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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Encore! Encore!,
By
This review is from: The Gilded Cage (Onyx) (Paperback)
Although you'll have to wait until the very end to see what that means (it was kind of cute). Joshua Clayton's father forever chased his dreams of wealth in the West, but it was Josh who was able to build a financial empire after his parent's death. Leaving the family home in Wyoming Territory, Josh heads to New York to seek even greater wealth and power but he soon finds that's easier said than done without the right connections. On a trip to the see the HMS Pinafore Josh is instantly smitten with the the show's new star, the beauteous but oh, so innocent Lucy Markham.
As an *actress* (in New York society the equivalent of a loose woman), Lucy is inappropriate wife material, but very much suitable as a mistress. Can Lucy fight her attractions to Josh and remain pure or will she submit to his charms? Will Lucy fall for the machinations of her stage manager and give everything up for fame and fortune on stage? Is Josh willing to lose any potential happiness with Lucy to gain the wealth and power he desires by marrying the daughter of the powerful Jacob Van Horne? Despite the cheesy cover, this one is pretty tame as far as sex goes and thumbs up to the author for handling it realistically and honestly. Josh was a perfect Western gentleman who knew when no meant no and not barge on like the typical romance alpha-male. I liked the details on the women's clothing, especially the constraining effects of those corsets - thank goodness those are a thing of the past. I did enjoy this, especially the theatre backgrounds (loved hearing about Gilbert and Sullivan), but it is definitely more on the light side and might disappoint those looking for a meaty look at post Civil War New York. Although since there's not many novels set in that period beggars can't be choosers. It is a good book and a light easy read that can keep you entertained on a rainy weekend afternoon, but neither is it a great one. 3/5 stars.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
NOT my favorite romance novel,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Gilded Cage (Onyx) (Paperback)
This book is well written, however, it failed to pull me into the story. First, it is very wordy - you have to read at least five chapters to have any idea of where the book is going, and even then, the prose winds and winds in such an obscure way that I didn't always understand what Ms. Layton was trying to say. I thought I was finished with that kind of writing when I graduated school. Second, the novel has too many sad parts to it. I like a romance novel to be happy, I don't want to read a novel to be reminded about all the unhappiness, unfairness, and suffering in the world. I get enough of that on the news. Third, the romance takes a bit too long to develop, for my taste - and when it does - they seem to fall in love for no real reason that I can see - and the author does not give us any sense of understanding why Josh prefers Lucy over Gloria - is it because Lucy is prettier? He met Lucy first? She is more educated? (She's not). I rather liked Gloria, actually, and wanted to see more of a reason for his preference to Lucy (besides that it's a better story). To Ms. Layton's credit, there are some good points, too, and here they are: First, like I said, it's pretty well written. Second, you do get swept away into that time period - and Ms. Layton portrays the mood and scent of New York of that era very, very, accurately. Living in New York today, I see it exactly the way she describes it - certainly very close to the New York my grandparents lived in. This is an excellent portrayal of New York post-Civil War. Edith Layton is a good writer, but in my opinion, not great. A little too slow, and a little too much realism for my taste.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Overly long story about America's nouvelle riche in the Victorian era,
By
This review is from: The Gilded Cage (Onyx) (Paperback)
I am currently on a drive to read the earlier publications of authors such as Mary Balogh, Anne Gracie, Carla Kelly and of course Edith Layton because they are usually so much better than today's offerings, not only by these particular authors, but new authors. I was very pleased to get a rare copy of this book because I adore Edith Layton's earlier stories...they are usually very well written. However, I am afraid I didn't enjoy this book much. It was very long and got quite boring, with very little action, and no particular twists and turns, other than how long it would take Josh to bully Lucy into bed with him. I didn't like Josh because, as I have already said, all he seems to be interested in is bullying Lucy into bed... he had little charm and no appeal to me as reader. Lucy was a 'wet week'....I just wanted to shake her and tell her to get on with her life and find a man who deserved her. However, having said all that, I did enjoy the background of New York and the theatre world...hearing about the snobbery of the American nouvelle riche made a nice change from reading about English aristocracy.
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