Customer Reviews

The Finer Things

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

 

 

This was my first Brenda Joyce novel, and I must say I was very impressed. The story was fun and captivating, the characters were decently likable, and it was easy to become emotionally involved --- which I think is essential in any novel but a romance especially.

I tend to be wary of most romance novels, simply because many of them have little or no intelligible story, and just as many are simply excuses to have the characters jump in bed together. This novel kept the sex scenes to a minimum, and they were more tastefully done than most. It was more a story of LOVE, not LUST. The story's progression was satisfying and the tension came from more than just ONE area. It was a more three-dimensional novel than most in the genre.

"The Finer Things" tells the story of Violet Cooper, a street urchin from St. Giles who vows to change her life and end up as one of the fancy "nobs" who grace the floors of fancy ballrooms. At 18, she marries an aging knight, Sir Thomas Goodwin, and becomes Lady Goodwin. She and her lifelong friend and practically-brother Ralph move into Goodwin Manor and Violet --- now Violette --- enters high society. But she is hardly well-received, thanks to her low-born background and her obviously low-class existence. Even her own daughter-in-law, a woman older than Violette, can't stand her and does nothing to promote goodwill toward her. When Sir Thomas dies six months after their marriage, she does everything in her power to put the blame on Violette.

The only people kind to Violette are the Harding family. The chemistry between Violette and the youngest Harding son, Blake, is undeniable, and she soon falls in love with him. But he has vowed, after being cruelly rejected eight years previously by a woman he loved, never to marry.

When official charges come against Violette for the murder of her husband, however, Blake cannot think of anything else to protect Violette than to marry her. But what he gets is NOT what he expected.

I really felt for the main character, Violette. I could FEEL everything she went through, thanks to the skill of the author. She wasn't a non-entity heroine, nor was she a flat, cookie-cutter character like thousands we've seen in other novels. She had guts to her that made her more real, more fleshed-out and not quite so stereotypical. There were times I even found myself close to tears in anguish for her.

There were some surprises, my favorite being the intentions of a well-known rake towards Violette. The minor characters --- including Blake's older brother Jon and their dear friend Catherine Dearfield --- are as charming as the main characters, and as interesting.

I WAS able to figure out long before it was revealed who was ACTUALLY responsible for Sir Thomas's death, but that was only a small part of that novel and didn't ruin anything for me. The rest of the story was incredibly satisfying. I can't wait to read more of Brenda Joyce's work!

This is the only Brenda Joyce book thus far that has made me cry.

I thought Violet Cooper was an endearing heroine. She never had opportunities for education and such, but when they were offered to her she didn't turn them down. Her goal throughout was to better herself. Some of the situations were implausible, yes, but isn't that why they call it fiction?

I was somewhat surprised by the ending although it was hinted at several times throughout the story.

I have enjoyed all of Brenda Joyce's books thus far, my favorite being "The Third Heiress," but I especially like the time and place of books like "The Finer Things."

The Finer Things was deffinatly not one of Brenda Joyce's better books. But, I did read it front to back. I kept waiting for the two main characters to get together and it was a little frustrating. I would suggest you read any one of the many other Brenda Joyce books....she has so many good ones. I have read worse. Just not by Brenda Joyce.

I thought that this was a great book. Some of the reviews I read said that the story was not realistic, but don't we read romance novels for the fantasy - not the realism?

When I picked up this book to read, I just finished reading "Loving Julia" by Karen Robards. The storyline is basically the same - about a girl growing up in the worst slums of the city, and eventually becoming a lady. I must say Robards work is much more vivid and beautifully written.

For someone who has lived a rough life as a child, I am rather surprised and irritated that Violet didn't learn a single thing from her life as a poor person. She doesn't even have any street smarts. Her character is very disappointing, especially the part where she continuously hope for Blake's love - it's a display of a rather 'immature' and naive attitude, considering the fact that she grew up in the worst parts of town. Surely she is tougher than that??? I don't know what Blake sees in her, coz Violet doesn't even have a distinct character. It's as if she wants to be a totally new person altogether, wiping clean her past history, and in doing that wiping clean her own individuality as well. Seriously, what does Blake sees in her??? Furthermore, the book's portray of British English is rather unrealistic. I got bored of Violet's petulance, and the slowness of the whole plot, and skipped the whole thing altogether. Seriously, if you want a similar story, go for Karen Robards' "Loving Julia". It's funny, heartwarming and beautiful.

This was a good story idea, but it was not sufficiently developed to suit me, plus, there were problems with keeping details, and some important ones at that, straight. For example, in the prologue it was established that Violet was 10 years old, that her father was not yet 24 (hunh), and that her mother had died just 3 yrs earlier. Eight years later when the story takes place, she reminisces with Blake, telling him she was 8 when she saw him, so instead of being 18 which was hard enough to believe, she is 16. In a discussion about her mother, I think during the police interrogation, she said her mother died when she was 3. There are some other detail problems, in fact one takes place in two contiguous paragraphs, and it detracts from enjoying the story when you find yourself questioning your memory and having to go back and verify what you remember reading previously in the book. I would have liked to see more friendly interaction between the main characters, so that you could understand why they fell in love with each other. There is more to a relationship than looks and rescues.

I found this book to be better than what has been previously said about it. True, if you are looking for lighthearted fare, this is not for you, but if you enjoy a fast-paced tale of forbidden love, read this one for sure!

The only thing that I could not quite grasp about this novel is Violette's almost instant transition from street orphan to sophisticate. She hardly made any mistakes after her "training"!!

Brenda Joyce redoes the always fun Pygmalion tale in her newest novel THE FINER THINGS.

Violette Cooper is a child of the streets. Abandoned by her drug addicted Father, she struggles, stealing when necessary, in order to survive. She wants so much more out of life than what fate has handed her. When Sir Thomas, a kindly old Knight, offers her his hand in marriage she sees it as an opportunity to better herself and agrees to become his wife.

Sir Thomas introduces her to his friends', the Harding family, who immediately become enamored by the mix of beauty and innocence she presents and aren't offended by her heavy Cockney accent and her social faux pas. Violette finds herself drawn to the younger, handsome Harding son, Blake, but will not do anything to hurt her good-hearted husband/savior.

When Thomas dies and his hateful daughter begins to throw around accusations that Violette may have murdered him Blake feels compelled to help the innocent beauty. She falls in love with Blake and comes to the realization that he will never reciprocate her feelings unless she becomes a real Lady so she decides to take some lessons and succeeds in transforming herself. Unfortunately, no amount of lessons are going to soften Blake's hardened heart. Eight years earlier the love of his life shattered his dreams and he's made a vow that he will never open his heart again. Besides this little obstacle there are many other things conspiring to keep these two apart: murder charges, stubbornness, miscommunication, insecurity, another suitor, a tragic accident involving a family member and some more miscommunication.

Readers will admire the way Violette struggles to pull herself up out of the dregs of society and become a real Lady but may tire of some of the choices she makes and the lack of communication between this couple. The hero is sweetly protective of the heroine and a man devoted to his family but he has one heck of time admitting to his feelings when it comes to matters of the heart. The sexual tension and love scenes are tamer than the previous Joyce book I've read so readers looking for a sweeter story will not be disappointed with this gut-wrenching and tear-jerking read

I read this book, thank goodness, before I read the reviews, otherwise I may have put it off. When I find myself rushing to get things done so I can continue reading where I left off, I know it is a 5 star book.

I found the love Violet had for Blake beautiful. Violet, an orphan growing up in the slums of Londan determines to better herself. She marries an older knight and gains the title of Lady.

She meets and falls madly in love with Blake. She discovers he is the one she was captivated with when she was a small child watching from a distance at a party. Violet is constantly getting into more and more situaltions that Blake has to rescue her from.

Blake was hard to understand because he kept saying things to hurt Violet, but never meaning to hurt her. It was acceptable behavior to me because I know this happens in real life. He was also very caring and did everything he could to help and protect her.

This was a great book! It is charming, heart warming, sad, suspenseful, and brings out every other emotion that you can think of.

Brenda Joyce is the best!

This book has gotten a lot of slack but I found it very endearing. Yes, there are parts that were unrealistic but what romance book doesn't require some suspension of reality? There were scenes when the heroine's love as a mother were really touching. The tension between hero and rival for heroine's love is great. One of Joyce's better books.