Judith McNaught - Almost Heaven

No beauty in England could outshine Elizabeth Cameron, Countess of Havenhurst. But beneath her exquisite emerald eyes and cloud of golden hair, lived a girl of rare gentleness, good humour, and a splendid, even ferocious courage. In Ian Thornton's powerful embrace, Elizabeth felt the first stirrings of a passion that blazed through her senses. Yet for Thornton, a dangerously handsome man of secret wealth and mysterious lineage, the voyage to Elizabeth's heart was fraught with intrigue, scandal, and a venomous jealousy. 
From the elegant salons of London, to the wild beauty of the Scottish Highlands, their tempestuous, dramatic romance was played out, a romance between two lovers destined for each other, even though they refused to admit it. 

Comment: This is the third story in the Sequels series by author Judith McNaught. I've enjoyed reading the previous two books, so I was also interested in reading this one and expected more of the same adventures included in the others.

In this third story we have Elizabeth Cameron as the protagonist. She was a childhood friend of Alex, the heroine from the previous book. 

Elizabeth has had her debut at a time her brother was controlling things and despite the family having a title and property, thy also needed money so Elizabeth was encouraged to look for a good marriage. She shouldn't have tried to get into Ian Thornton's radar for he was known to be the bastard grandson of a duke and he wasn't very well received in society. However, they met one day and somehow recognized each other but their relationship was broken because of external factors and suddenly Elizabeth was an outcast in the same circles that welcomed her so much before.

Now, a few years later is her uncle who controls things and he decides Elizabeth must marry and sends a letter to all the men who have offered for her hand at some time in the past, including Ian. But everything is different now, will Elizabeth and Ian ever find out again why they suited so much a second time?

This was a very good story. I had a great time reading it, especially Elizabeth's adventures to get her way, which is, of course, her best to ensure her propriety Havenhurst stays with her, not only because of the memories she has created there but as a way to protect those who depend on her.

I liked Elizabeth a lot, she is young but shows a personality I admired because she was naive but resilient, she was young but knew what she should do to help others.

I didn't like how she felt easily seduced. I mean, she wasn't a fool, doing things she oughtn't; she was falling in love and trying to help Ian. Her behavior and choices obviously reflect her lack of savoir faire when it came to society and the rules but she was not acting TSTL.

From this, we get to see how Elizabeth evolves into being a wonderful person. If I were to say she has some flaws is precisely her easy trust, she should be a bit more cynical in some regards but of course we are meant to see how, despite bad situations and experiences, she still maintains her grace and optimism. It was difficult not to like her by reading about all her good actions throughout the story.

Ian is a more complex character. He has had some disillusionment in his past, mostly because of what happened to his parents and he tries to cope by not letting many people close and if someone betrays him, he severs all ties. Still, his grandfather is ready to make peace with him but Ian resists. He also sees Elizabeth's actions when they first meet as untrue and resists. I liked seeing his character evolve as well, and of course his change is into a more accepting one, so we are meant to think how complementary his personality is to Elizabeth's.

The plot isn't complicated but since this was written in the early 90s is has many scenes that seem a little silly, especially thinking about the historical romances written nowadays. Some situations are a bit over the top, namely about the romance development (whish feels too simplistic, considering the social situations portrayed too).

Some things are also easily questionable, for instance closer to the end Elizabeth does something I feel is so silly - even if she does it by the right reasons - that although it doesn't put her in TSTL level, it gets close to it and only begging and penance make up for it, in the true epic styled romances of before. But well, there's an amazing HEA and that counts for something.

I also loved some funny scenes...I still laugh to myself when thinking about one in particular, when Elizabeth is trying to convince a suitor that he won't want to marry her by playing the part of a silly prude...

All in all, this has all the ingredients to be a good romance for me. It has some things I'd change but for the most part, it's engaging and vibrant and I was very happy the main characters found common ground and happiness.

Grade: 8/10

TBR Challenge: Judith McNaught - Something Wonderful

The tempestuous marriage of Alexandra Lawrence, an innocent country girl, and Jordan Townsende, the rich and powerful Duke of Hawthorne, is about to face its ultimate test of tender loyalty. Swept into the endlessly fascinating world of London society, free-spirited Alexandra becomes ensnared in a tangled web of jealousy and revenge, stormy pride and overwhelming passion. But behind her husband's cold, arrogant mask, there lives a tender, vital, sensual man...the man Alexandra married. Now, she will fight for his very life...and the rapturous bond they alone can share.

Comment: It's time for another TBR Challenge post. This time the theme is Kicking It Old School, which means a book whose original publication date is older than 10 years. I could have picked one of many, many possible ones... I also have recent titles but older ones are quite plenty in my shelves as well. 

I picked this author, not only because this book was originally published in 1988 - which totally meets the theme criteria - even though my paperback edition is from 1990 - again, on theme - but also because I did read the first story in this Sequels trilogy and despite the dated plot, I enjoyed the book. Of course I wanted to get that feeling back with this one.

In this second Sequels story we meet duke Jordan Townsende, a man who has always seen how aristocrat couples don't trust each other, how society mocks those who do and his parents, being well known members of such society of course neglected him while having too high expectations. Jordan, as any rebel child would do, obviously imitates them in his wild and careless behavior, seducing women and living a carefree life.

In comes Alexandra Lawrence, a 10 years younger woman when comparing to Jordan but whose approach to life is completely different, she is optimistic, cheerful and trusts and cares for those around her. However, Alex has had her disappointments and sadness, especially when it comes to how she idealized her father as someone quite different from reality and he betrayed her love and trust. This hasn't changed Alex and when the opportunity arises to save Jordan, she does not caring about the repercussions.

Although, of course others noticed they spent time together in an inn but despite nothing having happened, they end up marrying. Now, can two different people be a match for one another?

I believe I must have sounded a little sarcastic back there while describing Jordan. But the reality is that it did annoy me a bit how he, the hero, is so much better in some things than everyone else, we are told he excelled in everything while growing up but he certainly didn't use his cleverness to see though society and its rules and simply be a better person on his own.

I can understand this need to make the hero someone who changes almost drastically to better evidence the reason why love conquers all but even accepting this 80s styled plots and details, it did annoy me a bit how he behaved.

Now that this out of my chest, I can say I did have fun reading this story. There are several passages which certainly are supposed to be angsty but I'm quite glad it's not something exaggerated. I liked Alexandra a lot and her antics were synonym of happiness and sweetness, something I liked seeing was affecting almost everyone around her. She wasn't totally childish but at the beginning she is a sort of sheltered 17 - despite her disappointment about her father - and I feared he wouldn't be a good match for Jordan. I liked the development of their relationship although, one must look at this book through a time lens.

There are some details which are timeless and the author has included some passage of time between the romance steps to make it more obvious time passed, the characters grew up (in Alexandra's case) or thought about their priorities (Jordan's) and the idea is that they changed a bit. But when the story starts Alex is only 17 and I must say some scenes were not easy to just accept even considering this is an historical and at the time girls had very different lives and maturity from nowadays' teenagers. Nothing bad happens but...ehh one can tell this is a story written in the past.

The plot isn't complicated, follows the usual expectations about people overcoming several tricky situations, finding out the other person isn't exactly as they are portrayed, they get to fall in love... I liked all these aspects of course, but at the same time, some scenes just felt so dramatic and didn't seem to suit the rest of the story. The last hurdle, closer to the end of the book which made the HEA being delayed some pages further...I mean, I see the potential but it was totally pointless in my POV.

The secondary characters fulfilled their roles, in some cases were key for the protagonists to shine but it's very clear they weren't that important save for the necessary interactions. Still, the story felt rich and detailed.

All in all, this was a positive read because despite my preference or lack of it for some elements, everything was set up quite well.

I hope the third book has some different notions but I don't have much hopes. As long as the story is engaging and shows a vivid picture, I guess I can't say I wasn't entertained.

Grade: 7/10

Judith McNaught - Once and Always

Suddenly orphaned and alone, Victoria Seaton sails the vast ocean, eager to reclaim her heritage at Wakefield, the sumptuous English estate of a distant cousin, the notorious Lord Jason Fielding. Bewildered by his arrogance yet drawn to his panther-like grace, she senses the painful memories that smolder in his eyes. When he gathers her at last into his arms, arousing a sweet, insistent hunger, they wed and are embraced by fierce, consuming joy -- free from the past's cruel grasp. Then, in a moment of anguish, Victoria discovers the treachery at the heart of their love . . . a love she had dreamed would triumph not just once, but always.

Comment: Having read The Kingdom of Dreams several years ago and enjoying it enough, I was quite eager to read another book by the author and see how the writing style and the appeal would have hold on in all these years. 

In this novel, the so called first installment of what is considered the Sequels series by author Judith McNaught, we have the story of Victoria Seaton, a 18 year old who finds herself (along with her younger sister) an orphan after their parents die in an accident. Because they have no other family except a grandmother in England, both ar shipped from America hoping to find someone who can help them but the grandmother only wants to take Victoria's sister, Dorothy. 

This means Victoria is going somewhere else, an "uncle", which happens to be the man her mother loved but never got to marry. Now Charles sees in Victoria the same face of her mother and plans on marrying her to his son, since he didn't take his chance when he was young and in love with her mother. 

But will Charles' son want to be part of all this scheme to unite two families?

This was a pleasant book to read, very engaging and I liked to immerse myself in the adventures of these characters and how an apparently simple situation got to be so confusing but still saved because Victoria is a great heroine.

From what I remember of reading a book by this author, the writing style wasn't a favorite of mine and the writing also showed the dating, meaning one could see this is not the type of book that could survive time, some details are very dated and by comparing to her other book I've read, that shows.

At the same time, the stories have this difficult to explain timeless quality so they can be appreciated and enjoyed despite any other little details.

The plot is one of those that can be seen as too far fetched but it was the suspension of belief that also made it more interesting and fun at times. The reasons why certain things  happened are a bit too obvious a misunderstanding, easily solved but well, one can accept some weirdness for the goodness of a lengthier plot.

I was also curious to see how the story would be solved when all parties would be aware of the truth. I confess, when it came to the romance, that things went pretty well, but from a politeness POV, some actions weren't the most trustworthy, especially when we think about the attention things like honor and one's word were considered by people from the 19th century.

The romance isn't an insta-love, something I appreciated quite well and this isn't exactly the bodice ripper alike of some years. I also liked the hero and the heroine aren't complete opponents in all aspects, namely the age gap: Yes, he is older but not in a way that we would see it in every nuance of their behavior, of their speech and their take in life. Basically, I really liked how balanced they seemed to be, despite their differences. Many older books feel wrong when it came to relationship dynamics because they weren't real "equals" in all aspects, thus stressing the way women were often considered "weaker" and "less": but here I was very happy Victoria was depicted as someone strong and despite her youth she was also clever, funny, sensible and sassy at times. She was not perfect, often a bit too clueless, but I liked her in general.

Jason is a more complex character I'd say, simply because he is darker when it comes to deal with emotions (although understandable) but in the end, he and Victoria are a good couple and match one another quite well in strengths and weakness and their mutual support is something we can imagine going beyond the HEA.

This is not the best book ever but I was surprisingly addicted to reading and maybe I've changed or my impressions did or this book is simply better but it was much more rewarding reading this than the other I've read before. This one seemed more balanced overall and even the silly scenes here and there only felt quirky and not under qualified comedies. 

I see there are two more books and I hope they can be as interesting, romantic and filled with engaging situations as this one was.

Grade: 8/10

Judith McNaught - A Kingdom of Dreams

Abducted from her convent school, headstrong Jennifer does not easily surrender to Royce Westmoreland, Duke of Claymore. Known as "The Wolf", his very name strikes terror in the hearts of his enemies. But proud Jennifer will have nothing to do with this man who holds her captive, this handsome rogue who taunts her with his blazing arrogance Boldly she challenges his will until the night he takes her in his powerful embrace, awakening in her an irresistible hunger. And suddenly Jennifer finds herself ensnared in a bewildering web ... a seductive, dangerous trap of pride, passion, loyalty... and overwhelming love.

Comment: Another first try for a new author to me.
I've read some critics about this author's books before and I was a bit worried about how I'd see this book myself. It's obvious we are influenced by everything we read and know before starting a new book. It's inevitable that we compare it to other things...plus having read critics, my worries were real.
However, I was happily made wrong.

Royce is one of those heroes that are strong, protective and possessive. In those times, I guess it was how things were. Of course the feminist side of me is a bit bothered of all that treatment of women, of what they mean...but ok, it's an historical, we have to see things like that.

Royce came across a very cool character, someone who knows what to do and that behaved in the best way possible considering the things hapenning.
Jennifer surprised me I thought she might be a brat the whole book and I was ready to hate her (misleaded influences?) but throughout the book she convinced me of her changing feelings and that she was really falling in love with Royce. Their romance was very beautiful to see.

The writing style didn't say much too me, I wasn't dazzled with the writing, I've read better, for sure, but I think simple can be better than trying to do more than you can, so...
The historical accuracy, well I can't say if it's really well done, but apart from creative options I was happy with the novel, nothing caught my eye as too stupid. In the end I had a great time reading it and that's what matters the most.