Customer Reviews

Innocence Undone

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I almost didn't give this book a chance because of the poor reviews. Luckily I stumbled across it in a local used bookstore and decided for $2 it was definitely worth a read. I'm very glad I did. Something I like to do after finishing a book is scan the reviews to see if I'm in agreement. For this book, I found that most of the reviews were sadly exaggerated.

One of my biggest problems with people who read a romance set somewhere in the 19th century, is that many tend to judge it by 21st century standards. These people are generally not good critics for this time period and should stick with contemporary romances and stay away from the historicals.

While this wasn't one of my all-time favorite romance novels, I was disappointed with the lack of support it seemed to receive. It's entertaining - plain and simple. And why do we read romance novels if not to be entertained? Some of the points that I felt should be corrected are the fairly strong ones that would influence someone else buying or reading this book. Here are some of the things that have been criticized, but deserve an argument for the positive aspect of the novel and not just a one-sided approach to what happened:

1) Matthew calls her the daughter of a whore once (that I recall) throughout the course of the book. He mentions it to his father, not knowing that Jessie can hear him since she supposedly went to bed. This is a fact and while Matt does think of it and worry about it from time to time, Jessie is more stressed out about it than any of the other characters in the book.

2) While Jessica has fallen in love with Matthew at the beginning of the book, Matthew definitely doesn't have the same feelings for her - giving the book an edge that it needs (and not falling into a sappy pattern of having them both fall in love quickly).

3) They do not have an arranged marriage. There is not even a hint of it. His father would like the two of them to marry and says as much in the beginning of the book, but Matthew refuses and the story builds from there.

4) One reviewer claims that he "says this about her through out the whole book, which is very unflattering-good to swive but not to wive" - I never once read this phrase. While he does think that he would like her for a mistress, he doesn't ask her because he knows she's innocent and he wouldn't put her in that situation.

5) There is a segment of one chapter where he has sex with another woman (maybe about 2-3 pages for the entire scene, including them discussing that this will be their last night together). While I'm not a fan of reading about the hero and another woman, Jessie is openly looking for a husband during the London Season (with the support of Matthew's father). Matt has not made her any promises and has actually acted as a chaperone (to an extent) while she attends these functions. Reading about him and another woman was not my favorite thing about the book, but considering the time and the fact that the two main characters were not (and had not been) together, I didn't find it horrible. It's repeatedly stated in romance novels that men are going to find gratification where they can (at least before marriage) and I wasn't surprised that a scene like this happened to show up in a romance novel.

6) While Gwen and St. Cere are interesting (enough that I think they actually deserved their own book for their story), I don't think they took over the book at the end. They have a mild flirtation and share a brief, chaste kiss before going their separate ways. By the time they meet up again, Adam is becoming a changed man (for Gwen) - I would've liked to have seen more character development for him (in their own book) but it was a fun side story.

7) There was a spanking scene in the beginning when a younger Matthew and a 12 year old Jessie get into an argument (ending with the child getting a spanking for throwing rotten apples at his new naval uniform). There was also a teasing throwback to that later in the novel (after a grown up Jessica pours water on Matt's boots - on purpose) in which spanking is lightly thrown in as playful foreplay. I considered it a fun scene, showing that these two were having fun chasing each other. There is also a segment of the story that focuses on Gwen and her abusive stepfather. All three in hindsight show the difference between discipline/adult play/abuse and do a good job of deciphering what's considered right and wrong.

8) There is only one wedding in the entire book. And it is highly entertaining. While three marriages do take place, we only read about one actual wedding and the other three are mentioned after the fact.

9) Matthew NEVER rapes his wife. There is a chapter when he thinks she's being unfaithful and goes to confront her. She is initially a little nervous when she sees that something is bothering him, when he kisses her, she offers no resistance and is obviously turned on by it. The scene is passionate and hot and Matthew does vent his frustration, but it doesn't border on rape. He's careful not to hurt her, she's VERY into it (to the point that she worries that she's following in her mother's footsteps in the enjoyment of passionate sex). He definitely doesn't rape her - especially not twice (there isn't even another detailed love scene after that one).

10) For the most part, Matthew was a model husband. Never considers straying from his wife, never desires another woman, never abusive. Even going so far to make his wife happy that he takes in her niece and treats her like his own daughter.

11) While Matthew does leave England when the scandal comes out, he does so in search of his wife and 'daughter'. They know they have to stay gone for a long time while his father is more than happy to smooth things over (considering he always knew that this secret could come to the forefront).

12) While her brother is forced to join the navy with the hope that he doesn't survive, I thought he got off way too easily. Her brother is a man who continuously beat her as they grew up (giving her black eyes and beating her across her back), allowed his friend to rape her for a few coins (the 'friend' doesn't succeed, but it shows how he regards his sister), blackmails Jessie for money at every turn and he beats his daughter (a toddler) until she becomes mute. I was hoping for his brutal death at the hands of Matthew. I repeat - he got off way too easy.

I've never read any of Kat Martin's books before this one, but I think she is a talented author and this book is well worth the money. I'll be looking for her books in the future. This particular book, I would actually give four and a half stars for the simple fact that it ran a little long and could've been trimmed up (but like I said, if Gwen and Adam had their own story, it would have shortened this one).

It was a fun read and I'm sure I'll want to reread it in the future.

In a nutshell, this whole story is based on a series of huge misunderstandings thrown together. Jessie Fox becomes the ward of the Marquess of Belmore. The Marquess's son, Matthew, believes the girl is a gold digging tramp and is determined to expose her. Well he marries her instead, and treats her to countless unfound suspicions, lays the blame on her for several different things gone wrong, and treats her downright cruel sometimes. The reason? Her mother was a prostitute, so she has to have inherited her mother's wickedness. The attraction he felt for her is her fault because she is putting on a false character front to snag him thus inheriting his land and title with him. After all, her mother was a prostitute and it stands to reason that she has to be just like her.

There's nothing more I hate than reading about a close minded hero who will jump to conclusions based on some convuluted logic like that. He does not realize what a jerk he has been until the last sixty pages of the story. At that point, I was not interested in how sorry he was. I was just glad I was nearing the end of the story.

This is a cinderella story. A father grieving over the loss of a son adopts a street urchin. He pays for education and transformation into a lady. Jessie has always loved Matt and now that she is a lady she wants to be his wife. Matt's father also wants Matt and Jessie to marry. Matt wants Jessie very much, but he cannot seem to get past the fact that is the daughter of prositute. You go through most of the book before Matt gets drunk enough to kidnap Jessie on her wedding day. They marry to save Jessie's reputation. Jessie feels guilty because she leads Matt to believe that more happen the night of the kidnapping that what really did. Matt is guilty because of what he did. A brush with death convinces Matt that he loves Jessie and most tell her. My one gripe with the story is that when Jessie's past comes out, she doesn't stay and fight she runs away. Since she jas fought so hard to gain what she has, this seemed out of character.

My biggest problem with this book was that I didn't like the two main characters, Jessica and Matthew. Matt was pretty much an arrogant jerk throughout the book and Jessica's integity was lacking. I still don't understand why Jessica liked Matt anyway.I also tend to hate any book that has the "hero" having sex with other women, especially after he has met the "heroine". And I do not care to read about anyone else having sex besides the two main characters. In this book there are many such sex scenes written in great detail (yuck). The only redeeming part of this book was the romance between Adam and Gwen. I really wish the whole book had been about them!

This book was so depressing it was terrible, not sexy at all. 1-Matthew is a self-righteous prig who calls her the daughter of a whore thoughout, to her face as well as behind her back

2-Jessica is so determined to become a lady that all the spark we see in her at the start of the novel dies

3-Jessica is already in love with him at outset of book so there is no development and joy of falling in love

4-He spends so much time avoiding her there is no chance for him to get to know her as other than a woman he wants in his bed but not to be married to; it is an arranged marriage.

5-He says this about her through out the whole book, which is very unflattering-good to swive but not to wive.

6-He has sex with his former mistress in flagrant and tasteless detail; it does not make any difference he keeps hoping it is Jessica as he does all sorts of depraved things to the woman all night.

7-Secondary couple St Cere and Gwen are FAR more exciting and take over the latter part of the book completely.

8-St Cere having sex with a mistress who reminds him of Gwen is also very off putting, why repeat what is already so gross.

9-the obsession with spanking ahd physical brutality to women throughout the book is gruesome

10-yet another wedding when Matthew's old decrepit father gets married

11-Matthew's new rape of his wife when he thinks she is being unfaithful-does this not once but twice.

12-Matthew always wanting his supposedly pure fiancee and finding Jessie lacking-he is continuously mentally unfaithful to her throughout the book

13-Said fiancee exposing all of her secrets-instead of Matthew proving he loves her no matter what, he HIDES in America for 2 years while his father whitewashes the scandal and bribes everyone or blackmails them into saying she was mistaken!!

14-His revolting behavior when they get married. she is no better. He gives her little choice, just physically overwhelms her, and then she lies to him to keep him.

15-His violence when he nearly kills her brother and then allows him to be press ganged into the navy in the hope that he will be killed so his wife and niece never have to wrry about the scandalous truth of her brith being brought to light-when of course it is anyway.

The only saving grace of this book is Gwen and St Cere. They alone get two stars. Jessie and Matthew can simply bore each other to death, and they would deserve each other for both being such ninnies. As for the author, this book is completely cliche ridden and so dull you can tell even she was bored with it at the end, since her heroine and hero go nowhere but down.

This is the modern world where women are no longer called whores but give themselves freely and no one dares to care. However, the setting of this book is regency and IS treated fairly by Kat Martin. Unfortunately, Jesse is the daughter of a whore. Unfortunately in regency time, people were considered to be like their parents unless proven otherwise-which did happen. I have read many regency books and the attitudes of male and female of the ton are consistant among the authors. Many of the ton did not marry for love or lust. They married to keep the lineage rich, landed, and/or titled. They were the "elite" and did whatever they wanted if they thought they could get away with it-much like royalty today (in fact the many of the ton were in queue for the throne). This book very well shows how people can change. I thought the father was wonderful. His protecting Jesse and wanting his son to be happy showed a lot of depth. His son's attitude was part the product of misconception about his father and stepmother,and part the product of the society as a whole. Kat Martin deserves credit for writing about regency. She shows the attitudes of the day, but she also show that some of the ton had depth to them. The characters are well-rounded and the book has a happy ending. The journey to this ending is well worth the read. In fact, it is one of my rereads.

Innocence Undone was everything I could have wanted in a romance and more. The story was thoroughly developed, the passion between the hero and heroine sizzled, and there was enough adventure, conflict and subplots to keep me enthralled in the story. I hated to see this book end. Matthew is a strong hero who is afraid to love because of his not being shown open affection as a child. This struggle is what makes him the deep, brooding romantic hero. His developing attraction to Jessica, and ultimately his journey into love, is fueled by Matthew's mistrust of and fear to love.

Jessica is a strong heroine. She begins life without much hope and a prayer. She is the daughter of a doxy, she is abused by her brother and she resorts to all sorts of undesirable behavior. Underneath all that, Jessica is a loving, caring person who wants to rise above her pitiful lot in life. Jessica eventually becomes this headstrong, intelligent, and nurturing young woman. And although Matthew doesn't think he and Jessica "suit", he finds himself on a journey that causes him to break down all the walls he has erected around his heart just to keep up with his father's ward. The conflict between these two characters is classic!! The passion between them is timeless!! If you don't read this book for anything else, read it just to find out what Matthew does when he thinks Jessica is going to marry someone else!!

You will fall in love with all the characters. And, you get to see two other romances develop along with Matthew and Jessica. The story of Gwen and Adam, Lord St. Cere, is heartwarming and makes me believe in knights in shining armor. Even "Papa Reggie" finds love in this twilight years with Lady Bainbridge.

Trust me when I tell you that this is a romance for all ages. If you enjoy this book half as much as I did, you will have found an unforgettable romance that you will want to read over and over again.

This was the first book I read of Kat Martin's and it was terrific. I could not put it down and finished reading it within a day. For anyone looking for a great read this is it. I guarantee that after you read this wonderful story you'll want to read other historical romances by Kat Martin like I did. She is now one of my favourites!!!

after hearing the buzz surrounding this book i decided to give it a try and was definitely rewarded. i am a huge fan of kat martin's work and have read a fair number but, like anything else, some of her works can start to sound repetetive. "innocence undone" is one of the better regency romances i have ever read.

Jessic Fox was a girl who saw a live of poverty stretching out before her and swore that she would be a lady. after seeking help from the aging marquess who agrees to help her. skip ahead a few years when mathew, the marquess' son, comes home from battling the french as a captin in the english navy. he remembers the rag clad girl who he knew as a young boy and refuses to believe the jessica fox that he sees now is any different. what he can't deny though is the incredible pull he feels towards her, though he vows nothing will come of it, though the marqess wants nothing more than for these two people he loves most to marry.

this book has so many scenes that were not only original but had me smiling and laughing. the wedding scene was classic and something that was so different from what most other authors would have handled it that i had to take my hat off to mrs. martin. as always this kat martin book is duly steamy and even has a side story of gwen, jessica's friend, meeting up with her man, adam harcout. their story is just as enthralling as matt and jessi's.

this book was one of those you want to read on a rainy day when you have plenty of time because you don't want to put it down. it's fun and just a good read. check it out.

It was a good book, but a little too much misery for the characters and I found I was skipping over the last half to get to the ending. Still, it was okay.