly from what I like to call, "door knob, doormat" syndrome.
Anise didn't improve as far as storyline goes. Every BR angle it promised, was usually snuffed out by the post-event sort of scrambling write-ins. Castration of the minstrel? Learned about it after it happened. Author's mad dash to incriminate and systematically demonize the heroine's former fiancee with her supposed abuse? A friendly reminder five chapters in the future. I reckon we'll tally this one up to telling and not an overabundance of showing. :|
In the end, the entire premise of Anise accumulated to a restrictive degree, mostly keeping a handful of characters in an odd love mire, "NO, I LOVE HIM MORE...NO I DO...Mwahaha bitch, you didn't know I've been instigating this since page two!?" and therein the story suffered its failage. She was RELIEVED...I mean RELIEVED when people died--including her fiancee AND lover, lover's other mistress(her own cousin whose sad attempts to deceive & catty snipe bored the fuckin' shit out of me)..AND even her brother, and her lover's potential betroth, JUST to claim the McRape Package she's been panting over all this time. I could tolerate this had the heroine been a sly bitch on the prowl--stomping out competition on her merry way, but she wasn't; she claimed these people were evil now, dark soul'd and beyond saving. You know what? That's likely some of the core reasons I detested her. She dwelled, she thought, innocent and unscathed in her feigned pious life, and others were the predators, and with that refused to rise up from that deplorable state to pursue the life she wanted, but it was so convenient when others died, so she wouldn't ever be forced to make one SINGLE choice in her entire existence. Her frequent homage & humility in the chapel just sickened me beyond belief; if only I could have kicked her into an array of prayer candles. >:|
September 4, 2022
Norman invasion, once, twice, okay one more time. Poor Anise. Exactly old school BR.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews