Moonlight and Shadow [Paperback]

Isolde Martyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2002

As the War of the Roses comes to a close, the houses of York and Lancaster seem to have put their old battles to rest. But too many players are within a stone's throw of the throne. Amidst political strife, Heloise Ballaster, maid-of-honor to Richard of Gloucester's duchess, and Sir Miles Rushden, friend and adviser to the Duke of Buckingham, are about to be ensnared in love's trap, all the while struggling to stay alive in this deadly battle for the crown.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Isolde Martyn attended the University of Exeter and has won many honors for her work, including the RITA award for Best First Book from the Romance Writers of America. She has also twice won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romance Writers of Australia. She is not only a writer, but a historian, editor, and former chair of the Sydney branch of the Richard III Society.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (September 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425186083
• ISBN-13: 978-0425186084
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,344,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as great as it could have been, February 11, 2004

By 

S. Soltoff "Stacey Soltoff" (Northern VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moonlight and Shadow (Paperback)

Martyn starts out with this wonderful, interesting heroine. Despite her desperate situation and seeming lack of choices, she is still a strong, intelligent woman who finds the only way out of a treacherous situation. I like Heloise a lot more in the beginning than the end. Once the king is crowned, Martyn shifts hats from romance author to historian and the main characters become merely a vessel to retell the events. Heloise is mysteriously tamed, losing all the bite that made her character interesting. Not to mention she has psychic talents that appear when convenient to the plot in the first 300 or so pages, but don't ever appear to be as big a deal to anyone other than Heloise and her love interest.

I couldn't make myself finish the last fifty pages. The last fifty in a 457-page book! Even after investing 400 pages of reading, I no longer cared about the characters. Maybe it picks up in the end. I don't know. I've read one of her other books, The Knight and the Rose, and didn't find it nearly as much of a chore to finish it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars How did this get past the publisher?, March 17, 2004

By 

"thistle_s" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moonlight And Shadow (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book because it came recommended by the store. It had promise in the first few pages. The author does provide a detailed backround for her plot. However the characters are flimsy & cliche. The writing gets very choppy & leaps all over the place. By page 309 (Where I stopped)
they had kissed twice, fought about her *maybe* being a witch & then argued about their anulment 100 times. Enough with the tension & agnst already! This is supposed to be a romance after all! This book had no flow, no imagination & was just about the single most irritating thing I have ever read. I'm taking it back for a refund tommorow.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong romance with deep historical personage and events, September 8, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moonlight and Shadow (Paperback)

In 1483, merchant Sir Dudley Ballaster forces his oldest daughter Heloise and Sir Miles Rushden to marry at sword point. Not longer after exchanging, vows, Miles flees for Wales with plans to annul the marriage.

Dudley informs his daughter that she must find refuge with her new spouse as he no longer will take care of her. Heloise follows Miles to his residence amidst the Duke of Buckingham's estate. Under disguise, Heloise gets inside and soon charms everyone whom comes into contact with her including her runaway husband. Miles wonders what happened to him as he loves his wife and wants her by his side forever.

On the surface, MOONLIGHT AND SHADOW is a typical fifteenth century romance. However, adding depth to the strong romance is historical personage and events from the real world in which a fragile peace ending the War of the Roses needs very little to break back into civil war. It is the effortless ability to interweave real people and occurrences into her story lines as she has done with this wonderful novel that makes Isolde Martyn highly regarded and her books so appreciated by more than just sub-genre fans.

Harriet Klausner