Customer Reviews

Pride of the Peacock

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The ever-talented Victoria Holt takes what could have been a tired plot device - marriage of convenience with secret desire turning to real love - and gives it new life with hidden family secrets, the search for a fabulous lost - and cursed - priceless opal, and the adventure of the rugged Australian Outback.

Jessica Clavering grows up in her staid, rigid, loveless English family but longs for a life of adventure. She finds it in an arranged marriage with the son of her secret friend and they had off to unimaginable adventure...what more could a reader ask for? This is my favorite Holt novel, and I also recommend "Mistress of Mellyn."

Jessica only realizes how little she knows her "family" when she starts a relationship with the forbidden elderly gentleman that reportedly "stole" her family's estate. They become friends, and he puts her in his will. There is one condition: she must marry his son, Joss. She and Joss agree, but they decide to keep it "in name only". Her now father-in-law dies, and Jessica and Joss travel to their joint estate and opal mine in Australia. Here, Jessica becomes fonder of Joss and wonders if the "in name only" part of their marriage will last. There is only one problem: someone is trying to kill Jessica! Will they succeed?

Not only is this book entertaining to read, but it is also educational. I learned a lot about opals, and I am planning on adding some to my jewelry collection!

This is a great book. It's fascinating, and I couldn't put it down. The story takes place in late 19th century England and Australia. The twist at the end is surprising and reminiscent of Agatha Christie's style. This is a book meant to be read on one of those nasty gray wet days with a cup of hot tea. It keeps you guessing right up to the end, and is definitely a classic.

i loved this book. i have read it over and over again---along with every novel ever written by victoria holt! there is something about victoria holt's style of writing that totally captivates you and you cannot put the book down. you cannot help falling in love with the leading man and really feel as if you're the leading lady. just when you think you know who did what, the story takes another twist and the ending is always not what you think it will be

This is a great book. It's fascinating, and I couldn't put it down. The story takes place in late 19th century England and Australia. The twist at the end is surprising and reminiscent of Agatha Christie's style. This is a book meant to be read on one of those nasty gray wet days with a cup of hot tea. It keeps you guessing right up to the end, and is definitely a classic.

I am a great fan of VH and love the way she writes, but this one wasn't quite up to snuff. The plot was a little thin as well as the romance and suspense. I never really felt any love between the two characters. The opal line is getting a little old for me, but as it's still VH, it's still above average.

This is probably one of Holt's best books. She managed to put wit and humour into the narrative (something she occasionally failed to do in other novels), to create a spirited and likeable heroine and a hero, who, although suitably saturnine, was not as worryingly old, or as disturbingly satanic as some of her others. The recurring theme of opals forms a suitably sinister theme to this classic of the modern Gothic genre. It is a very good read.

The first time I read this book was years ago. I recently re-read it and this time around I was not as impressed with it as the first time. It seems to me that there was very little or no love between the hero and heroine. Even when they revealed their love for each other it did not seem to be "real." The hero had a "huge ego." He was actually quite cruel to his wife. By gifting his ex-lover? with a beautiful opal he really hurt his wife. His explanation that it was because of his pride, did not seem to me to be a valid reason. That part was skimmed over and the heroine just accepted what he did. She needed to have more of a backbone to deal with an egotistical male.

Jessica Clavering has never been understood or loved at the Dower House. Her family, especially her mother, consistently talks about "better days" when they had lived in Oakland Hall, their ancestral home. But after a chance meeting with the new owner of Oakwood Hall, old Ben Madden, Jessica finally feels the love and excitement that was absent in her life for so many years. As she visits Ben in secret she discovers more about her family's dark past, and how The Green Flash, an exquisite and spellbinding opal, influenced her past.

As Ben nears his death he offers Jessica a deal which she can't refuse. She can marry Joss Madden-Ben's proud son and move to Australia or she can live a life of boredom at the Dower House. The choice Jessica makes changes her life forever.

I found The Pride of the Peacock to be a fascinating romantic suspense novel. The romance in this book was sudden and thrilling, and over all spectacular. Holt did a poor job of foreshadowing, and because of this, all the clues she gave through foreshadowing were unclear and frustrating. However, once I got into the book it was hard to put down. I was surprised and delighted by the outcome. I recommend The Pride of the Peacock to girls from seventh to tenth grade. This is a gripping book filled with twists and turns that will take you through a plot so intense, you won't want to put it down.

Jessica and Joss is the first romance novel that I read- where the the bride hating the groom and they grow to love each other as the story goes on. I decided to read it again for the first time in about 12 years. It was not as good as I remembed but still good, I do not like the mystery aspect to the book. I am not big on mysteries. I am giving it a five for being the first book of this type that I read, and it brought back memories for me as a young girl reading this type of book for the first time.