12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Enjoyable Regency - Tastefully Sensual, December 26, 2004
This review is from: The Bride's Necklace (Mass Market Paperback)
Setting - England 1804 --- Realizing that time had run out, Victoria Temple Whitting, knew she had to save her sister Claire from their lecherous stepfather, Baron Harwood. There was no time to think it through before she was forced to knock him out with a bed pan. Fleeing in the night, with little more than they could carry, Victoria grabbed her family's heirloom necklace believed to hold the power of great happiness or terrible tragedy, to sell so they could finance their flight to London. Gaining a mere pittance of it's value, Victoria was forced to pose as Tory Temple, widow, and seek employment, though this proved to be a difficult feat for one so young and without references. Things were dire indeed until she stumbled into the handsome Earl of Brant, Cordell Easton.
Having tired of his mistress, Cord was in the market for a new bit of muslin to replace her and the enchanting beauty of the very innocent and naïve Claire was intriguing. Cord hired Tory as his new housekeeper and Claire as a maid, believing he would soon be offering Claire a more lucrative position. It didn't take Cord long to realize that while Claire's beauty masked an innocence even he would felt obligated to safeguard, it would be the elder sister, Tory, who would challenge and pique his desire in a way no woman ever had before. By the time Cord uncovered the truth of the sisters noble birth, their stepfather discovered their whereabouts and had come to take them away. Furious at having been deceived, and never before allowing himself to feel, Cord could only save Tory by marrying her but would he be able to put aside his stubborn pride and admit to love.
*** In a new dramatic trilogy, Kat Martin gives the reader tremendous bang for the buck in this very enjoyable romance. I loved the character studies of the two sisters and the devotion and love Tory had for the childlike naivety of Claire, who at times seemed more child than woman. Tory was an incredibly courageous young woman, who in spite of the love she felt for Cord, would willingly sacrifice it all in her attempt to protect Claire. Cord himself was again another complex and fully developed character, whose lusty and sensual appetite for Tory was truly a joy to behold, yet he held back so much of himself he almost lost the most important thing of all. Introducing several lively romantic sub-plots kept the action going in the this captivating novel including Tory trying to prove her stepfather guilty of murdering her father; Cord trying to rescue his best friend and cousin from the French; and of course, the introduction of the next protagonists for the second novel in this trilogy, Tory's best friend Grace and Cord's cousin Ethan. All in all, this was a delightful and well-rounded romance with tasteful sensuality and enough twists and turns to keep the action at a fever pitch while enticing and leaving her legion of fans and myself anxious for the second novel in this highly enjoyable new trilogy......
*** Marilyn, for www.historicalromancewriters.com ---
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The end made up for a slow start, April 13, 2006
This review is from: The Bride's Necklace (Mass Market Paperback)
I will skip the plot review because there are so many here. A friend gave me the entire Necklace trilogy, so I was very disappointed when i could barely get through the first book in the series. The first half was painfully slow with too many characters. Victoria's sister, Claire, just seems like a complete waste of time (other than serving a quick reason for Tory to run away). The hero was fairly one dimensionsal (and has been done before too many times to count). The story was just too predictable in general. It seemed that Ethan's story was just thrown in to get us ready for The Devil's Necklace and didn't really fit with the rest of the story. I doubt I would read another Kat Martin book if I didn't have the whole series already here, but I have read so many good reviews of her that I am determined to give the next book a shot. If you are a fan of her writing you will probably like this novel. If you are new to Kat Martin, some other amazon reviews could probably point you towards a better book of hers.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Unimpressed..., February 22, 2006
This review is from: The Bride's Necklace (Mass Market Paperback)
From the back cover:
Is her heart pure enough to survive the necklace's curse?
Knowing that she alone can protect her sister from the Baron Harwood, their lecherous stepfather, Victoria Temple Whiting snatches the family's heirloon necklack, believed to hold the power to bring great happiness or terrible tragedy, to pay for their escape to London. Terrified that the baron will find them, Victoria poses as Tory Temple and finds employment as a servant in the household of handsome Cordell Easton, the scandalous Earl of Brant.
The sisters' arrival couldn't have been more welcome. In need of a new mistress, Cord turns to Tory, whose wit and intellect intrigue him. But when the baron discovers that girls' whereabouts, Cord learn Tory's secret--her noble birth. Furious that he has compromised the daughter of a peer, Cord must decide--marry Tory and keep her safe, or allow his stubborn pride to deny his heart.
And my review:
This was the first book that I tried to read by this author, and if I didn't have a couple of other novels by Kat Martin on my 'to be read' shelf, I wouldn't give her another try. This novel was uninspiring, uninteresting, and downright annoying at times.
My problems? First: the author's writing style. She wrote this book in tons of tiny little sections and pieces. Just when things would start to get interesting, the section would be over and the story would jump to the next day. The focus was so choppy that I was never able to get drawn into the book.
Second: the hero was nothing more than a sex fiend, in my humble opinion. Honestly, he seemed to think about nothing but getting laid! A healthy sexual appetite in a hero? Fine. A hero who thinks about nothing but getting a woman (any woman, it seems) horizontal? Gross. This just made him into a lecherous scum, to me. I couldn't like him. Put it this way: I want a hero who thinks with the head on his shoulders, instead of the one...well...you get my drift.
Third: the heroine's constant lies. I know that she felt it was necessary to lie in order to protect her sister, but this just got to be really grating after a while. In fact, the only character in this book that I liked was Tory's sister, Claire.
Fourth: the whole reason that they have to get married made me hate the hero even more. He's seduced the daughter of a peer, and he's angry because he has to make it right. Oh, I see: if Tory was really a servant, then his seducing her would be okay? What a revolting attitude. Every woman deserves respect, not just the ones of noble birth. Yes, I know that this is a historical novel, but this attitude of the hero's really spoiled the book for me, and I quit reading it. After reading the other reviews, about how Tory and Cord love each other, but won't admit it (I HATE that in a romance novel), I'm glad I didn't waste any more of my time reading this. Even the lure of finding out about the curse of the necklace wasn't enough to inspire me to finish this book.
I will try some more of this author (since I bought a couple of her other books at a garage sale) and see if she can redeem herself. Unless you're a die-hard fan of this author, or of books where no own can ever say what they mean, I wouldn't recommend "The Bride's Necklace".
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