Customer Reviews

Prince Of Swords

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

 

 

First off, this is an historical romance - and I usually hate them. But this one, I liked.

The characters are varied... there's the Austenian whining mother in the background, the decorative sister who, in a more poorly written book, would be nothing but fluff. In this case, though, she's clever, aware, and strong - much stronger than the heroine thinks.

The hero is a jaded fellow - rich and bored and trying to hold on to his moral compass. All he needs to revive him is, of course, the heroine. Oh, and there's a terribly black character who, in the interest of being different, is NOT the criminal (thief) of the story.

In all, I enjoyed this book. I would have enjoyed it much more were it not for the sex. I felt that there was no way a heroine of this calibre would just fall into bed, onto the floor, whatever, with the first dude that ever kissed her. She had too much riding on her to let him... stopping that analogy now. But at any rate, I would have found more chaste passion much more believable.

(*)>

Ms. Stuart's stories are always different. A young Taro card reader with a special gift is a new concept. The poor bored Alistair, Earl of Glenshiel wasn't too different except he spent his time robbing the rich instead of in the gaming hells of London. Rather a bored rich version of Robin Hood or a modern second story man, that she referred to as a "cat burglar". He even returned stolen pearls after discovering they were given to the very rich young lady by her Mother and meant a lot to her. He is the first main character I have read about that didn't give a tinker's dam about anything or anyone, totally cold and heartless until he meets Jessamine. The finalé is worth reading the book. Ms. Stuart is an excellent writer and I enjoyed her "Author's Note" at the end of the book as much as the book itself.

An elegant game of cat and mouse set in Victorian England, Anne Stuart delivers a story that is sure to please. Alastair MacAlpin is one of the privileged aristocrats. He is also the notorious thief known as The Cat. Jessamine Maitland was once part of the elite, but now she does tarot card readings to keep her family solvent. Jessamine's special talent of 'seeing' is a threat to Alastair, but then so is his attraction to her.

No one can create a blackhearted bad boy, with nothing to give to the world, better than Stuart. She is the Queen!! And this is Anne Stuart at her best!

She create characters that grab your heart, stories that enchant and mesmerise you, and makes you sorry to put down!!!

I rarely ever read a book of fiction twice, even if I loved it the first time. I had picked this up in preparation for a snowstorm, without realizing I had read it a couple of years ago. About three pages into it, I rememberred having read it, but found it entertaining enough to finish it again. It was very well written, a very tangled web, and it is hard to discern exactly how it will turn out. Tough, but not unfeminine, female characters, and all the characters were very well defined. I did dislike the forceful seduction scenes, however. But, I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

This is a book that I've read twice,and the second reading was better than the first. Both lead characters have darkness in their pasts. The sensuality simmers, and there's even a touch of humor. Anne Stuart writes books that keep you mesmerized.

I think I'm more disturbed by the fact that I wasn't disturbed by this book. Anne Stuart is known for her special brand of anti-hero - unrepentant, blissfully amoral, borderline psychotic men who are laws unto themselves. I embraced the appeal of this kind of hero in Lord of Danger, was repelled by A Rose at Midnight, and just kind of indifferent to my most recent encounter with Prince of Swords. Maybe it was because I had read about how despicable Alistair McAlphin, the Earl of Glenshiel is, had braced myself for murder, rape, and mayhem, only to be nonplussed when I didn't find any. Not that I wanted there to be murder, rape, and mayhem. But I was expecting to be shocked - a contradiction in terms that is sure to defeat itself and so, unsurprisingly, I wasn't that shocked. Sure Alistair is a bad boy. He suffers from extreme ennui. His cure: defying death, the law, and common decency by taking to the rooftops of London at night and making a name for himself as the Cat, a notorious jewel thief. He also indulges in the usual gambling, drinking, and whoring. But even these vices have started to lose their charm as our story begins. Alistair is dangerous enough as it is. A bored Alistair is distinctly forbidding, because who knows what naughty, evil deeds he'll come up with to distract himself from his jaded existence? He finds distraction enough in the person of Jessamine Maitland, an impoverished noblewoman trying to support her mother and sister by telling fortunes at house parties. As soon as he sets eyes on her, Alistair determines to seduce, toy with, and generally destroy the life and sanity of the unfortunate Jessamine. She really doesn't stand a chance.

Jessamine isn't a wilting violet though, thank goodness, and she does put up a good fight. She's particularly adamant about protecting her chastity because she really can read the tarot cards, and, if she loses her virginity, she'll lose her gift. Added to which Alistair might as well have a big danger sign on his forehead.

I wasn't so disturbed by Alistair's pursuit of Jessamine, not like I was with the hero's pursuit of the heroine in A Rose at Midnight. There's just something about Nicholas that really turned me off. *cough* rape *cough* Alistair, on the other hand, I found to be more sympathetic. Not that he's got a bleeding heart hidden under his cold, sardonic exterior, or any soft spots to speak of. Rather it's more the nature of his double life that I found interesting, his pure effrontery and disregard for anyone but himself. He's not particularly romantic (read: not romantic at all), but he certainly is sexy. He's trouble with a capital T, but the kind of trouble that can be a lot of fun.

Sadly, for Jessamine, there's not much fun in the kind of trouble that Alistair stirs up for her. It's after he gets what he wants in terms of seducing Jessamine that I guess I started to have reservations about his character - no, not after he shoots at her (just a warning shot though - can you believe that's supposed to be a consolation?) abducts her, ruins her reputation, and forces her into a life of crime. It was after she gave into him, after she starts having feelings for him, and he discards her (like he's promised to do all along) that I wonder how the happily ever after is going to be wrangled out of this twisted situation. Jessamine keeps coming back to him after that, poor girl, trying to save him from himself and the law, and each time she's asking for her heart to be broken all over again. And it is. How couldn't it be, when the man finds out he loves her, and so perversely tries to destroy any feeling she has for him, and any he has for her? I'd be happier if the book had been a bit longer, if I could have had a bit more insight into Alistair's mind beyond his cynicism and dissatisfaction with his life. We are left to assume that he's dissatisfied and bored because he doesn't have Jessamine in his life, that she's the only thing that can spark his interest, and all it will take is her love to bring him back to life. She certainly sparks feelings of a more carnal nature in him, but unfortunately I'm always left assuming with regards to his feelings for her. Romance takes the form of a hasty, perfunctory declaration of love on his part at the end. I have no problem with his repentance lack thereof, but I think the main problem is it never seems as if Alistair is ever shaken out of his boredom, not by love or anything else. As it stands, I kind of feel sorry for Jessamine when I finish the book. But still, I somehow enjoyed Prince of Swords. I wasn't appalled by it. I wasn't particularly moved by its romance. But the adventures of the Cat are exciting and suspenseful. Alistair is a fascinating, disturbing character who offers danger and thrills in spades. And I love a good bad boy.

After Stuart's thoroughly entertaining contemporary romance/suspense INTO THE FIRE (****), I was a bit disappointed by PRINCE OF SWORDS which takes place during regency England. This novel's hero Alistair MacAlpin, the sixth Earl of Glenshiel, demonstrates Anne Stuart's unparalleled knack for bad boys with a very dark edge. These aren't just pining good guys masquerading as garden-variety rakes, these really are bad boys and some of the things they think, say and do will put most romance-hero rakes to shame. Although Alistair's tortured-soul, bad-boy rake routine seemed a lot more convincing than most rake characterizations from romance books, Alistair's overwhelming state of ennui percolated my reading experience and I was actually bored by his boredom. Although I liked Alistair's dearth of morals and soulless characterization, I found myself bored by his womanizing ways, common flavor of tall, dark and handsome, wealth, title and his insouciant attitude towards life like a dilettante. Alistair just seemed like a spoiled 32 year-old baby, mad at society for exploiting his older brother's predilection to drinking and gaming. Although both are bad boys, Alistair lacked the intensity we find in INTO THE FIRE's Dillon. The prose here is better than most historical romances, the settings are above average, while the plotting/pacing below average to average. The plotting and pacing suffered from an overabundance of introspection/banter, switching to a secondary pairing (Robert Brennan and Jessamine's sister Fleur), a decided absence of any engaging events, and an anticlimactic finale. Fueled by Alistair's ennui, the characterizations seemed mostly bland and formulaic. I grew tired of Jessamine's insecurity mocking her lack of beauty both in her words and thoughts. I actually liked Robert Brennan and Fleur better than the main characters (Alistair and Jessamine).

The book obviously belongs to its bad boy Alistair MacAlpin and how he makes everyone else dance to his tune. Most chick-lit postures goody boys who undeservedly suffer a lot to be with their "feisty" (translation, bitchy) heroines. Anne Stuart however really puts her heroine through hell to save her bad boy's soul or to be with her hero. Alistair mercilessly exploits, abuses and discards Jessamine, and yet Jessamine continues to love him returning to him time and time again. Alistair obviously doesn't deserve Jessamine and he'll be first to tell you that, but somehow Jessamine strives to rescue his soul anyway. Most chick-lit has their heroes taking the first step in love, taking the first chance, fighting for their heroines and continuing to sacrifice at every turn thereafter. Not Anne Stuart. Her heroines are gluttons for punishment and it seems both Jessamine and Fleur here take gargantuan leaps of faith driven by their love for Alistair and Robert, respectively. In spite of it all, it was refreshing to see heroines fighting to be with their heroes for a change in historical romance.

Many elements of the plotting failed to engage while the pacing sagged. I found it too convenient for Alistair to learn of all the relevant characters and connections involved in the story at the outset via the eccentric Nicodemus Bottom. Alistair knows of Jessamine's connection with the iniquitous Bow Street runner Josiah Clegg which places Jessamine at a disadvantage with Alistair throughout. Alistair accurately views the other Bow Street runner Robert Brennan a scrupulous man. Alistair knows of Brennan's attraction to Jessamine's sister Fleur and uses that later at the party to occupy Brennan. Even though the book characterizes Brennan as a clever, strong man, Brennan was always a step behind. Even at the very end, Brennan falls for the same trick twice (Alistair diverts his attention elsewhere) and he just appears impotent overall. The alternating passages between Fleur and Jessamine before the love scene crippled the pacing. Interminable musings without anything happening grates my soul and these passages specialized in such musings. The party at Blaine Manor was pointless and Alistair taking Jessamine on a pilfering "adventure" seemed less of an adventure than an excursion on repetitious introspection and banter.

I found the ending featuring one final heist involving the crown jewels very rushed and anticlimactic. Despite Jessamine's love and devotion, it takes a lot for Alistair to finally come to grips with his love for her. But such are Anne Stuart's bad boys, they don't make it easy.

Another wonderful dark romance, hard to put down, great characters!

I only discovered Anne Stuart a little while ago and can't believe I didn't know about her before. Lucky me, as I have a small stack of her books to keep me satisfied ... at least until I get to the end of my pile, when I surely will have withdrawals! I have now read a few of her historical books and am writing this review simply because I wanted to express how much I enjoyed this book and how her books have brought me so much pleasure.

When I read what this book was about, being a little unusual with a taro reading heroine and a cat burglar hero, I was a little unsure how much I would enjoy it. After having already read A Rose at Midnight, Devil's Walz, To Love a Dark Lord, Lord of Danger (another very strange premised book!) et cetera, I figured this author has never let me down so far, and having loved each and every one of Anne Stuart's books, I felt sure that it would be well written and draw me in anyway.

Well, I was right to keep the faith as I really loved it! I'm not going to go through the story of the book, as other reviewers have already done that, so this is purely my thoughts on how much I enjoyed this book. As usual, it has a really alpha, dark hero and a strong-willed, smart heroine (I never like weak heroines), and the story took off right from the first page and kept my interest through to the very last page. I love the way this author paints her H/H so far into a corner that I just can't imagine how she's going to bring about a happy ending, but she always does, and this book is no exception. As always the hero's actions push the heroine to the limit and, again, I wondered how it could possibly have a happy ending, but it did! When reading Anne Stuart books, after I get into the story, I always have to stop myself from flicking to the end just to reassure myself that in fact it will end well! I love that Anne Stuart's heros never soften or change or go weak during or at the end of her books ~ they stay bad, but they certainly do love their heroines in the end ~ and when they fall, they fall hard! So satisfying! I think those are some of the reasons I love Anne Stuart's books so much.

I've given it five stars, as I couldn't put it down, it moved me, it scared me (as to how it could all come good in the end) and I couldn't help my stupid smile and happy, satisfied sigh at the end. It made me race for my next Anne Stuart novel, wondering what dark devil she's going to unleash on us next! I always get to the end of an Anne Stuart novel and think, well, that was the best yet, and in this case, I felt exactly the same way, I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it highly.

I hear she's writing an historical trilogy due out 2010 ... I'll be finished all her books well and truly by then and will be breathlessly awaiting these new ones ... can't wait!

I just love Anne Stuart's books, and after having read a few of them, this one is my favorite! It was fun and wonderful and the characters become a part of you. I recommend this book to any romance adventure fan.