ab18's review against another edition
4.0
So I have mixed feelings about this author. She can write extremely compelling characters and gives great insight into little known painful times in history but she fails on two points in EVERY single book that I’ve read so far.
Despite being women of heart her heroines are never given time to grieve after deaths of those they love. It doesn’t jive with their characters. How can they serenely move on after brutal deaths that they sometimes witness firsthand? I understand you don’t want a whiny character but I do expect my heroine to burst into tears or fall to the ground sometimes. Take Eleanora: you expect me to believe she had joyous sex TEN minutes after finding out her brother committed suicide on HER behalf? WHAT?!?!
Second, the author doesn’t give enough page time to our couple to see them fall in love. Most of their time is spent in bed, NOT speaking. Grant rapes Eleanora after two conversations, if we can call them that (both of which involve his manhandling of her), and a few pages later she’s in love. Why? How? Based on what exactly? She had more intense conversations with Luis than Grant throughout the book. I wasn’t buying their love and the end left me underwhelmed. He doesn’t say when he began to love her, why he hurt her the way he did, or make amends.
Finally, Luis. WHY? I haven’t cried over a fictional character in years! He was so incredibly sweet that I believed he was one of the villains in the book. How could he have been that selfless, that noble and not have been the hero? And why did it have to end the way it did for him? He was so wonderfully warm, so honest about his emotions and so heartbreakingly heroic. Gosh, I’m crying again.
Eleanora had a strong personality that made her likable as she held on to the ladylike graces and her modesty. I just wish… (see first and second rant). I did NOT understand her quasi friendship with Neville at the end. After everything she knew about him she should have been giving him the cut direct at every interaction. He caused countless deaths when he could have prevented each one. Why would she talk to him, let alone smile at him? That’s just being stupidly noble.
Can’t say much about Grant because we don’t get to see much of him.
Walker was a very interesting personage to discover. Quite a tale of misguided heroics there.
I thought Maizie was amazing with her practicality and soft heart.
All in all, Maxwell/Blake can write a dynamic story. I just wish she spent as much time on delving into the romance as she does on the history. Otherwise don’t call it a romance novel.
Despite being women of heart her heroines are never given time to grieve after deaths of those they love. It doesn’t jive with their characters. How can they serenely move on after brutal deaths that they sometimes witness firsthand? I understand you don’t want a whiny character but I do expect my heroine to burst into tears or fall to the ground sometimes. Take Eleanora: you expect me to believe she had joyous sex TEN minutes after finding out her brother committed suicide on HER behalf? WHAT?!?!
Second, the author doesn’t give enough page time to our couple to see them fall in love. Most of their time is spent in bed, NOT speaking. Grant rapes Eleanora after two conversations, if we can call them that (both of which involve his manhandling of her), and a few pages later she’s in love. Why? How? Based on what exactly? She had more intense conversations with Luis than Grant throughout the book. I wasn’t buying their love and the end left me underwhelmed. He doesn’t say when he began to love her, why he hurt her the way he did, or make amends.
Finally, Luis. WHY? I haven’t cried over a fictional character in years! He was so incredibly sweet that I believed he was one of the villains in the book. How could he have been that selfless, that noble and not have been the hero? And why did it have to end the way it did for him? He was so wonderfully warm, so honest about his emotions and so heartbreakingly heroic. Gosh, I’m crying again.
Eleanora had a strong personality that made her likable as she held on to the ladylike graces and her modesty. I just wish… (see first and second rant). I did NOT understand her quasi friendship with Neville at the end. After everything she knew about him she should have been giving him the cut direct at every interaction. He caused countless deaths when he could have prevented each one. Why would she talk to him, let alone smile at him? That’s just being stupidly noble.
Can’t say much about Grant because we don’t get to see much of him.
Walker was a very interesting personage to discover. Quite a tale of misguided heroics there.
I thought Maizie was amazing with her practicality and soft heart.
All in all, Maxwell/Blake can write a dynamic story. I just wish she spent as much time on delving into the romance as she does on the history. Otherwise don’t call it a romance novel.
whiskeyinthejar's review against another edition
5.0
FREEBIE!
Free right now on Amazon! Another one of my favs is free and I want the whole world to know :)
Amazon Link
*This was originally published in 1977 so beware but I also reread it last year and still shamelessly loved it, bodice ripping and all :)
Free right now on Amazon! Another one of my favs is free and I want the whole world to know :)
Amazon Link
*This was originally published in 1977 so beware but I also reread it last year and still shamelessly loved it, bodice ripping and all :)
katiev's review
4.0
I hesitated between 3 & 4 stars because I like the writing, and the history was rather fascinating. I also loved Eleanor. Blake knows how to write a strong heroine with human flaws. HOWEVER, this is the first time when I felt like the h should have ended up with the rival for the H's affection. It was more like a tragedy about the horrors of war, subjugation of the Indian's, and the hypocrisy of a more powerful country coming in to spread 'democracy'. Overall it was very hopeless. Not a feel good read at all.
The love story seemed secondary. The H/h were separated too much. I also thought he let his pride stand in the way FAR too much. Grant (the H) never came after her. She had to make all the concessions. I wasn't real sure why she loved him beyond the sex, but realize people can find themselves loving the wrong person. Luis was so likeable (although tragic and flawed himself). He played the hero much better than Grant did. He also sacrificed MUCH more for the h and was definitely the one who was there when she needed a savior. Grant was too tied up with his insecurities. I know he had a rough childhood, but no one's life is perfect - deal!.
The thing I've loved most about a lot of Blake's heroes is the unbelievable lengths they'll go to in order to get the h back - blackmail, highly morally questionable plots, daring rescues, hijacking the h's wedding etc. Grant did none of this aside from force her to be his mistress in the beginning. After that, he played it safe and waited for her to come to him. Not what I look for in a romance. However, the story was good and I was very emotionally affected. If something you read affects you that much, you have to respect it, even if it doesn't go the way you think it should have.
ETA: Don't listen to the Audible edition. The narrator is horrible. The H sounded like Dudley Do Right and the heroine who was probably 18-20yrs old, sounded like a 40 year old smoker.
The love story seemed secondary. The H/h were separated too much. I also thought he let his pride stand in the way FAR too much. Grant (the H) never came after her. She had to make all the concessions. I wasn't real sure why she loved him beyond the sex, but realize people can find themselves loving the wrong person. Luis was so likeable (although tragic and flawed himself). He played the hero much better than Grant did. He also sacrificed MUCH more for the h and was definitely the one who was there when she needed a savior. Grant was too tied up with his insecurities. I know he had a rough childhood, but no one's life is perfect - deal!.
The thing I've loved most about a lot of Blake's heroes is the unbelievable lengths they'll go to in order to get the h back - blackmail, highly morally questionable plots, daring rescues, hijacking the h's wedding etc. Grant did none of this aside from force her to be his mistress in the beginning. After that, he played it safe and waited for her to come to him. Not what I look for in a romance. However, the story was good and I was very emotionally affected. If something you read affects you that much, you have to respect it, even if it doesn't go the way you think it should have.
ETA: Don't listen to the Audible edition. The narrator is horrible. The H sounded like Dudley Do Right and the heroine who was probably 18-20yrs old, sounded like a 40 year old smoker.
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