Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
WHERE IS THE ORIGINAL SOPHIA??, July 5, 2008
I loved Sophia's first RISK EVERYTHING. It was a masterpiece, which for a debut it impressed me enough to almost compare her with Garwood's "untouched" Medievals. (I said almost!)
But somewhere along the line, the series is faltering and flawed, which makes you seriously doubt Sophia's creative potential - as her latest two attempts were vastly disappointing, deteriorating from her original, almost gleaming effort. ALWAYS MINE was very slow, unsatisfactory read.
Now, after painfully trudging through MIDNIGHT BRIDE - it pains me to write another negative review. I seriously doubt that I will even give her books another try. This novel was so excruciatingly slow in pace and sadly lacking in character development that it couldn't capture my interest - I didn't even finish it! Which it's extremely rare as I ALWAYS try to read through to ensure my reviews are accurate a give fair recommendation.
The storyline was good enough to ensure it peeked your interest. Mereck - the Beserker - is a tortured warrior, whose blood's been tainted by madness and has been cursed not to ever love a woman.
Lynette (Netta) is a sweet, untouched beauty, pawned off to the highest bidder by her hateful father. Even though - this lot is tried and true - it can be absorbing if well developed.
NOT SO HERE! The characters that soared and grabbed your heart in Sophia's previous books were indolent and lacking here.
Even though Netta had all the personality traits to make for a charming and solid heroine to partner with a tortured hero, Netta was very annoying and insipid. Sophia's attempt to inject humor into her personality and situations were exasperating rather than humorous. The innocence and naiveté was so overly done that depicted the women (specially Elise) as childish, slow-brained nitwits - and their immature antics inane, which made the men treat them as such!
Mereck's portrayal of the "tortured" hero seriously fell of the mark, for it seemed that the true nature of his Berserker nickname lacked the depth to truly tear at the readers heart's strings.
The relationship between the H/H was sluggish and lacked the intensity of depth to grab you. The sexual tension was one sided from Mereck - who desires his bride, but is too reluctant to treat her like a woman and continues to think of her more like a child - which makes it incongruous that she is even the object of his desire!
By now I was thoroughly frustrated with the story that I didn't even care if they slept together or not!
Gosh, i wish i could say something redeeming about this book!!
I agree with Emlyn54 - we deserved better - from a writer that has showed true promise. It seems that Sophia's stories are becoming lackluster, which is a shame since her writing is quite good.
We all agree that with the price of books today - you want writers and stories to make your imagination soar, whet your appetite and leave you cheering and panting for more! Sorry Sophia!
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 Star Book Midnight's Bride by Sophia Johnson, October 23, 2007
Snuggle up in your comfy reading chair and get ready to be thoroughly entertained as creative author Sophia Johnson delivers a lively tale about another Blackthorn brother, Mereck, in MIDNIGHT'S BRIDE.
Determined not to marry the odious men her father kept sending her way, Lady Lynette Wycliffe dodged a beating once again. But this time her furious father delivered an ultimatum, shouting that the next man entering the castle gate would be her husband. Little did Lynette know that the man would turn out to be the legendary Baresarker whom her step-mother had told horror tales about all of her young life! She quickly ran away to her friend's home disguised as a servant. From there she was fortunate enough to travel with her friend Elise to Wales accompanied by Mereck of Blackthorn. Lynette, Netta to her familiars, was relieved to have escaped the mad man, or so she thought.
Mereck kept his identity as the Baresarker a secret from Netta even as he signed a marriage contract with her father. He treated Netta as the servant she pretended to be while they traveled to Wales. Mereck wanted Netta's dowry, the lands of Caer Caldwell, and never intended to love her because of the baresark curse. Once at Blackthorn Castle, everything is out in the open and Netta is once again living in terror as she realizes Mereck, the gentle man she knew on the journey, is really the barbarian Baresarker and he expects to marry her.
MIDNIGHT'S BRIDE by inspiring author Sophia Johnson is filled with history, passion and high jinx. Peals of giggles and melting sighs describe my reaction to Netta and Mereck as they verbally spar with each other amid sexual tension and Netta's naiveté. The innocent candor of Elise and Netta, dictated by Ms Johnson's witty dialog, provides some very amusing reading, so much so that I lost myself in the tale. And then there is the smoldering passion waiting to be unleashed in the ruggedly handsome Mereck; every woman's fantasy. Each of the Blackthorn books have a different temperament governed by its marvelous characters; which causes me to eagerly await more delightfully delicious stories from talented Sophia Johnson.
Donna Zapf
CataNetwork Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Midnight's Bride, October 29, 2007
Cursed by his baresark heritage, Mereck of Blackthorn has vowed never
to love. When Mereck encounters Netta of Caer Caldwell, it's as if
destiny is at work. Netta is being forced to wed and she needs
protection from her family. Mereck wants Caer Caldwell and the man
who weds Netta will be Caer Caldwell's overlord. The fact that Netta
fires Mereck's passions makes him all the more determined to take
Netta as his wife.
Believing Mereck a barbarian, Netta attempts to evade marriage to the
fierce warrior. Although he can offer his protection and his passion,
Mereck will not give his heart. Netta and Mereck are about to learn
that you cannot avoid what fate has in store.
Seeing Sophia Johnson's name on a book cover sends my credit card to
twitching. I can't resist Ms. Johnson because I know I'll not be
reading another cookie cutter historical romance. Midnight's Bride is
the most classic romance in this series and is delightful. Ms.
Johnson's ability to successfully distinguish each book in the
Blackthorn trilogy but link the three together keeps the trilogy
refreshing.
Midnight's Bride is tenderly romantic, hysterically funny and deeply
passionate. A delightful read in every way, the Blackthorn trilogy is
terrific!
Annmarie
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
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