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Title: The Rebel Bride by Catherine Coulter ISBN: 0-451-40432-7 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: January, 1995 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.08 (24 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Good beginning, but loses appeal soon afterwards
Comment: Being a frequent reader of Regency and Historical romances, you kind of do have to suspend reality and not blink an eye or become outraged at some things that are normal for romances. This was the second book of Coulter's that I have read, and I was severely disappointed. Kate was built up to be such a strong, vibrant female character, but in the end, she just gives up to the wants of her husband. I don't like reading about rape in books (who does?), but to see it in romances is such a turn off. I mean, to be reading romance in the first place, to me, is a sign of escaping from reality into a relatively safe place where a hero and heroine do the standard "chase" that inevitably ends in marriage. We forget the poverty and prejudice and discrimination. It's ROMANCE. If I had wanted something deeper, something not-safe, I wouldn't be looking for it in romance. So, number one, the fact that Kate was molested by a gang of males in her childhood turned me off from the book. How can I enjoy it after something dark like that? (and believe me, if you've even read one book w/a plot like this as I have, you knew that it was coming--that sinking feeling was prevalent w/all her foreshadowing and the abusive father, etc., etc.)
Secondly, if you are going to have rape in the romance, PLEASE don't add a twit for a husband whose attitude toward it is, "Oh, it was something in the past in your childhood," when HE was the one who brought the whole thing up, and does really nothing to help her w/her pain. I admit that I didn't really read everything in the book because I was so disappointed in Coulter after I had enjoyed _The Sherbrooke Bride_ so much also.
Rating: 2
Summary: Certainly Not Ms. Coulter's Best
Comment: I first read 'The Rebel Bride' in its original Signet imprint. Several years later, I picked it up in this new edition. Either way, this book was totally disappointing. Apparently in the 80's the idea of the hero raping the leading lady was considered cutting edge (I didn't think so then and certainly don't think so now), because it seemed a standard trope for many authors. And not only was the character Kate raped in brutalized in childhood, but Julien, the man who supposedly 'loves' her, thinks that her reticence in the bedroom is merely a case of nerves and sets out to forcibly change her mind.
Now, I realize that the characters of Kate and Julien are loosely based upon Taming of the Shrew, but where that play was strictly comedy (I don't even take the Shakespearean Katherine's end soliquy seriously--and neither does she), this Katherine is not only a royal pushover, she seems bent on forgiving everything. And Julien, you are no Petruccio!
In the beginning, Kate shows a bit of gumption, and she's quite appealing, especially dressed in men's clothes and engaging in a mock duel with her brother. She speaks her mind freely and one could see why Julien would be interested in her. As the story progresses, she turns into that simpering little waif that can drive most readers to distraction. She does, however, show a little spirit when she takes down a scandalous former love interest who was trying to get her hands upon the oh so virile Julien.
And Julien...Ms. Coulter has created some wonderful and warm male leads, and Julien St. Clair simply isn't one of them. A narcissistic rake who needs to have his ears boxed in, he's a completely clueless cad who doesn't think beyond his own needs.
I guess the only saving grace to this entire mess of a book was that Ms. Coulter dealt with the subject of child abuse long before it was fashionable. Kate's father was evil incarnate and it would have been nice to have him get his just deserts.
One last word on the rape scenes--now I happen to like erotic romance quite a lot, and I have no problem with the idea of sexual power play as long as its consensual. What happened to Kate in this book might have worked better had it been written in that style.
Rating: 3
Summary: Five stars for craft, zero for appeal
Comment: I've got to agree with the reviewers who think rape has no place in a romance novel, particularly rape committed by the "hero." What outraged me the most about this facet of the book isn't the rape per se, however, it's the fact that Coulter would have us believe that the "hero"/rapist is able to give the heroine an orgasm while she'd tied down, blindfolded, and doesn't know it's her husband attacking her. What a sickeningly repellant thing to write! I've loved some of Coulter's other work, but this offended me deeply. (I'm getting to the point where I want to approach any book of hers with a whip and a chair, not sure whether I'm going to find a pussycat or an angry tiger between the covers!)
To give the devil its due, I have to admit that I couldn't put The Rebel Bride down. It's extremely well-crafted; any aspiring writer could learn a lot from the way Coulter keeps the plot racing along, totally centered on the two main characters and their conflict. There's not a dull moment, nor a bland one, though the emotions the text evokes are often very unpleasant ones. Given the subject matter, however, they're not as bad as they might have been; more along the lines of uneasiness and distress than outright horror.
I guess my overall feeling is: Read it at your own risk!
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Title: Hellion Bride by Catherine Coulter ISBN: 0515109746 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Heiress Bride by Catherine Coulter ISBN: 0515111317 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: 05 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Sherbrooke Bride by Catherine Coulter ISBN: 0515107662 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: July, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Devil's Daughter by Catherine Coulter ISBN: 0451158636 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 12 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Scottish Bride by Catherine Coulter ISBN: 0515129933 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: 09 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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