Customer Reviews

One Perfect Rose (Fallen Angels)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This has to be one of Putney's best books, along with The Rake and Thunder and Roses. Stephen Kenyon, Duke of Ashburton, who was introduced to readers in Shattered Rainbows as the stiff but essentially good-hearted older brother of Michael Kenyon, discovers that he is suffering from a fatal illness, the symptoms of which appear - to the reader - to be consistent with stomach cancer or severe liver damage. He has, he is told, between three and six months to live. Unable to bear the thought of carrying on with his normal life under those circumstances, he packs a small bag, takes his favourite horse and rides off to be by himself until he can at least come to terms with his fate sufficiently well to enable him to set his affairs in order and say goodbye to his family. And by the way, contrary to what one reviewer says, he always intended to arrange his affairs and talk to Michael; he just needed time to accustom himself to his fate.

Counting his remaining time in days, with a countdown from three months - any time he lives beyond that he considers will be a bonus - after about a week he falls in with a company of strolling players. He is immediately attracted to the adopted oldest daughter of the family, Rosalind, already a widow, and it's clear the attraction is mutual. But she doesn't know who `Mr Ashe' really is, and nor does she know that he is dying, and Stephen not only doesn't want her pity but since he is also escaping from himself and his life, he wants for a short time at least to pretend that all is normal.

Until one day she sees him having a bad attack, and the truth comes out, and he makes her an offer of convenience....

Stephen is a magnificent hero, proving that heroes of romantic novels don't always have to be strong and powerful and slaying all dragons in their path. In many ways, in fact, he becomes strongest in spirit when he is weakest in body. Rosalind, the foundling who has no idea of her background, is a strong and caring heroine who loves Stephen and is devastated at the thought of losing him.

The story is lovingly and carefully depicted, with clearly a large amount of research having gone into it. The characters are all three-dimensional, entertaining as well as poignant, and it is good to see some old friends: Rafe and Ian Kinlock, as well as Michael and Catherine. Given the subject-matter, it would have been very easy for this book to slip past pathos into melodrama, but Putney treads that line carefully, providing touches of humour and of the mundane to balance the emotional moments. As such, although there is poignancy throughout, it wasn't until the last fifty pages that I found tears flowing. Incidentally, when reading the book I had completely forgotten the editorial and customer reviews here which made reference to a happy ending: I had got to the point where I really believed Stephen would die. A real tear-jerker!

A fantastic, powerful, memorable book; my only regret is that it is the last of the Fallen Angels series, and so I will not meet any of these characters in subsequent books.

Mary Jo Putney has a gift for storytelling. It is difficult to say what I enjoyed most about this story--the depth and quality of the characterization, the deft plotting, or the well-written prose. Rosalind is refreshingly mature, a realistic character who is both strong and vulnerable. With Stephen, Putney achieves just the right balance of integrity, responsibility, and mischief to charm the reader. I cared about these people, as well as the secondary characters, and simply couldn't put down the book.

One Perfect Rose also gives a moving portrayal of two people facing the inescapable reality of human mortality. Putney achieves an effective blend here of insight, emotion, and philosophy. Too much in one direction and the story could have become melodramatic; too much in the other and it could have lost its heart. It takes a talented writer to make this subject matter work so well--and Putney is that writer.

One Perfect Rose is romance at its best. In fact, it transcends genre. At times I have been asked by people who don't normally read romance to recommend one they might enjoy. This book is always on my list.

Wow, what an incredible story. Stephen, diagnosed with a deadly disease decides to go on a 'holiday' for a while. With a theater group in town, he decides to attend. He meets Rose. They immediately feel a mutual attraction. Knowing that he's dying makes him rethink a relationship. He doesn't feel it would be fair to her. As the days count down, he starts getting sicker and sicker, losing weight, etc. I had to put the book down several times to wipe my eyes. I know this sounds stupid but it's the truth. I didn't realize this is the 4th of the Fallen Angel series. Had I known, I think I would have read them in order. Instead I have to go back and at least read the other three in order. Thunder & Roses, Dancing on the Wind, and Shattered Rainbows are the first three. A Perfect Rose is the 4th. Neverthless, this is a very good read.

a strongly negative review written earlier by someone who appears to review only books she dislikes intensely. I read this book by Mary Jo Putney, an author I admire intensely, with mixed feelings. In the end, I decided that the book was not a keeper for me, although it has some fine moments.

Here's why:

The plot is certainly an old and tried one (rich nobleman disguises his identity and goes travelling around) but with a couple of twists - firstly, that he is not looking for love (as the prince in the fairy tale does), and secondly, that he is apparently terminally ill. It is not surprising that he is estranged from his family; somehow most of MJP's heroes are. Because of the two twists in the basic "fairy tale" plot, I found the plot line rather more interesting. There is also the suspense of wondering if the doctor and his brother will catch up with him, and wondering why the doctor is so desperate to see the duke.

From this point of view, the story worked beautifully. There was just enough intrigue and suspense to make it believable, but not too much that would overwhelm both the romantic element and the development of family relationships. [Many Regency historicals are more suspense/intrigue, with the romantic aspect taking secondary place. I find myself disliking such books for the most part].

Mary Jo Putney is a fine writer, and it shows in the book. I believed in the hero, a terminally ill Duke, and in the reasons why he set off without setting his affairs in order, or notifying his brother. [If you have received a severe shock, and your only brother and sister are not exactly warm in their feelings towards you, sometimes your only thoughts are of escape].

I liked the heroine and her family tremendously. While I did not like the fact that the hero deceived her and her family about his identity, I could accept that as another plot device to keep the story going - although I would have preferred a different version.

I have to say that where I was turned off by the story was where the heroine's past is revealed. No spoilers here, but I felt that the story would have been stronger if the new Duchess had been precisely who we thought her to be. This was what made some of MJP's other novels so strong for me [and what has annoyed me about a couple of her later novels]. Constructing this previous identity for her, and having it revealed oh-so-conveniently made matters too easy. Some of the tension seeped out of the story at this point, in my opinion.

I would have given this story three and a half stars, but that option is not available. The story as it was until the revelation of the heroine's real identity merited a higher ranking. All I can say is that I found the revelation of the facts about the Duke's illness intriguing (and wanted to hear more about it), but the story about the heroine's past rather ho-hum. For a better version of *that* kind of story, I recommend THESE OLD SHADES by Georgette Heyer.

I had never read this author's work before picking up this book. I am delighted to find another author to add to my collection of top-rated works! I know I will be reading more of her books.

The theme and plot for this story are not completely new, because we've all read or seen movies about two lovers who face the death of one of them. What made this unique for me was the time, and the setting: there is a particular helplessness and poignancy in facing a terminal diagnosis when technology isn't there to promise any hope (false or otherwise). The author uses this as an opportunity to explore psychological and spiritual aspects of dealing with one's own - or one's beloved's - mortality. There was a depth of characterization for Stephen and Rosalin that I won't forget, and their dialog and scenes together were so wonderfully natural that I felt like I was looking into someone's window at a real life. Their relationship develops gradually after a fair amount of soul searching, which allows their sexual involvement to flow naturally and with believability - no quick bed hopping here. But it made the story even more enjoyable, and I had some bad moments wondering what would happen to them and how it would end. My only disappointment was that when the end came, it was so swiftly completed; I felt the story "hurried" a little at this point. However, that was not enough to deter me from giving it 5 stars. I plan on both keeping it to re-read in the future, and recommending it to my friends.

This is one of my favorite MJP books. Loved Stephen and Rosalind. Loved the suspence - "will he die"? (I was actually worried about his fate for a while.) And unlike some reviewers, who harped on the "tired old plot point" about his deception, I found it perfectly believable. The man has just found out he is dying. He has spent his entire life doing his duty to others, and it is going to end just when he was beginning to live for himself. OF COURSE he slips the traces. Most people would. He wanted to live for a while. How could he do that, with everyone bowing and scraping to him? As for the reviewers who wanted "conflict". What did they expect? For Stephen to ravish Rosalind, marry her when she becomes pregnant, then decide she is poisoning him, and lock her up, only seeing her now and again to have sex when they are not screaming invectives and accusations at each other? Talk about tired plot points! The hero trusts the heroine? Now, THAT is original! No, the only thing that bugged me is when Rosalind (in a totally unbelievable scene) discovers her roots. I suppose I understand her curiosity about her natural family. But considering the loving care she received from her parents, it really bugged me that she spent so much time ruminating over her past. She has a family that adores her. That is a lot more than most orphans got in those days. Even now, there are people who will never find their biological family. In those days, it would have been next to impossible. Why could she not accept the love of the only family she ever knew? Will there never be a book where the hero/heroine says "My adoptive parents ARE my real parents, I don't need another set"? I know several people who have no interest in searching out their biological families. And WHY, if it was neccessary to the story to have her discover who her parents were, did they have to be nobles? Why does every hero or heroine have to be a blueblood? After all the speeches that Stephen makes to Rosalind and to his rotten sister, Rosalind turns out to be an aristocrat. "Now, I am worthy of him". Hey, Roz, he thought you were worthy of him before. What does that say of her loyalty to her family, that she is ashamed of her background before she finds out she is descended from French aristocracy? Not much. And her reaction to her natural family was disturbing. "She felt a sense of belonging for the first time in her life". What of her parents, who saved her from the streets, adopted her, and showered her with devotion? For all her lip-service to her love for her parents (whom she starts calling by their first names) one gets the feeling that she is willing to jettison them in favor of the new family. The one with the fancy name.

I enjoyed this book. I was expecting something a little more depressing considering Stephen's illness, the male main character. I was very happy that it wasn't depressing at all (I hate depressing books). All the characters are very lovable, except for Stephen's sister. I didn't like her at all. Also, when the truth was finally revealed about Stephen's identity, Rosalind wasn't angry about it for half of the book (they ALWAYS get angry). That was very refreshing. This book was very refreshing in many ways. The only issue I had with the book was very minor. I just didn't believe that Rosalind would really remember that much of her past on her own. She was only 3 or 4 when she was found by her adoptive parents. It just didn't seem all that realistic to me. I'm pretty picky when it comes to realism in books though. That probably wouldn't bother most people.

All in all this was a very good book. It isn't very often that I read a historical romance where the main character believes he has a terminal illness. Also, the way the characters handle certain situations in the book is very refreshing.

I should preface my review by saying that my darling Charlie was facing cancer surgery when we married and died following it-- one month after our wedding day. Asyou can imagine, I had great sympathy for the characters here and was greatly relieved that their romance had a happier outcome.Even though my own story didn't end so well, I never had a moments regret that we decided to spend the time we had together.Ms. Putney did a wonderful job telling a sad story which I'm sure to re-read more than once.

I just reread this book after reading all the fallen angle stories involving Michael Kenyon. I had forgotten how much this book impressed me. I love MJP's treatment of deep issues like death and spirituality. I found that this went well beyond the typical love story to much deeper emotions and I loved it. Keep up the excellent work Mary Jo. Your readers appreciate you!

This was the second Putney book I read (the first was The Rake.. which was awesome!). I discovered Putney two months ago. Since then, I've read all the Fallen Angels series along with others. Her characters are always superb, but among all of them, I fell in love with Reggie Davenport (The Rake), and Stephen. I loved Reggie for his flaws, and Stephen for his perfection. In my pov, Putney took every strength she gave to all the men in the Fallen Angel's series and balanced them perfectly on Stephen's characterization. Rosalind was supposed to be the "perfect rose," but Stephen had his own 'perfection.' And overall, the two of them was just perfect, how they met, how they loved each other...!

I didn't put the book down.. literally. I neither ate, nor slept 'till it was done. I'm an avid reader, but even how I reacted to this book is rare. It wasn't suspense that held me... I just couldn't let go. It was so emotionally gripping, and so intelligently done (that whole Shakespeare stuff, and playing the "Duke" was the best!)

I knew after reading "One Perfect Rose," I had finally met a romance/historical fiction writer who could touch me intellectually as well as emotionally. Putney is amazing and if I had to recommend her to someone based on one book, I would say read "One Perfect Rose." It was this book that made me want to read about Stephen's brother (Michael), and then Michael's Eton friends-- Nikki, Luce, and of course, the stallion, Rafe! ;-)