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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unforgettable romance, January 2, 2001
This review is from: The Widow's Kiss (Hardcover)
By 1537, King Henry learns that twenty-eight-year-old Lady Guinevere Mallory has been a widow four times, an excessive amount of husbands buried. However, what concerns His Highness is the legal marriage contracts have made her the prime owner of most of the wealth in the Derbyshire area. Wondering if he has a black widow among his aristocracy and worried that one person owns so much property, the monarch assigns Hugh of Beauclaire to investigate. Hugh informs King Henry that he has a personal interest in a piece of property that Mallory owns which he claims should be his. When Hugh meets Guinevere, he is stunned by her beauty and even more shocked by how brilliant the woman is. Worse to Hugh in spite of his belief she is a deadly killer; he is very attracted to the woman. Guinevere tries to protect her own heart because she knows Hugh wants to hand her head over to Henry. As the duo fight the growing love between them, their mistrust of one another grows proportionally. WIDOW'S KISS is a wonderful historical romance that succeeds because the characters seem genuine. The lead protagonists provide conflict, as neither trusts the love that is emanating from the other. Guinevere's daughters add a young energy that makes life even more complex and difficult for Hugh. The King and his key advisor provide a historical point of reference as well as added intrigue, tension, and mistrust. Although the climax is featherweight, sub-genre fans will relish this fabulous novel that proves Jane Feather is a heavyweight author. Harriet Klausner
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging and Irritating, July 12, 2001
This review is from: The Widow's Kiss (Hardcover)
Ms. Feather is a terrific author who writes stories that are well researched, full of intrigue and romance, history and engaging characters. Except that each book that I have read she seems to have to include one character who is guaranteed to drive you to distraction with irritating characteristics. In this story it is the 8 or 9 year old daughter Pippa who positively cannot shut up. Pippa piped, Pippa fluted, Pippa trumpeted or screeched or shrilled, etc. etc. The Pippa dialog is so often and so aggravating that I found myself skipping whole paragraphs when she used the name Pippa. This is not good for one loses the continuity of the story. On a positive note, I did enjoy the history of 16th Century England during the mercurial, hugely obese and clever Henry VIII reign and all his poor wives who could not seem to provide him with a male heir. I would have enjoyed more information on the Star Chamber and Thomas Cromwell who was a terrible villian according to recorded history. Ms. Feather has a real penchant for strong, nurturing, rough edged males as her heros. Well so do I. However, once again she has given us a heroine who is drop dead gorgeous, hugely flawed, conniving and quite difficult to feel much sympathy for in the story line. It was nice that she made the Lady Guinevere an intelligent and learned woman despite her obstinancy and intransiegence. All in all, the story is interesting and Ms. Feather is becoming more elegant and refined with each book. I very much appreciate her breaking from the mold of most of the other romance writers who seem to need to refer to the male anatomy in cutesy or military language, ie: swords, etc. She uses the correct biological term which adds a great amount of intellectual credibility as a writer. She remains on my list of writers who are closing the gap in skill as great as the incomparable Guy Gavriel Kay.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Widow's Kiss, January 15, 2001
This review is from: The Widow's Kiss (Hardcover)
"The Widow's Kiss" is more a novel of romantic intrigue than it is a mystery -- for some reason several bookstores I visited over the weekend had this book in the mystery section. So if you a big historical mystery addict, be forewarned that there is very little mystery in this novel at all. However, the book does score very high on the suspense/intrigue level. The plot of "The Widow's Kiss" centers around a land dispute. Hugh of Beaucaire believes that a vast tract of land should rightfully be his son's; the Lady Guinevere Mallory however disputes his claim and refuses to give up the land. So Hugh decides to tweak the interest of the King of England (Henry VIII), and that of the Privy Seal (Thomas Cromwell), by insinuating that the Lady Guinevere may have killed off all her previous husbands (4 in all) in order to inherit their wealth. The Privy Seal sends off Hugh to investigate. Right from the very beginnning however Hugh is drawn to the Lady Guinevere, as she is to him. However he does not fully trust her. But by the time Hugh finally decides that he doesn't really care if Guinevere murdered her latest husband or not, it is too late: he has set in motion events he can do nothing about; for now the Privy Seal is involved and he wants Guinevere's wealth for the Crown. The second half of the book, where Guinevere has to defend herself to the King and the Privy Seal is brilliant and realistic. The tension is palpable and electric. You can actually sense the very real danger that the Lady Guinevere is facing and her complete isolation from everyone she cares about or who could help. Both the King and the Privy Seal are painted in appropriate menacing terms. The feeling of attraction that Hugh and Guinevere feel for each other even while they do not fully trust each other is believeable as well. So why did I give this book a 3 star rating? Because of the rushed last few chapters which gave the book a slightly of centre feel. This is a historical romance, so I understand that one cannot expect twentieth century sensibilities; however I do wish that there had been an added chapter or even a few extra pages where Hugh castigates himself a little bit more for his treatment of Guinevere -- this would have made the book more satisfying for me, and I do believe it would have centred the book a bit more. Jane Feather is a wonderful writer; "Valentine"; "Vixen" & "The Accidental Bride" are a few of her books that I enjoy rereading every now and then. And I enjoyed "The Widow's Kiss" as well except for the pacing that was a little off. "The Widow's Kiss" is on the whole a good read, esp at the intrigue level. The rushed ending is a little disconcerting but does not detract form the overall enjoyment of the book. All in all, a good read.
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