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39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best romance book I've ever read, March 1, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: To Have and To Hold (Victorian Trilogy) (Paperback)
This is my favorite romance novel; it is also one of the darkest love stories I've ever read. An extraordinary book unlike anything you'll ever read, "To Have and to Hold" is beautifully written and breaks new ground for the romance genre, but is not for those who like their romances sweet. It is the middle book in Gaffney's Wyckerly trilogy (begun in "To Love & to Cherish" and completed with "Forever & Ever")but it also stands on its own. This was the first book of Gaffney's that I read and I immediately looked for the rest of them; none of them were anything like it, although she's a wonderful writer. The hero is by far the most complex and morally ambiguous character I have seen in popular fiction outside of Anne Rice's vampire books. Rachel and Sebastian meet after she has been released from ten harrowing years in prison for a crime she did not commit and is about to be sent back to prison for vagrancy. Sebastian is bored, previleged, and beginning to cross the line from decadence to corruption. He rescues her at the hearing and offers her a position as his "housekeeper," meaning mistress. She accepts out of desperation. Sebastian soon finds himself obssessed with his reserved housekeeper and responds by tormenting Rachel psychologically and sexually. Just when I was afraid to read anymore the story did a stunning 180-degree turn (I don't want to give it away). Suffice it to say that "To Have and to Hold" is dramatic, suspenseful, harrowing, intensely erotic, and deeply moving. You have not encountered a love-hate relationship in a romance until you've read this one. What's more, the quality of Gaffney's prose is far above 99.9% of the authors in the romance field. To quote Susan Elizabeth Phillips from the back cover: "An emotional roller coaster, complete with a dark, tortured hero, a complex heroine, and sex scenes so charged...I was riveted."
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46 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Dark Romance, August 30, 2000
This review is from: To Have and To Hold (Victorian Trilogy) (Paperback)
I actually bought this book because so many people here and on the discussion boards raved about it, but I found it quite disturbing. Sebastian is a dreadful man when we first meet him, and he does really unforgivable things to Rachel even after he realises how deeply he cares for her. Ms Gaffney does make his journey believable, but it a pretty grim one, from where he incites his so called friends to humiliate and mock Rachel, ..., to his entire attitude to their relationship. But what disturbed me even more was Rachel's history. There is something quite disturbing about giving the heroine such a dark and twisted past. In fact all the women in the book (aside from the lovely Anne, the vicar's wife, whom I understand was the heroine of the previous book) have abuse in their background. In Ms Gaffney's world it is almost standard to have been sadistically abused. That just felt wrong to me, and that is why I won't keep this book. I really didn't like the start of the relationship between Rachel and Sebastian -..., and even though she grew to love him, I felt very uneasy about it. Even though the development of their love is handled very well, the start of it was just too awful for me. I've just written this to warn people - strange things go on in this book. Clearly there are those who really loved it, and revelled in love conquering such bitter darkness, but I found it a bit too twisted for my taste.
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31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful, sensual, original - WHAT A DISCOVERY!!, September 9, 2003
To Have and To Hold is my first novel to read by Patricia Gaffney and it will certainly not be my last. This was such a fantastic book in so many ways! Not only is the storyline highly unusually for romance writing, it is also very engrossing. Both leads are written with a great amount of depth and progress beyond all standards of typical romance character growth. This is a novel that you will make time to keep reading because its intriguing narrative just gets better with each page. Sebastian Verlaine, a viscount and soon to be an earl, has recently inherited a country estate near the village of Wyckerly. As part of his new duties, he decides to adjudicate some of the local cases - only out of curiosity - not out of any sense of obligation. He is a jaded and disillusioned hero, bored with life and sinking further into depravity. He comes complete with many of the "neglected childhood" haunts typical of many dark romance heroes. But most of the similarities end there. This is a story of his redemption. Rachel Wade is a country gentleman's daughter who has spent ten years in prison for the murder of her husband. Prison life has left her defeated and she seems to be just a shell of a woman. No one has stood by her during her imprisonment and she has no one to turn to once she is released. Repeatedly denied employment and robbed of her "start up" funds, she has no place to go. She is brought before a court of sorts (English nineteenth style) in the village of Wyckerly for vagrancy. It seems she is headed for a lifetime at a workhouse since she cannot provide for herself. Then a local viscount, sitting on the bench at her hearing, decides he will save her. He announces he will give her the position of his housekeeper. This is also a story of Rachel's rebirth. Sebastian doesn't believe there is much good left in him. If any of his deeds come close to respectable, he immediately denies it. Although he finds himself defending and helping Rachel, he knows the real reasons for his seemingly altruistic actions. He is bored with the world and she can offer him a diversion. He wants to dominate her, defeat her, and attempt to break apart her protective shell. He sees it purely as a source of entertainment. And, of course, she may be hired as his housekeeper but he intends for her to be his mistress. For the first portion of the book, he truly is as miserable as he envisions himself. Even at his worse, Sebastian is a delectable hero. He does everything he plans with Rachel and in doing so, unknowingly aids her recovery. He also begins to sense some kindness in himself - but that can't be. He is past saving. So he attempts to show himself to be even more depraved. But it's not working. Rachel responds to his kindness and is gaining some self-confidence in her new position as his housekeeper. Oh, imagine this - Sebastian may have to admit to himself that he is actually doing something for someone else for the right reasons. Rachel and Sebastian develop an endearing friendship. The development of their relationship is at times heartbreaking and at other times so uplifting! They are a very unusual romance pairing and their story totally captivates you as the reader. There are definitely some serious sensual scenes that rate high - about a 4.5 to 5.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). This couple's sensual scenes are, for once, very intricate to the overall story line and are very well written. I highly recommend To Have and To Hold. You have to put up with some alpha male behavior but you also see that behavior evolve. Rachel is a precious heroine that you may expect to be weak but you will be surprised. She is a true lady as she begins to enjoy life again. This is such a precious story. It is a definite keeper for my read again shelf. I know I will enjoy reading this book again and again and probably again.
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