Legend (Abridged)

Rating:
Summary: A fun read
Review: I chose this book ( on audio) as I was in a hurry at the library. Usually romances aren't my favorite, but I thought I'd give it a try. It wasn't the kind of book I have been reading lately, namely those recommended by Oprah, but that's a nice break once in a while. This time- travel aspect is fun to imagine, though as several others have said, it isn't very plausible. I never really got into the romance between Tarik and Kady...I kept hoping that she would decide to go back to Cole's time and stay. The part about the wedding dress being put into the flour container was never really explained either. How did it get there? And how did the flour container end up in Alexandria, VA? Oh well, like I said, this isn't meant to be a real deep thinking novel, just fun reading, which it is. This is the first Jude Devereaux novel I've read, but may have to try another.

Rating:
Summary: Whimsical but not satisfying
Review: I've read every one of Jude Deveraux's books, and while this book was entertaining, it was not her best work. Kady, the heroine, is engaged to a devastatingly handsome man, but we immediately know he's exploiting her chef talents. (He's the son of the restaurant owner Kady works for.) You've gathered from the synopsis that Kady puts on an antique wedding dress and is drawn into the past, where she meets Cole. However, we know Cole is not the hero, because all of her life Kady has had visions of an Arabian man calling to her. Cole has the same voice but not the visage.

So that's the first problem with "Legend." There are too many heros. Our loyalties are split between Kady's (as of yet unknown) soulmate, and Cole. Deveraux spends too much time - half the book - on the relationship between Kady and Cole, and her time in the 1800s.

Then Kady is returned to the present and is tasked with a mission to correct the wrong done to Cole's family. She must find the family's descendent for help - and there we finally meet Tarik, the hero.

The last half of the book seems sloppy. Deveraux is trying to create tension between Kady and Tarik, and then she has to undo the animosity somehow. She doesn't flesh that part of the story out enough, and the plot for the last half of the book is completely implausible.

If Tarik's nastiness to Kady is an act (he's known about her all of his life and has always been in love with her), it's impossible for Deveraux to explain the interactions when Kady and Tarik first meet. She builds an elaborate series of encounters and then explains them away in one sentence at the end of the book. It just doesn't work.

Then, Deveraux completely messes with time travel - Kady and Tarik go back in time, leave a motorcycle and a biker girl in the past, alter the course of Cole's family (who, obviously, are Tarik's ancestors), and return to the present to find all unchanged. Deveraux needed to spend a bit more time here tying up loose ends and making sure her plot was solid.

Deveraux does create animated characters that you want to keep reading about. She writes with her characteristic irreverence and wit. The emotions and dialogue are very entertaining. But in the end, it seems that Deveraux followed a tangent in the Kady/Cole story and couldn't match it with the Kady/Tarik story. She needed to go back and clean the plot, and either improve the Tarik storyline or reduce the Cole storyline.

Rating:
Summary: I didn't want it to end!
Review: Kady Long is an accomplished chef, the "it" chef at an Alexandria, Virginia restaurant. She's engaged to marry her boss's son, Gregory, a gorgeous, charming man who Kady believes loves her just as she is. She loves Gregory, but can't forget the mysterious Arabian knight she's seen in her dreams since childhood. Despite that, as far as she's concerned her life is perfect.

During her search for a wedding dress (she's overweight by modern standards and can find none that look good)and furnishings for the townhouse the couple will share after marriage, she impulsively purchases an antique flour tin. Among the items inside are a watch, an old tintype photo and a beautiful old wedding dress. Once she puts the dress on (it's a perfect fit, by the way), she's transported back to Legend, CO in 1873, and the scene of a hanging about to occur. The man she saves from the hangman's noose is Cole Jordan.

Through a bit of trickery and manipulation which only becomes evident later, Cole first convinces Kady to marry him and then remain in Legend for a three-day honeymoon. During her entire stay in 1873, Cole declares his love for her and she tries to avoid falling for him, intent on getting back to Gregory. It's only when Cole deposits Kady at his homestead then disappears that we learn of his trickery. In desperation, she writes to his grandmother, who he's mentioned is his only living relative. Then, with a change of heart and a strengthening backbone, she endears herself to the entire town.

Following a false start with Cole after his return, Kady realizes she's fallen for him. She changes her mind about going back to her time, and then comes a message from Cole's grandmother. At Cole's urging, she decides to meet the woman and heads for the hanging tree, not understanding the sea of sad faces behind her. After a heart-wrenching conversation with Cole's grandmother, she returns to her own time, a changed woman. It's because of the changes brought on by Cole and Legend (and a promise to his grandmother) that she leaves Gregory and the restaurant behind and meets C.T. Jordan (Tarik), who she recognizes as the Arabian Knight from her dreams.

Of course, Tarik is initially not the romantic man with yearning in his eyes from her dreams. He's cold, rude and condescending, and Kady can't stand him. But since he is the man from her dreams, the barriers eventually (and predictably) crumble as the truth about the relationship between Kady and Tarik emerges.

In the end, not only does Kady find true love, but she also manages to keep a 100 year old promise.

OK, first the largest problems as I saw them.

I had a bit of a problem dealing with the two heroes (Cole and Tarik), and yes, I had trouble giving up on Cole. I found myself mentally screaming at Kady, begging her to find a way to get back to Cole after her talk with Ruth, Cole's grandmother. Which is why I cried when Kady met up with him again in the end. I also thought she and Tarik went too quickly from hate to love.

I also had a very hard time reconciling the cold, ruthless Cole the five Ms (five women whose names begin with M) described to Kady with the endearing, fun-loving, and somewhat childlike Cole I had come to know and love.

That said, what I had the hardest time with was saying goodbye to Kady, Cole and Tarik when I finished the book.

Now the things I loved.

I loved that Kady wasn't model perfect. Fat by today's anorexic standards, but nearly perfect in almost any other time.

I loved Cole, and I was devastated when I learned the truth about him. Truth be told, I still am.

I grew to feel very strongly for Tarik, too (although not as strongly as I felt for Cole), and saw some of the same playfulness and protective nature that Cole so easily possessed eventually emerge from him, as well.

And the female cattiness in me has got to scream: I'M GLAD GREGORY LOST HIS MEAL TICKET!

Whew. I feel better.

Overall, as I said, I loved the book, and have put it on my shelf to read again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Time Travel Story , it was good but not great ...
Review: One of Jude Deveraux's time travel stories,it was good but not as good as A Knight and Shinning Armor... alot of twists in the story,the main character Kady,chubby gorgeous girl,went back in time and saved Cole,dark handsome man,which she married during that time to survive,helped him to experience love... i liked this one ... the character is not perfectly slim or thin,like in most books... the stories are great eventhough the characters are not perfect... it was GOOD...

Rating:
Summary: A rare romance reader
Review: Since I never read romance and don't like it when I do, I read this book only because my mom gave it to me. I rolled my eyes, and tried to make the best of it. How wrong I was!! I was addicted to this book from the moment I started reading it. I couldn't wait to get back to it, which we all know is the sign of a great book. I really thought from the picture on the cover it would a typical romance novel but I couldn't believe all the twists and turns the plot took. I would think I had it figured out then everything would change. It was amazing! This is my first book by this author and I don't know if I'll be able to read another for fear of being disappointed. The characters became my friends, the writing was more than acceptable- not too flowery but not too efficient. I would say this is an action, romance, and setting story. Overall, a book I will read over and over again through the years.

Rating:
Summary: Read Knight In Shining Armor or Remembrance instead
Review: This book wasn't bad, but I expected more from Jude Deveraux. As other reviewers have mentioned, the existence of two separate heroes and the unequal amount of time spent with them seriously mars the pacing, leaving the reader unsatisfied at the end. For time-travel romances, A Knight In Shining Armor is far superior. In Legend, Deveraux is much sloppier about handling paradoxes associated with time travel, and fails to wrap up the stories associated with secondary characters. The one truly wonderful aspect of this book is the emphasis on the protagonist's culinary talent; anyone who likes cooking or just plain loves good food will delight in the descriptions of her concoctions.

Rating:
Summary: Read Knight In Shining Armor or Remembrance instead
Review: This book wasn't bad, but I expected more from Jude Deveraux. As other reviewers have mentioned, the existence of two separate heroes and the unequal amount of time spent with them seriously mars the pacing, leaving the reader unsatisfied at the end. For time-travel romances, A Knight In Shining Armor is far superior. In Legend, Deveraux is much sloppier about handling paradoxes associated with time travel, and fails to wrap up the stories associated with secondary characters. The one truly wonderful aspect of this book is the emphasis on the protagonist's culinary talent; anyone who likes cooking or just plain loves good food will delight in the descriptions of her concoctions.

Rating:
Summary: Really, really enjoyed this!
Review: This is better the second time around. The first time I got too attached to Cole. Knowing everything before hand is much better. I'm not going to give away to much because some people may still want some surprises. Cole has a big secret, which Kady finds out about from somebody.

I won't say how she meets the other guy, but on second read he is more likeable (you may want to wait a few weeks at least to reread the book to get how great Cole was out of your mind)

Too much time was spent on Kady's relationship with Cole, and not enough on the one with the other guy. An extra chapter or two at the end would have been nice.

The best part of the book, surprisingly, was actually near the end. I won't give away what happened.

Cole does get his own story in an anthology. However, he's quite different then he is in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Aargh!!!
Review: this is jd's second book that has time travel in it. It was a great read. It has a shocking part in the middle of the book that will make you seem like you have juss been on a roller coaster and an unexpected loop has juss came up. i liked this book a lot. Jd is a great author.

p.s cole wat a sneaky person