Customer Reviews

Whispers on the Wind

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nothing against the plot itself, but an author who wants to write historical fiction should actually learn about the time in question.
There are social and legal realities common to a given historical period, as well as mannerisms and patterns of speech.
In 1800 there would not be a woman named billie, she would not inherit nor own any property in her own name - certainly not property belonging to a titled family, she would not go running across the globe unaccompanied, she would not talk about being glad she packed certain dresses when in fact she just spent probably months on a boat to get to a new country and could not possibly just pop back home to pick up whatever she forgot, she would not have 'tons' of questions, there would not be a village lady who proudly proclaims that her occupation is 'busybodying', etc etc etc.
The lack of verisimiltude was highly annoying.

This is a fantastic read, one which kept me turning pages long after bedtime. Ms. Fletcher's ability to tell a story, a love story, is fantastic. It is sweet and sexy, and so is the hero. As a fellow romance writer, I admired Ms. Fletcher's characterizations-the characters leaped from the pages. Even minor characters were well-rounded. The dual love-story/ghostly attraction was funny, sexy, sad, and frustrating; all the emotions the characters felt. I clapped my hands when the heroine finally figures out part of the great mystery-I won't ruin it for you! You must read this book

Great story! Loved all the characters and thought the love triangle between Max, Belinda (aka Billie) and John was clever and well written. I get tired of weak, simpering heroines, or heroines who act strongly, but in actuality, don't think their actions through, resulting in the infamous TSTL label. You won't find that in this story.

Billie is a young woman from America who arrives in Cornwall, England in the early 1800s to claim an inheritance of a manor that she received through her stepfather. The descriptions of the people she encounters both at the village and the manor are wonderful and I got a real sense of atmosphere. A mystery surrounds the manor and the cause of the deaths of two of the previous lords--Maximillian Radborne, and his father, Oran Radborne.

Maximillian (Max) Radborne was the previous lord of the manor, whose ghost is purported to haunt it. Billie's eventual meeting and interactions with him clearly show the chemistry developing and their banter is entertaining.

John Bosworth is the vicar in the village near the manor. Even though Billie has been feeling attracted to Max, she eventually becomes drawn to the gentle, even-tempered vicar.

While some novels would paint the rivalry between John and Max as a good versus evil thing, I was pleasantly surprised to see how Ms. Fletcher described Billie's feelings developing toward both John and Max. John has a real, calming influence on Billie, and she comes to care for and love him. Max brings out passions in her that she acknowledges as being an integral part of her personality. There was no running from or denying feelings in this novel. And I especially liked how Ms. Fletcher didn't use the tired stupid misunderstanding plotline.

Add ghosts to the mix and the mystery of what went on in the caves beneath the manor, and you have yourself a wonderfully satisfying story! I'm eagerly going to look into Donna Fletcher's backlist.

The Kindle price of $0.99 was a steal. Puts other, more expensive and less interesting novels to shame.

The only complaint I have--and this is not the author's fault--is the same problem I have with all Kindle books. EDITING!!! Although this one wasn't nearly as bad as some other books I have read, sometimes it really jarred me out of the story: misplaced words, misspellings, improperly placed punctuation. I'm not sure how this issue should be addressed, but wanted to mention it for the benefit of Amazon and potential readers.

Anyhow, wonderful story and romance! A definite keeper for me.

This book held my interest for a little bit as I hoped it would be a good mystery and a romantic, spiritual story with the ghosts. Unfortunately it was a silly romance with more detail on what the two leads wear than on the wreckings that have taken place. The characters are all OK but there really isn't any reason for the entire ghost story as their plan is really bad and unnecessary. Spoiler: The one ghost could have figured out who was behind his own murder without the elaborate ruse they go through. The lead female character was supposed to be so intelligent when she couldn't see the truth right in front of her face for quite some time and needed help to see it. A very disappointing ending to the story did not help matters.

I wanted to like and enjoy this book, but I couldn't. It's not a bad romantic mystery. In fact, the author does a fine job devising a twisted plot line. Her descriptive passages were well-written. Overall, the concept was imaginative and quite charming.

What left me wanting were the 2 main characters. Billie seemed so immature to me....okay, she's young, I know, so I will just say that I felt too old to read this with belief and interest. Her thought processes seemed a bit off, even though we're told throughout by other characters how smart she is. Then there's Max, the stereotypical Lord of the Manor. We're told he's a rake, and so the inital attraction is lustily physical. How quickly he falls for Bille, becoming enthralled and swearing undying love. It felt 2-dimensional to me.

I would have rated it lower, but for the points in my first paragraph. I'm sorry I didn't enjoy it more. Perhaps I'm just looking for more complex, adult situations whch include romance. This book didn't meet those needs.

I'm not sure how many stars I wanted to give it. 3 or 5, so I settled for 4. And the only reason for that is because I did enjoy the book.

When I first started to read the book, it reminded me so much of the 60's comedy show The Ghost & Mrs Muir with Hope Lange & Edward Mulhare. I could not believe the auther was stealing from a comedy show.But as I got deeper into it ( and still thought it was much like the tv show),I started to enjoy the charcters as well as the plot. The mystery and suspence is well laid out. I couldn't figure out "who done it" till approx 80% into the book.

There were a few things I did find ridiculous. I also think ( like someone else wrote in their review), that if the authors want to write historical novels, even though they are fictional, they should do some research to get their facts straight. This reflects not just to Donna Fletcher but many other authors i've read in this last week. I was on vacation, so had time to read quite a few books.

The name 'billie" did strike me wierd also, when I came across it. The endearment Billie uses to Max "poor baby", for the 1800's did not work for me at all.

I dont want to criticize everything I found wrong in this book because overall I enjoyed it quite a bit and in the end, thats all that matters. This is the first Donna Fletcher book i've read and will buy some of her other books even if they are priced higher then $0.99.

The author does a great job keeping the reader engaged, but, without giving any spoilers away, it's often hard to root for the main characters. The story surrounds the romantic triangle of characters Billie, John, and Max. Billie is juggling two guys, and the Max character (the ghost) is ridiculously difficult to like, constantly ordering around Billie. If you like reading a love interest who is bossy, pushy, and seemingly inconsiderate, then Max is for you.

Don't want to be too hard on the book as a whole; it did keep me hooked for the most part (particularly with the adorable Billie-John scenes), and the mystery was gripping. The [...] Kindle price tag makes the story very good for the cost. I'd recommend it for a quick read if you're looking for something decent to read to pass the time, but it's not a memorable story to read more than once.

While I do agree with some other reviews that the historical parts in the book are not accurate, I was able to look past that. I found the book to be interesting and will probably read more works from Donna Fletcher. It wasn't one of those books that you just can't put down because its so good, but I didn't find myself needing to be forced to finish either.

I enjoyed this book. I like how the characters developed and how everything tied together, will read this author again.

I have always enjoyed a good mystery and a breathtaking romance. Whispers on the Wind is both. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, awake until dawn just to find out what happens. If ever there was a man to fantasize about, it is definitely Max. It made my toes curl just picturing in my mind everything he speaks of. Definitely a keeper!