Customer Reviews

Lost Love Found

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

 

 

Valentina is my favorite heroine in the O'Malley series and more like Skye than Skye's offspring is. When Valentina goes to court to serve Elizabeth I, I was heartbroken. Mrs. Small's exceptional writing and incredible detail showed me how the lively days of courtlife in Elizabeth's youth had dramatically changed and become a somber place as Elizabeth approached her last days. When a family secret is revealed, Valentina shows us her adventurous spirit and heads East! Her adventures are incredible! I appreciated how Mrs. Small touched on "The Kadin" through the duchy of San Lorenzo and reintroducing us to Esther Kira (who met Valentina's mother in "A Love for All Time"). Also, the appearance of Cica Pasha tied into "Love Wild and Fair." Wonderful! (A note to Mrs. Small: Since you have touched on Esther Kira so often, how about a book dedicated to her entire life. Just a thought.) I wept at least 3 times and was filled with anger, frustration, joy, fear, and triumph as Mrs. Small weaved her magic spell of words and phrases and pulled me into her story. If you haven't read the O'Malley series, you might get a little confused. You should at least read "A Love for All Time" which is the tale of Aidan, Valentina's mother, and is the basis of much of this book's plot.

I truly enjoyed Valentina and thought her character better than Velvet and Jasmine. I loved how this book touched on so many other stories. The Mediteranean island where Janet Leslie was taken (see "The Kadin") and the return of Cica Pasha. (see "Love Wild and Fair"). Of course, I loved seeing Esther Kira again. Valentina is stronger than Aidan, but very much her mother's daughter. I can't say enough good things about this book. There is romance, adventure, and on-the-edge-of-your-seat-suspense.

Of all the O' Malley heroines (including Skye herself), Valentina St. Michaels Barrows is by far my favorite. Small portrays her as GENUINELY clever, kind-hearted, brave and witty; we're told she's beautiful, but that somehow doesn't seem important in light of her warm personality.

Why this wonderful heroine had to be dropped into a muddle of a book is a mystery. Suddenly Valentina is made to doubt her paternity and faster than you can swear "God's foot!" she's off to "the East" to discover the truth (even though candidates two and three are presumed dead). Worse, she's burdened with two clods for suitors--Tom Ashburne and Padraic Burke who is Valentina's own cousin (smacks of incest, no?). Once in "the East" Valentina falls into all kinds of melodramatic, sadistic sexual traps which I did not find erotic so much as disturbing and a little disgusting. Methnks Small needs to lay off the harem intrigue--it really does get dull. Finally, this book includes threads from Love Wild and Fair and the Kadin, in addition to previous O'Malley novels. This makes for more of a curtain call than a book.

In closing, I did find Valentina's special relationship with Elizabeth I to be tender and touching. The two characters seem to bring out the excellence in each other. Why not dump the questionable romance and craft a novel between England's great ruler and her favorite servant?

The queen's gnarled fingers pinched the girl's baby-smooth cheeks. "Do not deceive yourself, Valentina," the wise and majestic old woman croaked. "Journey to the East if you will, but do not expect to remain cool and untouched forever. You are an O'Malley, like your cursed grandmother. Your will is strong, but your nature is hot and passionate."

Valentina St. Michaels determined to discover the secret of her birth. Though raised an Elizabethan noble, her mother was once a harem slave to a great sultan of India. Val has no wish to repeat her mother's sensual experiences, but when her trading fleet is wrecked in a storm fate tosses her from one devastatingly handsome man to another. Forced to yield to her own sensual nature in order to survive, Val soon discovers that wise old Queen Bess knew the truth about her passionate nature. But will Val become passion's master or a slave like her mother? Will she ever reclaim her royal identity? Will she discover love as well as pleasure?

Usually, I love Mrs. Small's books. Her description of theclothes, foods and dwelings of the medival/renissance period arewonderful and so are many of her supporting cast. BUT- after reading Skye O'Malley and AtST, I felt Valentina was a bit of a stupid character who was to stubborn to see the forest for the trees. Her father loves her, her cousin loves her but she has to go to the East and guess what? She ends up in a harem! (surprise, surprise!) These scences are one to many, rape is not appealing in a romance novel even if the heroine is 'betrayed by her body'. I really could bearly finish this one. :-(

I love this book which I believe is Book #5 in the O'Malley series. Valentina is a great heroine: very courageous and intelligent. Her quest to discover herself takes her to exciting and dangerous places. I love how Beatrice Small tied in part of this story with Cat Leslie's of "Love Wild and Fair." One of my all-time favorites in the O'Malley Series.

Sorry but if you think a woman practically being raped by an abusive man (and then finding out she enjoys it) is romantic then you have a serious problem. What is it with some of these romantic novelists that they have to have the heroine raped? This book is a load of rubbish and the type where you regret how much less of your life is left after you finish reading it.

If you are a Bertrice Small fan, you won't be disappointed by this book. I have always found the O'Malley family to be an interesting one, and Small takes another "minor" character and drops him into his own adventures - and creates a sequel to THAT adventure. The story of Padriac and Valentina ties up some loose ends in the O'Malley saga, and it does wonderfully well. The premise is not an unbelievable one, unlike some others of this genre.

Not bad. Give it a read.

This is one of the better offerings by author Bertrice Small. It is set in a familiar setting, Elizabethian England and full of well loved, familiar characters (Skye, Aidan, Conn and Esther Kira). What more could any Bertrice Small fan ask for? It is a good, solid romantic romp with the O'Malley family and a fond farewell to Good Queen Bess.

AS ALWAYS, MS. SMALL HAS DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB. THE WOMEN IN HER BOOKS ARE ALWAYS PORTRAYED AS STRONG, CAPABLE, INTELLIGENT, AND ADVENTEROUS. ESPECIALLY THE O'MALLEY WOMEN. ALSO WE CAN NOT FORGET THE INCREDIBLE HOT LOVE SCENES SHE WRITES.BERTRICE SMALL'S BOOKS ARE A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO LOVES ROMANCE NOVELS.