Customer Reviews

Thief of Hearts

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

 

 

This was my first book by Patricia and if it wasn't her best book, then I'm WAY behind in my reading! How have I missed this wonderful author? Her story wasn't just the typical love story - this book combined mystery and intrigue from several directions with a surprise ending and blended it all together with a love story that has you laughing or crying one minute and spitting the next. Don't miss it!

Nicholas, Anna's husband of only a few hours, is murdered on the night of their honeymoon, and, as it turns out, was apparently involved in some shady dealings involving Anna's family's ship-building business and illegal transactions with the Confederate Army during America's Civil War (this story taking place in England).

Anna is urged to pretend John Brodie (Nicholas's twin brother, a prisoner awaiting death for a murder he, of course, did not commit) is really her new husband, until Nicholas's murderer is found.

Brodie finds himself beguiled by his twin's bride, but Anna resents his hints that Nicholas was not as perfect as she'd like to believe. Soon, however, the attraction between Anna and Brodie becomes undeniable.

Anna is a likable heroine; smart, kind, and average-looking. Brodie is darkly handsome and very sensual, bitter and hardened, but with a more refined persona lurking within, needing only Anna's feminine touch and loving encouragement to surface. The problem I had with him, however, was that he exuded just a little too much machismo for my taste. There are a couple of attempted seduction scenes that were rather aggressive, and I was left to wonder why Anna didn't clock him!

The sub-plot of the mystery of Nicholas's nefarious dealings is interesting, though not quite up to snuff compared to some of Gaffney's other books.

I really thought I was going to love this one, the 1st 50 or so pages were great, and then the hero tried to rape the heroine, for no other reason I can think of except to show the reader just how attracked Brodie is to Anna. He then suceeded is raping her, it wasn't a forceful rape but she did not want to have sex with him and he forced her to. It was poorly done and seemed to go against everything the author had established for the hero's character.

Sorry but if I were Anna I would have tossed him back in jail, but good. I honestly can't begin to imagine why rape is better than a woman actually following through on her desire for a man. It is much better for a woman brought up to remain a virgin until marriage to have sex before the "I do", than for a man who that woman is suposed to love to be rape her and call it desire. I really wanted to like this one but after a certain point I honestly couldn't finish it.

Thief of Hearts is a story of a recently married woman whose father owns a ship building business. Her husband is murdered on her wedding day and this is how the story begins. The authorities have been investigating him and believe he was selling English ships to the Confederacy. In order to help authorities find the murderer, she must go along with a plot that will convince everyone involved that her husband did not die. To accomplish this, they enlist the aid of the dead husband's brother, who is locked in jail and awaiting death for a crime he claims he did not commit. I loved the plot, admired the heroine since she is intelligent, courageous and motivated. I also liked the fact that the romance is developed not because she is an extremely beautiful woman as in most cases, but because the romance is based on the hero's actions of kindness and caring for the heroine and vice versa.

I've read almost all of Patricia Gaffney's books and find her a wonderful author. So far my favorite by Patricia Gaffney is Sweet Everlasting. Thief of Hearts was a good story, but not my favorite by Patricia Gaffney. I did enjoy reading the story, but Anna and John's story was a little slow and boring at times. This book took me a long time to read, which isn't typical. When Anna's husband Nick is murdered on their wedding night, his twin brother John Brodie steps in to try to find his murderer, and to try to determine if he is behind a plot to sell ships to the Confederate Army. Needless to say, Anna and John fall in love, Anna realizes that Nick only married her for her money, and of course John is accused of murder. I can't say it wasn't a good book, but I was a little bored.

I liked the plot of this story a lot. It was a bit of a slow read and I found myself considering not finishing it but I must admit there were areas of the story line that I wanted to find out about sooooo I had to keep at it. And it did get better.
Actually I loved John Brodie. He was full of fun (p.. and vinegar as mom would say) but I didn't much like the heroine of the piece. She started out so stuffy and boring. She needed someone like John to lighten her up. As one reviewer mentioned John was romantically aggressive BUT I didn't find it offensive because he truly cared about Anna and showed it in many tender ways. If the plot appeals to you than this will be a good read for you.