Customer Reviews

The Heiress

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This writing style is what made Jude Deveraux, what she was known for. I was beyond HAPPY when I first read this book, so much so that I read it again immediatly after reading it. Jamie reminds me of what I thought, Miles (Velvet Series) should have been like, Axia is the perfect mischevious heroine. If you like some of Julie Garwoods characters you will absolutely ADORE this book. I have to agree with what some other reviewer said it is my favorite Deveraux.

I won't go into detail regarding the story line because the editorial reviews does such a fine job and some time you give away to much of the whole plot. I will just say it is well worth the time.

Happy Reading

This was probably the funniest historical romance I've ever read. The characters are very unique, and well formed, and the plot is surprisingly smooth. I did not detect any uncomfortable plot devices - the story was very natural, and the narration was interesting and light.

Devereaux has a wonderful sense of humor, and a very positive way of looking at people. Her appreciation for different personality types comes through in her writing, and I found this book to be full of characters I could admire. The conflicts were real, but not because of some "evil" person, which I find refreshing.

There are lots of shades of grey in life, and in this book, and I appreciate Devereaux's ability to show this to us while maintaining such an overall upbeat attitude.

She's really one of the best.

- Jamie! I really, really enjoyed this book - had a hard time putting it down. A descendant of the Montgomery family (of the "Velvet" series by the same author), Jamie is the perfect hero, good looking and honorable. Too often this combination comes out rather smarmy, but he's not. Axia is wonderful heroine - full of spirit, ready to live life. But what makes this book special is the way the story is told. Not just through the eyes of the two main characters, but also through the perspective of the supporting characters. These people are interesting and wonderful in their own way. I too found the ending a bit rushed - not enough to really disappoint, but I would have liked to know more about what Jamie went through to eventually get to Axia, as well as how some of the other characters got to their final happiness. Although there is some conflict, suspense, and danger, this book is not as wrenchingly intense as the "Velvet" series - I loved those books, but found myself worn out emotionally after each one. I'd highly recommend this book!

I liked this book, because I am a romantic that likes it when all of the loose ends are tied, and an extremely happy ending comes about. Although I must admit, the review 'disappointing' from the romance junkie had me laughing out loud, because I too thought these things, but was too caught up in 'why can't anyone love me like that' to really pay it than much mind. The very unreal happiness of the end made me feel good, especially knowing the happiness of everyone in the family...except for Frances...it is nice that she gets the money from Perkin Maidenhall, and all, but she gets to carry this baby and have a loveless marriage...which you'd think she's all about money, but she kind of tries to show that there is more to her than that at the end of the book, so I don't see her living happily ever after. AND, if her and Tode had this special 'moment' while she was being held captive by Henry Oliver, then how can Tode forget about all of that and just fall madly in love with Berengaria (even a blind person could have seen that coming, ha ha ha) Not to mention the fact that I HATE that Tode has a baby out there and will never know about it. What a crock! But, the book really did make me happy. I hope it makes you happy too.

Axia is in a dilemma. She is the daughter of the richest man in England and she is about to leave the only home she's ever known and travel across England to meet her betrothed. He is a man she's never met and her father, also whom she's never met, has arranged this marriage for her.

Axia has been protected all of her life. Her father put her up in a massive castle with high walls and she's never been outside it. He has controlled everything in her life, including removing those deemed untrustworthy and hiring spies to report to him of her daily activities, including her escapades. Axia's only two trusted companions are Tode, a disfigured man who runs the household, and Frances, a distant cousin.

When Jamie Montgomery is hired to escort Axia, his sisters convince him to woo her. Jamie's older brother, Edward, had squandered the family fortune and is now dead, leaving Jamie, his sisters, and his mother in near destitution. The only solution, it seems, is for Jamie to marry a wealthy heiress, and Axia certainly fits that bill. Jamie, however, is an honorable man and has many reservations about this plan but he reluctantly goes along with it.

When Jamie meets Axia and Frances, he mistakes beautiful Frances as the heiress and Axia as the poor cousin. He tries to solicit Axia's help to woo Frances but in a fit of rage Axia thwarts him. They clash again and again throughout the trip but there is also no mistaking their undeniable attraction for each other. Despite their growing love, Axia can't trust Jamie with the truth, but then their world is turned upside down when Frances is kidnapped.

This was such a great story to read. Even after I was done, I had to go back and read through some of my favorite parts and relive the excitement it brought. Jude Deveraux does such a great job at weaving this story that I would rate this tale on the same level as A Knight in Shining Armor. The characters are endearing, hilarious, and courageous; Axia is indomitable while Jamie, her great love, is wise, patient, honorable and kind.

What a tale! I highly recommend it.

Axia is an heiress to a ridiculously wealthy father she has never met. Locked away all her life to keep her "safe" with only a scarred man Tode and a vacuous but beautiful cousin Frances to keep her company.

But now she is crossing the country to meet her betrothed, a man chosen and paid for by her absent father. As her escort to the marriage, her father has send one newly-become Lord, supposedly amazingly handsome but quite poor; Jamie. (Who comes complete with kit of blind twin sister --with amazing super powers-- and dramatic younger sister, as well as conflicted conscience about needing to marry for money to support said females and his own ideas of honor etc.)

Add in some bandits, a bunch of guys who find their hearts going to the less attractive but helpful heroine---who is channeling Martha Stewart/Mother Theresa?--uh, some kidnapping... sex... tunnels... escapes...

I'm sorry. Yes I did read the whole thing, I admit. So in that way, it was compelling. I didn't toss it down in disgust until I read the last page. But when I was done, I buried my head in a pillow and chortled "Ridiculous!"

Really, give me a BREAK!!

All in all, the book was just so... contrived. Feisty heiress. Empty-headed (or not...?) cousin. Dramatic younger sister. Blinded older one....

all the subtlety of a woolly mammoth.
"There was just something different about Tode... what was it?"
"oh, of course I was playing a part all along, because I perfectly understand the inner complexities of your character"
"Oh, I've ALWAYS loved you"

Frankly, I was disappointed. I really was hoping for better, since I spent the money.
All I can say is... get it from the library, and only if you don't have something better to read. ANYTHING better

What a combination! And Jamie has been hired by the heiress' father to escort them to her betroth's homeland. What a trip! In the meantime, Jamie's sisters have put the pressure on Jamie to turn the heiress' head and capture her heart (rather her money) in matrimony because the family is broke! Feeling responsible- Jamie sets out to do so- not realizing that Axia (the heiress) has traded places with her cousin, Frances, so she can experience freedom and life it's self before she is tied down in marriage. So the whole time Jamie is "wooing" her- he is courting the wrong woman. And Axia falls for Jamie but is unable to tell him without revealing her position. There is a little bit of everything in this book - adventure, romance, surprise, entertainment, etc. Truly worth reading - it's a good read!

Where do i begin? One thing that makes this book stand out is how honest Deveraux is with these characters. These characters are not perfectly perfect and yet we grow to love them just the same, maybe even more! Through the story I always thought that Axia had the wrong view of Frances' personality. However, I never thought she was wrong about her father. (You will have to read the story for yourself to know what I mean...) There are quite a bunch of surprises in this story. "The Heiress" is a beautifully, honestly told story of the ultimate joy & beauty & satisfaction of loving people just as they are - our quirks and faults and positive redeeming qualities make us uniquely ourselves - and not for what their station in life is & what they look like & what they have. The ending to this story had me totally floored & it was PERFECT!!!! (In the Epilogue, I was so completely touched by how this person showed their true colors.) I was still crying as I found my way to write this review. And although some reviewers thought the ending didn't coincide with the rest of the story, I believe that the ending further expressed how people sometimes make quick character judgments based on prejudice that could not be farther from the person's true character. It is a lesson that all of us should take to heart!!!! This is a morality tale beneath the veneer of sassy romance novel that should NOT be missed. I am going straight to the nearest half-price books -- er-i mean AMAZON -- to buy it! :-)

When Elizabethian knight Jamie Montgomery returns home after being away for many years, he is shocked to find his family in dire straits. His father and older brother have died and he is now the earl and responsible for his mother, younger sister and blind twin sister. When the offer to escort the richest heiress in all of England to her fiance comes, Jamie does it for the money. His sisters have other ideas.

Plain Axia Lancaster is no beauty compared to her cousin Frances, so she devises a plan to have Frances pretend to be her. Knowing that the man who is to escort her to her fiance is after her money and her hand in marriage, Axia knows this to be a good idea.

Plans backfire when Axia finds herself reluctantly falling in love with Jamie and Jamie with her. But Jamie is supposed to woo the beautiful Frances, whom he believes to be the Lancaster heiress.

Jude Deveraux delivers once again a wonderful medeival novel for the reader to cherish. You'll find yourself laughing at all the things that Axia does and falling just a little bit in love with the handsome Jamie.

James Montgomery is gorgeous, so his two sisters talk him into escorting Axia The Maidenhall Heiress to her fiance in hopes that she will fall in love with Jamie instead. James is A bit reluctant but finally gives in because of his impoverishment. Axia hates her life as the Maidenhall heiress. She wishes she could be someone else for the last few days of her freedom so She switches places with her poor beautiful cousin and tricks James into thinking she was A poor realation. Will James choose the poor realation or the Maidenhall heiress?

This was my first Jude Deveraux book and although the story did not grab me it will not be my last. The characters were interesting enough but I just could not feel the connection between Axia and James. When they first made love I was ptetty shocked because I had no idea that Axia had such A strong reaction to him. *SPOILERS- IT went from her strongly despising everything he was about, to giving him her virginity. I also thought that the lies she told James became tiresome. I was hoping she would come clean before the end but it did not happen. I felt that James let her run circles around him and he came off as A Beta Male. Although I prefer Alpha Males, There is nothing wrong with A Beta Male if he is appealingly clever in my eyes. There was a few things I liked about this book. I loved the secondary charcacter Tode and it was wonderful to see that he had a happy ending also. All in All, this was not A bad book but I just could not get into it the way I wanted to.