Customer Reviews

The Lady Lies (Berkley Sensation)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

YOU GOTTA READ THIS BOOK!!!! Its a MUST. From the opening paragraphs your get hooked. The writing is superb. The attention to nuances and dramatic's of body language is meticulous. It almost plays out in such detail that it is like a movie for your mind.
Lady Celeste Rivenhall is a spy, and as the story opens we find that Aidan, a solider and a viscount, has been captured and is being held in a French prison camp. Celeste orchestrates a daring escape for Aidan all while pretending to be a French collaborator. They have an instant attraction that makes the rest of the story sizzle.
I read a lot of romance novels but I have to say that this is a step above. It has only a few expected remarks that all Regency era books have (ie the need for chaperones) and bravely follows its own path leading to Ms. Saxon's own style of intrigue and suspense. She writes unapologetically tortured characters who suffer and die and writes evil villians so well that I could easily find myself seduced by the dark side. I am going to read everything this woman puts out.
(The only problem I had with the book, albeit minor, was that she used different names for the same person from paragraph to paragraph and sometimes it was hard to keep everyone straight. But then again...I am kinda a spaz.)

I love Saxon's style. And I would've given this story five stars but I just can't...

I love stong, above-average heroines and Lady Rivenhall was no exception. She's sharp, resourceful, daring, intelligent and sexy as all get out. However, I got so tired of reading how beautiful, so beautiful, so insanely beautiful she was! Made my teeth ache. Plus, I began to dislike how every man she encountered went to his knees because of her beauty. Every. Single. Man. I know heroines can be exceptionally attractive but say it once or twice and be done with it.

The hero was excellent too in his qualities. Aidan hated, absolutely hated his attraction to her, but like every male in the book, just couldn't help himself. I found it hard to believe he'd bo so in love with her just because they were so sexually compatible..because he doesn't learn of her "true" motives until way later in the book. They had good chemistry, but I don't think the love relationship was what it could have been. They fought most of the book, and didn't do any soul connecting/bonding. So this lead me to think he loved her because it was so unexplainable otherwise, because she was SO BEAUTIFUL! And that Lady Rivenhal loved him because HE was so good-looking and because she had admired him and his heroics before they met.

Another reason I didn't give 5 stars..she got me upset more than once. She did a great job introducing awesome secondary characters, only to have them meet an untimely death! Characters I was lead to believe would be good characters in her next novel. She broke my heart a couple of times with this twist. Be prepared for some violence.

Overall, liked it a lot..but it is not a masterpiece, and killing off good characters is something I guess I'll have to get used to.

If you don't enjoy Oliver Stone because you're hung up on the historical inaccuricies, this is not the book for you. But if you love a good adventure with a strong female character, excitement, drama, mystery, all at a fast past, get this book! I have never, ever pre-ordered a book before, but I did preorded Samantha Saxon's next book. Too many of the books coming out today are not exciting, too concerned about telling us just the exact hue of the daisies or being the written version of the history channel, or worse yet, no development of characters whatsoever because the author is afraid of being inaccurate, etc. Samantha Saxon was a delightful find that'll keep you guessing.

This book blew me away. I don't usually read historicals much, and Regencies tend to bore me, unless they're Julia Quinn-style--light, funny, frothy things that tickle my vanity. The Lady Lies couldn't be more opposite to that, and I loved it!!

Now, it does have some humor, but it's a dark humor. The whole book is dark, and sexy--ooo-wee. The hero and heroine have real chemistry, and real reasons to fight against it (and then give in to it), but they're not the only ones getting it on. The bad guys have their own scenes and their own relationships, and they're interesting, darkly sexy and really compelling.

Almost nothing about the plotting or the characters was what I expected. This is no regular Regency with silly plot points like "Ooh, we're stuck together in a carriage--with no chaperone!" or "Oh no, he ripped my bodice, now I'm unmarriageable!" Instead, it's full of really compelling plot points--the heroine, a female spy, must constantly remind herself of why she does what she does; the hero is tormented by memories of the battle he lost, in which many of the soldiers in his command died; the bad guy uses his attractiveness to seduce a sweetly foppish clerk into giving him the information he needs; and more.

This is definitely a book you can't put down till you read the last page. And it's one that even people who don't normally like historicals will love. So I give it my highest recommendation!

I don't have time to write a review as thoughtful as this debut novel deserves, so suffice it to say that if you're a fan of Karen Ranney ("My Wicked Fantasy," the Highland Lords series, the just-released and incredibly moving "When Next We Meet") and Liz Carlyle ("The Devil You Know," "No True Gentleman," "A Woman Scorned") I think you'll enjoy this author enormously.

Look for some delicious love-hate scenes, of which my personal favorite is the wickedly erotic encounter between two accidental voyeurs, hiding in a bedroom where neither of them can afford to be caught. Talk about making the most of an awkward situation...

Wildly improbable plot further weakened by author's poor grasp of the history of the period and misuse of British aristocratic titles (editor should have corrected these problems but was apparently AWOL throughout). I can only think sex scenes redeemed above problems for other reviewers. Don't waste your money. Try books by Mary Balogh, Eloisa James, and Julia Quinn instead.

There are romance novels that just seem to stick with you long after you've finished them and this wonderful story from Samantha Saxon is simply one of the best I've read in a very long time. And believe me, I have read hundreds of romance novels. The two main characters are so different from the stereotypical romance characters. Celeste is brave, honorable and strong without being overly liberated for her time period. Aidan is a hunk with a heart. Besides being wonderfully heartwrenching and heartwarming, let me say that the sexual tension between the two characters is palpable from beginning to end! The love scenes are some of the hottest and most creative I've ever read without being overtly graphic. I have already loaned this book to at least half a dozen people and not one has been disappointed! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the next installment "The Lady Killer". I am going to get my hands on anything that Samantha Saxon writes in the future!

From the very first chapter I was hooked. Most books I can put down up until the 6th chapter or so when the hook comes in, but this one held me captive right away. I stayed up all night finishing it and didn't regret my lack of sleep one bit. I am really into the spy books in regency England and this is the best one I have ever read!
This was my first book by Ms. Saxon and she totally impressed me. I could not wait to get my hands on the other books in this series (they weren't quite this good but I don't see how they could be since I loved this one so much). If you like action, adventure, romance, wonderful fully-developed characters, wit, laughter, confusion, daring heroines, and more...look no further.
Please go out and buy this book to support a wonderful author so that she can write more outstanding books. I just can't say enough good things about this book, so get it and then write your review on here. I love hearing how other people loved this book just as much as I did. :-)

My favorite novel of 2006! This novel has a mix of murder,mystery,lust and spy's. Lady Celeste Rivenhall has been spy for four years for the English against the French. Earl of Wessex get captured by the French only to saved by Lady Celeste Rivenhall but he doesn't know it...

In 1811 Portugal French troops capture English legendary soldier Lord Aiden Duhearst. The prisoner is brought to English traitor Lady Celeste Rivenhall for interrogation. Knowing how important Aiden is to the war effort, she informs the French officers that she will escort the prisoner to the Emperor. Though attracted to her Aiden despises the turncoat. He escapes although unbeknownst to him it is because of Celeste, who hid from the English hero that she is a double agent working for Lord Falcon.

Falcon calls Celeste back to England to use her wiles to uncover who in the inner circle is betraying the crown. When Lady Davis is killed, Aiden assumes Celeste arranged the murder and is the traitor. To his chagrin Aiden falls in love with Celeste; although she reciprocates he vows never to act on his feelings as he plans to prove she is the traitor.

This action packed story line grips the audience the moment Celeste threatens Aiden so that everyone witnessing her performance including the prisoner believe she is a vicious femme fatale working for the French against the English. The who-done-it is cleverly devised so that while Celeste hides her espionage mission yet searches for the truth, Aiden seeks proof she is the guilty party. Samantha Saxon serves up a stupendous Regency romance.

Harriet Klausner