The Ninefold Key (Super Historical Romance) [Paperback]

Rebecca Brandewyne (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 443 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon (February 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0263844307
• ISBN-13: 978-0263844306
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Excitement, Adventure, and Awful Prose, October 24, 2005

By 

JTReadingAddict (Springfield, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ninefold Key (Mass Market Paperback)

Unlike the other reviewers, I do not think this book is totally awful. Perhaps the reason they are upset is that this is not a typical historical romance. Instead, it is an old-fashioned Victorian adventure, with multi-layered family secrets, chases through foggy London streets, a delightful dash of the supernatural, and some very memorable charters. Among my favorite ones were Mr. Quimby, Mr. Boniface and Mr. Cavendish, who seemed to come straight out of a Dickens novel. (As for the romantic couple being first cousins, it was common for first cousins to marry in Victorian times. Don't apply 21st century morals to another era.)

Unfortunately, Ms. Brandwyne, who is definitely no Dickens, ruins this promising material in several ways:

1. The use of long, muddled sentences and equally confusing words such as "incogniscible" and "brume". I think she is trying to imitate English novelists like Dickens, but she fails miserably.

2. Long rambling discourses on the streets, layout, and history of London. Rather than adding to the story, these passages distract from it.

3. A tendency to insult the reader by repeating names of places ad nauseum and by describing characters' inner feelings when it is not necessary. Ex. When Malcolm falls into the Thames, we do not need to be told that he is afraid of drowning!

4. Lengthy passages of poorly written dialogue in which the charaters state what has already happened.

5. A series of coincidences and connections between the characters that are outrageously farfetched.

5. An ending that is too quick and poorly conceived. Without revealing too much, let's just say that I wondered why Malcolm and the others had not resorted to such heroic actions earlier in the book.

Ah, Ms. Brandewyne, what could have been!

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't know where to begin..., January 5, 2005

By 

Missy "az_dreamer" (Glendale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ninefold Key (Mass Market Paperback)

This book had so many problems, I don't know where to start. I was looking for something a little different from the Regency novels that seem so popular now, but I didn't enjoy this. It just wasn't any good. The writing was very repetitive, and dialogue was stiff. Ms. Brandewyne would explain something, and on the next page, she would have her character explain the same thing. As stated in another review, the couple don't actually meet for many chapters. Once they do meet, the romance feels tepid, and I don't like the fact that they are first cousins. There are alot of characters; in fact, she has quite a detailed list at the beginning of the book, but it strange how every one of them have some knowledge of the mystery. The way the story unfolds is unbelievable. The main character, Malcom, doesn't learn about this dangerous family secret untill he is almost 30, but then instantly tells 3 people, two of whom are complete strangers to him! With all the explaining going on in this story, we still never get a clear picture of why the enemies of the Ramsey family are doing what they have done...was it simple greed? How did they get one of the "keys"?. Ms. Brandewyne seems to have done alot of research for this book, and would insert the history of many of the locations whether they had any bearing on the story or not. The ending feels very thrown together, as if the author herself got tired of writing it. I like to finish a book once I start it, but this was a struggle.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Insomnia?, July 11, 2006

By 

Xenedra - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ninefold Key (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a voracious reader. However, it took me three weeks to finish this book - because everytime I started reading it, it put me to sleep. Deathly slow plot, constant, annoying repetitions of the same events ... this was unquestionably one of the most disappointing books I've ever read. The characters were not at all engaging, and when something DID happen with the storyline, it was so silly it was impossible to even WANT to believe it. This is the first - and last - book by Ms. Brandewyne for me.