Rating: 
Summary: Not happy with this one!
Review: My expectations for Johanna Lindsey's books may be too high, but that's because her books have usually been of a very high quality - they actually made me care about the characters. However, I could not feel anything for the main characters in Joining. Melisant was a brat with no real redeeming features, and Wulf didn't seem to have the charisma of any of the previous male leads. I wanted Roland to win her!!! And wasn't the kidnapping/ near rape of the lead female sooo predictable! Where was the humour, the twists and turns in the story, the moment when your heart wrenches when something happens and the lead characters realise they love each other but don't tell each other until it's almost too late....? These are the things that make me want to read more. In this book, the characters never really spoke to each other and were hardly alone together to get to know each other, with one or the other always storming off. There was alot of interference by her sister, his parents, her father, Reina and Ranulf and Roland, the kidnappers etc. Usually you get to hear the heros side of the story as well, but in this book I didn't really get into his mind very much, and didn't really know what he was thinking. In summary, not up to scratch.
Rating: 
Summary: Defy Not the Heart Series Part 2
Review: Set in 1200s in England under the rule of King John. Milisant Crispin is a nineteen year old tomboy betrothed, since she was born, to Wulfric de Thorpe who is now 25 years old. The match was made between their respective fathers who are great friends. Milisant and Wulfric have only met once previously when she was 6 years old and he 13 years old, an unpleasant meeting that neither of them could forget. Given one month to get to know each other before the wedding, sparks fly when Milisant and Wulf are thrown together but there is a hidden danger lying in wait for Milisant. A sweet story. However, I didn't find the relationship between Wulfric and Milisant very convincing. Milisant is so unpleasant to Wulfric I can't see what made him fall in love with her. Still it's a good read. I prefer the prequel though, Defy Not the Heart, Ranulf and Reina's story. Lealing
Rating: 
Summary: Contains every romance stereotype possible
Review: I purchased the audio version of this book, hoping for a light, entertaining book, set in the era of King Richard's cowardly brother John. Instead, this is an anachronistic tale of Milisant, a eighteen year old woman who dresses like a boy, fights like a man, and doesn't want to get married to any man. (If this were a Xena novel, I would expect a plot like this and applaud the heroines independence. Since this is supposed to be a serious historical novel, I found myself sighing and rolling my eyes at the anachronistic behavior). Despite this rather typical start, the novel gets worse. Milisant is just not LIKEABLE. Her reasons for disliking Wulfric (she bears a grudge from a childhood play accident), were silly, and could be resolved if the characters would spend 5 minutes together simply TALKING to one another. Milisant's 'love of animals' bordered on the ridiculous, as she travels with cages of wild animals wherever she goes. (Milisant's love for animals, apparently doesn't include loving them enough to let them go free). Wulfric, the hero, seemed okay, but was rather under-developed and, was completely eclipsed by Milisant's strong, shrewish personality. This book held no surprises. Read it if you must, but I found it disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Poor effort...
Review: I am a HUGE Johanna Lindsey fan, I have every book she ever wrote and I love them, but this is a waste of effort to have wrote or read! This book is the follow-up to "Defy Not the Heart". They don't even compare. The heroine in this book Milisent was weak and did unbelievable things in this time period(1214) which would never have been tolerated! The plot was dumb and the hero and heroine lacked any spark of romance or fire Johanna Lindsey usually has for her characters. The plot calls for this "danger" to threaten them! Please! If you read it you'll know what I mean. The "danger" plot never took off and was gone before you knew it. Left me wondering why it was there in the first place! And the reason she doesn't want to marry the Earl(Wulfric) is a stupid one. Lindsey could've come up with something better in my opinion. I was sorely dissapointed in this book. Her writing lately is much to be desired. I don't want to sound so critical, but come on! If you are new to this author, I would NOT recommend this book to you as a first, try instead her Malory books, starting with "Love Only Once", "Tender Rebel","Gentle Rogue", "Magic of You", "Say You Love Me"& "The Present"(in this order). This way you can judge for yourself how well she writes normally. "The Joining" had some humorous parts in the beginning, but seems to lose steam midway through and then took a nosedive. I hope this helps anyone out there.... =)
Rating:
Summary: No Plot, No Historical Accuracy but Fun to Complain About
Review: I faced the prospect of being trapped between Kingman and Flagstaff, Arizona with only my car for company and decided to rent this puppy from the local Cracker Barrel Store. Not having read anything else by this author, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I didn't expect was a simple-minded plot and absolutely no subplots. BORING! It must have taken her tens of seconds to come up with this stuff. Even worse, the author either didn't have the slightest notion about social custom and marriage practices of the time period or assumed that we, the readers, are poorly educated or just plain stupid. For example, at one point the author has the male character tell the female that "being engaged is the same as being married--I can do whatever I want to you right now." Well, okay, that was pretty much true. However, a few chapters later, the "hero" drags her off to a bedroom before the wedding and is interrupted by his father who admonishes him because of what he was about to do "without the benefit of blessings from the church." Harrumph! Are you forgetting that quite often a bride had to prove she could carry a child and was actually pregnant LONG BEFORE the wedding took place? This is why some other woman usually stood in for the bride during the actual wedding. Many more booboos appear throughout. The bottom line is that I'll avoid anything else by this author until she proves she has respect for her readers. And who the heck approved this for publication? You ought to be ashamed of yourself! You, too, Cracker Barrel--get rid of all those turkey tapes from Danielle Steel and get some new authors in!
Rating:
Summary: Something a little different from Lindsey norm
Review: Milisant Crispin and Wulfric de Thorpe have been promised to each other since childhood. Their fathers are excellent friends, and are consolidating their friendship through the marriage of their eldest children. However, due to a mutually painful incident when they were children, neither Mili nor Wulf can stand the other. They have avoided each other ever since. It is now some years past the time when they should have been wed, and Wulf's father has insisted that Wulf claim his reluctant bride. Milisant is wild and different, disdainful of her being born female and the constraints it imposes on her. She and Wulf discover they still have nothing in common. She is wary of his size and power, convinced because of the pain she endured in their first (and only) meeting that Wulf will physically dominate and even harm her. It leads her to be stubborn, aggressive and argumentative, stiff and unbending to any request. Which does little to endear herself to Wulf. Unknown to all, a third, unrelated party also does not want the marriage, and has conspired with non other than King John to ensure that it does not come about. To do that, he must arrange for Milisant's death, something that he does not hesitate to do... I found the book very well researched, from the description of the clothing to the history of King's Richard and John, and the gossip of the realm. The court intrigue, although occupying only a few pages, was well done and set the plot in motion. I liked that the 'mystery' of the book had nothing to do with the central characters themselves, too. The threat, although known in full to the reader, comes out of the blue to the characters themselves. The story develops well, is peopled with enjoyable characters and sufficient humour. I found especially touching where Milisant finally realises that Wulf would do anything NOT to see her hurt. The development of feelings - positive and negative - between these two is completely believable. I also liked the approach taken with Mili, the feminist sub-plot which Lindsey has woven into the tale. It is not a tale bursting with heat and passion (as Lindsey can do so well), rather more a discovery of feeling, and a fine tale firmly set in its period. Something a little different from my previous reading by this author, but also very enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: Oh my gosh I was never so glad to be finished with a book. I kept wanting Millisant to stop whining and grow up. And the broken foot thing I didn't understand that.She wore her shoe for a year so her foot would heal and she never told him or anyone ?
The whole story was fragmented and pointless.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not that good either...
Review: Johanna Lindsey is of course superb, and if the book was written by anyone else, I would have given it one star. However, Lindsay can write beautifully, even when the plot and characters are boring or stereotypical. I found Milisant's character annoying and completely out of character for the era she lived in, at times she truly irritated me to the extent that I would have slapped her had she been real. Her independence seemed pointless and more like pig-headedness than anything else at several points in the story. Her insistence on having her way simply makes her more annoying. Overall, she must rate as one of my least favorite heroines. Wulfric is not as bad as Milisant, but he could have done with some improvements as well. The book does not lack 'fire' between the protagonists, who usually manage to end up at each other's throat, but I found most of the scenes repetitive and the antagonism dragged on much too long. Overall, this is not one of Lindsay's landmarks. Stick to the Malory series by the same author if you want a really satisfying and enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Easy rainy day read...
Review: This book was nice and easy to read. I tore through it in one day. Milisant and Jhone are sisters and there are alot of funny scenes between them. Wulfric is the hero of the story and I would have liked to have gotten to know him a bit better, but what I did read I liked. There is hardly any sex scenes in this book, for sensuality I'd give it a 3. There is some tension between Wulfric and Milisant, but not too much. Things went pretty easy for both of them. I'd would be interested to read a story about sister Jhone!
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Joining is one of Johanna Lindsey's best books. I love it.
The two main characters are likable. The storyline is beautifully woven. Ms.Lindsey well mixes thriller with romance. I also love all of Milisant's pets. One of them even helps Wulfric to find her when she is abducted. Milisant's twin sister, Jhon, is also very lovable. I wish there were a book of her own story. All in all, this is a light read and I highly recommend it.
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