Customer Reviews

Never Again

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I did not think that this was a bad book, just slow. I really enjoyed NEVER BEFORE and I am looking forward to NEVER SAY NEVER, but this one just didn't keep my interest. To tell you the truth, I read about 2/3 of the book then didn't bother finishing it to find out who did it or how Gavin reacted when Raine revealed her true identity.

STORY BRIEF:
Raine is a single American woman living in London in 1876. She is a political cartoonist for a London newspaper. Gavin and Sean are members of Parliament. Sean promised to vote for Gavin's bill but didn't. Gavin is angry and yells at Sean. Raine sees this and draws it for the newspaper. Later that day Sean and his lover Louise are murdered. The newspaper prints articles suggesting Gavin is the murderer. His family, his fiancée, and most of his friends turn against him, and he loses his seat in Parliament. He retreats to a house by the sea, living like a hermit. There he writes a successful mystery novel.

Ten months after the murder, Raine is filled with guilt. She feels her cartoon caused the downfall of a good man. She wants to help him. She rents a cottage near Gavin's house. She claims to be a widow grieving for her husband. Gavin put an ad in the paper to hire a secretary. Raine applies for and gets the job. Gavin decides to write a second novel based on his own scandal with hopes that the authorities will reopen the case and find the murderer. Raine provides encouragement, is a sounding board, and is a great help to him. They begin to fall in love. The problem is that Raine continues lying to Gavin. He doesn't know that she is the cartoonist who contributed to his downfall. He also doesn't know her widowhood is a lie.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I liked the concept, and I was anticipating a rewarding experience of his healing and their relationship growing. But I didn't get that because it was overshadowed by the "main conflict" of her believing she should never be happy and never forgiving herself. She will spend the rest of her life in misery because she won't let herself be with him. This self-pity continued far too long for me. My feelings during most of the book were negative because I knew they would be splitting up due to her lies. After they fell in love, she continued lying to him. He was wonderful, patient, and loving even though he knew she was keeping secrets. He asked her to trust him and tell him, but she wouldn't. So your enjoyment of the story will depend on whether or not you're ok with this type of conflict.

The story about the scandal and the murder was a good mystery and had an interesting ending. Gavin was a good man, high morals (unexpected for an elected member of Parliament), very smart, patient and loving to her. Raine was impressively intelligent about politics, loving, caring, and an excellent cook.

DATA:
Story length: 303 pages. Swearing language: mild, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Total number of sex scene pages: 11. Setting: 1876 to 1879 London and Norfolk area, England. Copyright: 1998. Genre: historical romance.

Never Again is one of the best historical romance novel I've ever read. The characters are so thoroughly taped that you can feel their happiness, pain, and remorse.

Feeling that she has inadvertantly destroyed MP Gavin Sutherland's life with her cartoon depiction of his arguement with another MP in Hyde Park when the other man and his lover are murdered, Raine Montand (Raynard the Fox) sets out for a remote seaside community to help Gavin restore his reputation. Disguised as a widow to a British soldier she applies for his secretary opening.

Disowned, alone, and bitter Gavin Sutherland reluctantly hires Raine Jennings without asking too many questions, yet his close physical proximity to Raine wets his appetite about her past. As she assist him in piecing together his mystery novel he can't help but fall in love with her b/c she offers him encouragement and hope.

Jo-Ann Power makes our heart ache with their emotional conflicts. Raine feels she is unworthy of Gavin b/c she has caused his downfall, therefore must leave when his reputation is restored no matter how much she loves him. Gavin on the other hand is chaffing at the heart b/c Raine will not allow him to say "I love you" so he expresses it with his actions instead. What it all comes down to is when Gavin will learn Raine's identity, will he forgive her, and can she forgive herself?

Jo-Ann Power has written a superb novel in Never Again. The story flows well, and the dialogue is wonderful and touching. From Raine's side-stepping of Gavin's questions to his fustration with her secrets, Ms. Power has written a treat.

Never Again has some ingredients that launch into instant keeper status for me: Irish politics and sensational fiction, all handled expertly and interwoven with a beautiful romance between two people who are so so right for each other. Gavin Sutherland is an ambitious politician who was at the peak of his career when a terrible scandal involving the murder of one of his colleagues and the colleague's mistress, drove him out of office, lost him the support of his family, friends, and fiancé, and sent him into exile. There was never any evidence to convict him, but the damage was done. He's currently holed up in a remote seaside estate, trying to find a way to win back his reputation and his place in the world.

Raine Montand, an American from Baton Rouge living in England with her wealthy relatives, is on a mission. She feels responsible for Gavin's plight, for in her capacity as cartoonist for a London newspaper, she drew a cartoon of Gavin that implicated him the murders and fueled the furor of rumor and speculation about his guilt. So she seeks him out to right the wrong she's done him in an act of salvation - as a kind of Mary Poppins or Nanny McPhee character. She'll help him in whatever way she can, piece his life back together, and, once she's no longer needed, she'll leave. The Mary Poppins thing is just an analogy. She's twisted up with guilt and in no way treats Gavin like a child, but she's just as effective as that grand nanny/angel figure. She is exactly what Gavin needs, for when she comes to him to apply for the position of his secretary under an assumed name, he's feeling very low. His life is basically ruined, and the betrayal of his family hurts the worst. But he manages to be dignified and noble in the midst of all his suffering, but he never wallows or feels sorry for himself, never seems weak or needy. He just needs encouragement whenever he begins to doubt or lose his way, the inspiration, impetus, and motivation to keep fighting.

When he hires Raine as his secretary, she provides all this and more. They become friends almost instantly, though Raine has to walk a fine line in keeping up the pretense of being a widow, deceiving him as to his identity but still trying to be as honest as possible in their relationship. It's a cliché used often enough to describe couples feeling as if they've known each other all their lives, but this author, instead of making this bald claim, shows how instantly and completely Raine and Gavin suit each other as friends, partners, and later as lovers. As part of his plan to clear his name, Raine is writing a novel that will be serialized in the newspaper, a detective/suspense/sensational novel that will mirror the events of the real murders in such a way as to hopefully flush out the real murderer. It's a clever plan, and I love Raine and Gavin's discussions as they work out the plot, characters and goals of this fiction. I also love the many discussions on Irish politics - one of Gavin's main concerns when he was in office and the conflicts of which have something, no one is sure what yet, to do with the murders. Never Again is definitely heavy on dialogue, but it's all intelligent and fascinating, whether Gavin and Raine are getting to know each other, falling in love, working out the puzzles of the case, or brainstorming over Gavin's novel.

Gavin's own personal story is great to follow, his growth, his struggles, his achievements by the end, none of which would have been possible without Raine by his side. But she's far more than just a crutch for him, and has her own baggage and tortured history that calls for healing as well, which is appropriate considering she comes to Gavin with the express purpose of healing him. For all that she saves Gavin, Raine is no saint. She's a refreshingly human character, with flaws, wit, daring, and strength. She and Gavin are true equals, and perfectly matched. Never Again is a great book. It even handles the eventual revelation of Raine's true identity with a sensitivity and deftness that makes that aspect of plot ok - when it could have been a big mess. Go read Never Again. You won't regret it.

To find characters you love, characters who come alive so vividly they remain in your memory forever is a rare joy in fiction but one Jo-Ann Power so expertly gives the reader in Never Again. Subtlely weaving together romance, suspense and history, she draws us into a love story that is both realistic and bigger-than-life. Raine is a woman we all wish to be -- strong, smart and ambitious. When those traits combine to lead her into a hurtful mistake, instead of being just sorry, she fights to make it right. Gavin is a man we all wish we had -- noble, proud, independent. When those traits lead him into seclusion instead of after the one who destroyed his reputation, we ache for him. The tension created when he begins falling in love with the very woman he should hate -- and would if he knew her true identity -- pulls the story taut throughout the development of their extremely sensual, intelligent relationship. I couldn't put it down. I'll Never Say Never <g>, but I can't imagine the third in the trilogy could be better than this, but I certainly intend to find out!

In 1876, debutante Raine Montand is one of the American beauties that have become the toasts of Victorian London. Secretly, Raine is also the political carton satirist whose popularity can actually destroy careers. Her latest buffoon is Gavin Sutherland, a member of Parliament, whose public dispute with Sean O'Malley over an alleged political betrayal shows up in Raine's drawings.

When Sean is found murdered, Raine's cartoon makes people thinks that Gavin killed the man. To make amends, Raine disguises her identity and accepts a job as Gavin's secretary in order to ferret out the truth. As she investigates what led to the killing of O'Malley, Raine falls in love with her employer, who reciprocates her feelings. However, Raine rues what will happen to their future happiness when he learns who she truly is.

The second novel in Jo-Ann Powers authentically-based "Americana Beauties" series, NEVER AGAIN, is a great Victorian romance. The story line is a crisp suspense-laden tale filled with real historical tidbits and personage. Gavin is a great hero, but it is the powerful Raine that makes this book one of the sub-genre's best of the year. Readers will want to re-read the first novel (NEVER BEFORE) as they impatiently await the third tale (NEVER SAY NEVER) in what is one of the classier historical romantic series in years.

Harriet Klausner