Customer Reviews

You Only Love Twice

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THIS BOOK JUMPED OUT AT ME AT THE BOOK STORE SHELF, BUT WAS NOT SURE IF I SHOULD TAKE A CHANCE AND BUY IT, NOT HAVING EVER READ ANYTHING BY THE AUTHOR BEFORE. SO I REVIEW WHAT OTHERS HAD TO SAY. I CAN NOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT MY FIRST BOOK BY HER. I HAVE SINCE COLLECTED ALL HER BOOKS, AND HAVE STARTED READING DANGEROUS TO KISS. I,VE BEEN INTO READING HISTORIAL ROMANCE SINCE THE BEGINING OF THE YEAR AND HAD FALLEN INTO THE USUAL MAINSTREAM PLOTS, NICE TO FIND A GOOD MYSTERY, GOOD PLOT, MIXED WITH A LITTLE BIT OF ESP. LOVED IT, COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN.

This book was forced and filled with too much inconsistency. None of the characters acted or spoke in expected ways, and while a little surprise can be nice, not when it goes on for page after page. I couldn't get a handle on Jessica and Lucas and was never even sure if I liked them. Their great love affair felt unnatural and forced and I wasn't even sure until about 2/3's of the way through the book if Lucas even liked Jessica, much less loved her. And while it was evident that Jessica had at one time loved Lucas, since she couldn't remember it, those feelings couldn't be shared with the reader. Jessica seemed to trust Lucas, yet she believed he was a murderer. That, in itself, is cause for much confusion.

Elizabeth Thornthon never failed to give me the suspense in her books. In this story, the heroine, Jessica Hayward lost her memories and later she worked in a convent under the care of nuns. Enters Lucas Wilde, a man who was from her past, and keep the secret of her life. He was mad as hell to know Jessica was in town. Jessica was dumbfounded naturally, since she couldn't recall her past. She was actually a hoyden, that was not loved by her father and seduced Lucas when she was a school girl. Jessica also have another dark secret that only she was aware of, she can read the mind of a killer. It was maddening for Jessica to hear what her killer's was thinking and the killer knew someone can read his mind when Jessica whispered back to the voice in her head. Jessica eventually marry Lucas as an act that she considered as convinient, as Lucas could protect her. But, she was aware that even her husband could be the killer whose voice keep echoing in her mind.

This story was great and suspenseful. Readers will read from cover to cover as it will be intriguing to know Jessica's secret and her dark past. I can feel the fear that Jessica was feeling clearly since the author described it vivdly. It is a keep for readers who love a suspense novel.

I love this author, but this book just missed the mark for me. It seemed forced and somewhat rough. Perhaps her editor let her down a bit? And the Catholic portion was just not realistic. At that time in English history, Roman Catholics were just not tolerated with a good grace by the aristocracy. And some of the religious jargon was off, like the recitation of the Hail Mary in the beginning. OK, so I'm being picky, I'm sorry. It's just that too much of these reminders (and they were throughout the entire book), that something's disrupting the flow, and it becomes disjointed. For me anyway.

If you like a complex plot then do find a copy of this book. I must say that this is one of those books that you should not start at night as you will find it enormously difficult to put down. There were so many mind-boggling twists and turns. Our heroine Jessica Hayward is first introduced as a postulant, Sister Martha, in a convent. She has been in this convent for three years with no memory of what has transpired in her life before that time, but she has vivid images and a voice she hears in her head. Given the time period, which is not really defined but some years after the battle of Waterloo - approximately 1820's - it would have been hard to imagine someone with ESP and terrifying to a sane person to admit to it. Yet, the images did not terrify her as much as the 'Voice' of a cold-blooded killer who was planning another murder.

A patient in the clinic that the convent runs recognizes Jessica. Along with a couple of nuns, she travels to Hawkshill Manor where she finds a small legacy that has been left to her by the death of her father. The more she questions the more mystery her former life becomes as it appears that no one wants to give her a straight answer. More importantly, the man she was told she was madly in love with, seems to have a distinct disgust and hatred of her. Evidently, the 'Perfect Nun' she had become was not a very nice person in her former life. How had this happened? This is just one of the many mysteries that Jessica had to solve. Even without the memory of her love for Lucas Wilde, now an Earl, her body seemed to recognize him, given the responses whenever he was near.

Wow, is all I can say! This was a superb story that will again keep you on the edge of your seat and up all night. The love interest is probably secondary to the mystery to be solved but I found it to be a most satisfying read all together. Jessica's character is so very well developed and complex you can really feel for her frustration and have an acute awareness that she is a really 'good' person. Lucas' character is complex as well, but he is unraveled more so towards the end of the book. There is a profusion of secondary characters, who are dealt with quite well, along with a few small doses of humor thrown in. There are not a lot of love scenes here, as the mystery takes more of a precedence, but what passages there are, do get quite sensual without being minutely detailed. All in all this is a wonderfully robust and terrific story that I can highly recommend.

READ EDITORIAL REVIEWS...

I am not particularly fond of heavy suspense, action and/or mystery in my romance books. I prefer internal conflicts with lots of heart soaring twists. I prefer goose bumps alerts and heart squeezer twist. However, despite that personal preferences, from time to time, I do give historical-romance-mystery or those kinds of book a try because I've read quite a few in the past that have stirred up my emotions and I have actually enjoyed the overall story. I am happy to say that LOVE ONLY TWICE is one of those few novels.

This is my first novel of Elizabeth Thornton and I am much interested to read more of her works. I like the complexity of the plot. There were many twist... few internal and lots of external ones which were all intriguing. I specially liked the way Ms. Thornton describe and portrayed her characters. Each and every one of them, even those extra-passing-characters were properly executed. Jessica is my favorite overall. Her character was represented beautifully, I think. I read books with heroine who lost their memories but this is the only book that have actually made me ache and feel for the heroine. I understood her confusions. I admire her strength, her courage and her determination. Must be awful not knowing who you are, where you come from and what's enstore for your future. Lucas is likable but not my favorite in this book. He is straight-forward, sexy, loving, honorable and patient. Their love story was alright. Some excitement, some passion and desires, few heart soaring moments and a little laugh here and there... But I couldn't say their's is FULL of love. I think the action-mystery overshadowed a tiny bit of their relationship development or perhaps it's just me and my preferences? The minimal inconsistencies in this book such as their language didn't bother me at all. Yes, I noticed it but it's not overly much as to distract me.

Once again, I didn't think it's fair for me to rate this book less than 4 stars mainly because of my self preferences... Afterall, Love Only Twice is an exciting and an enjoyable read. It really all goes down to a matter of taste and preferences. If you like heavy action-mystery-suspense in your romance reading, then this book if definitely the one for u. For those who are picky and prefer more lovey-dovey scenes... hmmm, I do urge you to try this book anyway, who knows you might like it just as I have or perhaps even more...

This is by far my favorite of Elizabeth Thornton's. My friend had given me two other novels by her, I loved them both so I went out to search for more. She has the best story lines. Romance, intrigue, danger, and original plots. Kudos to Ms. Thornton once again.

This romance captivates you from start to finish. A definite page-turner!!! The characters were definite personalities, developed with great imagination and precision. The story was well structured and the plot was clear and understandable. This was made possible through Ms.Thornton's careful attention to detail. The flow and action of the novel had good sequence with a few added twists and unexpected events occurring along the way. I found myself engrossed with the friendship between Lucas and Jess... due primarily to the convincing nature of his love and concern for her. This book is definitely 5-star material!!!! You'll read it twice and love it both times.

I have been reading regency romances for the past 4 years and lately I'd begun to wonder if they weren't all the same story told a different way. I mean, they fall in love, something stops them from being happy, they overcome all and end happily ever after. I sound bored and truth is, I was. But I found this book again (I read it years ago but kept it on my shelf) and boy am I glad I did. This book was just what I needed. Now, don't get me wrong. It still follows the same basic romance plot, but it's so much more.
It was suspenseful because you never have more information than the heroine does. Since Jess lost her memory and can't remember anyone or anything, it means we are seeing everything as she sees it. The characters and their feelings, the murder mystery, the townspeople; everything is unknown. Her feelings of confusion are our feelings of confusion. So many times you see the ending coming, and even though the murderer wasn't necessarily a shocker, this ending was better than most. I agree that the characters seemed confused about their feelings but the plot and the writing makes that seem normal. Thank you Ms. Thornton for writing a historical romance with suspense and that something different.

Another fabulously penned Elizabeth Thornton novel. I'm a fan of all of her work and must say that this is one of my favorites. Unlike some of the other reviewers who found the characters "inconsistent" I found them complex and interesting. A person is defined by his actions, not the other way around. The readers who did not understand the changeability of the characters didn't understand the circumstances that they found themselves within. Yes, Jessica was in love with Lucas and finds herself both equally drawn to him and terrified by him. She lost her memory-- so of course she still finds herself physically attracted to the man but devoid of the emotions that normally accompany such feelings. She's just confused. It's not odd that she knows that she implicitly trusts him-- she was in love with him before, so obviously he appeals to her in a basic way and always would.

Regarding Lucas, the reader is SUPPOSED to be slightly confused by his hot and cold treatment of Jessica. It's called dramatic irony and is what builds the tension in the plot. When one reviewer suggested reading it twice, they had the right idea. I actually did just that and enjoyed it equally the second time. The reason is that the mystery of Lucas and his feelings and actions (and self-confessed participation in their final parting trist)doesn't fully unfold until the last chapters of the book, so the reader is left wondering exactly how he really does and DID feel toward Jessica just like she wonders. Again-- that's part of the fun. When you do find out, and everything falls into place, then his earlier actions and volatile manner make perfect sense-- you actually find yourself feeling sorry for him as he's had no one to share his pain with or no way to vent his frustrations- the girl lost her memory what can he or she do? Nothing- start over from square one and try not to be hurt by the fact that someone who adored you and hung on your every breath doesn't remember? Poor guy, he's crushed.

Fantastic hero and heroine, both strong characters, not simpering or overbearing, but with the right amount of humor and angst. Very good plot. The mystery portion was not Thornton's best, it fell a little short compared to some of her other works, but lets be honest in romance your reading much more for the character development than mystery. The ESP was also better done in "The Scott and I" or "Bewitching Bride" but it was clearly and simply done here, not overworked or forced, it's also a minor element, played out more like an odd talent here than some sort of sci-fi twist.

Overall, another great page turning read. Just when you think Thornton can't possibly find another unique and interesting way to bring to people together (or keep them apart!) she triumphs again!