The Welshman's Bride
by Blair Bancroft
It is a great plot some good characters a story as old as
time Rhy’s wants more money to be able to build
up his land, mines and help his people.
He does have money but he needs more and it is time for him to marry.
Against everyone wishes he decides to get an English bride. He goes to England
picks his bride and marries her. His bride has been protect and very innocent
and doesn’t want to get married. She is way older than most and her parents put
their foot down. She agrees they get married and things go downhill from there.
First let me say the story has more
filler than I like which at times can make it a long read. Other times it gets
exciting with mystery and bickering between the mother in law and Jocelyn.
We only see Jocelyn side of things and at times she is childlike. There
is no doubt Rhy like most men just want peace and will do almost anything to get
it. Mostly he sides with his mother and lets her have the run of things. In Jocelyn
defense she is coming to a new way of life finding out the ways of a married
couple right before she said her I dos which is very shocking as I am sure it
is for most back in those days. His mistress and child living upstairs would
shock any new bride one can’t blame her for asking questions and doubting her
new marriage. It was the way Rhy acted and the things he said that caused
problems. When he told her to grow up after she started asking question I
thought was out of line but true to form of most men who don’t want to talk
about the issue. I truly think had things not been pushed he would have just
went with the flow and not changed a thing. He expects poor Jocelyn to
do all the bending.
It is hard to like or dislike Rhy he
just wants peace, it would be hard for him not to believe his family over his
wife on the issues that happened. I thought he handled them the way most of us
would have. Jocelyn acts younger than 20 but that is to be expected with
her life style. His mother and sister are just mean people who want her gone
and do everything they can to see that happens. I found no fault with the
characters they act and do normal things to keep things the way they have them.
The story is built on the mystery of events with all fingers pointing back at
Rhy along with Rhy and Jocelyn starting their new marriage around key
people who still want the control.
The mystery is great and keeps your
attention but still has too much filler taking a long time to get to the point
and the effect of it. Misunderstandings, not wanting to talk about things and
just trying to keep peace leads to a lot of problems with the fallout leading
to major events. It isn’t a book that you could skip a lot because you would
miss some key facts but still there is a lot of filler with fewer facts. It was
a read that I thought was good but could have been better if made shorter. I
did enjoy it and found the control issue interesting along with finding their
way and learning that turning your back isn’t always the answer. I rate this as
a 3.5 rounding it up to a 4. There were times I did chuckle and times that I
felt sorry for one or the other. A clean read that a young teen and mother can
read together for some bonding time, the marriage parts are done with class you
know they happen and they enjoy it along with how a new bride would feel if
those parts to not take place as they should. I enjoyed it and do look forward to reading
more of this authors work. It is worth a read to see what you think.
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Summary
Although it seems likely she is being married for the
magnificence of her dowry, Jocelyn Hawley accepts an offer of marriage from a
Welshman. And quickly discovers she is as unprepared for marriage as she is for
her new family—a mother-in-law who insists on living in Wales' Medieval past
and a sister-in-law who seems to be trying to get rid of her. Jocelyn is also
plagued by the problem of her husband's mistress and a series of disastrous
incidents—some potentially lethal—that dog her footsteps. As she grows more
alienated from her husband, who barks at her to "grow up," she finds
herself the classic stranger in a strange land. Where it appears someone is
trying to kill her.
Author's Note: The Welshman's Bride is a Gothic novel in the tradition of Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, and my previous Regency Gothics, Brides of Falconfell, The Mists of Moorhead Manor, and The Demons of Fenley Marsh. As has happened before, I've created a heroine who has flaws, this one more than most. I hope you'll like her anyway.
Author's Note: The Welshman's Bride is a Gothic novel in the tradition of Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, and my previous Regency Gothics, Brides of Falconfell, The Mists of Moorhead Manor, and The Demons of Fenley Marsh. As has happened before, I've created a heroine who has flaws, this one more than most. I hope you'll like her anyway.
