Venus [Mass Market Paperback]

Jane Feather (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2003

From the New York Times bestselling Jane Feather, author of To Kiss a Spy and Kissed by Shadows, comes a deliciously sensual tale of intrigue and temptation…

The last thing Lord Nicholas Kincaid expected to see in the gloom of a London tavern was a vision of loveliness. And when she led him to a bedchamber with a come-hither smile, there was no question of resisting—until he realized the lying wench meant to render him senseless so the landlord could rob him blind! That’s how the handsome lord made the acquaintance of Miss Polly Wyat, a ravishing beauty he soon decided would make the perfect spy. Unwittingly, she would infiltrate the inner circle at the king’s court. But when Nicholas sets out to bind Polly with chains of passion, he’ll find himself hard-pressed not to be bewitched…or to fall in love.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An accomplished storyteller...rare and wonderful."
--Daily News of Los Angeles

From the Inside Flap

From the New York Times bestselling Jane Feather, author of To Kiss a Spy and Kissed by Shadows, comes a deliciously sensual tale of intrigue and temptation?

The last thing Lord Nicholas Kincaid expected to see in the gloom of a London tavern was a vision of loveliness. And when she led him to a bedchamber with a come-hither smile, there was no question of resisting?until he realized the lying wench meant to render him senseless so the landlord could rob him blind! That?s how the handsome lord made the acquaintance of Miss Polly Wyat, a ravishing beauty he soon decided would make the perfect spy. Unwittingly, she would infiltrate the inner circle at the king?s court. But when Nicholas sets out to bind Polly with chains of passion, he?ll find himself hard-pressed not to be bewitched?or to fall in love.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (August 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553573691
• ISBN-13: 978-0553573695
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,425,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Re-Publish Alert!, December 2, 2003

By 

LBM "Elbyem" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Venus (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was previously published as "Heart's Folly", in 1988. It IS dated - I throughly agree with the review by Kathleen, above. The heroine is irritating, and way too self-sacrificial. Feather has written much better books, since.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Same stuff, different day, September 5, 2003

By 

K. N. Nelson (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Venus (Mass Market Paperback)

The author has a gift for interesting dialogs appropriate to the time period she is writing of,(despite the alltime most irritating word "mayhaps"in that genre). In this case the setting is in the 1600s in King Charles reign. The aristocrats are powerful and conniving with a mishmash conspiracy plot by Lord Buckingham to control the King and bolster his own ill defined power grab. He is the sleezy villian in the yarn.

The Baron Kincaid is the flummoxed rescuer of another of Feather's trademark inane and very unsympathetic heroines. In this case the damsel in distress is Polly Wyat, a 17 year old of unremarkable birth who is currently serving in a sleezy pub at the mercy of her cruel and abusive uncle. She is a fleabitten, filthy bar maid in search of an escape from her strife filled life and looking for a protector to help her fulfill her dream of becoming a stage actor.

There are so many loose ends in this book that despite a different and potentially interesting plot the end result is confusion. What happens to Lord Kincaid's career after his false imprisonment? What about his grand plans to overthrow Buckingham? What does he do with his new bride and his irascible sister Lady Margaret a puritan of preachy morality who bites the very hand that feeds her? In this story the hero is also dimwitted even though he is an experienced at the art and folly of politics. On many levels this story made no sense as it progressed and proved ultimately frustrating.

But I think most of all, my objections to this book is that this is another one of the dimwit females that the author seems to have in every one of her books. This one is obnoxious in her posturing and cutesy mannerisms to the point of teeth grinding by this reader. If you like this sort of helpless female in embattled situations falling into the arms of a strong man with a big "sword" then this book is for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing..., December 9, 2003

By 

Elizabeth (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Venus (Mass Market Paperback)

The research that must have gone into this book was tremendous, and for that, Ms Feather should be commended. From the blurb, the story had a lot of potential, but for me, it didn't live up to it. I got tired of Polly always backing down when she and Nicholas disagreed. The emotional connection between the two just didn't come across as convincing for me, and I don't feel like I got to know them very well to be able to empathize with them. I got to page 270, but I've had enough.