Customer Reviews

Illusion

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jean Ross Ewing AKA Julia Ross just never disappoints. But be warned - her books are not light reading! Patience and attention are required, as the story unfolds with extreme subtlety. At times you may wonder (right along with Frances) what the heck is going on, but as layer upon layer of intrigue is revealed, things make sense eventually.

Illusion is the perfect title for this story for nothing and no one are what they seem! Nigel Arundham, Marquess of Rivaulx - peer, spy, codebreaker, soldier and rake is definitely the star of the book. Everyone - male and female - seems to be in love with the darkly handsome and complex Nigel. And then there is Frances Woodard, raised in England but a on trip to India with her botanist father, tragedy struck and she wound up in a Zenana - a Maharaja's harem - trained to be a Ganika (courtesan). Her arrival back in England provokes much speculation and she is brought to Nigel's attention when she is offered the protection of Lord Donnington, whom Nigel believes is a traitor. He plans to use Frances' notoriety and a gambling debt owed to him by Donnington to gain access to Donnington's home in order to find the evidence he needs to arrest him. Things take a tragic turn and the ensuing "orgy" is a disaster when Nigel is poisoned and Donnington turns up dead. Frances is overwhelmed and alarmed by Nigel and all the upheaval he has brought into her life. It's like she's once again in the harem with plots and danger everywhere. She is not happy when Nigel claims her as his mistress (though it's in name only). She had hoped for a quiet life with a older, kindly protector who would allow her some freedom but it is not to be.

As the action moves to Paris, we meet several other characters all with differing and multiple loyalties. Poor Frances cannot figure out what is happening or who to trust in this world of deep intrigue. But she thinks she glimpses moments of genuineness, kindness, true charm and humour in Nigel and she is helplessly drawn to him despite her fears. Nigel, on the otherhand, is fascinated by Frances. She may know all about the Kama Sutra and the mechanics of seduction, but exudes such purity and innocence that he is captivated. If they get out of Paris alive, will they trust each other enough to shed their outer layers and show their true selves? Is love possible for two people who've seen such ugliness?

I will admit and agree with another reviewer that there were a bit too many "dear God"s and "good God"s and that Nigel's quoting of poetry, literature and song was a bit over the top - after a while, I just stopped reading his quotes. But there was so much more to enjoy, that I could overlook those minor irritants. As for Frances being a "drip" (as one reviewer complained), Ms Ross Ewing's heroines are usually a bit subdued - quiet, well-mannered English girls with a lot of inner strength. It is her heroes who usually shine - either brightly like Alden in The Seduction, or darkly like Nicholas in My Dark Prince and Nigel here.

These books are not for everyone, but I certainly have enjoyed entering the bewitching worlds that Ms Ross Ewing creates. Highly recommended!

This book hardly qualifies as "simply" a romance. Rather, it is a story of spying, deception, betrayal, and renewal. The central characters, Frances and Nigel, are thrown together by Nigel's need to expose a traitor. Neither truly knows themselves - Frances was sold into an Indian harem years ago, and has learned to live only by skimming the surface and mainaining illusions; Nigel has spied for so long that he cannot untangle himself from the deceptions and illusions that have earned him his fame. Both are written with incredible complexity and layers of personality that gradually unfold as the plot unwinds. And the plot! Admittedly I was in the dark much of the time, kept guessing at the mystery and intrigue because of Ms. Ewing's diabolical way of dropping half-clues. It definitely kept my attention, to the detriment of some other things that needed to be done - I had to get to the end of the story! I like the way Ms. Ewing alternately tells it from Frances's and Nigel's points of view, without confusing the reader. This is a tale of twists and turns, interwoven with stark sensuality and murder. If you are a fan of Dorothy Dunnet's Lymond chronicles, you may really enjoy this story, and you will almost certainly be reminded of Francis Crawford as you listen to Nigel. Like Dunnett's work, this book is not always easy to read, and it begs to be re-read in order to savor the more intense passages, so it is a keeper for me. I do suggest that you not read any of the reviews for the sequel (FLOWERS UNDER ICE) until you read this one first, so you can more fully enjoy the sometimes-frustrating sense of trying to figure out who the real traitor is.

A riveting story about two unconventional people drawn together despite their fears and misgivings. Beautifully written, a wonderful love story, although she relies a bit heavily on literary quotes. NOT for you if you're expecting your typical overblown romance / bodice ripper with shallow, one-dimensional characters, melodramatic dialogue and a farce of a plot to tie the sex-scenes together. This one's a definite keeper!

This book deserves all your attention. This is a knock your socks off book that will blow you away. ILLUSION takes place in London and France at the time of the Battle of Waterloo. The characters are extraordinary. Frances Woodward is a trained courtesan in the arts of the Kama Sutra, and had escaped from India. She dresses in floating silks and carries an air of mystery about her. The brilliant spy, Nigel Arundham, Marquess of Rivaulx covets her and wins her as his mistress in a game of chance from a man he suspects is a traitor. Nigel is an exceptional man who is very talented in mathematics and breaks enemy codes to help the British. He is a man of secrets, dangerous, and extremely seductive. Frances is caught in a web of intrigue and desire as she is swept into deadly plots along with Nigel. There are some wonderful secondary characters that add spice to the plot. One in particular caught my attention the first time I met him in the story, and I am glad to say Ms. Ewing did not disappoint me, since he'll have his own story in her next book from Berkley, FLOWERS UNDER ICE. This is a superb love story that encompasses danger, mystery, intrigue, and a love that is unforgettable. Brava Ms. Ewing for being such a magnificent storyteller. Your shooting star illuminates the heavens. ILLUSION definately belongs on your "keeper" shelf.

...unpredicatable. There is no formula within sight in this book. JRE (Julia Ross) writes much like Dorothy Dunnet...Nigel very much reminded me of Lymond, but JRE puts much more focus on character development and the romance aspect of her story.

This book requires you attention, some pages move very slowly because there is so much detail and things happening. It's not a book for someone wanting a quick bit of fluff to read. It is very emotional, complex, and interesting. The love scenes are fabulous, and also not something you would read in just any romance pulled off the shelf.

Bottom line: I loved this book, and highly recommend it.

I've loved Jean Ross Ewing's Regencies, including the recent RITA winner Love's Reward. So it was no surprise to me to find that she has brought the same imagination and romanticism to a Regency historical. Being a fan of both sub-genres of romance, I particularly liked how she has smoothly maintained the period feel, while moving to a broader, more complex story, more sensuality and a very non-traditional heroine. A beautiful story, carefully researched and movingly told. I hope to read many more.

A young girl whose innocence was robbed in a maharaja's harem, Frances escapes and returns to England, to find her aunt dead, and her only option to exist as some rich man's mistress. Spy extraordinare, Nigel carries within himself a bitter spirit of long lost love and betrayal. He doesn't want to love again, and Frances doesn't want to fall in love either, because of the hurt she would feel at the inevitable end of the relationship. Nevertheless, as their relationship progresses, they each discover that appearances are deceiving and neither is what they appear to be on the surface. ("Illusion" is an apt title for this story.) And they discover that enduring love can cleanse and heal their souls. This is a book that I will not forget soon.

I had read wonderful reviews of this book, but was very disappointed. The hero was strong, but the heroine was a drip. She felt she was different from everyone else because of her experience and her Indian clothes and nose stud. HELLO! Take the stud out, I kept saying, and put some regular clothes on unless you want everyone to treat you like an oddity. The hero kept quoting poems and stuff at length, which I suppose was interesting the first 2 or 3 times, but after about the 20th time, I just started skipping around it.

This is one of the most spellbinding, complex, deeply layered historical romances I've ever read. It's a combination of spy thriller and romance, and Ross Ewing manages to keep the reader guessing until a considerable way into the story exactly who the villains are. The hero, Nigel Arundham, Marquess of Rivaulx, is suave, sophisticated, dangerous... and tortured. Just my kind of hero!

Okay, the story. Frances Woodward, orphaned in the Far East and held captive in a harem, is a very great prize since she has been trained as a concubine, with no thought in mind but how best to serve a man. On her return to England, she became the property of Lord Donnington - a man believed by Rivaulx to be a traitor. Rivaulx intends to expose Donnington's treachery, and as part of an elaborate ruse he wins Frances from him in a card game.

But, as Frances discovers, Nigel doesn't want her for himself. Again, she is to be used as a pawn in the greater game Nigel is playing: to expose all of the traitors working against the Crown and in support of Napoleon. In any case, she quickly learns that Nigel would have no interest in her anyway; the woman he loved, the woman who had been his companion while they had both been working as spies in France, was brutally murdered and he blames himself for her death.

And then Frances has to accompany Nigel to Paris, again as part of an elaborate ruse to enable him and his associates to spy. Once there, however, Frances finds herself continually questioning what is real about Nigel and the life they're leading, and what is illusion.

What is most fascinating about the book is the way Nigel himself, truly a master of illusions, gradually becomes revealed both to Frances and the readers. And equally, how Frances herself, the virgin concubine, learns that love and lovemaking need not be activities in which women are always subordinate to men and in which women's needs are unimportant.

As well as being a terrific, spellbinding story, Ross Ewing's writing compels and made this reader gasp in admiration. Unlike some reviewers, I *liked* Nigel's love of poetry and liked the way he frequently spoke elliptically. Her style of writing is a breath of fresh air for a reader bored to tears with mediocre historical writers. I can't wait to read Flowers Under Ice, the sequel - and her newer books under the name Julia Ross. Ross/Ross Ewing is now on my must-buy list!

wmr-uk

WOW! Another winner. This book was in such perfect condition that I was actually nervous about touching it. There was only the slightest crease in the spine that I had to look closely to see. Jean Ross Ewing wrote to me after I emailed her that I had found "Flower's under glass" and encouraged me to read "Illusion" first. So I have been waiting to find it. Now I can enjoy two of her earliest books. Thank you so much for posting "Illusion". I'll let you know how good it is later. Although Jean Ross Ewing has never let me down yet. I'm certain that "Illusion and Flower's under Glass" will be no exception.