The Shattered Rose

Author:

Jo Beverley

Published:

Zebra, May 1996 ; 409 pages

Subgenre:

Historical romance -- Medieval

Setting:

England--Northumbria, 1100

Main characters:

Galeran of Heywood and Jehanne of Heywood

Sexual explicitness:

Fairly explicit

Keywords:

Intrigue ; adultery, the Crusades, heiresses, illegitimate children

Reader rating:

Reader comments:

I still laugh about the "relic head of St. John the Baptist as an infant" This was a super story. (P.L., 4-3-98) What an idea....a realistic life situation.People make questionable choices in their lives all the time.What a wonderful introduction to a new author.PLEASE do more set in the middle ages. unnamed-submit-input: Send (J.M., 3-24-98) The secondary romance of Raoul and Aline and how Raoul set up the initial game to capture Aline's attention and engages her in it despite her best intentions was wonderful. It made a great counterplay to the main, seriously gripping romance of Galeran and Jehanne. Both were richly detailed relationships between complex and very human people. Loved King Henry too and his court (Y.P., 5-29-97) This book was great it was the First book from her that I had read and now I can't wait to read more. (N.M., 4-12-97) Absolutely delightful to read a romance that breaks the formula. I have recommended this book to all my friends! (S.K., 2-5-97) THE SHATTERED ROSE is refreshing in light of all the tired, cliched and unoriginal romance plotlines I've read for years. Galeran is one of my all-time favorite heroes. He fell in love with an intelligent, strong-willed (stubborn), difficult woman (Jehanne) and he never turned away from her, despite her supposed betrayal. I found the relationship between these characters to be very well done. Forgiveness by Galeran and Jehanne's need for understanding and punishment was beautifully realized and played out in this book. The idea of telling the story from the hero's point of view was a daring and wonderful treat. Rarely have I read such a wonderfully written male character as Galeran. Oddly enough, I found the secondary characters' romance distracting. This was my first novel by Ms. Beverley and I going to glom her backlist as soon as I'm able. (K.G., 11-8-96) This was not up to Ms. Beverlys usual standards -- I kept asking myself why the hero and heroine just didn't talk about what had happened. All that guilt! Who needs it. Still, it was better then 80% of what passes for a romance these days (J.K., 10-2-96) This is probably the best romance I have read in a year. Excellent story with a very likeable hero. (S.W. & N.G., 8-31-96) I'm a big fan of Jo's and this is one of my favorites of her books. The relationship between Galeran and Jehanne is complex and fascinating. I also liked the secondary romance between Raoul and Aline. It provided the levity. (J.S., 6-28-96) By far, this is Ms Beverely's BEST book. A very believeable situation handled with her typical wit and creativity. Ms Beverely used her sense of humor to create a wonderful romance from a plot that could have very easily been a heavy & unpleasant read. The development of her characters, especially her secondary characters (Raoul & Aline) leaves one desperately wanting a sequal! (E.F., 6-6-96) This book is somewhat cold for a romance, but it has an interesting plot, fairly decent setting details, and a hero and heroine who break the stereotypes. It's definitely better than some of Beverley's other more recent ones, which have been too prurient for my tastes. (E.P., 5-23-96) An interesting study of two different people's actions and reactions to personal guilt. (R.P., 5-22-96)

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