Customer Reviews

The Maiden's Hand (The Tudor Rose Trilogy)

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

 

 

The book starts out with a humorous bang that draws the reader in from page one. After one page you can't help wanting to know how it all turns out. The characters are fresh and the plot is fast paced. The romance feels genuine and the author really makes the reader care about them. I was actually crying near the end when it looked like all was lost for the hero and heroine even though I know romance novels have a happy endings 99.9% of the time. Only a truly gifted author can make a reader care that much about the characters. There was only one little part that was off the wall unbelievable to me and that is near the very end when a secondary character suddenly has an expertise in something that no woman would have during this time period and then she proceeds to save the day. So there was a happy ending after all even if how it came about was a little unbelievable.

Susan Wiggs is an author I read - everything she's written. The Maiden's Hand kind of bogged down for me for some reason - I thought Oliver was a very good character, but the book seemed to lack something - maybe it was a bad day for me, but I think Ms. Wiggs has written better. Still and all, because it's a Wiggs book it's quite readable. Ms. Wiggs is a serious writer and she really knows how to throw a story together.

A clarification on the star rating -- I actually really enjoyed this book the FIRST time it was released in the 90's as "Vows Made in Wine".

Now it has a new cover, new title and the same story.

It would be so exciting to see Susan Wiggs actually return to historical fiction, instead I keep picking up these titles only to find out it's a book released a decade and a half ago.

Reprinting is a great thing -- it should just state on the cover that it was previously released. The first time a book from this "Tudor Rose Trilogy" appeared, I was so excited to see what I thought was NEW historical fiction from Wiggs, that I almost plunked down my $9 without even reading the back cover. Of course, when I did read the back -- I quickly realized I'd met these character before.

What a bummer!!

The book was/is good historical fiction. It's just not new historical fiction, and I think the new no-warning packaging is unfair to fans.

I'm giving this book two stars for the nasty bait and switch. I'm refraining from giving it one star out of my love for Susan Wigg's past historicals.

I read plenty of Tudor-period stories, so when I picked this book up in my local romance section, I felt apprehensive. I've just started to write romance, and I don't have all-too-many romance-labeled books. Generally, I read more (almost exclusively sometimes) historical fiction when it comes to this time frame.

My praise goes to Ms. Wiggs and the wonderful journey that she has taken me on. The book starts with an original and unexpected premise, and as the plot unwinds, the reader becomes privy to a world of the secrets, twists and turns of Lark and Oliver's two, totally separate and different lives. With a hero who suffers from asthma, and a stuffy heroine who seems too wrapped up in her bible to care about much more, the reader is immediately drawn to the forbidden and unusual attraction between the two. As England is on the brink of a religious turnover, their Catholic Queen dying, and a protestant princess lined up for the throne, the social and political realm remains in turmoil -- a realm Lark and Oliver are both very involved in.

You will not be displeased when you put down this book. It's a quick read, as there's hardly a place in the plot that allows you to put the book down and not feel like you are missing something. The characters are well-written and wholly original, and the plot is wonderfully enticing! I am excited to read the rest of the trilogy!

I absolutely loved this trilogy. Of course I also loved the Lakeshore Chronicles, The Clahoun series. When I read a book, and I finish it, I wonder what might have happened next. So with the continuing saga, I get to see what happens next. Susan Wiggs is a gifted writer. I love her books and have read almost all that I can get. Some are presently out of publication, and some are more than I can spend at this time. I have never been a reader, hating the blessed book reports in school. But a few years ago I got the bug. Read all of LuAnn Rice books and now Susan Wiggs. I have read a few others and am trying to settle on the new author in my life. I would recommend any of Ms. Wiggs writing. I think to my liking, the Lakeshore Chronicles are her best.

I enjoy historical adventure and romance novels and this one along with the Horseman's Daughter kept me going. I am looking forward to the next releases in these trilogies.