The Black Rose (The House of Thorns Book 1)

House of Thorns

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Retired spy, Bear Gavenor has fled the marriage mart for the familiarity of his work; restoring abandoned country manors to sell to the newly rich. Evicted from her home and ruined with claims she has a lover, Rosa Neatham fears she will soon be unable to care for he Retired spy, Bear Gavenor has fled the marriage mart for the familiarity of his work; restoring abandoned country manors to sell to the newly rich. Evicted from her home and ruined with claims she has a lover, Rosa Neatham fears she will soon be unable to care for her invalid father.

He needs an heir. She needs a protector. Love needs to overcome the scandal, secrets and self-doubts that each brings to this marriage of convenience. Kindle Edition , pages. Published October 26th by Scarsdale Publishing, Ltd. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

To ask other readers questions about House of Thorns , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Oct 29, Dee Deacon Foster rated it it was amazing. After being thrown out of her home and fighting scandalous rumor, Rosa Neatham is fighting for her and her father to survive. A trip that may prove be more than she expected. Bear Gavenor would rather spend his time turning old manors into new homes than participate in the marriage mart. As rumors and misunderstandings abound will these two After being thrown out of her home and fighting scandalous rumor, Rosa Neatham is fighting for her and her father to survive.

True to his name, Bear shows the world his gruff persona; however, he truly has a heart of gold. And Rosa, much like the rose, has a spine of steel that can withstand much of what is thrown at her. Rosa and Bear are a wonderful hero and heroine that anyone could fall in love with in this wonderfully delightful tale by Jude Knight! Dec 08, kate rated it it was ok. She is bullied by the villagers, the pastor, her family and even called foul names to her face by some of the construction crew who work for her husband. Who in God's name calls the bosses wife a whore within hearing distance and still has a job the next day.

Or the next hour for that matter. Especially since she's in charge of construction since her husband took off for London after their wedding night. Seemed he was surprised she was a virgin and told her so. Before he even rolled off. He finds her in the arms of his foreman who has just saved her from being raped. The big H jumps right on top of the wrong conclusion and calls her every name in the book. He starts to calm down and takes a good look at her. She's been beaten , she's crying her, dress is torn. He mumbles sorry and gets on his horse and rides away to go on a two day drunk.

HE knows who did it. The guy bragged he just had her when he passed the Hero 5 minutes before. The hero is supposed to be this huge guy who was in the army 24 years and is in fact a war hero. Yet he doesn't go find this little worm and pound him into the dirt. She needs to go buy herself a knife or gun or at least a vicious dog.

She is living in a rough neighborhood and has no one to rely on but herself. Oct 30, Patricia Schuette rated it it was amazing. One of the best authors in Historical romance A delightful story about one of a group of men back from the war. He buys old homes and refurbishes them. He finds a young woman outside of a cottage where he is staying while working. Nov 12, MrsMascara rated it it was amazing.

Strong and admirable heroine, gruff but kind Hero, tender love story, lots of villains and perilous but satisfying plot twists. Rosabel lives in penury with her senile father, she meets the hero when she injures herself. She is startled by Bear when she is cutting roses for her father from his cottage, and falls from a ladder. He tends to her and discovers her father is very ill. He takes it as his responsibility to care for them, and discovers she has been badly ch Delightful, delightful story. He takes it as his responsibility to care for them, and discovers she has been badly cheated and pestered by the local land agent Perlman and his sister, and is generally reviled in the village for being a loose woman.

Rosa is chaste and virtuous and practically unaware of the village gossip about her. She is on the cusp of destitution and preparing herself to have to sacrifice her virtue to survive, however she does not want to succumb to Perlman. Bear becomes fonder and fonder of her, and asks her to marry him for convenience.

So he can have a housekeeper and mother for his children. The story reveals Rosabels background and the perfidy of many players in the story, as she and Bear fall in love. After many misunderstandings the truth is revealed and the couple get a lovely HEA. Jude knight writes wonderfully and this is a tender love story with an interesting, involving plot. Oct 30, Tracy DeNeal rated it it was amazing.

Jude Knight intricately weaves this marriage of inconvenience tale in the most subtle way.

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Hilarity ensues and he finds himself responsible for not only his injured rose thief, but her mentally impaired father as well. Small minded villagers, a competent, compassionate help mate, and growing feelings on both sides converge to create a me Jude Knight intricately weaves this marriage of inconvenience tale in the most subtle way.

Small minded villagers, a competent, compassionate help mate, and growing feelings on both sides converge to create a meeting of the minds and hearts. Love blooms and blossoms despite misunderstandings and misdeeds by conniving miscreants. I loved this story! Nov 15, Caroline rated it it was amazing. Bear Gravenor is a delight. I love to read about heroes who are decent men—not necessarily rich and powerful; not the ubiquitous dukes and marquesses—going about the business of life, making the world a tad better than the found it, and finding love along the way.

Don't hesitate to give Royce and Hadrian a chance to steal your mind, your heart and your breath! View all 21 comments. They are back after a year and set out to help Gwen. I really wish evil people would leave them alone! Someone hurt Gwen and other deaths and beatings. It was probably not a good idea to pick on Gwen her girls! View all 19 comments. It is always a joy to be back in the world of Elan and to read more about Royce and Hadrian. This is an amazing adventure with interesting s It is always a joy to be back in the world of Elan and to read more about Royce and Hadrian. This is an amazing adventure with interesting story and great number of characters we already met in the Revelations series and we get to know some of them better, like the royal family of Melengar, Hilfred and Viscount Albert Winslow.

Meeting of Albert Winslow is the funniest chapter in the book and conversation between Royce and Hadrian about helping people is hilarious: They help each other. Of course, Royce replied, anyone would. A wounded man is easy pickings, unless you could see from your saddle that someone else has already taken his purse. No one would rob a wounded man and leave him to die.

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Too many people live through arrow wounds. You taught me that. No sense risking he might come after you. He was raised by wolves. We can see how his friendship with Hadrian is slowly changing him, we learn more about his history with the Black Diamond and we get to see his dark side and what happens if someone messes with people he cares about.

I strongly recommend you read the Revelations series first because it will make reading this series even better experience and you will enjoy these characters even more. View all 11 comments. Jun 13, Conor rated it it was amazing. Like with the main series this prequel was far more complex, and in many ways darker, than that which preceded it.

It was also even more compelling. Several of my friends have recommended reading the main series first but I would actually recommend this one first. Overall I think it's better written and more engaging and while the first book was really just about developing Royce and Hadrian this one nicely sets up the main plot. Having read the main series already I knew how a lot of stuff woul Like with the main series this prequel was far more complex, and in many ways darker, than that which preceded it. Having read the main series already I knew how a lot of stuff would turn out and while there was still plenty of interesting elements I think it would have been better to have read this first.

I also think this book did a great job of developing minor characters that weren't touched upon so much in the main series. Royce and Hadrian were also central to this one, although not as much so as in the first prequel. I really enjoyed Royce's revenge spree as it drove home how ruthless and bloodthirsty Royce can be. This was often shown rather than told early on in the main series but in these prequels it's demonstrated emphatically. I also liked their budding partnership, which has developed quite a bit in the year since they first met.

Their tense, adversarial partnership has been replaced by respect and trust although there's still tension caused by the clash of Royce's ruthlessness with Hadrian's idealism. In this one we got to see even more familiar characters with Alric and the Pickerings having strong turns while the King was extremely well developed from his brief mentions in the main series and this made his death at the start of the first book actually impactful.

This book also made me want to re-read the parts in the main series where a certain pair of scheming dickhead villains met their ends and those passages were all the more satisfying after this one. However the breakout character of this book was Hilfred. A bit part player in the main series that I always found rather dull after a page of his first section in this one I already cared more about him than in the whole main series. His parts in this really made me think of the old saying that "everyone is a hero in someone else's story" as the previously uninteresting minor character was given an incredibly dramatic story with a tense relationships with his brutal father, an unrequited love for a woman above his station made all the more tragic by his inability to accept a good woman's love for him due to his obsession with a woman who barely knows he exists, his friendship with Alric and the Pickering's and his rising to a level of heroism that he never could have dreamed of.

Sure Arista finally realized his feelings for her but she was only pretending to love him to be polite. After his incredible story in this book it feels as though his story deserved a better and more fulfilling end that would have allowed him to be more than just a human shield for Arista. She was just walking along trying to impress her future father-in-law, when suddenly he murders her as part of a church backed regicidal plot to overthrow the government and institute a religious empire. We've all been there. Shitty jokes aside I did feel really bad for her.

Her innocence in the face of her shitty lot in life and her love for Hildred and desire to win him over made her a really likeable character which made her abrupt death all the more saddening although it had been heavily foreshadowed. Also the manner in which it happened left Hadrian struggling with guilt over having accidentally caused her death while trying to protect her, making the whole situation all the sadder. It's an aspect of his writing that seems to be ignored for some reason but he's probably delivered more unexpected and saddening deaths than any other author. Erikson probably has as many deaths but since most of them wind up being magically revived it loses a lot of it's impact.

It's also interesting how Erikson really wrings all of the melodrama and pathos he can out of his deaths whereas Sullivan is pitiless and matter-of-fact about it. Woops, I just had a shark eat their face. View all 7 comments. Apr 16, Robin Bridge Four rated it really liked it Shelves: I mean once you know where the story goes do you really care about the origins of it? Not only do we get to see how Royce and Hadrian finally solidified into a team and found their front man, we also get to see the beginnings of Royce and Gwen as a possible couple and a young Hilfred in the castle before the fire.

But it is good to see some of the moments in the beginning. I thought that Royce was maybe a little tame for the dangerous killing assassin he was supposed to be.

But after reading through this I can see where he got the reputation AND I can see how far Hadrian pushed him into being kinder later that is. No sense risking that he might come after you. I love watching how each man tries to convince the other that people are generally all good or all bad. Neither is quite right but together they probably make a semi well-adjusted person….

We all know that Gwen has always only had eyes for Royce and why but it was cute to see that maybe Hadrian would have liked to have met her under different conditions, but there is no way that he will betray his bro. They were so different than I expected them to be and a blend of sad and heroic all the same time. A plot in the castle to kill the Royal family and seeing Arista, Oreck and the Pickering Boys as children was a lot of fun.

There were still enough surprises that I was entertained and engaged the entire story. View all 3 comments. Nov 17, Jody rated it it was amazing Shelves: Full review now up! The story is set in the city of Medford a year after the events of The Crown Tower. MJS did a great job showing the growth in Royce in Hadrian's relationship. While it's still not to the level we see in the Revelations series, there is considerable improvement from the first book. For instance, they don't exactly loath each other anymore. Royce seems to have accepted Hadrian and his do go Full review now up!

Royce seems to have accepted Hadrian and his do good personality, while Hadrian is still trying to help Royce see the world from a more positive perspective. These two are definitely stubborn and not quick to give up in their ways, so these little conversations are usually quite hilarious.

Because I want a drink? I don't think he'll be too upset. Besides the Riyria duo, Hilfred gets the most page time, and it was interesting to see how his story played out. The events in The Rose and the Thorn are mentioned several times in the main series, so if you have read that series you know what is going to happen.

But to actually read the story was a treat in itself. Speaking of the story, MJS has done it again. Woven a tale that takes the reader on a journey from the open countryside, to the city life of the middle and lower class, and then to the politicking of the Medford noble court. He really covered all of his areas in this book, and all while doing it from several different POV's. One of my favorite things about MJS's writing is he makes me care about the side characters almost as much as the MC's. Many authors have trouble telling stories inside of stories that can seem confusing to the reader, but that is not the case with the Riyria books.

The characters individual stories are interwoven into the main story, and seem to fit perfectly. So, there you have it. Great characters, diverse settings, and a compelling story. What else do you need in a great fantasy novel? If you haven't read any of Michael J.

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Sullivan's books before I urge you to give them a go. You're in for a treat! How about the Two Phantoms or Specters - something like that? Gwen shook her head. View all 16 comments. It's been far too long since I've been in Elan. Lately, I haven't had much time for reading, but Riyria is one of those series that you unconsciously make time for. I read on the subway, as usual; I read when I arrived anywhere a few minutes early. I read when I was cooking not the best idea and I lost a bit of sleep because I was just so immersed in The Rose and the Thorn.

This book seemed to be focused a bit less on the actual events, but more on character development. Of course, Hadrian and It's been far too long since I've been in Elan. Of course, Hadrian and Royce steal the show, as always, but seeing the background of Hilfred was definitely a highlight of this book. He's not a main character in Revelations , but his story in this book plays a major role and gives a lot of background to favourite characters such as Arista and Alric.

Meeting Albert for the first time was also amusing and seeing how much he has changed since encountering Riyria gives him more depth as a character. I read The Crown Tower and then the main series and now I can see when reading Revelations first is much better. There are so many little Easter eggs that make the book that much more enjoyable.

I would definitely recommend starting with Revelations before reading Chronicles. I was too excited about starting The Death of Dulgath so I started the book before reviewing this one - it takes a special book to do that. D Here I am, in Riyria again: One more great adventure with Riyria. A bit predictable, but a great read nonetheless! View all 25 comments. Loved this one so much! Definitely my favorite of the Riyria Chronicles novels thus far! Cannot wait for The Death of Dulgath! Apr 02, Kaitlin rated it it was amazing Shelves: Well it's officially 1: I am super tired, but I couldn't put this down and I utterly adore the characters from this series so I had to know what would happen.

This is book 2 in the Riyria Chronicles which I would advise you read after the whole Riyria Revelations series, even though the Chronicles are a prequel series. Basically in this series we get to see the backstory and various crazy adventures of the two main characters from Riyria Revelations, Ro Well it's officially 1: Basically in this series we get to see the backstory and various crazy adventures of the two main characters from Riyria Revelations, Royce and Hadrian. This book doesn't pick up straight after the ending of book 1 which was a slight disappointment to me to begin with, due to the craziness of the ending of book 1 and me wanting to know what would happen next, but I will admit I was hooked into the story very fast pg.

This book follows Hadrian and Royce as they journey towards Medford. Along the way they meet a man who is very much down on his luck, and they strike up a deal which could become very beneficial for both of them - if they can play it right. We also have the other story which centres around Reuben and his coming of age story within the Castle of Medford. Every day that he sees the Princess he wishes she'd notice him, and when he's being bullied and picked on he really doesn't know how to turn things around - until events start to go his way and he becomes involved in a lot more than he bargained on.

On the whole this book was fabulous. Although it took me a little by surprise with the beginning not quite picking up from the ending of the first book, I loved the stories once I was into them and I found the characterisation of this book so natural and easy to adapt to. Also, fear not, because the events after the ending of book 1 are indeed retold at a later point in this book so we do get to see exactly what went on there too!

I absolutely adored seeing the backstory for Arista and Alric and also getting to know their father a bit more. The Pickerings too were fabulous as young boys and seeing the way that they lived and grew up was just magnetic They just kept pulling me in! The young versions of so many of the characters from Riyria Revealtions were just heartwarming and so amusing, knowing what we do about them by the ending of RIyria Revelations.

They are all so fun and all individual which I really appreciated. As for the foreshadowing and weaving of this book, let's just say everything works so well when Sullivan writes a book because he manages to weave in hints and suggestions that you don't even realise are there until they come back and you kick yourself for not realising. Seeing as this is a prequel series we get a lot hinted at which is to come, and there were a fair amount of very touching moments hinted at that gave me chills!

I read through this super fast and found it so easy to race though once I was fully into it. The pacing is fab and the two stories bounce so well off of one another. Another excellent book of the same quality I have come to know, expect and enjoy from all of Sullivan's books. Jan 02, Gavin rated it really liked it Shelves: This was a super enjoyable installment in the Riyria series. It covers a whole bunch of stuff including why Hadrian and Royce chose the name Riyria to represent them.

It mainly focuses around the plot to kill the Royal family of Medford and Royce making sure that the ladies of Medford House are safe from harm. We also get to met Albert Winslow for the first time. His first appearance is definitely a memorable one! This was filled with all the action and humor we have come to expect from the seri This was a super enjoyable installment in the Riyria series.

This was filled with all the action and humor we have come to expect from the series, but was also slightly sadder than normal as we meet a few old friends who have lead somewhat tragic lives. Another excellent performance by Tim Gerard Reynolds.

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He has now joined my list of favorite narrators. View all 6 comments. Sep 09, Mili rated it it was amazing Shelves: Another great story and insight on how Royce and Hadrian grew into becoming Riyria. Shed a tear, felt anger and had a laugh. But definitely read Riyria revelations first! This prequel together with The Crown Tower completed the origins of Riyria as well as of the seeds of conspiracy that was over ten years in the making, leading into the captivating story told in The Riyria Revelations.

As far as back-stories go, the Riyria Chronicles were superbly well-written Sullivan solidly ranks as one of my favourite authors. I am going to show you. While we have been alluded to many times in Revelations what he was capable of during his Black Diamond days, actually reading and experiencing it was really disturbing. This is what makes the character of Royce so complex and fascinating. The Rose and The Thorn is probably the darkest book yet of the two Riyria series.

Brutality and maliciousness abound in this installment - oh Bishop Saldur, how I loathe thee!! On a lighter note, the introduction of Viscount Albert Winslow was delightful. His POV was funny and entertaining, and with the viscount finally in tow, Riyria was born! I guess the defining difference between merely knowing the outcome and the details of what actually transpired is how well the story is told. In this, Michael J Sullivan has done a fantastic job. May 23, Liam Degnan rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book was everything that you want a prequel to be and more.

Following a relatively "Okay" but still good first book in the Chronicles, I wasn't expecting much from this, but was extremely pleasantly surprised. Plot was well developed and interesting, as it tied in with many elements we got to know from Revelations. Character development was just fantastic, with a particular emphasis on Ruben Hilfred our favorite body guard , giving us his backstory along with details about an event that wi This book was everything that you want a prequel to be and more.

Character development was just fantastic, with a particular emphasis on Ruben Hilfred our favorite body guard , giving us his backstory along with details about an event that will be very familiar to readers of Sullivan's original series. It was also great getting some more insight into Royce and Gwen's relationship.

I was completely invested from page one. Even if you don't continue reading through the Riyria Chronicles, getting to this book is well worth it! Sullivan has impressed me yet again. Sep 29, Bookwraiths rated it really liked it Shelves: But unlike most prequels, Mr. Sullivan has done something absolutely superb here: As the novel begins, a year has passed since the events in The Crown Tower.

Royce and Hadrian have been working together during this time, pulling small jobs and becoming better acquainted. Naturally, their relationship has changed, becoming less antagonistic, but they still have huge differences in their outlook on life. Hadrian is less naive about people but still retains his innate goodness of heart, and Royce, though still one careless insult away from unleashing his inner sociopath on someone, has begun to understand that killing is not the only solution to every problem. But even with their differences, they are obviously much more comfortable with one another, and together, they decide to return to the city of Medford for a visit with Gwen: We are given intertwining tales about Viscount Albert Winslow, the royal family of Medford: Sullivan slowly reveals all these amazing plots, his rare, writing brilliance becomes clear to see, for each of those lovely, individual stories begin to mesh together, creating a single, overarching tale.

A yarn that not only encompasses this novel and the Riyria Chronicles but also the Riyria Revelations as well.

The Rose and the Thorn

And somehow while juggling plot lines, Mr. Sullivan also finds time to gift each character with his or her own unique personality. There are no cookie cutter characters in this novel. Each character is well rounded, having their own unique history, problems, hopes, and fears that foreshadow their future selves but does not lock them into a particular role.

But it is developing gradually in a realistic way, not springing forth fully grown. And when that camaraderie does rear its head in this story, it is always amazing to see the unlikely pair slowly becoming the Riyria we all love. Overall, this is a wonderful, entertaining fantasy, worthy of inclusion into the ranks of the best novels of It quite frankly is just that enjoyable to read.

Now, those of you that have read my reviews know I always find something to critique. I really do not have any complaints worth writing about. Obviously, the tale is lacking some sense of suspense; it is a prequel after all. However, even though a reader of the Riyria Revelations already knows what happens, Mr. Sullivan does an excellent job of circumventing this problem and penning a rousing adventure that presents enough new insight into characters and plots to make you enjoy finding out how it all happened.

Go get this book and enjoy it! I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. As the author of this book, I won't add a rating but I will take the opportunity to talk a bit about this book. In combination with its predecessor, The Crown Tower , this book pretty much wraps up the forming of Riyria. I was really happy to provide some of Hilfred's backstory as he is a character that really didn't get much spotlight in the Revelations series. It also was good to see Gwen and her girls again.

I especially like Rose the titular character who was introduced in the early book, but w As the author of this book, I won't add a rating but I will take the opportunity to talk a bit about this book. I especially like Rose the titular character who was introduced in the early book, but who we got to know much more in this one.

Technically, this book completes "The Chronicle" tales. But as I mentioned when I started the series, I would write more if it seems like people aren't tired of them. I've not made an "official" determination but based on feeedback that has come in so far I do think I'll be writing at least one more Riyria book, and we'll see how things go from there. Well, my current work in progress started out as a trilogy that I was expecting to have finished in April I just released the audio version of The Jester which is posted on audible for free.

View all 15 comments. Hadrian and Royce never disappoint. The dialogues, the hilarious back and forth, the story overall - I live for them! The cutest, most adorable bromance next to Locke and Jean. If TCT was more about the introduction of Hadrian and Royce, this one was more about their friendship and them becoming the bona fide team that is Riyria. There was a lot more action and drama here, and answers to 4. There was a lot more action and drama here, and answers to some of my most pressing questions from the first series were finally revealed.

View all 13 comments. May 11, Lindsey Rey rated it it was amazing Shelves: Definitely my favorite Riyria installment! Nov 21, Michael of Solace rated it really liked it. I really hope Mr Sullivan never stops writing about Hadrian and Royce. What a wonderful world he has built full of political intrigue, betrayals, dastardly plots, magical places, and beautiful ladies. There's so many characters that are easy to love, easy to hate, or easy to sympathize with. I'm saddened by the fact that there's only one more book left in Chronicles but honored that I've had the opportunity to read and love them.

Dec 23, Evgeny rated it really liked it Shelves: Here we meet Reuben Hilfred who will appear later in Riyria Revelations. In this book he is still a young boy getting ready to become a castle guard. His POV takes up practically half of the book; it becomes really interesting at about one third in the book and stays that way until the end. The second half of the book is unsurprisingly about Hadrian, Royce and Albert Winslow. The duo's meeting with the latter was described in the short story The Viscount and the Witch which is incorporated in th Here we meet Reuben Hilfred who will appear later in Riyria Revelations.

The duo's meeting with the latter was described in the short story The Viscount and the Witch which is incorporated in the book as chapter 2. I like this book more than the first book of the series, The Crown Tower - it took a while for the latter to become interesting; at the same time this book jumps straight into the action practically right away. It also shows pissed off Royce before he started to show traces of humanity due to Hadrian's influence hint: One more thing to mention: For this reason I recommend reading the series in publication order: Riyria Revelations followed by Riyria Chronicles.

At times I thought the book is worth 5 star rating, but something prevented me from giving it - I cannot even tell what exactly. It is still a very good book which fully deserves 4 stars which I give to it without any hesitation. View all 5 comments. Jul 07, Lee rated it it was amazing Shelves:

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