By Fire & By Sword [Paperback]

Elaine Coffman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: MIRA BOOKS (1995)
• ASIN: B000SEPHL0
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The idea for this story was great, but the author ruined it. Too bad someone else didn't write it., September 7, 2007

By 

Alyce In Wonderland "The Looking Glass" (Over the hill or underland, or just behind a tree) - See all my reviews

This review is from: By Fire And By Sword (Mass Market Paperback)

This was a romance????? How can that be when the hero was not in half of the book? He is introduced at the beginning, then he (Colin) and the heroine (Kenna) part ways. Colin is never even mentioned again for over 100 pages! Instead we read about Kenna taking a journey to France, living with people who bore her with their conversation (the readers get to be bored by it as well), she pushes an elderly man to give her fencing lessons (when he declines, she throws all kinds of guilt on his shoulders about how she is living in terror and cannot defend herself), then a full year of the story is spent on her fencing lessons. When Colin finally does reenter, Kenna is a complete witch towards him.

Colin is a great guy. When he meets her and discovers she is without an escort for her journey, he pays a sea caption a lot of money to make sure she is safely taken straight to her destination. Without even knowing her, he bent over backwards to help her. In return for his chivalry, Kenna spends the second half of the book screaming mean, nasty words at him. She gives him the cold shoulder every time he asks her to let him stand by her as she faces a villain who killed her family. I'm at a loss as to why he would want to be anywhere near her. For some reason, authors often make their heroines shrews who act as if they are plagued by the utter devotion of a good man. It never works for me.

The plot and core story are actually quite good. The author ruined her own book by filling the pages with an abundance of unnecessary characters, situations, and descriptions. The author would fill a whole page with flowery depictions of the scenery. Literally half of this book didn't need to exist for the story to be complete. A whole year of fencing lessons, shopping for clothes, and building friendships with several people who have no part in the plot! What was the author thinking?
This is the first and LAST book I have read by Elaine Coffman.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Blah....Blah....Blah.....Nothing happens!, May 22, 2006

By 

J. Hurt (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: By Fire And By Sword (Mass Market Paperback)

This has to be the most boring book I've ever read! Is Colin, our hero, a main character or supporting character because he isn't in the book much. His character isn't developed enough for me to like him. I remember getting to page 257 and thinking 'is anything going to happen in this book?'. The only reason I kept reading was because Elaine Coffman is a favorite author of mine. Actually, I bought the book without reading the reviews because of the author but I don't think I'll make that mistake again - Ashley's review below is absolutely correct!

The character dialog is long winded and BORING - taking up entire paragraphs in many instances. Every time I turned a page I thought Blah...Blah....Blah....get on with it!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I don't usually write reviews..., May 19, 2006

By 

~*Ashley*~ (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: By Fire And By Sword (Mass Market Paperback)

...but I couldn't keep quiet about this one. I am really not a picky reader, but I think this is the worst romance I've ever read. There is a lot of potential in the main character, Lady Kenna Lennox. She's smart, brave, and feisty. My problem is mainly with her underdeveloped "hero" Colin Montgomery. For the first half of the book he does no more than pop in and out of the story at weird times and in odd/unbelievable situations. Incredibly, they fall in love almost instantly (even though he's drunk and she's a popsicle). Also, the dialogue and some situations struck me as ridiculously modern. This story has so much potential; it's just a pity that it doesn't live up to it.