Customer Reviews

Fallen

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"If there was one bit of dramatic nonsense Gabriel Loudon, the Earl of Rievaulx, loathed more than Sunday sermons, it was ghost stories. He loathed the familiar devices, the predictable ends." Fallen has neither contrivance nor a predictable end. Emma Jensen takes a ghost story, a timeless ballad, and the Isle of Skye and gives us a wonderful sequel to Entwined. Both hero and heroine feel they are failures, undeserving of love and happiness. I enjoyed the parallels drawn in this story and especially liked Gabriel's retrospections on life growing up with his grandfather. The author hints that another story is on the way, write faster, please!

Though time is said to heal all wounds, Lord Gabriel Louden thinks otherwise. He still suffers remorse and guilt from his failures as a soldier during the Peninsular War against Napoleon. Still, his friend and military colleague Nathan Paget requests Gabriel render a duty for England. Though he prefers to say no and wallow in his misery, Gabriel accepts the mission and journeys to the Isle of Skye to stop the Scottish traitor, L'Ecossais

In Skye, Gabriel and his hostess Maggie MacLeod find themselves attracted to one another from their very first meeting. As they begin to fall in love with one another, both share a mutual distrust for the other, which will soon test their chances for a permanent relationship as well as endanger the duo.

FALLEN, the sequel to the fabulous ENTWINED, is a fantastic Regency romance. The hero is a fallen angel suffering from battle fatigue over the errors he made that cost men their lives. The battle between right and wrong as seen through the love and disagreement of Maggie and Gabriel is cleverly designed so that the audience must think about whom holds the moral high ground. Award winning has written a complex, exciting tale that will bring her much acclaim as one of the sub-genre's most enjoyable novelists.

Harriet Klausner

I knew before I read this book that it would not compare with Entwined - one of my favourite books (wmr-uk, you were right!). Entwined was full of passion and longing and determination and I adored both Nathan and Isobel. Fallen seemed flat to me. The romance between Gabriel and Maggie was so restrained and uneven. While Gabriel was handsome and sexy and wry, and Maggie was beautiful and sweet and loyal, I wasn't passionate about either character - matter of fact, my favourite characters were Tessa and old Mr. Beaton! But the identity of L'Eccossais did stump me. I thought it was someone else almost from the beginning - I won't spoil it for those who haven't read it.

I also felt that the ghost stories and especially the folk tales and "Scarbro Fair" quotes were a bit overdone and bordered on stereotypical - quaint little island folk! I did however, like that the author uses the Gaelic and that this was a barrier for Gabriel because it truly would have been at the time. I don't know much Gaelic, just a few words and phrases, but it was fun to see if I could figure out what was being said - usually not!

Anyway, I'd probably only give this book 3 1/2 stars but I'm rounding up rather than down. While this is not a great book, it's still better than a lot of lesser romances and the author does know her stuff when it comes to Scotland, it's history and Highland as well as island culture. And I'm still going to read Moonlit about St Wulfstan's adventures in romance (and Ireland) so we'll see how that one fares.

I've read a great number of historical romances, and in FALLEN, the author succeeds where so many other fail. She let the story develop gently, in a realistic way, which made it so much more believable and enjoyable than most authors of this genre do. I loved this story, I loved the characters; one of my only criticisms is that there were some red herrings that didn't make sense - once you found out the villain was. Despite that, it's a wonderful story beautifully told.

Since "Entwined" is still my favorite, I'll only give this one four stars (or four and one-half), but you won't be disappointed with the story. A battle weary hero and a heroine who has had her heart trod upon. Good seduction/love story, and humor, too. A little intrigue tops this story off. Can't wait for the third book in this series. This one is a keeper.

Gabriel Loudon, Earl of Rievaulx, was a special operative for the British during the Napeolonic Wars. At the request of his friend Oriel, he travels to the Isle of Skye seeking redemption for his inadvertent loss of intelligence information which resulted in the deaths of two colleagues.

In his search for L'Ecossais, a Scot who is also a French spy, Gabriel meets Maggie MacLeod, a fiercely loyal Scot and a compassionate woman with a healing nature. Will love prevail when Gabriel tells Maggie that L'Ecossais might be one of he own?

Emma Jensen makes one feel as if they are acutally climbing the cliffs on the Isle of Skye. She skillfully blends local Scots folklore with intrigue and romance which will keep you guessing until the very end.

Gabriel, Earl of Rivaulx, has narrowly escaped from the Peninsular war with his life; indeed, his family and close friends all thought he was dead until he suddenly resurfaced. However, he carries the shame of knowing that he allowed himself to be duped and seduced so that the secret papers he carried could be stolen; as such, many brave men died. He blames himself, and since his return has led a life of dissolution, alienating all but one of his former friends.

But Nathan, Marquess of Oriel (from Entwined) has a mission for Gabriel: one deadly enemy is still on the loose, and they think he's based on the isle of Skye. Gabriel sees this as his one chance of redemption, so he journeys to Skye in search of l'Ecossais, the Scotsman. And on Skye, he's told, Nathan's in-laws live, and they will provide an excuse for his presence on the island.

The McLeods, with help from Nathan, have moved back to Syke: Jamie the drunken father, Tessa the young and insatiably curious girl... and Maggie, Isobel's older sister. Gabriel and Maggie are attracted to each other at first sight, but Gabriel's mission will ultimately result in his arresting, or possibly killing, one of Maggie's friends. Can their relationship have any future?

I didn't like this book anything like as much as Entwined. To me, the A-plot detracted too much from the romance; Gabriel seemed to spend more time thinking about his mission than about Maggie. I wouldn't have minded if he'd spent time brooding about what had happened on the Continent - and it would have been nice to have seen him eventually forgive himself - but the plot revolving around the Scottish traitor didn't really interest me that much. I also felt that there were far too many secondary characters, and that these led to further unimportant scenes which pulled attention away from Gabriel and Maggie.

The ghost story around which much of the book revolved was marginally interesting, but personally I thought the romance would have worked better without it. And the old rhyme theme was somewhat distracting, since I've never heard it as '*savoury*, sage, rosemary and thyme'; I have only ever seen or heard 'parsley'.

It was certainly nice to see Isobel's sister turning out to be the love interest for Nathan's best friend; true. But Jensen can do so much better than this!

Nevertheless, I'll still look out for the third book in the series - about St Wulfstan, perhaps? And possibly Tessa?

This is only Jensen's second historical (she's best known for her traditional Regencies) as far as I know, and it's every bit as good as the first! It has a very different feel from Entwined, which I would say has a lot to do with its setting on Scotland's misty Isle of Skye. There's a kind of magic on the island and in the writing that transports you. The book revolves around a fifty year old mystery and the old ballad 'Scarborough Fair' ("parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme") and its impossible riddles. The hero Gabriel is a former soldier from Scarborough, and has come to Skye for redemption. The heroine Maggie is talented with traditional Scottish herbal remedies and takes care of everyone's pain but her own. The way the two come together is magical, definitely romantic, and eventually pretty spicy.

I started reading yesterday afternoon and had to stay up half the night to find out how it ended. I loved this book!

Suggestion: If you haven't read Entwined, get them together and read them in order. You won't regret it!

Gabriel Loudon, Earl of Rievaulx, was a special operative for the British during the Napeolonic Wars. At the request of his friend Oriel, he travels to the Isle of Skye seeking redemption for his inadvertent loss of intelligence information which resulted in the deaths of two colleagues.

In his search for L'Ecossais, a Scot who is also a French spy, Gabriel meets Maggie MacLeod, a fiercely loyal Scot and a compassionate woman with a healing nature. Will love prevail when Gabriel tells Maggie that L'Ecossais might be one of he own?

Emma Jensen makes one feel as if they are acutally climbing the cliffs on the Isle of Skye. She skillfully blends local Scots folklore with intrigue and romance which will keep you guessing until the very end.

As far as I can tell--and I've tried to research it--this is part of a trilogy of Regency romances that involve former spies for England during the wars with France. There were 10 spies to begin with ("the Ten"). Some were nobility. The first book, ENTWINED, written in 1997, was the story of Nathan, Viscount Oriel and his Scottish love, Isobel. It was excellent and I gave it 5 stars (see my review). This is the second, written in 2001, and it is every bit as wonderful as the first one, perhaps even more so. It is followed by MOONLIT. They are all related so read them in order. Very cleverly, she has set them in different countries of the British Isles: ENTWINED was set in England; FALLEN in Scotland; and MOONLIT in Ireland--though each has a connection to London.

As ENTWINED began in 1810, Nathan and his close friend Gabriel Loudon, Earl of Rievaulx, both members of the Ten, were in Lisbon, discussing the situation in Europe as Nathan was preparing to leave for England. The next morning they are attacked; Nathan is severely wounded and Gabriel is believed killed. But Gabriel didn't die, though he suffered a saber wound to his chest. Now it's 1812, two years later, and Gabriel (nicknamed the Archangel by his peers) is back in London, a drunken wastrel at 32 wallowing in his failures as a spy. But all is not lost. His friend, Nathan, has an assignment for him...to capture the leader of a ring of French spies, L'Ecossais, The Scot.

Gabriel travels to the Isle of Skye, looking for the French spy. There, he looks up Isobel's family, the MacLeod's, and meets Maggie, Isobel's beautiful younger sister. Maggie is recovering from a broken heart...a love affair with an Englishman that did not end well. In Isobel's absence, Maggie has become the caretaker of her family, the father who drinks too much, the younger sister just coming into womanhood. She is as much a part of Skye and its people as Skye is a part of her. Jensen portrays Maggie as a complex woman who, despite having loved and lost, gives of herself freely to all in need with her herbs and tisanes and salves. Like his friend, Nathan, Gabriel bears wounds from the war not all of which are visible. He seeks redemption for his failures that led to the death of others. I loved the dialog between Maggie and Gabriel. It isn't that usual lighthearted banter found in many Regency romances. It's more meaningful.

Jensen weaves beautiful Scottish poetry, particularly the ballad "Scarbro Fair," into the story and paints vivid pictures of the land of Skye...the heather covered mountainsides, the cliffs above the crashing sea...beautiful. It is not hard to imagine it. Her descriptions of the beautiful land of Scotland and the people of Skye set this Regency apart from so many others. Then, too, there is the deep emotion of two people who didn't expect to find love and fear they will lose it. When they come together, it is heartrending and special.

Loved the book; loved the characters; love the series. Highly recommended.