In the Prince's Bed

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read!
Review:
If a book doesn't keep my attention into the 2nd chapter, I usually trade it in. Sabrina Jeffries hasn't disappointed me yet!

Rating:
Summary: Took me forever to read this book
Review:
Not like her other books, that take me one night to read..this one was dragging a bit, and it couldn't keep my interest for very long. Took me over a week to get through it.
Story line is ok...I will get the next book of this series..but its not a keeper, or one that I will read again.

Rating:
Summary: A good start to a new series
Review: Alec is quite wonderful; what a dreamboat. Katherine is sometimes annoying, but she's young and badly influenced. She tends to think the worst of Alec and the best of Sydney, who is such a momma's boy. It is also rather hypocritical of her to be concerned about Alec marrying for money when that was her goal, the difference being it was access to her own money. But she had convinced herself that she was in love with her longtime friend, Sydney.

Despite Katherine's sometimes annoying and wrong opinions about Alec and her unfathomable wish to marry Sydney, she does finally see the light and all her best characteristics come forth. The set-up for the series is excellent, and the book has a generous share of delightful scenes. I enjoyed it a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Ms. Jeffries Is Off To A Good Start With Her Latest Series!
Review: I have been a long time fan of this talented author and I found her latest effort to have set a nice tone for her latest series. The main couple Katherine and Alec are unusual and different and their story had many different twists that although may not be new per se still added to the story.

Why not a higher rating you ask? Well, first off this book in my opinion got off to a rather slow start and for that reason I have given it a lower rating then the others. Otherwise with the exception of the slow start this was a fine read. Ms. Jeffries is a very talented author and one that I highly recommend to my fellow romance novel reading fans! I look forward to reading the next story in this series.

Official reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

Rating:
Summary: Sabrina Jeffries delivers to her fans once again!
Review: Ms. Jeffries gives us another chewy romance with endearing characters and her attention to historical detail (ignore the cover art on her books - that ain't HER fault) are evident in yet another fine period piece. After reading this one, my only gripe is the wait between books! Can't wait to "get in the sack" with the other princes!

Rating:
Summary: heroine nearly sinks this other wise engaging book
Review: Sabrina Jeffries has always delighted me. Even when others give her low marks, I'm there saying how much I loved the book. This is the first one that misses the mark. I'm not saying it's a bad read. It's just below Jeffries usual delightful style.

The first in a series of three is enjoyable - except - her heroine really needs a pill to stop her silliness! Katherine Merivale is rude, almost cruel in her treatment of her hero, totally undeserving of her scorn. Jeffries always has the headstrong, overly opinionated (and wrong, sigh) female who needs the hero to bring her around to the right way of seeing life. This is getting too "formula" for Jeffries. Why must a female, who we're told is smart, act so dumb? The male-female dynamics of the hero and heroine fussing, when they first meet, works because such extreme emotions cause that reaction. The stronger the attraction, the stronger the responses. Katherine Merivale is simply hard to like. After the first 100 pages, her cruelty, though not her intention, has you thinking the wonderful hero should say, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." and leave this selfish, unmindful woman to the dismal fate she so strongly seeks. A great hero like Alec Black, the Earl of Iversley, truly deserves a better heroine!

Alec is one of three illegitimate sons of Prinny. One has money, but is shunned by the Ton. The second has the acceptance of society, yet was born to a woman out of wedlock, thus has no father's name. Alec, born to the Countess of Iversley, has the name, but no money. As the Earl neared death, he squandered the fortune, not wanting to leave Alec anything. In his early twenties, Alec had been exiled from England, forced to live with an Aunt in Spain. In his solitude, he learn to handle horses so well, he rode to war with Wellington, to teach the cavalry to ride better. When his father dies, he returns to England, and the title of Earl. Only, there's a mountain of debts. In order to save his ancestral home, Alec needs an heiress.

Introducing himself to his two half-brothers, he proposes an alliance to gain what each needs in life. They agree to the pact, and soon set Alex hot on the trail of Katherine Merivale. Not only is she an heiress with a vast fortune, she is refreshingly attractive to Alec.

Jeffries goes to great lengths to explain Katherine's actions. But, there is no excuse for rudeness, hostility, even when it comes from defensiveness. Her father was a rake of the first order, and her mother vulgarly (shame on her) chose passion and love over the more respected suitor. To keep her parents from getting hold of the family fortune, Katherine's grandfather set it up for everything to go to Katherine, but only after she marries. She viewed her father as taking advantage of her mother, in the traditional manner rakes do, and blames him for their sad state. She disdainfully shrinks from her mother's colourful ways, doesn't see her father, while an unrepentant rake even after marriage, must've loved her mother and loved her well, beside Katherine, she has five sisters and a brother! Under her grandfather's skilled tutelage, Katherine now marches forth, banners high saying "I detest all rakes". It's asking a lot of the reader to accept, the lawyer refuses to release any monies, even interest, after her father died. Her mother, siblings and she are living in near poverty, waiting desperately until Katherine can marry.

Anxious, her mother is getting antsy. Katherine has set her cap on marrying her childhood chum, Sydney. The son of the man her mother turned down, when she ran off with Katherine's father. Sorry, this man is such an idiot! He is a whiny mother's boy, who refuses to propose because mother gets sick each time. He runs around doing nothing but writing poetry, and ignoring Katherine's plight. He says Katherine is the only woman for him and will eventually marry her. But the reader gets the impression he will marry only when Mama dies. He does not even want to kiss Katherine! WHY, would any woman, in her right mind, pursue this dolt to the point of embarrassment? He dislikes her family's "crass, vulgar ways", and sees Katherine's outspokenness and tastes in clothes as a reflection of this unfortunate taint in her makeup. How can the writer expect us to believe Katherine - supposedly an intelligent woman - would want to spend her life with this wimp? Katherine clings desperately to Sydney, to the point of sacrificing all pride. When the handsome and dashing Alex begins to pay court, she so totally dismisses him, the formula shows Katherine isn't as smart as the author keeps telling us she is.

When Alec, in a gentlemanly fashion pursues Katherine, she is rude, constantly prejudging him by her image of the ultimate rake in her mind. She never misses an opportunity to throw up in his face that Alec was "cavorting" across Europe when his mother died. Alec never knew, his father had forbid contact between them because he knew Alec was not his son. When a handsome man pays court, she is insulting rude and whines she might lose Sydney the Smuck?

Alec pursues her and wins her, but then will have to deal with the fallout of her discovering he married her for money instead of love? Excuse me, she is the person that was going to marry Sydney knowing "love was not a good foundation for marriage", and now she is hurt because initially Alec doesn't love her?

The premise of the three half-brothers banding together is super. Alec is such a beautifully well drawn character. It's a shame Jeffries ruined what could have been perfection, by giving us a heroine that does not ring true, one willing to sacrifice pride for something so small and demeaning.

Rating:
Summary: Original New Sensual Laden Series
Review: Setting - London 1813 --- Jeffries newest series "The Royal Brotherhood" stars Alexander Black, Earl of Iversley. With nothing to lose and much to gain, he introduces himself to two of his half-brothers, both being the reputed offspring of the profligate Prince of Wales. Both knew of the others existence but had never met. As the `acknowledged' heir of the late Earl of Iversley, Alexander surprised both of them claiming unbeknownst to all he too shared the same sire. While his two half brothers were acknowledged as Prinny's get, they were also well-to-do which unfortunately was not the case of Alexander. He'd inherited a title, a run down estate, Edenmore, and a mountain of debt. Alex proposed that they form an alliance, become a `family' so to speak in helping each other to get what they truly most desired. Consequently they agreed to help him find an heiress with funds that would enable him to restore Edenmore back to it's former glory as a self-sufficient income producing estate that would help support its many tenants and servants.

From the moment Katherine Merivale was pointed out to Alec, he decided that she was the one. Her looks alone seemed to flaunt convention and he was definitely intrigued even though, Katherine seemed desperate to bring Sydney Lovelace, her long time childhood best friend up to scratch. Unfortunately, her efforts in this regard fell on deaf ears as Sydney ignored her most valiant efforts by using a myriad of excuses in putting off his declaration. After, eavesdropping on a private conversation Katherine had with Sydney, Alec was further convinced that she would be far better off with him than the dull poetry-spewing fop she was pursing. Convincing Katherine to trust him would be paramount before she accepted him after she experienced first-hand her parents tempestuous marriage and her father's often public affairs. She was determined to choose a reliable and steady mate no matter how much she enjoyed and was attracted to Alec. Convincing Katherine that spending time with him, would spur Sydney to make a move, Alec pulled out all the stops in a campaign of seduction to make her his wife but he soon found himself to be the one that was seduced.

*** Once again Sabrina Jeffries has presented another dazzling and intriguing story. Katherine was an unusual heroine forced to live in genteel poverty knowing all the while she had a sizable inheritance. Even though Alec was rather dishonest in trying to railroad Katherine to the altar, you can't help but like him because he really cared for her. The originality of using the illegitimate offspring of Prinny as a springboard was an intriguing vehicle although I would have liked to have seen a more interplay with the two half-brothers. The sensuality-laden lovemaking was stirring, but I found the poetry reading episode between Katherine and Alex to be an episode that the reader DEFINITELY should not miss - it being both titillating and humorous at the same time. One can always depend on this author for emotional and intelligent romances and this has definitely whetted my interest for the next installment. ---Marilyn, for www.romancedesigns.com ---

Rating:
Summary: I may be in the minority here but I liked Katherine!
Review: The first installment in a trilogy (The Royal Brotherhood) that, in my opinion anyway is off to a good start. "The Prince in My Bed" engaged my interest primarily because I came to care, early on, for both the principal characters (Alec, the Earl of Iversley, & Katherine Merivale). Yes, the storyline is a much used one (Alec is penniless and must marry money in order to repair his estate; and while Katherine is an heiress, she's living in penury herself until she marries), and yes, Ms Jeffries doesn't exactly put a new or fresh twist on her particular version of this much used storyline, but then she does provide us with a lot of tantalising sizzle in the interactions between Alec and Katherine as she makes her case as to why these two characters should end up with each other. Nowadays, many storylines are rehashed ones, and not every authour is able to out a new or unique twist on an oft told tale. So that for me the true test as to whether or not the book is a one worth recommending sometimes boils down to the main characters: are they likable, if we care for them and if we empathise with the situations they find themselves in. Reading over the other reviews, I noticed that while everyone feels for Alec, very few have any sympathy at all for Katherine. So, I'm going to mount a defense for poor Katherine, whom I really empathised with.

Here's a young heroine, up in town for her first season, and she needs to find a husband so that she can (finally) touch her inheritance that her family so desperately needs. She thought she had everything figured out since her childhood sweetheart (a sober and trustworthy gentleman) has more or less promised to marry her -- except that he keeps putting off officially asking for her hand because of his mother's "illness." And then Alec turns up and makes a dead set at her. Now Katherine suffers from another handicap: her father was a hopeless rake who quite beggared the family. And based on her parents' tempestuous relationship, and her bedside reading material, "A Rake Rhetorick," (a primer with instructions on how to woo and seduce a young lady), Katherine has quite a healthy distrust for handsome, rakish men. Some readers have been dismayed at Katherine's lack of trust, and how she would keep on defending Sydney (her childhood sweetheart), and keeping Alec at arm's length. But as Katherine notes over and over again, the one reason she doesn't trust him completely is because she senses that he's hiding something from her: and she's right, Alec is pretending to be a rich suitor so that Katherine will not think of his as a fortune hunter. And I'm not sure about other readers, but I'd much rather have a heroine who's awake on all suits to a foolish one who loses her head the moment a tall, dark stranger starts wooing her! And anyway, Katherine's natural doubts about Alec keeps the book humming and moving forwards. It's readily evident that in spite of her natural reservations, she's quickly falling in love with Alec. And knowing exactly what it was that Alec was keeping from her, I was curious to see how the authour would resolve everything and achieve the happily ever-after ending. And I was relieved that Ms Jeffries resolved everything very well and credibly too.

I'm still not sure what all the fuss was about. Reading some of the reviews I got the impression that Katherine was a real witch. And she's anything but! And truthfully speaking my issue with "In the Prince's Bed" was the language -- it was far too modern. And I suppose I'm not too sure about the title either. But then I haven't been sure about many titles for quite a while now. So here's my take: if you're looking for a book with plenty of tempting sizzle, "In the Prince's Bed" in spite of it's much overused plot premise, is just the ticket!


Rating:
Summary: Three and 1/2 stars -- Readable but not memorable
Review: This is a pleasant, readable book travels some very familiar territory in the historical romance genre--impoverished Earl pursues innocent heiress for her money and winds up falling in love with her. In order to introduce some tension in the story, the hero, Alec Black, the Earl of Iversley, is drawn as a *nice* fortune hunter who rather undeservedly has the reputation of being a thoughtless rake, and the heroine, Katherine Merivale, is dead set against marrying a rake (because her father was one and he shamed and beggared the family--blah, blah, blah--you have also heard that one before, I'm sure). The heroine's money is in trust until she marries, so she is both penniless *and* a heiress (an unusual twist), so her family needs her to marry *someone* so that they can get their hands on the money.
I liked the characters of both the hero and heroine, unlike some of the other reviewers who disliked Katherine. There was a bit too much protesting by Katherine of the type that becomes irritating (i.e. "No, no, NEVER!" that becomes "Yes, yes, YES!" with a touch of the hero's lips...)
The story was fine but rather predictable and flat. The romance did not leave me breathless.
In summary, this is an reasonably well-written story with an attractive hero and heroine that fails to rise above its rather tired plotline to become something truly memorable.
I liked it but I did not love it.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed! -- Grade: C
Review: What a disappointment! This was just plain silly! The storyline plays like a summer rerun. Steadfast romance readers are so familiar with this plot. An earl, in this case the Earl of Iversley, has inherited a poverty-stricken title - his estate is penniless, he needs an heiress. The heiress, Miss Katherine Merivale, also is dirt poor. However, Miss Merivale has an inheritance; she just has to marry "pronto" to get the money!

In "IN THE PRINCE'S BED", the storyline is not the problem. No, the problem is in the handling. A reader should never feel the story is a rehash. Granted "love and seduction" are as old as the hills, but for a romance reader their unfolding should always feel fresh and new. In "IN THE PRINCE'S BED" the presentation was overdone.

Lacking, in this much anticipated novel, is the joyous humor, the freshness, the "cannot put this book down" feeling found in the author's previous books. What "IN THE PRINCE'S BED" does, is display how difficult writing a first class novel can be! A successful author's name does not always guarantee victory!

A pleasant read, but check it out at the library. Grade: C

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.