Well. I wrote a review, but it never got posted. Let's try this again.This is a romance book, but it is also a book about choices and sacrifice. At least three of the characters in this book had to make choices and sacrifices that destroyed their reputations and their credibility to achieve a goal. As this book begins, I saw Charlotte on the crux of changing her life irrevocably. And it only gets more hairy. I asked myself why it bothered me that she was going to do what she did. Should I have worried so much about that. Reputation is important, but is it that important to me that I truly regretted what Charlotte did, even knowing why. I was involved in this story, but not necessarily in a good way at some places. I guess that's makes a book successful for me. When I read this book, I wasn't just marking time. I was feeling a lot, and suffering along with Charlotte. She showed courage, and that courage translated to me as I read. I don't look at fiction books as a guide for behavior, but I do believe that almost every book I read has some gem that I can ponder and let it help me in some way. That might sound strange to most people, but not to me. It is rarely a literal thing. Most often, it is an encouragement in my own walk of life. From this book, I took the idea that I had to take advantage of the adversity I face to let it build me up instead of tearing me down. That courage is not being unafraid or uncertain. Courage is doing in the face of that fear. And the fears are many in life. If we let one fear overtake us, we will fall beneath so many. It's a domino effect. The reasons don't have to translate directly to my life. But deep down, that human experience always does.As far as the romance, I felt the potency of it. Charlotte and Dand, both seemingly hardened to such a thing, found love together. A common goal brought them into each other's sphere, and love found its way into both of their hearts. I like to think that a mutual respect was the foundation to that love. When others around them saw little but the facade they projected, they looked deeper and saw the whys and not the whats. Considering the path that their lives had been forced into by circumstance, that was a rewarding thing in this book. Overall, although I didn't like some of the aspects of this story (It has me wincing emotionally in parts), I loved the romance between Charlotte and Dand, and I loved their characters, and their willingness to sacrifice so much for doing the right thing. That's the core of this book, and that's what calls to me as a reader. So I count this as a well-written, enjoyable read.
This book, the third in the Rose Hunters Trilogy, was a bit of a disappointment. I did like the romance, which was well done. However, I found the resolution of the mystery that ran through all three of the books of the trilogy to be somewhat confusing. I had enjoyed the way the author had set up the mystery during the first two books, and was looking forward to its solution in the last book of the series. You can imagine my chagrin when I found the wrap-up of this tantalizing mystery to be so unsatisfying and confusing. Here are some of the issues that I felt were never adequately answered and were confusing: (view spoiler)[ according to the first two books, it appeared that someone had betrayed the mission of the three heros, and that's why they ended up in a French prison. But, according to the third book, they were betrayed while they were in prison. If that was the case, why did they get arrested in the first place? How did the French know they were spies? Also, it was never clear to me who Dand, the hero of this book, was working for. He was working for the British government, but was he also working for the Scottish abbey that raised him? And what was the abbey's role in the English war against Napoleon? Did they work with the British government or have their own agenda? And just what was their agenda? Finally, I was totally confused as to what Douglas' role was in the heros' betrayal, and what exactly he had been doing in France for all those years after he supposedly died. Plus, what exactly was his motivation in running around killing all the people he did? He said he thought everything would go back to the way it was supposed to be once all his targets (including the three heros) were dead, but none of his explanations at the end made a lot of sense to me.Maybe the author explained all this at the end, but not clearly enough for me. I just ended up confused by the resolution of the mystery. I didn't feel that the author did a good job of tying up all the threads. And that's a shame, because she's a good writer, and the romance between Charlotte and Dand was enjoyable to read. (hide spoiler)]
Do You like book My Surrender (2005)?
In this book the very forgettable heroine acts like a hoyden to allay any suspicion that she is actually a spy (of sorts). The forgettable hero is a spy who has vowed with his life to protect our forgettable heroine, thus allowing for lots of boring lectures about how unsafe her spying is. He then suspends all good judgment, and she becomes to stupid to live in a hair brained scheme that I could not suspend my disbelief for, nor dredge up much interest in. Lots of skimming took place. Still I give it two stars because it's about a million times better than most one star romances.
—Ashleighloveland
Wonderful. Strong, brave heroine and hero. Exciting storyline.
—Juli
