Gifts (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Jo-Ann Power (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

For the sake of one of her students at the Farrell School for Young Ladies, Jessica Leighton-Curtis will face a man who can't stand her and ask him to help the girl that reminds Jessica so much of herself. Young Amanda was once a talented pianist until a tragic accident changed her life forever. Jessica hopes that Randall Templeton can coax Amanda to rediscover her gift and become whole again. For herself, Jessica wants nothing-- but Rand has a way of forcing her to see herself in a different light-- as someone worthy of love and respect. Rand never hated Jessica, she simply reminded him of a woman he once loved and was forced to watch die because she didn't believe in his love. Jess is an enigma-- sensitive but withdrawn, capable of great passion one minute and of presenting a face she calls Prunes in Vinegar the next. He falls in love with this determined, headstrong young woman but can he convince her of his love? Jess's own past rises up to torment her even as she finds happiness with Rand. His love for her must be strong enough to conquer the demons of her tortured soul, but Rand is determined to never lose someone he loves again. Jo-Ann Power does a remarkable job of creating a sensitive, caring hero and a heroine who has an inner strength that shines through her self-doubt and troubled past. Gifts is memorable because the characters seem real-- a rare treat in fiction. Far from being larger than life, Rand and Jess are people you will care about and want to know. As a sequel to Treasures, Gifts is a compelling and special novel. Jo-Ann Power writes with compassion, sensitivity and an inner joy that is as contagious as it is refreshing! Gifts is a gift from the heart of an incredible author! Truly special! A love story that will bring tears to your eyes! Jo-Ann Power is gifted with the ability to create characters that are human and lovable! Don't miss this wonderful sequel to Treasures! A heartwarming and touching story!Kristina Wright -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

Product Description

Jo-Ann Power's Treasures was celebrated as "a rare, special love story by a mega-talented author whose words shine with beauty and luminosity" (Kay E. Bendall, The Book Rack, Richmond, VA). In this sparkling sequel to her beloved romance, Jo-Ann Power returns to Victorian England in all its passion and propriety, as a spirited lady seeks the help of the nobleman she cannot afford to love....

A young girl's tragedy brought them together

As headmistress of The Farrell School for Young Ladies, Jessica Leighton-Curtis had buried her demons by devoting herself to her work...until one student's plight touches her personally. She sees glimmers of herself in Amanda Emory, a gifted young pianist despondent since a devastating riding accident. In an effort to reach her, Jess implores Randall Templeton, marquess of Ashford, to share his musical gifts and help heal Amanda. But Jess has never met a man as generous as Rand, a man who poses a threat, yet offers a promise....

Dark secrets kept them apart

Randall Templeton agrees to see Amanda, becoming nearer and dearer to Jessica herself and unleashing the terrors locked in her shattered soul. Yet even as Jess yields to an intense desire, her memories whisper that she must not care for him. But Rand's gifts of trust and soulful love may be enough to help her bring her past to light....

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067152996X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671529963
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,046,851 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely dreadful - how did it ever get published?, September 19, 2006

By	Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I can't believe this book ever made it out of the reject pile. I would have rejected it halfway through the first page. In the first place, this author cannot write. Her style is clunky, overblown, full of purple prose and, incredibly, grammatical errors. She has no idea how to punctuate dialogue without speech tags. The speech tags she uses are also amateurish, attention-grabbing, distracting from the book.

So, while I was finding it incredibly hard to get drawn into the book because of the author's style, I then found further distractions from the story in the shape of the author's obvious lack of knowledge of Victorian England, and of aristocratic England generally. The dialogue, for example, is far too contemporary, and far too American. "I guess" is both: it was barely used in the UK until towards the end of the twentieth century, and this is just one example of vocabulary which is completely anachronistic.

Titles are used incorrectly throughout. If Rand is the Marquess of Ashford, he is Lord ASHFORD, not Lord Templeton. Templeton is simply his family name. Jessica is referred to interchangeably as Lady Curtis, Lady Jessica and Miss Curtis. Absolutely wrong. She can only be one of these people. As she's unmarried, she can't be Lady Curtis - that would be the wife of Lord Curtis. We're never told what her father's title was. If he was an earl, a marquess or a duke, then she is Lady Jessica. Otherwise, she is Miss Curtis. Make up your mind, Power! Finally, there is a difference between the title of Lord Hamilton Emery and Lord Emery. The former is the younger son of a duke or marquess; the latter is a peer in his own right. Again, make up your mind!

There is far, far too much informality in the book. This is Victorian England! That was an era where husbands and wives addressed each other formally: as Mr and Mrs, or by their titles. The very first scene, where Jessica and Rand (hardly a Victorian man's name) meet for the first time in three years, and where they hardly know each other, their use of first names is completely incongruous and unbelievable. Even Rand's calling the pupils at the school by their first names is wrong.

Speaking of the school, I've never encountered a headmistress with so little sense of responsibility. No other teachers are mentioned; we hear only about a (highly indiscreet) butler and a housekeeper. So exactly who is looking after the pupils when Jessica is running off to see Rand, or rushing to London with one of the spoiled brats, or abandoning her pupils in the village because that same spoiled brat threw a tantrum? This is *Victorian England*. Young ladies - yes, even children of 12 - would never be out in public unescorted, and would not be left alone once they were out in public.

The story itself simply bored me to tears. Any element of romantic/sexual tension between the main characters was gone by about the second chapter. It was then simply tedious waiting for them to get on with it. The head injury sub-plot held no interest for me whatsoever, except to keep me wondering how much of this - especially the psychobabble - was genuinely credible for Victorian England. As for the characters, I wanted to tell Jessica to grow up and stop being so childishly obsessional (no wonder she indulged the spoiled brat), and Rand was absolutely unbelievable. No man - Victorian or contemporary - would talk in the flowery way he did, or be such a doormat. He was completely unbelievable as a character, and I could have no respect for him whatsoever. Nothing to like about any of these characters.

This is one of the worst books I've had the misfortune to read in a very long time, and it's going straight into the recycling pile.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gifts..., March 19, 2005

By	Emily Alice Thompson (Maubrey) - See all my reviews

Rand was a perfect man; completely attentive to Jess's needs and he was so in love with her you just knew that he would do anything to please her. The author did a good job of keeping him manly rather than foppish.
This book was about two things: neurological problems and sex. It read like a textbook with a few (graphic) love scenes thrown in just to remind the reader that this was a love story. The tragic problems of Amanda and others notwithstanding, this is certainly a memorable book, but not one of this author's better works.