I had read many great reviews about Shadows and Lace, so I was very excited when I started reading the book. I've read some other Medeiros books, and loved them, and for the most part I liked this one too. The main characters in this novel are Gareth, and Rowena. Much of Gareth's actions are guided by his need for revenge against the person who he believes is responsible for besmirching his name and blaming him for a murder he did not commit. Rowena meanwhile is a soft spoken and innocent woman. Gareth wins Rowena in a dice match against her father, Lindsey. He hopes to make Lindsey pay for allowing him to take the blame for the murder of his stepmother, but in the process she ends up falling in love with him. Overall I enjoyed the story, and the character development. Gareth seemed to grow the most, going from a man obsessed with revenge, to finally giving it up because he loved Rowena enough to free her from his grasp and let her choose whether she wanted to be with him. I believe this endeared him to me the most. Rowena on the other hand confused me sometimes. At the very beginning she seemed a strong character because she tried to attack Gareth to prevent him from taking her, but afterwards, she is quietly accepting of what he does. It seems she lost a bit of the spirit she displayed at the beginning and only shows it sporadically, like at the very end when she jousts against Gareth for her freedom. Despite this, I did enjoy her quiet strength and found it to be such a contrast to his anger. One of the most enjoyable things about Shadows and Lace is the secondary characters, such as Blaine and Marlys. Blaine is a womanizer, resentful, and jealous, possesing many of the traits associated with a villain, and even though I beleived he would play this role in the novel, he did not, and it was interesting to see him have these chracteristics and still be a loyal friend to Gareth. Now Marlys was Gareth's sister, and she is a very strong character as well, who does not want to be possessed by a man. She dresses and acts like a man, and does all this as she tries to live up and be the son her late father always wanted. I felt awful for her for being neglected and being misunderstood, and I believed that she condemned herself for the rejection of those she looked up to when what she really needed was support from those she loved. This may or may not be a spoiler, although it is pretty easy to deduce from the prologue, but one of the things that irked me the most about this book was that fact that Gareth actually had a physical relationship with his step-mother, who was also the mother of Rowena. Even though he was young, 14, when he was seduced, I still found it so wrong that he knowingly became involved with the daughter of one of his past lovers. I expected him to deny it, but he never did. This major point for me (which I even discussed with my sister to make sure I was not freaking out) just ruined the book a little. The book in its entirety was great, and enriched by its original chracters and plot, but Medeiros has written better books in my opinion, like Once an Angel, The Bride and the Beast, or the The Vampire Who Loved Me, to name a few.
1.5 starsStoryline:Gareth's stepmother seduced him when he was a teenager, his father died, he caught stepmother in arms with another knight, got jealous, stepmother found on bedroom floor run through with a sword. Her newborn and knight go missing, everyone blames Gareth for their deaths.14yrs laterGareth wins Rowena from her father in a dice game. Neither Rowena's father, her brothers (except for the youngest), or her betrothed cousin fight for her. Gareth takes her to his castle where Gareth's sister Marlys hates on her, his knightly friend sort of makes plays for her, and Gareth himself sort of falls in love with her.This is where I'm going to step in and save you all from the endless filler and get to the gist, Rowena was the stepmother's baby but no born of Gareth's father but the knight that escaped that night. Gareth knew this and was going to punish Rowena's father by raping her and sending her back pregnant. She was too good, he fell in love, blah, blah. Turns out Gareth's sister Marlys killed the stepmother letting Gareth take the blame. Gareth and sister have confrontation, Marlys disappears into the night. Gareth and Rowena live happily ever after. Seriously, that is all of the storyline. This book was broken up into three parts and for you visual learners out there, here you go,Part One:Again, let me save you all endless filler, nothing happens in this part besides Gareth and Rowena meeting and him taking her to his castle. No really, NOTHING happens.I start to get moodyPart Two:Rowena runs away...for a bit before Gareth catches her and he decides,Wink, wink.and Rowena decides,Translation: They be hitting the sheets hard but Gareth still maintains he doesn't want to marry her.A whole lot of this,Part Three:Rowena's brothers, her betrothed cousin, and her father sort of come to rescue her. First off, Rowena is like dude, we're cousins, no.One down. Then Gareth agrees to squire her youngest brother and they all become friends. How/Why? No idea. 4 down. Rowena steals Gareth's horse to sprint her father away.Gareth not happy. However, with her savvy 19yr old deduction and intuition she explains to Gareth that it was not her father who killed the stepmother but Marlys!Marlys tries to kill Rowena...sort of.....Gareth rescues her.....sort of......Marlys rides away.......sort of.....and then our happily ever after......sort of.And I'm sort of sitting here like,THE ENDLESS NOTHINGNESS AND FILLER.Save yourselves and read Thief of Hearts.
What do You think about Shadows And Lace (1996)?
My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book. This one's got 3 parts.There are a few things I guessed from the prologue of this book and I have to say, I can't accept what happened between Gareth and his step-mother, just so ... ewwwww!! Really, it's so freakin abnormal, I don't care that he was 14 (14??, oh lord!!) and she was a real b*tch, in every way!! And I also have another suspicion about Rowena but have to see as I go.Now Gareth, no matter the aforem
—.þµŋψà. [Punya Reviews...]
3.5 STARS "With one roll of the dice, the shameful deed was done. Baron Lindsey Fordyce had gambled and lost, and now his beautiful daughter, Rowena, was about to pay the price. Spirited away to an imposing castle, the fiery innocent found herself pressed into the service of a dark and forbidding knight accused of murder...and much more. Handsome, brooding Sir Gareth of Caerleon had spent years waiting for this chance for revenge. But when he sought to use the fair Rowena to slay the ghosts of his tortured past, be never imagined he'd be ensnared in a silken trap of his own making - slave to a desire be could never hope to quench. (From Amazon)I found this novel harder to get through than the rest as I was not won over by Gareth. He seemed a bit more harsh and gruff than I expected but then that was what I started to like. He was not the hero you expected and was tortured.
—Kris - My Novelesque Life
This was an interesting book. When I rate on goodreads, I consider the quality of the writing, the enthrallment of the story, and the depth of emotion the book inspired in me. Medeiros is a great writer. Even though this book is set in long-ago time, the writing felt real and believable. I found it easy to accept the behavior and actions of most of the characters. I think I got a true feel for the true time period and setting of the story.The story itself was bittersweet. There was a lot of pain and mystery, especially about events of the past. My three word description would be: REVENGE LOVE FORGIVENESS. These were the sustaining themes of the story. I hadn't expected it to be nearly as deep. Throughout the book, Medeiros showed readers the viewpoints of several different characters, including Rowena, Gareth, Little Freddie, Blaine, and Marlys.My emotions were in 'serious' phase for most of the book. There were a few moments of real humor, but the tone could never be described as lighthearted. The story follows Sir Gareth of Caerleon, a wealthy nobleman who has been searching for the a man he believed wronged him unforgivably twenty years before, Baron Fordyce. Gareth has been planning revenge for a long time, and the Baron's only daughter, Rowena, is key to his plan. What he does to her innocence in the form of revenge is almost unforgivable. I felt chastised and humbled by turn as Rowena continued to forgive him, while at the same time not condoning his actions and letting her voice be heard. She reminded me of the perfect parent, so loving, and possessed of a deep understanding of Gareth's heart. I liked that she judged him as much for his actions as his intentions. I also loved the slow revealing of Marlys, her pain, her triumphs, and her strange friendship with Rowena. This book is not for the faint of heart, and parts of it are quite depressing, so prepare yourself for this before you start reading!***BEGIN SPOILER***I also want to caution that there is underage sex mentioned in this story. A stepmother seduces her fourteen-year old stepson. There is only a single flashback to this in the very beginning of the book, but the story is built around this awful past. There are also scenes of near gang rape and a strange scene that has Blaine leering at a girl no older than thirteen, and trying to take advantage of her innocence. ***END SPOILER***
—Perspehone
