The Silver Rose

Charm Bracelet #2

by Jane Feather

Dear Reader,Like the rose in the haunting tale of "Beauty and the Beast," a silver rose on a charm bracelet brings together a beautiful young woman and a battle-scarred lord....In my story, Ariel Ravenspeare has been taught to loathe the earl of Hawkesmoor and everything he represents.  Their two families have been sworn enemies for generations.  But it's one thing to hate him, and another to play the part her vicious brothers have written for her--trapping Hawkesmoor into a marriage that will destroy him, using herself as bait.  Forced into the marriage, Ariel will find her new husband unexpectedly difficult to manipulate, as well as surprisingly--and powerfully--attractive.But beneath the passion lurk the strands of a long-hidden secret...a secret embodied in a sparkling silver rose.I hope you will be as caught up in Ariel and Hawkesmoor's love story as I was.Warmest wishes,Jane Feather

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Beauty and The Beast, Regency

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 23, 1997

About the author

Jane 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.

Reviews

[Nellab1984 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-

[Gabriela Chacana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was confusing, I had problems to follow and understand the misteries behind the story. I enjoyed the couple made by Simon and Ariel though, I enjoyed seeing how their relationship developed. Simon's character was pretty unique, you don't get to read much about male protagonists that have a mild manner and tons of patience; it was nice and quite met the challenge that was to be wed to a wild and stubborn girl like Ariel. The ending though left me with a sour taste, I found it was too much of an abrupt end.

[Dippedinink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved book one, and I loved book two even more! I read the reviews for book two and I saw a lot of negative talk about the bracelet and the story being about the bracelet. Well, duh! The bracelet holds the history and mystery of their pasts. I think it's genius! How many romance novels have we read that are blah blah blah same old love story. I absolutely love this series! Jane Feather is an amazing author who creates the most wonderful characters. Her story and character building is beyond what many authors create. And once AGAIN I was on the edge of my seat, could't read it fast enough and could never guess what was around the next corner. Can't wait to start book 3! When's book 4 coming out? :o)

[Lynn Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

While forced marriage generally isn’t my thing, I do often like Jane Feather’s novels and I love that she has often chosen less commonly used settings for her tales. Her 1997 novel, The Silver Rose, takes place in England during the reign of Queen Anne. The spirit of the time, and the lingering shadows both of the English Civil War and Charles II’s sometimes raucous court echo through the story and give it a sense of time and place that made me feel as if I was sinking into another world.

We learn early on in the story that the once-Royalist Ravenspeare family and their neighbors, the Hawkesmoors, formerly sympathizers of Parliament, loathe one another with a murderous passion. Through a series of court intrigues, Queen Anne hits upon the idea of bringing harmony to their corner of England by commanding the marriage of Simon Hawkesmoor and Ariel Ravenspeare.

From the royal court, action shifts to the Ravenspeare home, where we learn that young Ariel lives with her three wild and depraved brothers. Because of her brothers’ infamy, her life is somewhat circumscribed but she learns that both her isolation and her relative freedom are about to come to an end with the arrival of Simon Hawkesmoor for their wedding.

Having been raised on tales of the awful Hawkesmoors, Ariel is unsurprisingly less than thrilled by the prospect of marriage into that family. Her battle-scarred groom doesn’t exactly make her swoon at first sight either. However, the stage is set for what will become a primarily entertaining romance.

Jane Feather takes what sounds like a familiar historical plot trope, especially for earlier historicals, and tinkers with the usual plot points just enough to give it a hint of a subversive twist. We get the familiar war hero groom and his significantly younger bride. However, this time around, the groom truly is a gentleman and a gentle man – and the bride is no clueless virgin.

This is a partial review. You can find the complete review at All About Romance: https://allaboutromance.com/june-tbr-...

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Queen Anne's England. The Hawkesmoors and Ravenspeares have been blood enemies for generations, fighting over land, wealth, and women. The most recent grievance involved Simon Hawkesmoor's father and Ariel Ravenspeare's mother; they were lovers, and they were discovered and killed by Ariel's now-deceased father and some others (I don't think it's ever clear who).

Ariel has been raised in a wolf's den by her three unscrupulous and cruel brothers. She's learned to hide her feelings and stay out of the way, and she's learned to be sneaky. Unbeknownst to her brothers she's quietly raising racehorses, and her stock is starting to yield fruit. Soon she'll have enough to leave her home and set up shop in another country where her brothers can't hurt her anymore. She's also a healer, and spends time with a mysterious mute woman and her blind daughter, also healers who live in a cottage some distance from the Ravenspeare keep.

Simon Hawkesmoor has returned from the War of Spanish Succession, scared and weary of fighting. He engineers a situation where the notoriously stingy queen comes up with an idea to end the longstanding feud between the families. Why not wed the Ravenspeare's unmarried sister to the earl of Hawkesmoor? The disputed lands will pass to both families through their shared children. If there are no children, the land will pass to the family of whichever spouse survives the other.

The Ravenspeare brothers agree reluctantly, then hatch their own plan. Yes, they'll marry their little sister to Hawkesmoor, but there'll be no consummation, and before the month-long wedding feast has ended, their sister will be a widow, thus giving them the Hawksmoor lands. They hasten home to inform their sister of her part to play in this plot.

Ariel is reluctant to be the bait in a murderous trap, and even more so as she starts to learn more about her husband. For his part, Hawksmoor arrives to the wedding feast convinced he'll never love the girl, but he will treat her well. It doesn't take long for Ariel to turn all his intentions on their head.

It's a good story with a little mystery mixed in towards the end. I liked the protags, liked the romance between them, kind of hated their first sexual encounter (one of those no-no-no-yes things) and despised the brothers. All in all a good bit of drama.

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story set in a less-popular era for romance -- Restoration England. When authors choose a pre-regency era, they often feel free to put in more violence, and if I have a gripe with this book, it's that there are some extremely violent passages. Also, the heroine, who seems to be able to withstand hurricanes, when it's necessary for the plot, develops a terrible fever, and it's declared that she has had weak lungs all her life and might die. But she's better in a day, so it's okay. Bleh, fake drama. Also, we don't get a strong enough glimpse at the HEA. The climax happens, and it's understood that things are worked out. -cg

[Shasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more romance, this felt more like historical fiction. A lot of the plot felt bleak.

The H was a treat--cool headed (despite many provocations), pained by war injuries, peace seeking, and determined to be faithful to a contract marriage.

The h was strong-minded, mistrustful, and a local midwife. Her brothers were villainous and there was enough said to make it uncomfortable and edgy.

I was left feeling sour even with a HEA.

Mature content, rape

[Mermarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no idea wtf happens in this book. I know I read it, I had the book, I remember the cover and all that, but as for the story---not one scenario is imprinted into my mind. I'm going to attempt to re-read it, sometime -- so until then, it gets a generic 3-star. ;D

[Karen Darling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many people in this book. Too many past stories that are not clear and doesn't make sense. Too many disgusting men in the story. Spoiler alert: I didn't like that the mistress came to visit, and the hero was hugging all over her.

[Kavitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first two books that I bought. Good!

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was fantastic, loved how they continued through the generations.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

i just felt that this novel was not what i expected. The relationship between to two characters are very awkward and rushed.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many lose ends, plot holes, and reliance on the first book for information. The end felt rushed and was unsatisfying.

[Cindy Su · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, Jane Feather writes a story that is hard to put down. One scene just flows into the next.
I had to force myself to put it away and go to sleep at 2:30 am, even though I wanted to continue. But I was only half-way through and I couldn't be up ALL night!

I loved the romance, and the drama and treachery were gripping.

But why doesn't the cover picture of the bracelet match the description in the book. It's supposed to be a rather sinister looking serpent with a pearl apple in its mouth, and with the silver rose charm hanging from one of the links. Instead the picture shows what looks like a rope chain with a bunch of lovely hearts hanging off of it, and the silver rose charm.

[Lynne Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic, again.

I read this book a few years ago. I was enchanted again. The only thing I can possibly say against this or any of Jane's books is that she uses way above high school level grammar. I will find words that I have to look up. I had all As in vocabulary in high school and college. I love the way I can look them up on Kindle. I hope that other readers will take the time to expand their vocabulary.

[marie fricchione · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beauty and The Beast A variation on a theme!

This story by my favorite author, Jane Feather, is uniquely original. The H/h are unlikely lovers but somehow they fit like puzzle pieces. Ariel is fiery independent and passionate while Hawksmore is reserved and stoic.
This story reminds me of Beauty and the Beast. I recommend it highly.

[Lucimar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Não sei o que aconteceu com essa autora nesse livro, ou li uma versão incompleta. Temática boa. Porém o desenvolvimento da estória deixa a desejar. Ambos personagens fortes. A autora deixou muito fios a serem desenrolados, muitas pontas soltas. Final foi abrupto. Sem indicar o que aconteceu com eles.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t hate this book but I didn’t exactly love it either…Some parts I couldn’t wait to be over and others I loved. The writing style took some getting used to but…

OVERALL…I liked Simon & Ariels story…I hate her brothers with a passion and I wish they had some sense knocked into them.

[Kayla Cano · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either.

[NatalyaVqs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Headstrong heroine, crippled hero, baddie brothers, bloody feuds in the fenlands, full of historical detail

[Sweet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing read. Really good.
Totally ruined by the stupid ending. A book of about 1000 electronic pages to have the ending in 2 pages?
This is really humiliating for the reader.

[Carmelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Earl of Hawkesmoor believes in marrying Ariel Ravenspeare he can put to rest the deadly feud that has existed between their families for generations. In this he has the queen's blessing. Ariel's brothers see it as an opportunity to rid themselves of the Hawkesmoors once and for all. Ariel, on the other hand, has no choice but to obey but decides she will not be party to murder so will do what she can to thwart he brothers.

Simon Hawkesmoor has been injured in battle which has result in a scar on his face and a badly injured leg. He feels that Ariel is repulsed by him whereas Ariel after initially thinking him ugly starts to have feelings for him.

Add to this mix the mystery of the bracelet; who really is Sarah; will Ariel's Arabian stud survive her brother, Ranulf's attempt to steal it from her; will she be able to thwart the various plans to dispose of Simon?

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Cristina Contilli]

"Quali sono i pensieri maliziosi che hanno portato il fuoco sulle vostre guance, Ariel? (...) Arrosisco per la minima cosa. E' poco cavalleresco notarlo. - Deve essere molto scomodo - disse lui con beffarda sollecitudine. - Immagino per esempio che sia sempre facile cogliervi in fallo mentre dite una bugia."

Carino, soprattutto perché la Feather è brava nel descrivere i momenti di incertezza, turbamento, emozione dei protagonisti...

io direi che anche se i suoi libri non si scostano troppo dai canoni del romance sa cogliere meglio di altre autrici le sfumature...

[Lisa Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big fan of this author and will be looking for the rest of the series, no wild sex scenes or soppy story telling, this is a strong woman who dreams of running her own horse stud and wishes to be independent in a time when women had few options. Our hero is a man who has been wounded in battle and is highly conscious of his scars, as in all romances a series of misunderstandings (and three brothers) threatens the relationship.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book but once again like the first book in the series it has a dark element to it. i really disliked how the brothers treated the heroine as property and degraded her.

[Jeanettee Not Tellin · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was ok

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best Jane Feather book I have read in a long time.

[Kashii · Rating 4 out of 5]

the story the plot was soo good the protagonists likable but the book just ended abruptly and at least 20 pgs too soon imo

[melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

in the book, they never even said "i love you" to each other lol

[Judy Dhuse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12556461