 |
|
Title: Almost a Princess
ISBN: 0553584898
Author:
Elizabeth Thornton
Publicate Date: 2003-01-01
Publish: 2003-01-01
List Price: $6.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Mass Market Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $0.63
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $6.99
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: Unsatisfying
(Warning: spoilers) Case Devere, earl of Castleton, falls for Jane Mayberry, a bluestocking female who lives in a secretive manner in a small cottage. His attraction to her brings her to the notice of a villain, who attacks her home. Case steps in to protect Jane, falls for her, and takes her home to meet his family. This all happens in the first half of the book which drags along slowly. A lot of men discuss such things as the war on the peninsula and the Special Branch and the Home Office and so on, but it's hard to get a feeling that Case and Jane are spending very much time getting to know each other. I'm not sure why they are attracted to each other, but about half way through the book they each announce they are in love with the other one, and then Jane's terrible secret is revealed.
At this point, things get tawdry. They decide their best course of action to encourage Jane's husband to divorce her by flaunting their illicit love affair. It was a quick decision. Could they not have tried negotiating with the fellow first? Well apparently Ms. Thornton chose this tactic for dramatic effect, but it left me cold. Going on a shopping spree to show off your flagrant adultery? Oh, that's classy.
This book has not one but three villains, who are equally narcisstic and obsessive when it comes to hurting Jane. There is the Spanish war traitor who wants to hurt her because of Case, the drunken lout Lord Reeve who holds a grudge because Jane interfered with his marriage plans, and Jane's Scottish husband, Robert, who wants to hurt her just because he enjoys it. These guys engage in various acts of arson, animal abuse, stalking, punching, beating up servants, and various other bad-man activities, just to prove how bad they are. And Jane, constantly imperiled, is continually being saved by Case, or his servants, or her dog or something. All this melodrama is pretty shallow. I would prefer a single villain with some depth to him over all these cookie-cutter bad guys.
I have read several other books by Elizabeth Thornton which I enjoyed, but this one left me cold. I could not find anything satisfying in it. In general, I approve of early promoters of women's rights, but Jane's brand of feminism had such a modern flavor it seemed unlikely for the time period. The whole plot seemed forced. Sorry, I wish I could say something nicer about this book, but I can't think of anything. It's going directly into the recycling pile.
|
2: 4.5 stars for this Smart Romance between two characters who act like adults and fall in love for the right reasons
Caspar Devere, Lord Castleton, son and heir of the Duke of Romsey, is seeking out one Jane Mayberry. Jane knows someone who may have information about La Roca, Caspar (aka Case)'s nemesis during the war. Case is a member of the Special Branch, a secret investigative/spy related branch of the British government. Upon meeting Jane, Case is instantly intrigued despite her being everything that he doesn't ordinarily look for in a woman. First, she's smart. She doesn't immediately fall at his feet.
Once Case focuses on something, he is ruthless in his pursuit, both of the murderer, La Roca, and of Jane. Jane resists as long as possible but even she cannot hold out against the magnetism of Case. But Jane's past is full of secrets that may keep the couple apart forever.
The really good part of this story is Jane and Case. Jane is a level headed, pragmatic woman who knows exactly what kind of man Case is and what kind of relationship they could have - nothing proper. She recognizes that he intrigues her but also knows that he would inevitably hurt her. Case, for his part, is interested in Jane's cleverness and capability. He feels a bit useless, at times, faced with Jane's self sufficiency. This is a romance between two equals, maybe not in station, but in intelligence and force of will. When these two come together, their loving is believable and all the more sensual for its realness.
The investigation part of the story was interesting but the villian was very over the top and the ending of the story was, well, a bit farfetched. But those are details that are easy for me to overlook when the romance is strong. It was just as good as the first time. B+
|
3: Truly a Wonderful Read
This book is reminiscent of Judith McNaught's earlier historical novels. It was a delight to read, and I highly recommend it to any fans of historical romance!
|
4: Enjoyable and unique story
The story is as follows: Case Devere, earl, gorgeous and special branch investigator comes across Jane Mayberry, quiet, unassuming beauty with a hidden past.
The hidden past was worked into the storyline very well, which I have come to expect from Ms. Thornton, however the heroine let me down quite a few times during the escapades.
There were also one or two plot twists here and there, that pushed the limits of credulity.
The romance was there but a little forced, I felt.
I do love the way Ms. Thornton writes and her command of the english language as well as her ability to re-create persons of the 19th centruy in England is fabulous. This was for me, not her best effort and I would recommend a number of her other books before this one, such as Shady Lady.
|
5: the second half could have been better
I really do appreciate her work, but Thornton has a habit of having her protagonists declare their love mid-way through the novel, leaving the reader with the ultimate romance question answered but still having to wade through a quagmire of roadblocks thrown into the lovers' path.This makes the last half of her novels difficult for me to read. I find myself skipping large chunks of copy dealing with the hero and heroine to get back to the unresolved portion of the story - the mystery (or, in this case, the hunt for the villain).
I would prefer for all of these issues to be resolved in close proximity to keep both plot lines equally interesting. However Thornton does weave an interesting tale for her villain as well as the hero and heroine (although the hero's past is left largely untouched). She also manages to inject the story with a good deal of social commentary on the issues surrounding the era (and domestic violence, which sadly continues to this day).
|
|
|
|
|
