Customer Reviews

The Sun and the Moon

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hugh the Warrior/Cynic and Phillipa, the academic,are worlds apart in their thinking and philosphies, but are thrown together in an effort to thwart the plans of a devious cleric and even more devious queen, Eleanor of Aquitane, to overthrow King Henry.

Hugh and Phillipa join forces to discover the plot against the king and attempt to abort it. Believing that Phillipa has freely given her favors to other men, the plan is for Phillipa to seduce the cleric to obtain the required information; however, Hugh soon discovers that Phillipa is a virgin and thus the intrigue begins. Meanwhile, being thrown together has brought out feelings in the couple that they did not know existed so this is another problem with which they have to deal.

The story held my interest where I reached the point I could not put the book down. I highly recommend this book. Patricia Ryan has done it again.

The characters are introduced and an interesting storyline is set up in Ms. Ryan's usual elegant style. But halfway thru the book, the plot becomes predictable and the secondary characters are unbelievably cartoonish. I kept picturing the villainess as Cruella de Ville! I'm not offended by the more "erotic" romances, but found the S&M scenes here somewhat distasteful/phony? The mystery would have been a good twist except you can see it coming a hundred pages from the end. As usual, the period detail is original and very well done, fitting in seamlessly with the storyline...one of the reasons Patricia Ryan is right up there with Kinsale and Judy Ceuvas on my list. I will continue to collect her books; I just wish they'd gone to spy on a different cast of characters in this one.

While the beginning of the book left me wondering if I should continue (it could have been the mood I was in upon starting this novel), I stuck with it and was not disappointed! I was struck by the strong characters within the story -- I loved both Hugh and Phillipa, and rooted them on as I moved from chapter to chapter.

Despite Hugh's stubbornness, I found him endearing and likable. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to venture into his thoughts about Phillipa, as well as her thoughts about him. I found them both strong, enjoyable characters.

I encourage anyone who enjoys adventure, spying, and romance to read this book. You will not be disappointed.

Being my first Patricia Ryan I was duly impressed by her gift for storytelling....Hugh and Phillipa were people with problems that could have existed and their discovery of love was credible. I found only Phillipa's thwarted sacrifice slightly fantastic, other than that it was an amazing story and a book I would recommend to my friends! Can't wait to read more of Ryan's books!

The Sun and The Moon is the sequel to Silken Threads. Unfortunately though, it's not near as good. It features Hugh, the brother of ST heroine, and Phillipa, the former fiance of ST hero. They embark on an espionage mission to try to uncover possible treachery by Eleanor of Aquitaine against King Henry. Of course, they fall in love during the mission. By the end of the novel while Phillipa is whispering sweet nothings into Hugh's ear, all I could think about is how if it were me, I'd be smacking him upside his head instead!

It's got some interesting tidbits about medieval alchemy, some intrigue, and references to Eleanor's...umm...rather "liberal" romantic court. All in all it wasn't too bad but it wasn't too good either. Doesn't even come close to the brilliance of Silken Threads!

I read this book based on the wonderful Silken Threads, the previous book in the series. While that book was a truly stunning example of historical romance at its finest, this one is less successful. Hugh of Wexford is a believable character with a good deal of potential, but just about every other person populating this book is a caricature, which is a pity. I began by doubting the authenticity of allowing a 12th century maiden to be as well-educated as Phillippa was, and still being allowed to live alone (regardless of her reasons) at age 25. All of the side characters were over the top; in particular Clare, who just came off as an underhanded witch without a lot of brains and an out of control libido. And while I'm not a prude, I found the sexual scenes that involved the characters other than the main couple to be unbelievable and too freely imbued with fetishes. Because I did like the actual romance of Hugh and Phillippa, I give this book 3 stars. But if you're looking for a book as well-done as Silken Threads, this is not it.

Part romance, part spy-mystery story, this book grabs your attention and hold on to the end. While some of the enemies of our hero and heroine seem a little one-dimensional, the main characters themselves are well-drawn and believable. The romantic tension between them works. The historical setting, too, is well done. One note of caution, though: the sex scenes include some mild S&M and although there were plot reasons for this, this book might not be best for younger readers.

This may seem too modern in tone for some -- the characters all speak contemporary English -- but I think of it as them speaking "in translation". So maybe it is medieval lite, with sanitary streets and good service in the pubs, but I enjoyed it anyway. The characters were engaging, the action was fastpaced, and I had a good time with it. I would not compare it to a heavily historically based medieval, but rather to something more in the style of Andre Norton fantasy, where the mud, filth, cruelty and disease of the real middle ages are softened or absent, and the clean, brave, stately and beautiful aspects are emphasized. I wouldn't mind living in this version of the middle ages except they don't have diet coke. Oh, it's very romantic as well. Dress warmly.

While a little slow to begin, this book soon becomes a very enticing, absorbing read which by halfway through is very hard to put down. The characters are intelligent and well-rounded, the storyline is full of clever, unpredictable twists and turns, and there are some truly raunchy and inventive moments indeed, some of the best of them not even involving the main two characters.

The author of this book is a seriously good writer, and her books are almost too good to be in the romance genre.

By the way, I read some parts of this book out to my boyfriend (I think you can guess which parts) and he enjoyed it VERY much indeed, which just goes to show that even those who usually find romance books not to their taste can get enjoyment out of this book.

My only qualm with the storyline was that I kept wondering why, in one scene, when the fuses of the bombs were burning down, someone didn't just throw a bucket of water from the nearby well over them and douse them, instead of taking the action they did. But I guess that wouldn't have made for even nearly as dramatic a plot twist as the one which eventuated.

Overall, this was a very strong effort. Bravo, Ms Ryan, you've written yet another winner!

This is the fourth Patricia Ryan book I've read (Heaven's Fire is the best of the best) and I have loved every one. Ms. Ryan does an amazing job of creating characters you love and weaving suspense and mystery into the story of their love and passion. The Sun and the Moon is no exception. I already liked Hugh from this book's predecessor (Silken Threads) and immediately liked the story's heroine, Phillipa. Granted, she is not a woman of her time - educated, free-minded, and living alone at the age of 25, but I quite liked that about her. She didn't react with horror at every plot twist that offended her feminine sensibilities. Hugh also captured me even more than in Silken Threads. You knew from that story, that Hugh and his sister Joanna had a traumatic childhood, but the revelations of what that was in this story are heartbreaking. Even as Hugh gaurds his heart from the love he feels for Phillipa (which I normally hate) you ache for him and understand why he is the way he is because of the scars from his past.

The intrigue and suspence created by the nature of the plot also injects life into the story. The fact that Hugh and Phillipa are posing as husband and wife in order to spy and ferret out treason is an intriguing setup. I found myself continually guessing at who the queen's agent might be and what exactly was going on with many of the suspicious characters. But without giving anything away, I will say that I did NOT figure it out by the end and was actually surprised.

I would recommend reading Silken Threads before this one, but absolutely don't miss this one! Oh and by the way, the first time Hugh and Phillipa make love is a wonderful sequence. Passionate but tender. One of my favorite love scenes.