Customer Reviews

Every Wish Fulfilled

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

O.k. I admit it, I first felt sorry for Heather when I read that she had a limp. But we really quickly learn not to pitty her. She is truly a strong women. Her parents recognized it and gave her an estate to run. Then Damien comes along, a godsend, to help her run her estate. Little does she know that he is really after her REAL father and doesn't want to love her. The chemistry is almost instant, but alas doom comes when Damien doesn't believe that she doesn't remember her real father and forces her adoptive parents to reveal all. The a chance meeting in London reignites the passions and the game is on. Lets us just say that it is a true romance novel from here on. The love blooms, but so does the danger. I learned to love Heather's independance, but underneath it all, she is searching for someone to love her (aren't we all).

I bought this book after reading James' more recent titles--she is fast becoming a favorite. Heather is not the usual, picture-perfect heroine; she has a limp. But her beauty shines in other ways, and that's what captives Damien, the hero--and oh, what a hero! The scene where he asks her to dance is one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever read. Don't miss this book--it's a goodie!

A lovely romance, which is tenderly written and beautifully unveiled. The reader basks in this provocative romance- a story of a love affair between two heartwarming people.

Lady Heather Duval, is not the standard beauty of romance reading. She is an attractive, gentle person, but she is not perfect -- he maimed her -- her own father ...

"A small, black-haired child toddled up ... next to her father's leg. Curiously she stretched out a tiny finger toward the smooth metal. Her father whirled on her. "Don't touch that brat!" he snarled. With the back of his hand, he dealt her a blow across the cheek that sent her tumbling to the floor. Her lips trebled, but she made not a sound ... (Her mother) paid little heed. "Find your bed," she ordered brusquely, "and don't come out till morning." The child crawled to a straw pallet in the corner. Shivering, she curled into a tight little ball."

Such was the beginning of Heather Duval Elliot's life. Heart wrenching.

A childhood filled with sadness, "Did you really think we liked you, Heather? ... Well, no one does. No one wants to be near you ... You're not like us, Heather Duval."

Heather Duval was the orphaned ward of the Earl of Stonehurst and his countess. Two wonderful chosen parents who raised her with warmth and love ...

"No you are not a child of my womb, not a child of his loins, but you are a child of my heart, of our hearts. No child of mine, of ours, could be more our own that you."

But Heather knew a man would never love her, nor would she know the joy of a child against her breast .. .

"Tears ran ... Her shoulders shook, "I'm not beautiful ... I ... I'm ... I'm deformed."

Damien Tremayne, the Earl of Deverell was the rage of London; eligible, wickedly attractive, and he wanted Heather.

"Damien stood there, in the center of the ballroom ... she knew the guests had gone utterly quiet. Every eye in the ballroom was turned upon him ... And then he did something she never would have expected. Indeed, the last thing on earth she expected... He held out his hand to her."

Sigh, a wonderful book

Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.

Every Wish Fulfilled is the second book I've read by Samantha James, One Moonlit Night being the first. While One Moonlit Night was wonderful, I didn't care too much for Every Wish Fulfilled. This book took me a long time to read and my interest was lost many times throughout.

After his brother's murder, Damien vows revenge. He finds out that the murderer's daughter is living as the ward of the Earl of Stonehurst and leaves London to take a job as the manager of the estate. There he meets Heather, the daughter of the murderer, and the two fall in love. Throughout the relationship Damien, who is also an earl, never reveals who he really is. After an argument Damien leaves back for London. Eventually Heather meets up with him again and finds out he's an earl and the two fall back into love, not to mention trying to find Heather's father, the murderer.

There isn't much I can say about this book. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.

Well I must say that I really enjoyed this book. Samantha James brings us a real person in the form of the heroine Heather. She has a limp. I like it when the characters are not perfect. The hero is Damien who is trying to track down the killer of his brother Giles. Damien takes a position at Heather's estate as the overseer. Well they find themselves very attracted to each other and manage to fall in love even though society still shuns Heather because of her limp. Damien makes it well known that he cares not about her limp but loves everything about her. I would like to read a book about Heather's parents because they seem so much in love also.

While it seems Heather has been raised in the lap of luxury, all is not what it seems--she has that very same feeling when Damian hires on at her estate. At times she has the feeling he's there for another reason, and indeed he is--to search out his brother's murder, a task that has taken him straight to Heather. Damien comes to realize Heather couldn't harm a soul--both get much more than they bargained for when they start falling in love. Yet neither can trust each other completely until the truth of the story is revealed. I found this book totally engrossing, and poignant. The scene where Damian asks Heather to dance had me bawling out loud. Don't miss this treat.

I am quite surprised that amazon's romance editor recommended this book. The writing level is very juvenile, for example, emotion is conveyed by using exclamtion marks and lots of emotional adjectives. The characters are stock and just about one-dimensional, either totally virginal and saintly (the heroine) or cruelly inhuman and murderous (the villan). The hero is another tortured one with a dark secret, which has been much better done in other books. Finally, the plot is just about formula, for example the major conflict running through the bulk of the book is very shallow--"I can't let myself love him or her, but my temperature boils whenever I am near him or her, oh what shall I do!" I might have liked this book alot when I was 13, but adults want more than titilating sex scenes held together by melodrama.

This was a wonderful book, but you do need several hankys to get through it. The heroine was stubborn but she finally came around. Damion was true to form for Samatha James. I love her books

[1835 - Lancashire and London, England]
I read EVERY WISH FULFILLED a few years ago, but didn't remember anything and had never marked down a rating, so I thought I would read it again. I was disappointed, as the story had promise and James is a talented author, so I was expecting an enjoyable romance and revenge story.

Damien is an intense, brooding hero, all alone in the world now and bent on revenge and discovering who murdered his elder brother. Heather is an intelligent, compassionate, beautiful young woman (though not too young - 25), who has a mysterious past, was raised in a family not truly her own, and has had to struggle all her life with a limp. The book started off well and both characters were engaging (though Heather ends up being something of a watering pot). There are several passages throughout in which Damien is very tender and understanding towards Heather that will undoubtedly make your heart melt.

From the beginning though, I was somewhat bothered by Damien and thought that he went on far too much, far too often, and far too early about how beautiful Heather was and basically how much he wanted to get her into bed. They're physically attracted to one another from the get-go and yes, as they begin to know one another, Heather admires Damien for his honesty (woops), talent, and integrity and he admires her for her inner-strength, kindness, and intelligence, but it all felt more like lip-service to me, trying to make up for the lust part.

Their relationship seemed to skim along the surface, despite each character having private vulnerabilities that you think would make them perfect for an authentically deep romance. Heather kept on crying every 30 pages and then being comforted in Damien's arms - even if he was the reason she was crying. The villain subplot was not very inspiring or frightening, ended very anti-climactically, and really was just tedious by the end.

Very annoying was how Damien and Heather go back and forth so often in their relationship; you feel like you're watching a tennis match. It's a constant whirl of being angry with one another, making up, him deceiving her, them making up, them loving each other but not wanting to so pushing each other away, on and on and on and on. There are about seven highs and lows in their relationship of some 350 pages, so god only knows what their marriage will be like.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
James is a talented author, so I recommend reading these books by her instead:
- One Moonlit Night by Samantha James, 5 stars
- His Wicked Ways by Samantha James, 5 stars
Historical romances that are somehow similar to this one (in plot, storyline, hero, heroine, etc.) include:
- The Rake (Davenport Family, Book 2) by Mary Jo Putney, 5 stars
- Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran, 5 stars
- Scandalous (Banning Sisters Trilogy, Book 1) by Karen Robards, 5 stars
- A Notorious Love (Swanlea Spinsters, Book 2) by Sabrina Jeffries, 4 stars
- Reckless by Amanda Quick, 4 stars
- How to Marry a Marquis (Agents for the Crown, Book 2) by Julia Quinn

A beautiful tale with a strong heroine that symbolizes everything you want to be, and a hero that will make you cry. It's a love story that you would want to read again and again.