Customer Reviews

Move Heaven and Earth

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

 

 

I usually love Christina Dodd's books as her stories are interesting and the characters are well-developed. However, 2 of her books I recently read have similar plot devices that I feel torpedo the story. In the case of Heaven and Earth I loved the story of Sylvan and Rand -- she had been hired by Rand's brother(the duke of something or other) to help rehabilitate Rand after the Battle of Waterloo had left him paralyzed. As the daughter of a wealthy merchant and a field nurse at Waterloo, Sylvan found herself ostracized. When she arrives at the ducal estate, there are ghosts (for a gothic touch), a misogynistic minster, and attacks on the family's attempt to begin the Industrial Revolution in the local village. Sylvan is a bold, sardonic character and one is in full sympathy. Then she and Rand marry and in order to persuade her to go to London for her own safety he insults her gravely and deeply in the way that only a lover could and she duly flees. This is the moment the book falls apart for me and continues to fall apart nearly to the very end -- especially when Rand goes to London to retrieve her, he assumes that she will have figured out he was "just joking" -- and that it was all a ruse. And immediately after retrieving her they have sex in the carriage. Honestly. This plot is similar to Rules of Surrender, in my opinion, when the "hero" degrades the woman and causes a personality change to make her do something "for her own good". I don't enjoy this type of "romance" and was especially disappointed after the first 1/2 was so great.

Once vibrant and full of life, Lord Rand Malkin returned from the Napoleonic Wars a hero, and a traumatized man. Unable to walk and seething with anger, his tantrums and rudeness were not improving. So Rand's brother, the duke of Clairmont, hired a new nurse to care for him.

Sylvan Miles had tirelessly worked to heal the men wounded in battle, men who still haunt her dreams. She can remember a more uncomplicated time, when she attended parties, danced and flirted. A time when she first met Rand. They had shared one unforgettable waltz in a Brussels ballroom, before the breath of scandal, combined with her father's cold, domineering rule forced her to flee. Not only will she now have to deal with her feelings for Rand, but also the ghost of the first duke rumored to still roam the halls of Clairmont Court. Soon it becomes apparent there's a very real threat at Clairmont. Together, Sylvan and Rand will need to discover the source of the danger, as well as heal their own emotional scars.

Ms. Dodd has done it again by writing a beautiful, riveting and emotionally charged love story. She has an uncanny knack for combining great romance between well-developed characters, along with humor, believable intrigue, and highly erotic love scenes. Both Rand and Sylvan were quite enjoyable characters, and the spark between them burned throughout the pages. From the beginning when Sylvan walked into the house, and handled Rand's tantrum with humor and consummate skill, I was hooked. I also greatly enjoyed the secondary characters of Aunt Adela and Lady Emmie with their constant bickering, but they could conspire to bring Rand and Sylvan together. The only part I found difficult to read was where Rand said some pretty terrible things to Sylvan, in his misguided effort to protect her by chasing her away. But this is only minor, and certainly does nothing to change my opinion of how wonderful this book is. A definite must read.

I have just finished this book and I can't say enough even if I could find the words. The story is so beautiful, warm and soul searing. I have read almost all of Ms. Dodd's books and each one was my favorite until the next. I thought this was as beautiful as Candle in the Window. As to her closing thanks to the nurses of Vietnam (I include from WWII) I can only add "Amen". Thank you so much for all your truly wonderful stories.

Sylvan Miles had danced with Lord Rand Malkin once, before her reputation was in complete tatters and before Rand was wounded on the battlefield and left confined in a wheelchair. So when Rand's brother, Gavin, convinces her to become Rand's nurse, she is expecting a physically and emotionally broken man. Instead, she finds Rand more than physically fit, and very vocal (and physical - when he breaks windows constantly!) about his displeasure of having her as his nurse. Nevertheless, she is determined to help him in any way she can, even though she thinks she is an abject failure when it comes to nursing, since so many of her patients died.

Lord Rand didn't want a nurse - and he most certainly didn't want Sylvan as his nurse! She had entranced him when he had last seen her, but now his bitterness doesn't allow him to see her as a respectable person, and he is determined to hurt her and chase her away. Sylvan seems to be hardier than he expected, though, and before long he finds himself madly in love with her. But there is something wrong with Clairmont Court - a man is stalking women and attacking them at night - and Rand must discover who this man is before he can settle into happiness with Sylvan.

This book didn't really do much for me. I thought I'd like it because of the summary on the back, but I never clicked with Rand or Sylvan. Rand was a jerk and never really apologized for saying some really hideous things to and about Sylvan, and he just expected her to forgive him because of his injuries or because he thought to protect her from something else. And Sylvan was too weak for my tastes. She might have been strong, once upon a time, but being exposed to the horrors of war, losing her reputation and incurring society's wrath, and being placed near the acidic Rand didn't do anything for her personality except harm it even further. Furthermore, I felt like I was being told about the romance, rather than experiencing it through the eyes of one of the characters. The author's writing style and I never meshed well.

The whole "ghost story whodunit" plot was absurd and disappointing. Not only had I figured it out within a few chapters, but the whole melodramatic scene at the end was just silly. And as for who Gail's father was - geesh, as soon as she was mentioned I figured that out, how ignorant could Sylvan be? There was a lot of promise in this book, but it just didn't work for me.

Others have summed up the good points of this story very well. Sylvan is a strong, independant woman despite those other who say she is weak, I saw no weakness in her character and while the hero does say some horrible things to her, it is understandable. The glimpses of her life as a nurse are disturbing, but make this a more unique and moving story.

Well, I would give this 3 1/2 stars if possible. It starts out very promising and it is worth reading but I think it could have been more romantic and scary. I think more with the ghost would have helped. A little predictable and you could figure out the villian pretty much. Nothing steamy to speak of but I would recommend reading it. I did enjoy it for the most part.

MOVE HEAVEN AND EARTH is a touching love story between a man and woman both scarred by the horrors of the Napoleonic Wars and the Battle of Waterloo. Sylvan Miles was revered by the injured men she tended. However, society looked upon nursing as not suitable for a lady, and Sylvan was a victim of malicious gossip. Rand Malkin was a veteran who came home confined to a wheelchair. His brother Garth recoginzed that Sylvan could help Rand overcome his physical injuries and regain his peace of mind. In return, Garth and his family would provide a safe haven for Sylvan. As time passes, family secrets are revealed, and a restless spirit haunts the ancestral home. Danger lurks in the form of an unknown enemy bent on destroying the Malkin empire. Sylvan and Rand are drawn together not only by love and desire, but also by the bond they share as survivors.

I only give this 2 star because ordanarily I LOVE Christina Dodd books and finish them in one sitting. But I just couldn't bring myself to finish reading this and I did try twice, but it was so disjointed I just couldn't do it. The other reviewers were right, their relationship between Rand and Sylvan was just terrible. Rand has nice moments and then because of his injury he's supposed to be forgiven for being a complete and utter ***. I didn't even make it to a part where he showed any remorse, if there was any. Sylvan had the makings of a strong character, but I just didn't like her. And for that matter I didn't like Rand. Another odd part to swallow was that it was so OK for them to be "together" I've rarely seen anything like it in a historical novel.

There was some mysterry, but a lot of it could be guessed and it just wasn't enough to keep me tuned in. One of the reviewers had it right, rather then experiencing the romance you were told it was a romance, but not well (at all!) and this really is not up to my preconceived Dodd standard.

Just an FYI, this was initially published in 1995 (pre-Dodd bestsellers??) and I haven't checked but I wonder what the reviews are on the original version.

Sorry Christina, I love your books but this one just didn't hit the spot at all. I want to know who the 'ghost' is and does he ever walk again...but I'm afraid I can't suffer through the book to find out. Usually Dodd's book captivate me so that I don't want to put it down. This one, I wanted to get to the end of the chapter just so I could justify putting the bookmark in it. Maybe I'll resume it later...but for now, it's back on the shelf.

I'm pretty sure one of the central requirements for a romance novel is a male hero that is LOVEABLE.
Rand is a petulant, immature little brat. All sympathy is lost for him after his first violent tantrum is described. A grown man that screams and breaks windows just for attention from his loving family is not hot. Not at all.

Sylvan is a strange, contrary character. She believes herself to be a bad nurse because of all the men who died under her care during the war and yet is sure of her ability to help Rand. Why? Her bad dreams and seeing ghosts only adds to the eerie, depressing atmosphere to this book. I could hardly finish it. The mystery is so painfully obvious there is no point in it being part of the plot.

I love historical romances but having read this I won't try another Christina Dodd.
Very dissappointing. If your after a really good historical romance, read Lisa Kleypas. Devil in Winter is the best.