Customer Reviews

Temptress (Onyx Novel)

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

 

 

Lady Morwenna of Caleron Castle is presented with a wounded man found outside her keep. He has been so badly beaten that no one recognizes him but he wears a ring bearing the family crest of her old lover. A man named Carrick, shown sketchily through a variety of flashbacks, who abandoned their affair and was later thought guilty of the murders of seven of his own family members. Morwenna is conflicted. If this beaten man is not Carrick then she could be sending an innocent man to face his executioner by notifying Carricks remaining kin. If it is Carrick, she is still conflicted because she believes herself to still be in love with him even though he treated her abominably. The author portrays this woman as a strong lead character and yet she allows Morwenna to be conflicted over a man who was, by all accounts according to flashbacks, a dirtbag? Where is the romance? The unconscious man stays pretty much unconscious or uncommunicative through most of the novel only to wake up have sex with Morwenna and then race off to find himself. Meanwhile, Morwenna spends the rest of her time dithering about what to do and chasing around after the mystery killer,called The Redeemer,who lurks around thinking lascivious thoughts and occasionally murdering expendable characters. In addition to these guys, Ms. Jackson then throws in several new characters at various inexplicable times to keep the reader from guessing the killer's identity. The entire book has an identity crisis. The relationship between the hero and heroine is never developed. They have so few actual interactions that you wonder how they can even know each other much less be in love. In fact, most of the characters are underdevelped due to the fact that there are so many of them haphazardly thrown in whenever the author wrote herself into a corner. It has so many plot twists that nothing ever comes together. In the end I was just saying pick a murderer already, any one will do! The real crime here is that in the end, Ms. Jackson leaves the story open for a sequel focused on Morwenna's sister,Bryanna, conveniently turned into a psychic and future heroine of another convoluted mystery/ romance/paranormal or maybe it will be a cookbook.....

The title of this romantic suspense medieval novel puzzles me, because the heroine is not the temptress type at all, nor is she particularly tempting to read. The romance is missing in this novel, as other readers noted. I was frustrated to see the hero (whose identity is left mysterious until near the end) and the heroine (who mysteriously falls for a man she doesn't even know) not speak to one another until more than halfway through the story. Their story then gets deflected continually as different plot twists and characters take over the main story. Not even the epilogue is satisfying, since the author is more preoccupied about setting up the sequel about her sister., which smells like a marketing ploy than a proper ending to an already lacking romantic novel.

To be fair, the story, after the overwritten and ploddingly slow first half, is suspenseful on the question of who both the hero and murderer is. That mystery is what kept me reading more than the romance per se. Still, the lack of a proper relationship or even consummation between hero and heroine was deflating, disappointing. I am left wondering how and why two people who barely know one another can "love" so conclusively. The prequel Impostress was better, and I certainly hope Enchantress is too.

In this historical romance, a man that was so badly beaten he couldn't be identified is found and brought to Castle Calon. The year is 1289.

Morwenna, Lady of the castle, is afraid the man is Carrick of Wybren because he wears the signet ring of the Wybren family. Carrick broke her heart and stole her virtue three years ago. He also has been accused of starting the fire that killed all seven members of his family a year ago.

Unfortunately, Wybren has no memory of who he is or what happened to him. There is also someone lurking in the halls of the castle who calls himself the Redeemer. He is looking for justice and wants Morwenna as his own.

Jackson brings to vivid life a time and place far in the past. She is a master at creating her reality and taking the reader there. I didn't know who the Redeemer was until he was revealed but several clues had me guessing right up until the end. I would recommend giving them all a try.

Armchair Interviews says: This is the third in her medieval romance series.

If you're looking for a suspense filled historical novel with more twists and turns then you can shake a stick at; as well as historically set against a backdrop of a medieval castle with secret corridors and peepholes; and for that edge of the seat feeling as a madman stalked his prey - then you must find yourself a copy of Jackson's latest historical thriller - TEMPTRESS.

Two years after the Christmas eve fire at Wybren Castle, where the entire family of her faithless lover, Carrick had perished, Lady Morwenna of Calon dreamt once more of the faithless cur that had broken her heart. Perhaps it was an omen of what would soon unfold as the hunters of Castle Calon returned to the keep that day, not with fresh kill, but with a stranger more dead than alive - so brutally beaten and bruised that he was not expected to last the night.

Against the counsel of the captain of her guards, and feeling he posed no threat, Morwenna chose to treat the unidentifiable and comatose stranger with care and compassion. When noticed that the stranger wore a ring with the Wybren crest, there was little doubt in anyone's mind that the stranger was none other than Carrick, the cowardly murderer that had purposely set the fire killing his family, then running off into the night.

While Morwenna knew her duty lay in notifying the present Lord of Wyfren that she held the alledged murderer in her keep, she still had her doubts that he was indeed Carrick. It was one thing knowing Carrick for the cheat and liar rumored to have lain with his own brother's wife, and she had no qualms of hating him after he'd taken her innocence, left her with child and never returned. Yet, she still couldn't quite believe him evil enough to cold-bloodedly murder his family. Most importantly, why was she so drawn to the stranger - how could she still have feelings for a man who had so betrayed her? As, the true murderer stalked the secret passageways of the castle, with more bodies turning up gruesomely slain, it would be a race against time as he plotted to strike again with Morwenna as his ultimate prize.

--- This was a fabulous read showcasing Jackson's impressive trademark suspense and mystery writing skills. Coupling the suspense with a medieval flavor for lovers of historical romance gives them a double treat. Along with the well-written prose, vivid characterizations of a plethora of secondary characters, including so many red-herrings tossed into the fray will keep the reader on the edge of their seat right up to the very end! While the author does a superb job of creating sultry and very hot sensual scenes, they seemed to come in secondary to the mystery and suspense aspects, which were fabulous. Fans of Lisa Jackson, be they suspense or historical romance lovers, are sure to enjoy this latest novel and I personally hope she continues this fascinating and engaging saga. (...)

I had to come to amazom.com to see what everybody else said because every chapter re-iterated what the previous chapter said, he could be friend or foe, murderer or wrongly accused. I got fed up and wrote this review in the middle of page 83. I skipped ahead two chapters and more of the same. Hardly any dialogue between them and no real assurance of his identity. This isn't the last Lisa Jackson novel I'll read but I have read much better. Temptress...I don't think so.

Trying to listen to it on Recorded Books!
After giving up on the recording, I decided to check out the book from the library, so I could SKIP the endless speculation and inane attempts to build suspense to actual story movement! Even THAT was unsatisfactory, so I came to Amazon to see what other readers found. What a relief to find the same reactions. Ditto to all the other criticisms. I've found the only fairly helpful way to read it, is to skip everything but the wounded man's point of view. AFter I write this review, I will retreat with my coffee and skim through to the end. Very disappointed.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Very exciting and lots of action.

The author has a way with words that keep you interested in the story. Plus she has knowledge and done research to make the story real.

A man is found, beaten to a bloody pulp, outside Morwenna's castle, and the only thing identifying him is a ring on his finger suggesting he might be Carrick of Wybren, who loved and left Morwenna for his sister-in-law, and reputedly set fire to Wybren, killing his entire family.

While he's in the castle, unconscious, someone's creeping around hidden passageways spying on the inhabitants, and someone (else?) has started a grisly series of murders.

There are a lot of twists and turns, and so many people who might be the killer.

My only quibble was that the romance itself wasn't all that fleshed out, but the rest of the story was so good, I didn't really care.

I felt as if I were a part of the story. Jackson kept me into the book by just giving you the facts, not the answers; therefore it makes you want to read more to find the answers. She hit all targets for me; she makes you feel related to the characters male or female by giving you a great level of intimacy and suspense. If you like the medieval era, this is a wonderful adult book. I recommended it to everyone I knew. I wish Jackson would come out with a sequel.
Also, a major plus is it is easy to put down (I didn't want to, but sometimes you have to), and pick up agian... EASY READING! For those of us whom are in a time crunch.