There are certain qualities each of us looks for when assessing a romance author as a fave. For some of us, writing chops top the list of must-haves. For others, deftness of tale telling trumps all other considerations.
For me and some other readers -- who often whisper and giggle over it in clandestine groups steeped in the ambiance of good-feminists-gone-bad-girl sleepovers -- a quality that shoots a writer to the apex of our best-author short lists is her talent in creating that most maligned, yet underrated, character from romance fiction: the bastardly hero.
Brenda Joyce does bastardly in a big way, and her bold and markedly sensual, "The Prize," lured me in to her de Warenne Dynasty stand alones, a remarkably sexy and adventure-packed series of intertwined stories of generations of gorgeous, stubborn, canny men who are big in all ways, especially their egos and inabilities to understand just how boneheaded and hurtful they can be to the extraordinary - or soon to be -- women who fall for them.
Joyce has created big, bad, bastardly heroes since she wrote the first de Warenne, "The Conqueror," back in 1989. The rich, raucous medieval inspired the series which Joyce never planned to write, yet which continued on with another Medieval, an Elizabethan, several English and Irish 19th c-set novels and soon continues with the twelfth, the lovely, entertaining and well worth the wait, "An Impossible Attraction."
Joyce retains the delicious core bastardliness of the deWarren male in our hero, Stephen Mowbray, eighth Duke of Clarewood, only slightly contemporized for tender sensibilities. When Mowbray meets lovely Alexandra Bolton, the impoverished daughter of a profligate lord, as with all things he decides he wants, he snaps his fingers to receive.
Yet Alexandra's not about to accept Mowbray's proposal of carte blanche. She's poised to accept the proposal of an elderly country squire, her only chance at marriage after having given up her dreams of love years earlier when she promised her dying mother she'd raise her siblings and care for her wastrel father.
But that doesn't mean Alexandra's not mightily attracted to Mowbray. Nor does it mean Mowbray takes Alexandra's "no" for an answer; he's not heard it before from a woman, especially not one so in need of everything he can offer her. So Mowbray sets to woo Alexandra and does, to a certain extent, until he manages to ruin just about everything they had and might have had - all because of the secret that makes him more bastardly than anyone knows, or he possibly can admit.
To be sure, "An Impossible Attraction" follows the classic "Big Bad Duke Offers Good Girl Carte Blanche" storyline so many of us love. But in Joyce's hands, the emotional stakes are raised on every count: heartache blooms more poignantly, sensuality burns more brightly and a higher price is paid for lessons learned - and the promise of HEA fulfilled.
Brenda Joyce also writes contemporaries and paranormals that are very popular. I feared for awhile that she'd gotten out of the historicals game completely, but I'm here to tell you, I couldn't be more jazzed - or relieved - to note that Joyce and the bastardly hero remain alive and well on the historical romance scene.
Why do you think readers enjoy the bastardly hero? What are your fave Brenda Joyce reads? How do you feel when your fave authors begin writing in sub-genres other than the one you came to know them in?
Hi Michelle!
Wow a Historical from Brenda Joyce! It's been a long, long time! I love her books! She writes about the bastardly hero as well as anyone! That is definitely the word for some of her heroes. Not only are they bastardly, they can become even worse as the story goes on depending upon the circumstances that bring it out. Usually, it's the heroine that brings it out even more, because the bad boy can't deal with the fact that he's met his match. Her heroines are nothing to sneeze at either. Their ready for the job of conquering the bad boy!
I love those bad boys, because as several posters have alluded to, their forbidden fruit. The more their forbidden and the heroine knows that she shouldn't tempt fate, she does it anyway because she's helpless in the lure of his power. Also, she does it sometimes out of his high handedness and to show him he can be had and that what he can dish out she can handle. Of course, our hero is helpless too, but you know the bad boy will never admit this until he's good and tied in a million love knots. Yes ... those bad boys are delicious and so yummy it's impossible to resist! More often than not, we can't resist!
My favorite Brenda Joyce reads are The Darkest Heart and The Fires of Paradise. My favorite hero of hers is Jack Savage from The Darkest Heart. Ladies, Jack is sexy, bold, brash, gorgeous, luscious and lots of other beautiful adjectives would also describe him, but you have to read about him to see what I mean. I've loved him from the first time I read about him. And his eyes! Oh my, the way she describes them! I highly recommend this book. You won't be disappointed! You may need a fan!!!
I don't mind that my favorite authors write in sub-genres. It's a way of spreading their wings and can often lead to something new that works for them also. I have one of Brenda's paranormals in my TBR pile. From reading the review of it and knowing Brenda's writing from her historicals, I'm sure I'll enjoy it! I looking forward to reading the historical also. I thought she wasn't writing them anymore. Thank goodness she is!!! 
