Customer Reviews

The Present (Malory Family Series)

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Once again, Johanna Lindsey has managed to capture the magic of the Malory family. A group of reckless daredevils, any reader will love it when brothers James and Anthony clash. Their verbal battles are always a hit. But their battles seem to cease temporarily as the family comes together to hear the story of the Gypsy Malory grandmother. It's a heartwarming tale that proves within the Malory sector, class and rank is of no importance. Anna Malory's gift was a truly special one, especially to Jason and Molly. I highly recommend this read.

The first Johanna Lindsey book that I did not like. I have ready other novels involving the Mallory family, and enjoyed them. This book was confusing. There wasn't much romance. It was like a whose who of the Mallory family. Most folks have family trees about the size of an oak. The Mallory family is like a REDWOOD! And JL explores every damn twig of that Redwood! If you really want a great JL read, try "You Belong to Me", "Angel," or "Love Me Forever".

I thoroughly enjoyed this shorter, sweet novel that renews fans with their favorite family, the Malory's. If you loved the different characters from the various books and want to see a slice of their holiday lives and see how they are "doing"-then I think you'll enjoy this. I also found the story of the romance of Anna and Christopher Malory very sweet and charming-and is a nice lil way to "tie up" loose ends, explaining why some Malory's are a bit adventuresome and gifted, and leading into a much anticipated union for two of the older, beloved characters.

If you are looking for a full length, sensual romance focusing on two main characters, then your looking at the wrong book. But if you want a endearing, uplifting story to read this holiday season I'd recommend this book. It's like having old friends stop by to visit and you'll finish the book with a smile on your face:)

First off, here is the series in sequence: 1. Love Only Once 2. Tender Rebel 3. Gentle Rogue 4. The Magic of You 5. Say You Love Me 6. The Present: The Malory Holiday Novel

I was hesistant in reading this one because the previous book, Say You Love Me (5th novel), was not to my liking... However, since this is the last book (so far) in the series and since I have already bought the book, I made myself read it with open mind. I am happy to say this book was indeed worth my time. The updates of every MALORY was a joy.........Note: I have notice that all books in this Malory series (except for the first one) contains lots of repetitive informations. There were times I had to skip parts wherein a Malory or two will start discussing the story or happenings of the previous books, sorta like a short summarization for those who have not read it. For readers like me who have read the series in sequence, It's kindda useless info. and i won't lose anything to skip it... At first, this style of writing didn't seem to bother me but when I got to the third book of the series, the summarization of the first two books was getting to me. Imagine my restlessness when i was reading the 4th and the 5th book! I skipped more parts then cuz I didn't need to read the summary of the 3-4 previous books which i have already read. Whew! I say it would have been better for Ms. J.L. to leave readers some thrill to pick up each book and read each story for themselves. This 6th novel also had shares of summarizations but it wasn't as bad as the 4th (The Magic of You) and 5th book.

Christopher and Anna's (Malory Grandparents) story was touchy & interesting. It is also different from the usual Malory story considering the time plot and the social structure of Anna. The add on story of Jason & Molly was also quite nice. Though I enjoyed Cristoff and Anna's love story more. There's were far more amusing and endearing. The whole book was a good read. Heart warming! It'll make you realize how important family truly is. No matter what each member's point of views, faults & even scandals, family sticking together can surely make a difference. A family together will survive almost any difficulties. Again, I specially liked every updates of the Malory! ...and I can't wait to read Jeremy's Story and perhaps the Anderson brother's as well.

Where did she go? I'm sorry. I usually find a Johanna Lindsey book an excellent read. I love her Malory novels and continually re-read those I have. There are very few Johanna Lindsey stories I have not enjoyed, and The Present was one that just didn't fit the bill. It didn't read like it was written by Johanna. Did she get kidnapped by gypsies and someone else write this book in her stead?

It's Christmas time and once again the whole Malory clan are gathered at Haverston as per family tradition. And as they start to pour into the parlor, a mysterious present catches everyone's attention, including the baby Malory's. Unmarked and beautifully wrapped, everyone in the family wonders whom the present is for. Unable to contain their curiosity, they soon unwrap the package and were surprised to find out that it is a diary, which tells the love story of their ancestors, Christopher and Anastasia Malory.

As they read the diary, they learn about how those two got together, how Anastasia was a gypsy (although of noble birth), whose beauty so captivated the Marquis that he wanted her the moment he laid eyes on her. I won't waste my time expounding on their story because I would rather share my thoughts on the whole novel.

Although Christopher and Anastasia's story was interesting, I didn't really find it captivating. I can appreciate that the author's main point in telling us their story is to highlight the problems that Jason and Molly are having - the fact that Molly isn't part of the gentry and therefore continually turns down Jason's marriage proposal for fear of bringing more scandal to the family name. Basically, the diary is supposed to open up Molly's eyes and to tell her that once upon a time, a Malory also married a commoner and came to live happily ever after. Sorry but I just didn't buy the whole thing. I mean we're talking about a family who has been laden with scandal for so long that what's another one? And also, if they only told Regina about their love affair ages ago then she would have come up with a brilliant idea already to cover up the whole thing and make sure that Molly is accepted by the ton. As noble as Molly's reasons were, it didn't really endear her to me. Quite the opposite actually, for it left me thinking that she was quite weak in comparison to Amy, Regina and Georgina.

If you haven't read the first five Malory novels (Love Only Once, Tender Rebel, Gentle Rogue, The Magic of You, Say You Love Me), you would still be able to follow up on the story as the relationships of the main characters in those books are recounted in The Present. Now if you have read those books, you would probably share my sentiment in that you will think that half the book is wasted on such repetitions. I mean, how many more times do we need to read about how the hero and heroine came together? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but in comparison to the other Malory novels, I found this one quite dull. I did enjoy catching up with every one of them and it was good to meet the new additions to the family and, as with all Malory novels, it always delights me to read about James and Anthony. And in this book, the confrontation between the two was hilarious. Uncle Tony's in trouble because Georgina heard little Jack swear and she thinks it was all James' fault when in truth Anthony was indirectly responsible. When you read about it you can't help but laugh. Got to love James and Tony!

Overall, this book isn't all that bad, just not as exciting as its predecessors. The Present is my least favorite of the first six Malory books. I'm yet to read A Loving Scoundrel, which features Jeremy, but looking forward to it.

It's the Christmas season at Haverston and the Malorys and their extended family are gathering to bring in the holidays together. In the midst of the usual family squabbles, a beautiful and intriguing package arrives -- but no one seems to know where it came from.

Inside the package is the account of the second Marquis, Christopher Malory, and his half-gypsy, half-Russian wife, Anastasia. As any long-time reader of the Malory series knows, it's often been reputed there was a gypsy in the Malory family past and Ms. Lindsey's _The Present_ is the final confirmation of the rumor.

In my opinion the two plots of this book could have been better handled as two separate books. The first plot, the well-known Malorys meeting for a Christmas reunion, with a bit of romance between Jason and his housekeeper thrown in, would have done well for a book this length. However, the second plot, the story of Christopher and Anastasia, while intriguing, was not quite as fleshed out as I would have liked. I realize _The Present_ was only meant to be a novella and was only intended to hold Malory fans over until the next full installment, but I feel this story would have been better utilized as a full-fledged prequel. With so many things going on, so many characters to deal with and so many plots and sub-plots, there was entirely too much information to be squeezed into such a small book. Many aspects that usually make up a Lindsey book were skimmed over and more often than not left out completely. By the end of the book I felt cheated in many respects.

Don't get me wrong, while _The Present_ is not quite on par with previous books in the series, it was still a pleasant way to spend an evening. I really enjoyed catching up with all of my favorite characters and getting a glimpse into the future with the new generation of Malory children. I just wish I'd had more time with the Malory ancestors.

Until recently this was the last book of the Malory family annals. Thankfully, since the last time I read this amazing series, Ms. Lindsey has extended it to include Jeremy's story (_A Loving Scoundrel_, currently only available in hardback). As a fan of all the characters introduced in these outstanding books, I fervently hope Ms. Lindsey has plans to continue the saga. There are so many characters (namely the Anderson brothers) who would benefit from stories of their own. Until such time as she decides to give us what we all want, though, I will continue to revisit the current Malory books -- I never tire of this amazing family.

This was a most befitting gift to the Malory family readers. "The Present" was like a diary to the readers. It told the story of one of the first Malorys and his love for the beautiful gypsy, Anatasia.

The Malorys are gathered together at Christmas when a gift magically appears. After finally opening the gift, they discover it is actually a family heirloom -- in fact, a priceless heirloom. It's a journal tracing their heritage back to the second Marquis and the gypsy girl.

"The Present" brings the Malory family closer together. It is also during this gathering that old family secrets are uncovered. Jason's love for Molly, the family housekeeper, is revealed, as well as the true parentage of Jason's son, Derek.

"The Present" is truly a good book. I am a Lindsey fan and have read all of her books.

I have all of Johanna Lindsey's books and, while this is a good book, it doesn't rank anywhere near the top of the list. I couldn't put it down, but it seemed to jump around without any introduction to where it was going. Also, it was rather short. I did like the parts about the rest of the family and how it let you know what had happened to them since their own books. This was a good Lindsey book but nowhere near her best.

I read this book in one sitting last night. It's only 192 pages and a lot of that is the ever-lengthening recaps that we Malory fans have to endure as the family gets bigger. Since the last installment (Derek and Kelsey's story), the Malorys have been procreating like mad and are meeting at Haverston for the holidays. The plot in this one revolves around the first Marquis of Haverston and his (gasp!) Gypsy wife. Of course, it's a flashback, but not a bad one, although the story is not well-developed. The story of the first Marquis has its effects on Jason and Molly the Maid, as well as James and Georgianna, who are in the midst of a totally unconvincing spat. I like the Malorys, I really do, but as the family gets bigger and bigger the repeating of the pertinent facts (presumably for those who have never picked up a Malory novel) gets more and more tedious. Read this one because you have to.