Review: The Marriage Prize by Virginia Henley

by Jewels E 7/03/2017 0 comments

Last summer I picked up this novel at a flea market and I put it aside and have only now read it. And my goodness, what a breath of fresh air! I did initially feel as though this romance was a bit bodice ripper--you have a determined hero who intends to claim his bride, a heroine who is defiant and bold and sort of naive in some ways, not to mention equally determined not to be claimed. Even the language and setting give you the impression that this is a bodice ripper but then I realized it published way after that romance era.

Series: The Medieval Plantagent, #3
My Rating: 5 ❀'s
Genre: Historical Romance
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I'm not complaining though, it's evident the author took a great deal of time with her work, and I appreciated the consistency of the characters and the history woven into the story. Plus, I like something a little different. Sometimes historicals all start to feel the same, and a good medieval romance is right up my alley. The writing style is more descriptive, the story built up to and detailed and I liked that this wasn't some easy breezy read.

Rosamond is an interesting character, bold, defiant, strong willed, and I certainly can admire a woman who is not a doormat. It does take Rod some convincing to get her to agree to marry him after all, even if they are betrothed. And Rosamond goes with objections to the alter, but I think ultimately she married him because she knew he was exactly the man she needed. The marriage, like the courtship is a rocky one as war breaks out and Rosamond and Rod find themselves diverging on politics and family. Rosamond certainly makes questionable choices and decisions throughout the novel that lead to misunderstandings between her and her husband, but I think it made the romance all the more engaging as they always came together for a romp in the hay leaving those problems behind them, at least momentarily.

I really liked Rod. Level headed, intelligent, patient, he was Rosamond's match because he was just as strong willed but much more practical too. I was surprised sometimes by his mine attitude--he doesn't go around growling it during love scenes or acting like some crazed possessive alpha, but it's very clear that he has staked a claim on Rosamond and has no intention of not marrying her--or keeping her as his wife. At first I wondered if this would led to those grey area bodice ripper scenes, but as I've said, this is in no way a bodice ripper, and I loved that Rod wanted Rosamond willing and loving and never sought to dominate her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this author. I've not read her before, nor did I know this novel was one in a series, but I don't think that much matters in this case. An engrossing romance for this reader, I'll be hunting more novels by Virginia Henley.

Happy Reading, 

Jewels