Customer Reviews

Remembrance

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I've never read any time travel-type books, but this one is really amazing. It's also my first Jude Deveraux, and I'll definitely be looking for more of both this author and this genre. This story is so unique, and so heartwarming, that it's hard to imagine that someone could even make this stuff up... what an imagination!!! It was a little difficult to follow at times, when the time travel switched back and forth... but even though it took me awhile to finish this book... it was well worth it. This isn't the kind of book that you can rush through... each word takes you on a unique and welcome adventure. Jude Deveraux did an amazing job with this book!

I read A Knight in Shining Armor a couple of months ago and it became one of my all-time favorite time-travel stories and one of the most memorable romance novels ever. I laughed, felt the protagonists' frustrations and cried like a baby at the end. The novel is one that pulled my heart strings as I read it. And so, I couldn't wait to give Remembrance a whirl. It is another time-travel romance by Jude Deveraux. Remembrance has some elements that are similar to AKISA, namely the elements that were underdeveloped in the aforementioned novel. Even though I had a hard time getting into this one at first and the ending isn't as good as the one in AKISA, it is nevertheless breathtaking and beautiful and it brought me to tears. Thirty-nine-year-old bestselling romance author Hayden Lane is obsessed with her latest book hero, Jamie Tavistock. She thinks about him twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. She writes about him constantly. The problem is that she has concocted the hero without a plot or heroine to go with said character. Her obsession is so bad that her fiance dumps her. Hayden knows she has a problem and goes to therapists to figure out what's wrong. When all fails, she visits a clairvoyant who tells her that Jamie is her soulmate from a past life, and that said past life has left them both cursed for lifetimes to come. Hayden decides to visit a hypnotist to go back in time and meet the object of her obsession, but something goes wrong and she is left in the body of her former life, an Edwardian English woman named Lady de Grey. There she meets Tavey, the love of her life, and discovers what their problem is, and then she is mistakenly sent to where it all begins, to Elizabethan England. Will she be able to erase the curse that plagues them and change the course of history? Will she be able to meet her soulmate in this lifetime? There are many twists throughout the novel...

The topic of past lives and soulmates is interesting and I wanted to learn more about this storyline that was somewhat underdeveloped in AKISA. In AKISA, I was left wondering *why* Nicholas sensed what Dougless felt and knew when she needed him. It was obvious that they were soulmates, but the overall theme wasn't explored enough in that novel. It was explored here aplenty though. In fact, this novel has a lot of paranormal in it -- from curses to telepathy to hypnotism to spells to time transporting. The plot is quite intricate and it could get confusing if you don't follow well enough. Remembrance uses three different time frames: Elizabethan, Edwardian England and the present time. The heroine visits two of her past lives in order to find answers and solutions to her present problems. The Edwardian part is quite interesting and that is when you meet the hero for the first time. His name is Tavey in the Edwardian time. He is JD's typical brooding alpha male during that stage. However, when the story moves on to the Elizabethan era, you get a clearer picture of who the hero is. As Talis, he is proud, honorable and stubborn, but he is also sweet, loving and loyal. The heroine's personality remains the same in all three parts. She is someone who likes to tell stories and is insecure about her looks and is self-deprecating as a result. The tricky thing is that she is more or less three different characters with three different names. She is Hayden/Catherine/Callasandra and the hero is Tavey/Talis/Tariz. As said earlier, the plot is very complex, much like Green Darkness by Anya Seton, which I read at the same time as this one. The heroine was the least likeable as Hayden. I didn't like the first-person narrative in the beginning. Despite some witty remarks, her constant ranting about being a romance author in the first chapter read like a magazine column. I almost didn't continue reading the novel with that kind of opening chapter. When the novel came around to Talis and Callie (in third person), the chapters centered on their childhood were rather boring. I also found their attachment to each other kind of creepy at first. I almost stopped reading the book again at that point. But I became interested when they are grown. And by the end of their sad, sad story I was not only enthralled I was in tears! The end of Part Two was heartwrenching. I was heartbroken with the protagonists and dismayed with the villains. I hated John and Alida! They were so selfish and vile! The Callie and Talis portion of the story was indeed the highlight of the novel and made everything else in the story fall into place. Remembrance, like AKISA, is a bittersweet love story that will move you to the core. Have a box of Kleenex handy! You'll have to have patience with the story though. I hope that Legend, JD's other time-travel, will be as good as this one and AKISA.

I am still in the process of reading this book the second time. the first time i read it years back i do remember i stayed awake a whole night to read it, just couldn't put it down. That's why i decided to read it again and it's just as good the second time.
The beginning is very slow. it takes you a while to get into the story and you don't get to meet the hero for first 80 pages. But Jude keeps you entertained with her insightful comments about life of a writer( more specifically, life of a romance writer) and her self depreciating humour makes you laugh so many times. it's almost like she is writing about all that she has learned from life and what it feels like to be a writer of romance novels and how other people look upon them especailly critics. She has poured down all her complaints from the litrary world who look down upon a romance novel writer and readers in this book. Being a die hard romance fan i agreed with her completely.
And then the story started about past life trangression. It was so intriguing, i just kept wondering whole time what is keeping them apart in all their past lives...
Talis and callie's story was mindblowing. It was about love, hatred, jealousy, revenge, obssession and that otherworldy connection between 2 children who are 2 bodies but 1 spirit.God at times it gave me goosebumps!
I am still reading their story. I don't remember the end, so i am getting back to reading the book again.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants something more than just a simple romance in their romance novel.

This is probably my favorite Jude Deveraux masterpiece so far. Filled with real and true romance and some of the most touching scenes I've ever read in a book, this one is a sure keeper.
A tale about past lives, true love and lies, jealousy and the determination to keep soulmates apart forever. Tragedy and everlasting love make this one a classic masterpiece to read over and over. A little remenicent of Shakespear's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Bestselling romance author Hayden Lane is completely and utterly obessed with her new hero and she doesn't know why. She is so obessed that she barely notices when her fiance walks out and her friends stop calling.
Determined to find out why she is so obsessed, she goes to a psychic(she is convinced this guy has to be real in some way) who informs her that she has a past life that originates in Edwardian England. She was also a woman named Lady de Grey. The psychic isn't sure which timeline is which since her soul seems to be so dramatic and lost.
Fascinated, Hayden begins researching Lady de Grey extensively, what she leanrs shocks her...apparently she was very, very promiscuous and mysteriously disappeared one night and her ghost is said to haunt her husband's home.
The psychic warns her to investigate no more. But Hayden being curious, does just that and more. She goes to a hypnotist at a friend's dinner party, but the trick goes horribly wrong, instead of remembering her past lives or seeing Lady de Grey, she actually becomes her past body as Lady de Grey!
More turmoil abounds and Hayden is tossed back farther to the beginning of her 'soul's birth', Edwardian times...during King Edward's reign, 1200's.
What she finds is so far from what she's read about Lady de Grey and alot of history in fact that she is determined to change it. But can she? Is the past predetermined? Is the man she finds merely brooding because he is as cruel as he seems to be or has something or someone caused it? Is this her hero from her book?
True love cannot be detroyed, only twisted into something resembling hate. Hayden must open her heart to a love so great it will bring tears to your eyes...

Tracy Talley~@

This is both an intriguing and confounding book. Let me first say that it is hard to put down and when I was away from it, I kept thinking about what I had read. Guess that warrants at least 4 stars. Jude has created an emotional and riveting tale of love and misunderstanding.

It starts out with Jude using her "alter-ego", Hayden Lane, to rant about the publishing business, book reviewers, etc. I loved the fact that Hayden is a modern 38 year old working woman with a great imagination, sense of humor, spunkiness, and some blatant weaknesses. It is nice that not every heroine has to be YOUNG, STUNNING, etc. etc. The past-life concept makes for an unusual plot, not a cookie cutter romance formula. Hayden discovers that the reason she has not found the love of her life is that there were curses in her past lives and she sets on a quest to find out what happened and how she can resolve them.

First she is hypnotized and her "spirit" becomes one with Lady Catherine DeGrey, a 19th century lady. She discovers her soul mate is Adam Tavistock (Mr. DeGrey) who she meets after he dumps a load of manure on her. Hayden realizes there are only more questions in this time period. Catherine and Tavistock are headed for divorce even though they deeply love each other. Now comes the 2nd time Hayden/Catherine is hynotized. This time she lands in the body of a baby girl being born in the 16th century, the era of Queen Elizabeth 1. The majority of the novel takes place in the 16th century, following Callie (Hayden's 16th century recreation) and Talis (past life of Tavistock, her soul mate) as they are born, grow up, fall in love, are forced apart, deceived, etc. etc. This portion of the book is a variation of Romeo and Juliet. The story then returns to the 19th century for a few chapters and finally the last few pages are back to 1994 when it all began.

If this is a confusing summary, just wait until you read the book! The introduction and overlap of the many characters is the reason I could not give this 5 stars. This book spans three sets of characters in three time periods. Several of the characters are interwoven (past-life concept), but it is very difficult to remember who is who. (The title, Remembrance, was definitely not working for me.) It may be easier to follow if you are able to read this book in one sitting as opposed to my on-again/off-again reading style.

All in all, I would recommend this book, but I would have liked Jude to include a cross reference of all the characters and time periods for those like me who are "past life" impaired!

After several attempts, I still haven't read a JD book as enchanting as "A Knight in Shining Armor".

Anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to know for sure that there is someone else in the world completely meant for them can appreciate Jude Deveraux's _Remembrance_.
_Remembrance_ is the story of romance writer Hayden Lane's quest to find her soul mate. In her present life, she is unable to wholly love another man because there is this void and ache for someone else and something more. Her fiancé breaks off their engagement when she becomes obsessed with one of her characters. She doesn't understand her obsession but doesn't want to be rid of it either, so she goes to a psychic to get help. Nora, the psychic, tells her the reason she's obsessed with this make-believe man is because she and her soul mate cursed each other in a past life.
Although this novel is classified as a romance, it could be a science fiction and adventure novel as well. Hayden travels back in time, by way of a hypnotist's spell, to become her former self, Lady de Grey. As Lady de Gray, she travels back again in time to her first life. It is there that she and we, the reader, discover the truth behind Lane's inability to love. The beautiful love that transpires between her first self and true love, Callasandra and Talis, is the primary focus of the novel. It is what made me read the book three times and cry for hours every time I reached the end.
What really caught my attention about this novel is the way the story is written not just from the female perspective. The focus of the story is on the TWO characters: Callie and Talis, not just the heroine and the man she's pursuing, which is typical of modern romances. It seems to me that they pursue each other together. Also, it seems the reader learns everything about Hayden's past lives as she learns about them. It is an experience that reader and writer live through together, which makes the novel all the more touching.
I gave _Remembrance_ five stars because it gives me hope in believing that somewhere, somehow, whether we know it or understand it, there is someone for all of us. I like believing in the impossible; this book more than embraces the impossible, it winks at the unthinkable and then follows it.

I have been wanting to read something by Jude Deveraux for a long time, and while at my library, _Rememberance_ caught my attention. I hadn't heard anything about it, but thought, hey what the heck, and picked it up. As you start reading, you are introduced to Hayden Lane, an unhappy romance writer who is in love with a man she made up for one of her stories but never actually wrote about. She becomes more obsessed with him, and her fiance dumps her. Wanting to find out what is wrong with her, Hayden seeks professional help, but no one can tell her what is wrong. When she seeks out a physcic named Nora, the woman tells Hayden that she is unhappy in this life because of something that happened in her past life. She can never find love because in the Elizabethan age she and her soul mate put curses on each other that would make it so that they would never be happy together, in the life they were living, or in future lives. This intrigues Hayden, and she is soon digging up stuff about a woman, Lady de Grey, whom is said by Nora to be one of her former selves during the early 1900s. During a hypnotising session with her friend Millie's hypnotist, Hayden is whisked back to the time of Lady de Grey and promptly faints because of the unpleasent sensation of a corsett. Lady de Grey is married to her soul mate, but because of the past curses, they hate each other. Hayden sees that she can do nothing to make the two love each other and figures that she will never find love because it is impossible to make the two love each other. She sees an add for a hypnotist and figures that that will be her ticket back to the future. When Hayden tells the hypnotist where she would like to go, she inocently says "the begining" meaning back to her own time, but instead she is taken back to the begining when the soul mate buissness first started with her, the Elizabethan age.

In that age, the story begins of Talis and Callesandra (Hayden). The two are born on the same day in the same hour and somehow their spirits are intertwined. They grow up together, but cannot be sepparated for long or else the two will basically grow weak and die. When they grow up, the two look at each other with a deep deep love. But a long standing hate threatens the two's rare and amazing love. Will Hayden be able to figure out how to undo the curses the two put on each other and will she be able to get back to her own time?

_Rememberance_ is truly an epic novel with twists and turns and three loves in one. The character development of Talis and Callie (the two real main characters) is spectacular. I felt for Callie and thought she was one of the best romantic heroines I've seen in a while. She is not drop dead gorgeous, but she has a mind of her own and tells amazing stories. Talis is absolutely wonderful. He *is* handsom, but thinks himself a shadow compared to Callie and thinks she is the most beautiful thing in the universe. He thinks Callie's stories are the most entertaining things ever told. Their relationship was truly earth shaking. I liked the fact that some of this book didn't end happily ever after, but most of it did. This was one of the few romance books that I actually sobbed in. I cried for about an hour.

This was my first book by Jude Deveraux, and my book pile is growing with her books. Her writing style is fresh and touching. She makes you believe in things that you thought were just hocus pocus. _Rememberance_ has a special place in my heart now, and I will always remember it. The plot is unique, and I hope my soul mate makes an apperance sometime in my life. The only thing I didn't like about it was the end was a little corny but the rest was fabulous. So if you're thinking about reading a Jude Deveraux book, read this. If you remotely like Jude Deveraux, read this. If you like romance, read this. You will not be dissapointed.

This is by far one of the best books I've ever read. The story is about a soon-to-be-middle-aged romance writer (named Hayden) who, while engaged to another, suddenly finds herself completely obsessed with a character she has created. She names his Jamie. Her obsession drives her to isolate herself from everyone, ignore deadlines, and fill her files with thousands of isolated scenes and descriptions surrounding Jamie. Basically, she finds herself in love with him.

To discover the source of this obsession, her search for answers leads her to a psychic who tells her that she is in love with her soul mate of whom she will finally meet three lifetimes from now. The reason for why she can't meet him in this lifetime is because of a curse spoken in one of her past lives.

Impatient as always, Hayden decides to find out more about what happened. Her journey leads her to Elizabethan times where she watches the lives of Talis and Callasandra unfold and end in tragedy (picture Romeo and Juliet). From that experience, Hayden is able to undo the damage inflicted on her past, present and future lives.

The beginning of the story is a bit slow as Hayden rambles on about being a romance writer. The story, however, picks up quickly starting with Hayden's obsession with Jamie.

Remembrance is beautifully written. The pace is just right although you might be frustrated at times such as during the more intense scenes.

I absolutely loved it. I can't say more than that.

This book starts off in a very non-traditional Jude Deveraux style. I almost quit reading it before I got to part 2 of the book. Part 2 is so endearing that it makes up for the slow beginning. I really didn't like Hayden's modern character but the rest of the book made up for it. So if you are used to Jude Deveraux's style, you won't be disappointed in Part 2 of this book, however the first and last part needed some work.

I truly felt this book was mostly the story of Talis and Callie, which could have easily stood on its own as an excellent and moving romance novel. This portion of the book was definitely worth the read. And, obviously, I was fascinated enough with the 'past lives' concept to get to their story in the first place.

But honestly, the end of the book rather spoiled the whole business for me. I felt like Deveraux built this book up very attractively, only to end it with a quick Cliffs Notes version of what it could have been.