"Wonderful Windup For A Terrific Medieval Trilogy"

Teri Brisbin began this wonderful trilogy with The DUMONT BRIDE, trumped herself with THE NORMAN'S BRIDE and ends it with a bang with THE COUNTESS BRIDE. Each book stands well on it's own (in fact I read the second book first), but do yourself a favor and read the entire trilogy in order.

Christian Dumont and Emalie Montgomery DUmont had an extremely tough beginning to their marriage in the first book and Brisbin allows us to see how they are working out their problems. In THE COUNTESS BRIDE we get to know Christian's brother Geoff and his friend Catherine as they fall in love.

Catherine is the sister of the semi-villain of book one, who was the Norman hero of book two (William de Severin); Catherine and the rest of the world think William is dead. William gave up his comfortable life because of Chris's promise to rescue his sister from Prince John and to keep her safe. Catherine at age 15 was held by John to insure William's cooperation and she has been subjected to degradation so awful that her mind has completely blocked the time she was with John. She remembers nothing before she awoke at a Convent and was told her brother was dead.

Unfortunately when Geoff elopes with Catherine to France, he unknowingly leads her straight into the treacherous path of the villainous Prince. Christian tries to help him, but things go from bad to worse and watching this couple sacrifice and suffer for each other is emotionally engaging. This is a couple that you really want to root for and ther happy ending is well earned.

But, what raises this tale from engaging to exceptional is the resolution that Brisbin works out for Christian and Emalie. Any marriage started under a cloud that included forced marriage and an illegitimate child that Chris accepted as his own, is bound to have some rough spots. By book's end it is obvious this couple will live happily everafter, but that they will always have some bumps over certain actions in their past and the natures of two very stubborn, prideful people. Rarely do we get a glimpse of a realistic marriage from an earlier book and I just loved the fact that these great characters from the earlier book were not only used, but were a realistic and integral element of the story.

The Montgomery brothers are two wonderful heroes with charm and intelligence and I really hated to see this trilogy end. But, to my joy I discovered that we will see some of these characters in Ms. Brisbin's future works--I can hardly wait to visit with them again.

Reviewed by Linda Hurst
Posted June 16, 2004

Summary

As a bride, she was worthless. Indeed, Catherine de Severin could offer nothing in the way of power and land. A penniless orphan with a shadowed past, she was not a suitable match for a comte destined to control vast holdings. But Geoffrey Dumont cared not, and would defy anyone — even royalty — who kept his fair Cate from him!

A loving marriage denied her, her memory a blur, Catherine de Severin had accepted her cloistered fate. But when Geoffrey Dumont, her soulfriend and truest love, abducted her from the nunnery, afire with reckless plans for a future together, her heart embraced him with a passion too strong to be denied!