Customer Reviews

From The First (Silhouette Special Edition)

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

 

 

Alex Moorehouse not only lost his best friend in a sailing accident, but he almost lost his leg. Recovering from the numerous leg surgeries, Alex had little choice but to stay with his two sisters at the family bed & breakfast. There he stayed in his room, drank booze, took pain pills, and generally felt sorry for himself. Alex not only mourned his best friend, but also felt guilty over him. Alex continually asked himself, "Did I try hard enough to save him?" This question arose in Alex's mind, because Alex had fallen in love with his best friend's wife, Cassie, almost from the first.

Cassie, a wealthy widow with her own construction business, had a slightly different viewpoint. Cassie knew her husband was cheating on her, but liked him well enough to still consider him her best friend. Cassie was very saddened at his death, but also knew that eventually they would have divorced. Now the Moorehouse sisters had asked her to help renovate the inn, and Cassie was looking forward to it because it would give her more of an opportunity to speak with Alex. Cassie had felt drawn to Alex from the start, but felt he didn't like her because he always avoided her. Little did Cassie realize Alex's avoidance was because she was a married woman and to his best friend at that.

This wrap up book in the trilogy was very good in a lot of ways. The character of Cassie was a pleasure. Cassie was a strong, independent woman who knew what she wanted and did what was necessary to get it - whether it was running her own business, or facing her feelings for Alex. I enjoyed her very much. The failing in this book - a major one - was Ms. Bird failed to redeem the hero sufficiently to make you understand how Cassie - or anyone else - could love him. Alex was one of the most self-centered, immature heros I have ever ran across in the world of fiction. Alex left his family years ago, and he barely kept in contact with his mother and father. After his parents died, he came back for the funeral and left as quickly as possible, leaving his sisters to shoulder the burden of the family bed & breakfast and a grandmother with dementia. His family was living in poverty, and he's off sailing!! He then busts up his leg, moves home, shuts himself in a room and proceeds to inconvenience everyone in the household, and all he can think about is his best friend's widow. Yuck. While the writing style was definitely more J.R. Ward than the other two books, and the story did hold my interest, I would hesitate to recommend this book to anyone - unless you like reading about men with weak characters.

From the First by Jessica Bird
Silhouette Special Edition # 1750 - April 2006
Moorehouse Legacy trilogy - Book # 3

Alex Moorehouse knew he was first class scum. What kind of man lusts and then falls in love with his best friend's wife? And that storm, that ended up being a hurricane, swept up on them so fast; the sea was so angry. He really hadn't meant to let go of Reese' hand and then let the sea swallow him up; had he? The nightmares tortured him. It seemed only right that the sea had damaged him too; and he, after countless surgeries, should have lost his leg, but it was still there, still an agony. Cassandra had never been able to understand what it was that she had done to offend her husband's partner and best friend. It had to do with that day on the boat, when she'd caught Alex naked out of the shower. Had she let him see how much he attracted her? She hadn't realized it then, but maybe Alex had, and it was because of his innate sense of honour that he'd been avoiding her for years. Avoiding Cass now wasn't an option, as she'd agreed to restore the family B&B after a fire has gutted the kitchen and damaged the rear of the inn. As a resident in the workshop behind the B&B, Alex would have no place to hide while he continued his rehab.

Awesome love story. I can certainly see why From the First earned the RITA for Ms. Bird. Alex is a tortured hollow man when Cass sees him for the first time since her husband's death. In a moment, when Alex was sure he was dreaming, he revealed to Cass how vulnerable he was and in that moment he'd begun to heal. That was also the moment Cass realized that she'd always been attracted to Alex, a revelation that shakes her. Beautifully written and it was great to visit with the characters from the other books in the trilogy. I'm looking forward to reading Spikes story. It's up next. :D

Moorehouse Legacy series ...
Beauty and the Black Sheep - SSE# 1698 - July 2005
His Comfort and Joy - SSE# 1732 - January 2006
From the First - SSE #1750 - April 2006
A Man in a Million - SSE #1803 - January 2007

For those who don't know, the author who writes as Jessica Bird also writes as J.R. Ward, author of the Black Daggerhood series (paranormal). I read the first two books in the Moorhouse series before reading this one. Both were all right but forgettable, so I wasn't expecting much from this one, but despite big plot and characterization problems, it was much better than the others. I found myself actually caring what happened to the characters, though as the other reviewer comments, the hero (Alex) is really not an admirable character at all. The heroine, Cassie, is a little unbelievable herself. (Where exactly did she pick up the skills to know all about construction work?)

The really interesting thing about the book to me is that I do start to see J.R. Ward's touch here. The male characters in this book are bigger than life, and relate to each other in ways very similar to the Black Daggerhood group. I do find myself wanting to read their stories, and am expecting that each Jessica Bird book I read will get better and better, as happened with this trilogy. (If you enjoyed the male characters here and haven't read the Black Daggerhood series, you're missing something!)

Although I loved 'The Billionaire Next Door' and 'An Irresistible Bachelor', this one is really not worth it. There are several gaps in the story line (What happens to Madeline? What happened to the parents?) and the end is rushed and porrly written. I was really hoping I was going to love this book, but it was a huge disapointment.

I started reading Jessica Bird because I am a HUGE J R Ward fan - I would read anything written by this author. This is the best Bird book by far.

Alex is absolutely yummy gorgeous. All that yearning and noble denial made me weak at the knees. ( his physical description in the book is just like the BDB warriors and she starts to use BDB type descriptions and slang in this one) He's loved her from afar for 6 years, she was his best friends wife, he thought they had the perfect marriage. She feels guilty because she's not grieving for her dead husband and can't understand why Alex has never liked her. (sigh)
I gave up reading Silhouette and Harlequin type books a long time ago because they are usually lame but the quality of the author shines through here.
I devoured this book in 4 hours and loved it, then went back a couple of days later, read it again and loved it even more.

I'm surprised Jessica Bird hasn't got more reviews from her Black Dagger Brotherhood fans, these books are great short and easy reads.

Alex Moorehouse has loved her from the moment he first laid eyes on her, and the guilt of that forbidden love, desperate and intense, pushed him into staying as far away from Cassandra Cutler as possible. She was his best friend's wife. Well...she used to be. Before Alex and Reese had been on the boat that got caught in a hurricane. Alex survived - barely - with a crushed leg that required a titanium implant and months of physical therapy. Reese didn't. He went overboard and was lost to the monstrous waves and high winds.

Alex blamed himself. If he hadn't wanted Reese's wife so deeply, so irrevocably, maybe...just maybe he would've been able to hold on to Reese long enough to drag him back on the boat. Maybe some part of Alex wanted Reese gone. Maybe Alex killed him.

The once proud and unflappable captain has come home to the old family house, White Caps, now a Bed & Breakfast run by his sister and her new husband. He's been recuperating for months. Taking stock of his life. Well...mostly getting drunk and pushing away every member of his family and every one of his friends. He's been acting like a sullen, spoiled boy and he knows it, so when a chance meeting with Cassandra wakes him up to a few harsh realities, Alex starts to get himself back together. His goal: get as far away from the woman now heading the reconstruction of White Caps as possible. Get back to the sea that is in his soul. Forget Cassandra once and for all.

Cassandra Cutler hadn't seen Alex in a long time. She knows he hates her, has felt his antipathy and disdain for years. She's never understood what she ever did to make him loathe her so much. Now that her husband Reese is dead, she carries her own guilt about his loss, but knows she can never share it with Alex. She can't ever share anything with Alex. And if sometimes, in the deepest recesses of her heart, she yearns to, well, that's just her tough luck. And Cassandra knows all about tough luck.

Two people, one badly broken, the other struggling to survive, are on a collision course that will either heal their wounds, or rip their souls to shreds.

Once again Jessica Bird (J.R. Ward) has created a solid romance with flawed and, to various degrees, broken characters. If you're familiar with the Moorehouse Legacy series, you've met both Alex and Cassandra in the previous books, and Ward...er...Bird did a nice job laying the groundwork for her main characters in those books. Alex hasn't been the most sympathetic of them, to be fair. He's surly, standoffish, and his self pity has hardly been appealing. The way he left his two sisters in the lurch when his parents died ten years ago did nothing to endear him to me. I've long thought him selfish and self absorbed.

And honestly, though much of this book, my opinion didn't improve much, though Bird did add some nicer, more family-friendly aspects to his character. Cassandra, on the other hand, I've liked since the beginning, and was quite pleased to see her character evolve from what I'd originally thought was a classy, worldly socialite into a classy, worldly woman who married for a wide range of reasons but at her roots is a successful contractor and renovations expert. The additional facets of her character rounded her out and gave her an added depth. I admit, I prefer strong, competent women who know their minds and hearts and are willing to put themselves out there. Cassandra is, and does.

The plot is fairly easy to see coming a mile down the road, and doesn't offer up much in the way of surprises, but I have no problem with that, given the formulaic nature of contemporary romance. And frankly, Bird/Ward's strengths lean towards character creation and definition. The problem with this book, though, is because of Alex's nature, he isn't going to be a very sympathetic character, nor is his redemption that noticeable unless you've read the first two books in the series and see the whole arc of his development. I'd recommend the first two books, Beauty and the Black Sheep and His Comfort and Joy anyway, as I enjoyed them both, but definitely suggest you read them first if you're interested in From the First.

Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

I started reading Jessica Bird because I am a HUGE J R Ward fan - I would read anything written by this author. This is the best Bird book by far.

Alex is absolutely yummy gorgeous. All that yearning and noble denial made me weak at the knees. ( his physical description in the book is just like the BDB warriors and she starts to use BDB type descriptions and slang in this one) He's loved her from afar for 6 years, she was his best friends wife, he thought they had the perfect marriage. She feels guilty because she's not grieving for her dead husband and can't understand why Alex has never liked her. (sigh)
I gave up reading Silhouette and Harlequin type books a long time ago because they are usually lame but the quality of the author shines through here.
I devoured this book in 4 hours and loved it, then went back a couple of days later, read it again and loved it even more.

I'm surprised Jessica Bird hasn't got more reviews from her Black Dagger Brotherhood fans, these books are great short and easy reads.

I absolutely love this series and FROM THE FIRST is now included as one of my all time favourite romances. It is book 3 in the Moorehouse Legacy which I discovered through being a fan of JR ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood. Each book just gets better and with this instalment we finally get wounded and grief stricken brother Alex`s story and wow its smokin good.

Alex Moorehouse has been with us throughout as we watched his sisters find true love and I've always wondered about him. As the physically and emotionally injured sailing champion he was abrupt, harsh and distant. Spending time with a bottle while his shattered leg healed and his mood worsened. He reminds me of (for all you Ward fans) a delicious combination of Zsadist and Phury and how awesome is that!

Alex has been in love with his sailing partner and best friend Reese's wife for 6 long years and coveting her from afar is pure torture. On the rare occasions when he's forced to spend time with her, he's flat-out rude for fear that one of them will see the truth in his eyes. Ever since the accident Alex has been in a living hell because although Reese is now dead in Alex's mind his wife is still very much married and as much as he wants her he can never have her, she is forbidden.

Cassandra has just taken a new job overseeing the rebuilding of the Moorehouse B&B, she's looking forward to getting out of New York and spending some quiet time by the lake. Everything would be just perfect except for Alex. The eldest Moorehouse is still living on the property and as much as he unnerves her she's going to have to see him everyday. She just doesn't understand why he hates her so much? Why does he pull her closer one moment only to push her away in the next? And what secrets is he hiding behind those anguished yet yearning eyes? It's a winding road our couple face as the secrets pile up and one nights promise of passion spirals into a lifetime of wanting more. Will Cassandra still love him when she finds out the truth about the night her husband died? And will Alex ever be able to overcome the guilt and let her in if she does?

This is a great read that will have you will falling in love with Alex and through some clever writing on Bird's part be left wondering about the night Reese died until the very last chapter. There are also many familiar threads beginning here that were only brought to their full creation within the BDB and I can't recommend this series enough to Ward fans (and romance lovers alike) I would however recommend reading them in order. Cheers!

1-Beauty And The Beast 2-His Comfort And Joy

This book is full of angst and a tormented hero to die for. I love Alex and I thought Cass was a good match for her. I would highly recommend this book. I enjoyed reading these books more than JR Ward Black Brotherhood books. These people have more genuine feelings.

While the premise was good, the hero's characterization was weak. He ran hot and cold, waffling between being "The Warrior" (the nickname given to him in racing circles) and being "The Wimp" (the nickname given to him by this reader). He wasn't redeemable to me despite all efforts by the author. And had Miss Bird ever studied Desmond Morris or heard Linda Howard's 12 Steps of Intimacy, she'd know a man can never pull away in the middle of sex. Once a man takes that step, there's no turning back.

The heroine was unbelievable for me. She was far too experienced in her field to be so young. And why did she put herself through such hell with her late husband? Once she learned of his affairs, she should of cut bait and run. I'd have felt much better about her had she taken this step.

And lastly, most of the conflicts in this novel could of been resolved with a few conversations and that's the sign of weak conflict.

Don't think I'll be picking up any more of Miss Bird's books. Or those of her alter-ego either.