Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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51 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A historial romance that is a keeper, February 25, 2000
In 1811, Massachusetts shipping magnate Alexandra Ward comes to England accompanied by her mother and aunt to close out an agreement with the Burchings Tea Company. However, the English aristocratic owner of the tea company, Lord Sebastian Thorpe, never attends a negotiation session. Instead, his business agent Lyman Jones works out the contract with Alexandra. After completing the deal, Alexandra blackmails Lyman into introducing her to Sebastian. In fact, Alexandra wants to see Sebastian's famous India art collection.Intrigued by the bold American, Sebastian invites Alexandra to attend a ball with him. At the soiree, Countess Exmoor faints when she sees Alexandra, who looks almost like the elderly woman's deceased daughter-in-law Simone. The next day Alexandra meets the countess who explains that Simone, her spouse (Exmoor's son), and their three children died during the French terror of 1789. A portrait of Simone shows how similar Alexandra looks to the ill-fated woman. Other coincidences surface. As Alexandra wonders about her past, an unknown assailant who probably knows the truth, tries to kill her. She feels her life is safe only with Lord Thorpe, but her heart is another matter altogether. A STOLEN HEART is a magnificent Regency novel that demonstrates why Candace Camp is one of the top romance writers of the past few years. The story line is filled with excitement as the dire events of 1789 begin to focus to Alexandra and Sebastian. The lead couple is an exhilarating pair with American self-assuredness meeting English aristocratic superiority. Readers will take pleasure in this sizzling tale and earnestly await publication of the next two stories starring Alexander's siblings. Harriet Klausner
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read Except.., January 26, 2001
As a fan of Candace Camp and because I had read the second book in this series I bought A Stolen Heart and was very anxious to read it. I found it to be a good book even though it started out slow. I enjoyed the characters, especially Alexandra and Lord Sebastian Thorpe. My only complaint with this book is all the situations Alexandra found herself in. I mean first she's kidnapped and taken to a brothel and then at a ballon show someone tries to abduct her and while Lord Thorpe is trying to rescue her they somehow end up in the ballon and are floating away to destinations unknown. And then to top it off are picked up by a highwayman. How many situations like this can one find themselves in? Except for this I thought the book was really fantastic and couldn't put it down until I read the last word. Definitely a keeper!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Only an average read, December 16, 2004
I loved "So Wild a Heart", and on the strength of that book, I bought some other books by Candace Camp. So far, I have not found another book that is as interesting. Certainly it was not this one, even thought I am not unglad that I read it, as it starts off a series, but this book on its own did not pull me in. It was certainly a pleasant read, and even though some other reviewers complained about the extra-ordinary amount of kidnappings I did not find that a terribly impossible scenario - I think it was just the way it was dealt with that made it come across as a little unlikely.
In this book, we have Alexandra, one of Candace Camp's independent and self-possessed heroines, meet Lord Sebastian Thorpe. Alexandra's family owns a shipping company, and she uses business as an excuse to visit Lord Sebastian - as she really wants to see his Indian collection. As is on par for Ms. Camp's heroines, she refuses to be cowed by the haughty and ufriendly Lord Sebastian, and Sebastian responds well to her methods, so that at the end, we have a match.
Maybe it was just me, but I just could never quite warm up to Alexandra, or Sebastian. I never quite found that "spark" in either of them that would make me want to read more about them, nor did I find their characters to get developed in any meaningful way. As a result, I think that for me this book pretty much rested on the plot, which was okay, but not enough to keep me riveted to the page.
I really like Candace Camp's writing style, and there was nothing particularly jarring about this story, but in the end there was nothing to really recommend this book either. A pleasant, but average read, only three stars.
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