Rating: 
Summary: It took a while to get into it, but...
Review: ...once I did, I couldn't stop. Ms. Hague gets into a few digressions, which could have been edited and made the book a more manageable length. But after I reached about page 300, I had trouble putting it down. This would make an excellent movie. Many authors have difficulty making interesting and believable characters of both genders, and tend to be better at one or the other. I found both Aubrey & Arabella, as well as the other characters, to be excellently crafted. I would recommend this book, and be willing to wade through the first part to get to the really good stuff - it's worth the wait.
Rating: 
Summary: Bring on Book 2, I'm willing to wait just a reasonable time!
Review: Aubrey What a fantastic male lead for a book! I can see the movie now... Strong,virle able to hold his own in any situation.
Totaly male. Very intelligent, knows went to hold back and knows when to leap into the fray. Really able to use his mind to guide
his actions and his heart. A Thinking womans lover. Now thats what I and all my friends want!. Arabella is his Perfect match. A young woman who confides her every deepest thoughful reflection to her journal and wants to gain the most freedom she can to experence in her own life. The two are bound heart and soul to find each other some how and some way in this wide world. Ms Hague has a fine start as an Author keep up the good work we await part II.
Rating:
Summary: enjoyable read
Review: I reaaly enjoyed this book I deffinetly find books from this era interesting .so maybe thats why I enjoyed it so much.Terrific charachters,great storyline,over all good book.I would recommend this book,
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING debut--sexy, serious fun, set in authentic 1860's...
Review: I'm a fan of classic literature, gothic fiction, and modern writing, and this book was a great mix of all of them. It's thoroughly original, and I just loved it. If you could cross "Sex and the City" with 'Gone with the Wind' or get Charles Dickens to write an erotic epic, you'd probably end up with something like this. It's a romance, but it's also an adventure, with bizarre characters, mystery subplots, and lots of twists and turns. The narration, where the two main characters switch off, was unusual and well done. The tension builds as the hero and heroine draw closer, and when they finally meet the results are totally satisfying. There were no loose ends by the end of the story, and although the most improbable things happen, the writing is so good that I believed every word. The period felt authentic and the historical details accurate. The author Nora Hague obviously had fun playing with cliches from past works of literature, and I had a great time too. This novel was like a nineteenth century rollercoaster going at twenty-first century speeds, it was a thrill a minute, and I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING debut--sexy, serious fun, set in authentic 1860's...
Review: I'm a fan of classic literature, gothic fiction, and modern writing, and this book was a great mix of all of them. It's thoroughly original, and I just loved it. If you could cross "Sex and the City" with 'Gone with the Wind' or get Charles Dickens to write an erotic epic, you'd probably end up with something like this. It's a romance, but it's also an adventure, with bizarre characters, mystery subplots, and lots of twists and turns. The narration, where the two main characters switch off, was unusual and well done. The tension builds as the hero and heroine draw closer, and when they finally meet the results are totally satisfying. There were no loose ends by the end of the story, and although the most improbable things happen, the writing is so good that I believed every word. The period felt authentic and the historical details accurate. The author Nora Hague obviously had fun playing with cliches from past works of literature, and I had a great time too. This novel was like a nineteenth century rollercoaster going at twenty-first century speeds, it was a thrill a minute, and I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: What a GREAT read!
Review: It has been some time since I read this book--around the time is first went on the bookstands--and it still has vibrations. I was compelled to write a review because 1) I was honestly looking for the authors' second book (where is it?) and 2) I was disapointed to read a few less than favorable reviews. Ms. Hague has a wonderful writing style which provides the reader with wonderfully rich characters in a romantic, historic setting. More!
Rating:
Summary: A winning and stunning debut
Review: It's hard to believe that this book is the author's first. Despite its length and complexity, it flies by, thanks to lush but fast-paced writing, absorbing characters, and an intricate structure (I've never come across a novel written exactly this way) that keeps one guessing and reading to the end. The main characters, living during the mid-1860's, tell their tale through either diary entries (Arabella Leeds, a white wealthy upper-class female) or imaginary letters to a relative (Aubrey Paxton, a very light-skinned black slave). These two young people start off miles and worlds apart, but come together through a series of wonderfully original happenstances. Once they fall in love, they are faced with a new set of obstacles, which they they overcome with daring and style. Their exploits in the United States, England, and France are described in exacting detail, but the history isn't forced, nor does it get in the way of the plot. And the plot never gets in the way of the inner lives of Aubrey and Arabella, which are as vivid as any found on a page. Miss Hague very deftly explores modern subjects while remaining true to her chosen time period, so that the book has both depth and accessibility. She uses the familiar to lead into new territory, keeping the reader comfortable but fascinated. Particularly refreshing are her secondary characters: black, white, gay, straight, in-between, they are treated with an even hand, as fully developed as the novel's stars, and as realistically depicted within their time and culture. Certain scenes, like the accurate exploration of African tribal voodoo, or the pre-Civil War ditties sung by a young black girl, give this book the unselfconscious ring of truth and attest to the painstaking research it must have required, but it's ultimately the writer's skill at creating real lives that makes it so compelling. Part love story, part social commentary, part history-come-alive, but always emotionally true, this is a novel capable of reaching, and moving, a wide variety of readers. It also leaves one feeling good--a no-no to those who equate death and despair with depth, but a nice change of pace at present.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book set in Victorian age!!
Review: Just a perfect read for any historical fiction fan!! I loved this book!!
Rating: 
Summary: Letters from an Age of Melodrama
Review: Nora Hague's first novel is a hefty book with an intriguing title but a surprisingly lightweight story! Althought the novel is technically well-plotted it is still a very predictable Victorian melodrama. As a result of a long series of well-planned coincidences our star-crossed lovers wind their way inevitably toward one another through wars and across continents, only to be torn apart, victims of the repressive Victorian society, only to be reunited, well...you get the picture.
The switching between the point of view of the two main characters gets tedious. Both characters are written in a similar manner. There isn't much to distinguish between them. Aubrey's voice (not to mention his unisex first name) was far too feminine and not at all distinct from that of Arabella, highlighting the difficulties involved in writing from the point of view of a character that is of the opposite gender from the author. If not for the change in typeface it would have been difficult to distinguish between them.
Still, it's a fun read, if not a memorable one. The author has done a good job capturing the spirit of the times.
Rating:
Summary: Letters from an Age of Melodrama
Review: Nora Hague's first novel is a hefty book with an intriguing title but a surprisingly lightweight story! Althought the novel is technically well-plotted it is still a very predictable Victorian melodrama. As a result of a long series of well-planned coincidences our star-crossed lovers wind their way inevitably toward one another through wars and across continents, only to be torn apart, victims of the repressive Victorian society, only to be reunited, well...you get the picture.
The switching between the point of view of the two main characters gets tedious. Both characters are written in a similar manner. There isn't much to distinguish between them. Aubrey's voice (not to mention his unisex first name) was far too feminine and not at all distinct from that of Arabella, highlighting the difficulties involved in writing from the point of view of a character that is of the opposite gender from the author. If not for the change in typeface it would have been difficult to distinguish between them.
Still, it's a fun read, if not a memorable one. The author has done a good job capturing the spirit of the times.
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