Title:
Conquest of the
White Rose

Author:
Goldie McBride

Published By:
New Concepts Publishing

ISBN #:
1-58608-488-7

Release Date:
Available Now

Format:
Electronic

A tale of true love set in England during the early years of William the Conqueror. Is it possible for a Norman invader and his Saxon captive to overcome mutual hatred as enemies and find the love of a lifetime?

Elspeth is the proud daughter of the Saxon Lord, Odolf. She very capably ran her father’s household because her mother had died in childbirth. Elspeth had always felt loved and protected by her family, her huge father and boisterous older brothers. Although these men were often drunk and brawling, they had a great love for each other and were “exuberant with life”. Then the Norman invaders came and her home was desecrated. Elspeth’s family and most of the male serfs were needlessly slain. Renard and his Norman men also brutally raped the surviving females. Renard chose Elspeth for his own use.

Guillume, Lord Arnaud of Valognes, is furious when he arrives at his new holdings. He had sent his bastard half-brother ahead to secure the property. He finds refuse and drunkards instead of the well-run household that he was expecting. His brother, Renard has collapsed on a filthy girl in a torn dress. Her face is covered in huge bruises and she is unconscious. The finery of the dress and her delicacy do not escape his notice.

Guillume is a man of honour and passion. He was enchanted by Elspeth from his first sighting. As he is newly married, Guillume keeps the lust he feels for Elspeth to himself. He forces himself to appear devoted to his new bride and tries to satisfy her every whim, no matter how outrageous. He stands by his vows, even though the marriage was arranged, not a love match. Lady Rosabel believes that she has married beneath her station and treats Guillume with contempt. He arranges for Elspeth to act as a maid to his wife, to keep Elspeth away from his brother’s unwanted attentions. When circumstances change, the passionate man emerges. Guillume is a man who knows how to please a woman. Goldie McBride depicts some very tender and quite intense moments in heart-wrenching, almost poetic prose. She has made Guillume a man of strength, power and righteousness; he is fiercely devoted to his causes and love. He will be long remembered by this reader as one of my favourite book heroes.

Ms McBride had me hooked from the first page to the last. I found this book impossible to put down as each chapter builds to a crescendo, drawing me into the next to satisfy my curiosity. The emotional pull of this novel was intense. This reader experienced all of the powerlessness, outrage, humiliation, hopelessness, devastation, devotion and the overwhelming love as I became absorbed in the characters. Although at times, the suffering and pain felt by Elspeth seems insurmountable, it pales in comparison to the positive love and devotion (not to mention those eye-popping bedroom antics) that Guillume will bring into her life. Definitely a keeper!



Reviewed by: Naomi