Customer Reviews

violet fire

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book! It is my favorite by Brenda Joyce. A sequel to Firestorm...it is the story of Rathe and Grace and has a lot of humor, hot love scenes and a really good story line. Grace gets under Rathe's skin like no other woman has been able to do before. Read it..you won't be disappointed!

this historical romance, set in post Civil War Mississippi, was written in 1989-and it shows.

Brenda Joyce is a talented writer-but in this novel she had both hero and heroine doing stupid, dangerous, implausible things.

The hero is VERY Alpha male-to the point of grabbing, throwing the heroine about-constantly thinking about his lust for the heroine, but not really caring about anything she believes in-doing things that ruin her reputation, make her lose TWO jobs and become a outcast-but doesn't understand why she doesn't want to be with him?

Sadly-the heroine is even worse. For someone who is supposed to be a strong, intelligent neo-feminist/suffragette-Grace comes across and a mean, mealy mouthed,insipid, just plain stupid-even the dreaded "too stupid to live".

One wonders why the hero would want to be with her-she is hateful to him and accuses him of bigotry, womanizing, and a host of other sins simply because he's a Southerner. She spends the entire book getting herself into one perilous situation after another-and Rathe must come save her every time-real independant, huh?

Also-I understand this is a post civil war book-but the author paints a simply terrible picture of all Southerners. The women are stupid and all the men vicious "Dark Riders"(klan) who seem to go around all day raping, killing and torturing former slaves, being ignorant and turning a blind eye to everything. Not one Southern character is shown in a positive light-enough to throw me off this book for sure.
It is a testimony to Miss Joyce's writing style that I actually stuck around for about 250 pages before I gave up in disgust!

If you like intelligent, loving characters-then definately SKIP this book.

This novel was very sensual and you could feel the connection between the two character I only wish it was longer and more historically involved as her other novels are

Violet Fire was another book that I read by a great author. Brenda Joyce truly has great talent. She is one of the few writers from whom I can say I enjoy a lot of their books. I am not disappointed by Ms. Joyce's work and hope I never will.

This is a reissue of a Brenda Joyce book first published in 1989 but unlike many reissues this book doesn't feel dated. It visits the Bragg family again, this time featuring Rathe Bragg, youngest son of Derek and Miranda and rich rake. Rathe's lifestyle is one of playing cards, seducing women and travelling the world. When a suffragette bursts into a party he is attending to make a speech he's amused rather than appalled, like everyone else at the party, but he thinks little of it. When he meets the same woman two years later, however, he finds that he has fallen under her spell and he wants her for his mistress.

Grace O'Rourke is the daughter of two radical people and believes firmly in the rights of negroes and of women. When she takes up a new post as a governess in a Southern town she discovers very quickly that the local white people have not taken on board the ideas of human rights held by those from the north. She and her schoolteacher friend Allen find themselves under attack and Grace's work is made exceptionally difficult. When she realises that Rathe is also pursuing her she finds herself both attracted to him and repelled by his presumed political views.

Grace and Rathe's relationship in this book is alternate arguing and making up and yet somehow it didn't get annoying or wearing, perhaps because both characters were so feisty. The initial attraction to Grace appears to be entirely from her appearance but Rathe soon discovers that she's intelligent and passionate about justice and also that he has to keep her from running into dangerous situations, rescuing her with regularity. Rathe's rather aimless life seems to be given a boost by Grace's actions.

Some of the Bragg books have been a disappointment but this one was enjoyable, if rather thin on the plot. The setting in the South in the 1870s was interesting, as were the reminders of the some of the situations that former slaves had to cope with. The central love story was more of a lust story initially but the author wrote of the way in which the two people realised they needed and complemented each other in a convincing way. I occasionally felt that Rathe was rather unheroic in his actions, trying to seduce a lady and not really taking care to protect her good name, but it was overall a pleasant read.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

Violet Fire gets better every time I read it. Grace and Rathe are two of my favorite characters of all time. Their story is very sweet, often laugh out loud funny, occasionally sad, and is one of the best romances out there.

This 3rd in the Bragg saga (see list below), takes an interesting turn as Rathe Bragg, the youngest of the three Bragg siblings, travels to the post Civil War south. Rathe is a rogue, a rake who is lucky with women, cards and business. A millionaire at 24, he has pursued any challenge. Now, at 30, he is still on the fast track with no plan to marry for another decade. But then he meets reformer and suffragette Grace O'Rourke, a New Yorker who has taken a position as governess to two spoiled girls living on a plantation run by a widow Rathe occasionally sleeps with.

The story describes the prejudice of the south against the freed blacks, including the "night riders" (former Klan members). Interestingly, Joyce accurately describes how it was the Republicans who wanted to give the free blacks education and the vote while the Democrats clung to their bigoted ways. Rathe is not a bigot but he isn't a campaigner for change. Grace, on the other hand, is an independent woman in her mid 20s, resigned to being a spinster who disguises her beauty hoping to be taken seriously in her war on men and the status of women in the late 1800s. In a word, she is precisely the challenge Rathe likes.

Personally, this time in America's history holds little interest for me. I'd rather not dwell on the sad chapter in our history that included the abuses of the south toward black Americans. So this romance was not one I would ordinarily be drawn to if I weren't reading the series. And Rathe as a hero is a man of few moral principles when it comes to women, showing a particular proclivity toward other men's wives. In real life, such a man even when married would be untrustworthy since his pattern of promiscuous behavior was well established by his 30s. Other than that, this is a well-told story and I can recommend it. Since it's a stand alone, it can be read without reference to the earlier two books. There are only a few references to the Bragg family.

The Bragg Saga:

Innocent Fire, June 1988 (Derek Bragg and Miranda)
Firestorm, November (1988 Storm Bragg and Brett)
Violet Fire, May 1989 (Rathe Bragg and Grace
Dark Fires, June 1991 (Nicholas Bragg and Jane)
The Fires of Paradise, April 1992 (Lucy Bragg and Shoz)
Scandalous Love, November 1992 (Nicole Bragg Shelton and Hadrian)
Secrets, April 1993, (First in the Delanza Series Regina Bragg Shelton and Slade Delanza)
After Innocence follows Secrets (Edward Delanza and Sophie)

See also, The Darkest Heart, December 1989. It's connected to The Fires of Paradise--it's the story of the hero's parents (Candice Carter and Jack Savage)

Brenda Joyce knows how to write love scenes for sure. That is truly her talent. I loved Rathe's character, but not so much Graces's. She annoyed me after a while, because here she has this gorgeous hunk of a guy and she's willing to put him in harm's way every time for her "principles". What a dork! Other than my irritation with her, it held my attention mainly because it was fun imagining someone like Rathe in my life, at least for a day!

'Violet Fire' is one of those books that I come back to, years after having read it. Grace and Rathe are characters that stick out in your mind who you go back to visit every now and then. Without giving any of the story line away, the last part of the book is the absolute best. Very emotional, very well written and, as I said, it stays with you for a very long time afterwards.
Happy reading, this story will stay on your keeper shelf!

This story of Grace O'Rourke and Rathe Bragg was my second-least favorite book of the very talented Brenda Joyce. The absolute worst was Runaway Bride, which I didn't bother to finish after just a few chapters.

This book was very unsatisfying and highly predictable. While Rathe was somewhat interesting, Grace was very stereotypical and cliche, in my opinion. Most of Joyce's fans look to her to really make the pages sizzle with passionate heat, and sadly, this book fell short and it fell HARD. None of the love scenes were endearing or worthwhile. Is this the same author that wrote The Fires of Paradise?

On a more positive note, Joyce's use of the deep south during the horrible aftermath of slavery was a very promising backdrop for an excellent story. The plot did not stand up to the setting, and the "romance" between the main characters was dry and inspired very little emotion from the reader. If you love stories set in the deep south, you may be able to find some enjoyment out of it.