Customer Reviews

Never Call It Loving

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

 

 

I liked this book very much, but it took me awhile to warm up to it before coming to that conclusion. I liked the hero's friend, Jamie, better than I did him.

I will tell you why I wasn't fond of Cameron. Cam was a tortured hero, in every sense of the word, so I guess he had a right to feel a little self pity for himself, but I had trouble forgiving some of the things he did, such as refusing to honor his wedding vows on his & Marisa's honeymoon, then seeking out a prostitute the very next afternoon. Another thing that happened, more minor in nature but grating nontheless, was his flirting with the king's whore, Barbara, right in front of Marisa. Barbara was another immature character. Luckily, most of the characters in the book had integrity & redeeming qualities. It took Cam most of the book to grow up, accept responsibilities, embrace his wife, his estranged mother, and all but forgotten daughter.

Now, about Jamie (James) Covington. His scenes were written very poetically. I loved his scenes!!! He fell in love with Marisa's cousin, Brianna, and proposed marriage by a lovely creekside.
Brianna, a wonderful woman, had secrets of her own, and was only in it for a 1 time tryst. After he proposes & she doesn't give him an affirmative, he succumbs to her wishes for lovemaking.
He is gentle, tender, kind, just the kind of man she is looking for. He dresses & declares to God above that she is his wife in everyway. She is teary-eyed, and refuses to believe it. She goes home, ready to pack, but he finds out from Marisa what she plans and they have a much needed talk. He tells Brianna he'd rather have a wife whom he loves that can't produce an heir than a wife he doesn't love who can produce an heir. He proposes again, and this time she accepts, telling Jamie that she will do it on 2 conditions -- that a priest officiate, and that they do it as soon as possible, as she is anxious to get on with their new life together.

But, anyway, back to Cam & Marisa. Marisa was a great woman, and for much of the book, I felt she deserved a better man than Cam, because of the way he treated her, or lack thereof. It takes these two a long time just to get any real dialog going, because Cam doesn't want to be involved with her. He's only her husband because the king ordered it. She feels a sense of duty to the king too, but she is very kind hearted and knows there is room for love to grow, if only Cam will give it a chance.

Later in the book, the disgruntled lover who disfigured Cam puts in an appearance, threatening their safety, but Marisa takes care of her by shoving her out a 4-story upstairs window. But before this happens, Cam had a lot, and I do mean a lot, of growing up to do. He finally comes through in the last 3rd of the book.

Other characters I liked besides Marisa, Jamie, and Brianna, would be Cam's father, Angus; Kendall, Cam's valet; Barbara,
Marisa's grandmother; and, towards the end of the book, Cam's
mother, Alanna.

Despite Cam's immaturity until over 1/2 way through the book, I'd give this book about 4 1/2 stars. He never did admit to using a prostitue right after his nuptuals to Marisa.

NEVER CALL IT LOVING has one good thing going for it - it's set in Restoration England, which no romance written today ever is.

The plot concern is the road to happiness for Cameron, a spy who was terribly scarred in service to Charles II before his restoration to the throne, and Marisa, a young and beautiful heiress whose marriage to Cameron is arranged by King Charles II. Unfortunately I found the character of Marisa to be somewhat empty and dull, for all the author's emphasis on her beauty, generous nature, and willingness to be a wife to the disfigured hero. (I thought the character of Marisa's grandma had more life & spunk.)

The author makes Cameron or "Cam" a Scotsman, for no very good reason, but it gives him an excuse to use the word "dinna" now and again. At the time the story opens, Cam has yet to make peace with his family (his mother rejected him when she saw his wounded face). If his own mother rejected him, Cam thinks, what will his innocent wife do?

I found it completely off-putting that Cam sleeps with a prostitute directly after his wedding to Marisa in order to slake the lust his wife rouses in him - simply because he can't bear to see disgust in Marisa's face if she sees his horrible scars. His wariness about seeing her potential disgust, I understand, but the sex with the prostitute, I don't, and don't like.

After that yucky detour, the novel ambles along in a leisurely way, with predictable villians popping up to cause difficulty now and again, and, eventually, predictable scenes of instant sexual gratification between the hero and heroine - and as a bonus, between the heroine's cousin and the hero's best friend. Any and all loose ends of the plot or in the characters' lives are tidily wrapped up in a nice tension-free package. I found this book very easy to put down and difficult to pick up again - never a good sign. Frankly I don't understand the rave reviews for this book; for me it was a fairly mediocre historical romance.

This book is wonderful. I found myself inside the story, feeling everything as if it was with me. The story is lovely and the characters are very real. He's a tortured soul and she's his salvation. For the one's who love beauty and beast stories, don't miss this one. The ones who like this book, don't miss the book "This is all I want", it's wonderful too...

I've enjoyed Gail's books since I read "Wolf's Embrace" and "Never Call It Loving" was a wonderful emotional story. Love again triumphs over evil, fear and pride. BRAVA!

The story was apparently written as a prequel to Encantadora & All I Ask Of You... and, to some degree, Forsaking All Others (which carries the story of a family friend we meet in All I Ask Of You). This is the story of The Buchanan and Marisa Fitzgerald, who are patriarch\matriarch to Rhyss and Gillie, who we meet in the other 2 stories above. I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. This book and All I Ask were my favorites of the 4 but I would recommend all of them in the above order.

Those who have complained in the past about books that don't have enough h/h 'together' time would like Link, I believe. Her stories focus mainly on what is going on in the hearts of our hero & heroine and their interaction. The plot line relating to the villain du jour is usually rather minimal compared to the time spent developing the love story with all it's drama & frustrations. And there seems always to be a little kinder edge to Link's heroes. Tormented, most definitely, but less roughness towards the lady than I see in some books and less of those unrealistic dramas.

I'm just so pleased I found her work.