Customer Reviews

Well Favored Gentleman

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

For those of you who like a little fantasy and magic thrown in with some VERY hot and sensually stimulating love scenes - then look no further - this has to be the one.

He is Ian Fairchild, darkly handsome and tortured with secrets he does not want revealed. Ian is summoned home to Fionnaway by his dying father that despises him. He is led to believe that once his father dies Fionnaway would be his - just one of the many lies his father Leslie Fairchild (truly a despicable waste of human flesh)tells him.

She is Lady Alanna - the beautiful and mysterious mistriss of Fionnaway who disappeared 4 years prior and waits to come back to reclaim her heritage. Ian desperately wants Fionnaway as well and will use whatever tricks he has to to gain the home that he has never had his entire life.

There is a lot of intrigue, magic, and legends that the story evolves around - it is simply wonderful and you will no doubt not be able put it down once you have started it. I absolutely sobbed BIG tears at the end... Loved it and will definitely read it over again. This had some of the most exquisitely beautiful love scenes - with WORDS - that I have not seen in some time. A rare treat for the hopeless romantic - I was well and truly touched!

This book gives me the chills, I love it! Ian Fairchild, lost and lonely, has magical abilities to look into a person's true emotions and personality. His mother is a selkie. Alanna is the long-lost heir to Fionnaway, back to regain her inheritance. Thus began a cat-and-mouse game to gain control of the land. The sexual tension between these two is absolutely scorching, and believe me, the pages burn. Ian is lovingly detailed by Ms Dodd - he is a lonely man finally finding a place where he belongs, if only he can get Alanna to be his. Alanna is less vividly-drawn, but she is a woman of strong will, if afraid of Ian's searing passion.

Add to this mix a lovely young woman who is Ian's half-sister Wilda and her touching quest for "goodness", a truly evil man, and the magic of the selkies, you get a truly special book.

And the climax is truly breathtaking when Ian finally proves his love for Alanna... I shed a few tears and hugged everyone in my house, even the dog, after reading it.

Closing the book, I shut my eyes and could almost hear the crash of waves...

Oooo weeee. I could not put this book down. It made me burn and yearn. Ian is my fantasy realized on Christina Dodd's pages. He is every woman's dream, and I do mean that literally. When he comes to Alanna in her dreams, wew, hot! hot! hot! The reality of their true lovemaking was even better though. If that was possible. The story was so good too. The characters were deep and believable. I loved everyone, though not all were lovable. I cannot wait to browse Amazon.com for more Christina Dodd novels. This book really lit my fire.

The moment he stepped into Fionnaway Manor, he knew destiny had brought him home. Ian Fairchild, intelligent, darkly handsome, and full of secrets, longs for the home he's never had. Ian's evil father, Leslie, issued a dying request for him to come to the seaside estate. At the same time, he led Ian to believe he would inherit Fionnaway. After Ian's arrival, and a visit from the village witch, Leslie's condition improves. Ian soon discovers he cannot inherit the Scottish estate, because it will belong to Lady Alanna McLeod. She disappeared several years ago, but will soon shed her disguise, and claim the right as mistress of her beloved Fionnaway. Ian is determined to have the estate, which means marriage to Lady Alanna. But she is distrusting of Ian, and his motives. Ian will do whatever it takes to fulfill his dream. But what will Alanna think when she discovers his dark heritage, and the magical powers he possesses?

I am still in awe of this story. In some ways, this book is a departure from everything else I've read by Ms. Dodd. It is unique, sensual, and absolute poetic storytelling perfection. It weaved its magic web around my heart, and I may never recover. The story heavily concerns the myth of the Selkies, who were seals that could assume human form at will. You may be thinking this sounds ludicrous, but it's not. The story is very believable, even though it's full of magic and myth.

Ian and Alanna were both wonderful characters, but Ian was my favorite. I love that he was strong, but still had insecurities. He possessed magic powers, but all he really wanted was to belong, have a home, and be loved. The cast of secondary characters is strong as well, and adds a great deal to the story.

This is the sequel to "A Well Pleasured Lady", which was also excellent, and more typical of Ms. Dodd's usual style. I recommend reading both, but this book is special, and one of my all-time favorites.

This book by Christina Dodd was the first I've read of her, and I have to say I totally loved it. It blends magic, love, delicious sex, and deceit into one. Ian, in this book, had to try to convince Alanna to marry him in order to inherit Fionnaway. He was one character I truly and deeply admired. He was completely honest with Alanna about everything -his motives and feelings. He didn't lie to her in the middle when she was talking about the matter of love. Most of all I admire for surviving the miserable years living with the abuse from his father. Usually I never cry when reading a book, but during some emotional parts of this, tears were just gushing out of my eyes. I'm impressed with the author for moving me that deeply! I felt like I was part of the book and felt the pain they felt. In addition I was captivated by the idea of selkies and their magical soothing powers. After finishing it, I immediately put it in my drawer of books not to trade. That was several months ago and since then I have read it over a couple of time. Especially when I feel like reading something meaningful. I recommend this book for anyone who like fantasy romance books. This book made me go out and comb bookstores for all the Christina Dodd books I could find.

Before I read this novel, I had read a few of Dodd's other work and had absolutely loved her writing. Her unique style, the captivating characters and interesting plot were always distinguishable with a Dodd novel.

However, after reading "A Well Favored Gentleman," I must say that I was thoroughly disappointed. Even though the storyline was original with fantasy included, I found the characters to be aggravating and predictable. Ian Fairchild proved to be the typical tormented male who, in this case, hides behind misconceptions he makes of his mother's abandonment, which in turn, forces him to be skeptical and coldhearted towards women, specifically Alanna. Also, his initial interest in only Alanna's property kind of turned me off as a romance reader.

As for Alanna, well, I personally did not like her character. She didn't mind the fact that she was raped (at least, to the extent that someone who was raped, should). Even though in some instances it's barely tolerant (and I stress the word 'barely') for the hero to rape the heroine (because it's a fiction novel and they end up together anyways), only if the situation is handled correctly--like Clayton and Whitney in McNaught's "Whitney, My Love"--should there ever be a scene such as that. I don't even support rape scenes because it's so wrong (and, um, what's the word...illegal?), but there are very limited exceptions. The way that Alanna handled it seemed unreal right to the core; someone who, at first, tries to fend off Ian's seductive advances, should have been appalled and downright revolted that Ian would do something as low as raping her. She was in a drugged stupor and he took advantage of her; the only reason she allowed it was because she thought she was having a vivid dream. And it's not like Ian had a substantial reason to want to sleep with her; he only wanted to take her virginity so that he could have a claim over her and have a right to Fionnaway Manor, his prized possession.

Whew, let me catch my breath, because I'm just getting started. I also found Wilda's character to be aggravating and unbelievable. Wilda is 29-years-old and she doesn't have the common sense to gather that Alanna is the witch, even when Alanna repeatedly claims she is. And then, when her big 'secret spell' is revealed, the reader finds that all Wilda wanted from the witch was a spell for 'goodness' because she thought she was evil. To be fair, though, Wilda did have the knowledge of what a man and woman do on their wedding night and can sure flirt a lot with Brice and Edwin, but, no, Wilda couldn't put two and two together if she were slapped in the face (which she would run off and cry about and call that person a "meanie").

As for the ending of the novel, well that just completely ruined whatever chance this book had of being considered a mediocre novel. Ian comes back to life? Even an adult romance/fantasy novel should have a better plot than to include a resurrection. And the reasons were totally bizarre and random; Alanna's "tears on [Ian's] face" were what brought Ian back to her. Good endings are one of the most essential parts to a novel and this one was not satisfying in the least.

Yes, I admit, the love scenes were the best part (if it's not one of the best parts of a romance novel then it shouldn't be considered 'romance') and Dodd never fails to write steamy scenes. However, the hero and heroine falling in love is also a vital asset, especially their confession to one another. I didn't have a problem with how they admitted their love for another, but I did with Ian's. It seemed rushed at the end, as if Dodd only had a certain number of pages she could write in, with his realization that he loved Alanna. Although he says that if he were to fall in love, it would be with her, (and yes, he was probably already in love with her to begin with, but didn't realize it) it would still have been nice to have read a section where Ian realizes his love for Alanna.

*wheeze* My fingers are getting tired from writing and I think you, as a reader and critic, are also growing tired of reading this. If you didn't get anything out of this review, I hope that, even though this review was harsh, it is taken seriously and is considered constructive criticism. Yes, yes, the infamous 'constructive criticism.'

After reading "A Well Pleasured Lady," I was skeptical of reading the follow up, "A Well Favored Gentleman." In the first book, Ian, the hero, was not that great of a character. However, he redeems himself nicely in this book, as does Dodd herself.

Lady Alanna has been missing for four years. Her guardian, Leslie Fairchild, forced her to hide among her own people so she could escape his plans to marry her. On the eve of her 21st birthday, Lady Alanna returns to claim her home and heritage.

Ian Fairchild, the son of the guardian Leslie, is looking for a home. He has grown a lot in the seven years since we last saw him in a "Well Pleasured Lady." He still feels the sting of being born on the "other side of the blankets" from his father. Little does Ian know that in finding Lady Alanna and her heritage, he also finds his own.

Ian and Alanna's story is filled with humor and passion. It is very obvious that Ian does not understand that he loves Alanna, and Alanna learns to accept that she needs Ian in her life. The struggle between the two is fun to read. I would definitely recommend this book to others, but still skip the previous book, "A Well Pleasured Lady." You do not need to read that book to understand this one.

This book is very intense on the romance scale. Also, the magical element gave me a break from the usual 17th/18th century plots. The male character is exceptional (Ian) and the relationship seems pretty believable.

A Well Pleasured Lady is part I but I read them out of order and didn't have a problem. As far as "sexy" goes, these two books are the best of Dodd's in my opinion - I have read about 6 of her novels.

This novel was very romantic and fun in many parts... I liked Lady Alanna. I enjoyed reading about her dressing up as the crone and breaking into the manor and sitting on Ian's chest. She's a cute little spunky heroine and I found her to be quite entertaining! Ian is an OK hero- I was never quite convinced he actually fell in love with Alanna however. He seems fairly focused on getting his hands on the property- at any cost. I didn't know how to "read" the rape scene... this guy breaks into this woman's house, who has just somehow drugged herself by accident, and has intercourse with her, then leaves before she wakes up the next day. His claim on her virginity allows him to claim the manor that she owns, of course, and puts him at a competitive level... with several other odd characters who also want the manor. When Alanna wakes up, she's not even sure she was raped because she was so unconscious. Basically, she thinks she had an erotic dream. It was never totally clear if she comprehended that she was, indeed, raped, which maybe accounts for why she didn't really "react" .... I didn't quite follow all that. It was a bit disturbing. It's one thing in romances where the heroine "resists but doesn't resist" and it's gray colored force... but this girl was totally drugged and comatose. A little ick. Besides that, the rest of the novel was fairly cute and entertaining. I enjoyed the competition for Alanna's love and her home... as well as the fairy tale aspect. The Selkie myth isn't an easy one to explain and I think Dodd tried to have fun with a really sweet, mythical legend. It worked well. The novel is camp entertainment- so enjoy this one without too much thought!

In 1800 Scotland, Ian Fairchild desperately seeks a place that he can call home. His first choice is his ancestral birthplace, Fionnaway Manor, an estate owned by Lady Alanna McLeod, a reported witch. Ian decides that the only way he can regain his family estate that his wastrel father lost, is to marry Alanna.

When Ian arrives at the manor, Alanna immediately suspects that he plans to unseat her from the manor even if he has to marry her to do so. As he sets out to master her body and soul, she uses unknown forces to try to frighten him away. Neither expected to fall in love with the other, but their capricious hearts do. However, Alanna doubts that a Fairchild, even one allegedly in love, can actually play fair.

No one brings alive the historical Scotland better than the incomparable Christina Dodd. Her latest historical romance is a thrilling character driven piece, starring two awesome lead protagonists who will be fan favorites. Any skeptic who doubts the existence of witchcraft needs to read A WELL FAVORED GENTLEMAN to know the bewitching story telling power of Ms. Dodd.

Harriet Klausner