Jade Island

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!! One Of Elizabeth Lowell's Best!
Review: "Jade Island" is book two in Elizabeth Lowell's Donovan series. I think it is her best novel of the four. As always, Ms. Lowell's writing style is tight, her characters so alive, (the Donovans are a terrific bunch that I cannot read enough about), and her plot and subplots are riveting - filled with adventure and suspense; not to mention her love/sex scenes, which are always hot! I especially like Lianne Blakely, a smart, independent lady who knows what she is about...and how to stand up for herself.

Kyle Donovan, a gemologist, has decided to go into business for himself, leaving the family corporation, Donovan International. On his own, Kyle can travel the globe at will, searching for gems, antiquities...and adventure. Archer Donovan, Kyle's brother and CEO of the family business, hires Kyle as a consultant to investigate the authenticity of "The Jade Emperor," purported to be recently acquired by a billionaire collector. The piece should be in the vaults of Hong Kong's Tang Family. If it is not there, then the priceless jade has been stolen and the theft could provoke an international incident. The US and Chinese governments are investigating also.

Lianne Blakely, a noted gemologist, is the illegitimate daughter of Johnny Tang. The Tang family does not accept her as one of their own, but trusts her and works with her because of her professional experience and her unacknowledged family connection. Her father asks her to seduce Kyle Donovan in order to have an inside track to Donovan International. The Tangs need the Donovan's for their continued success in the gem market.

Kyle, unaware of Lianne's motives, is out to seduce her himself. He wants to have an inside line to her family, and find out as much information as he can about the stolen jade. Archer, Kyle and the Tangs suspect that Lianne is involved in the theft.

The attraction between Kyle and Lianne is dynamite. The plot's tension increases when someone attempts to murder her. The research on jade is meticulous and the information fascinating. The history of Chinese family traditions is richly told, and more valuable to this reader than precious jade. What a fabulous book! I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: The best of the Elizabeth Lowell Series
Review: "Jade Island" by Elizabeth Lowell, is the second book in Donavan family trilogy. The focus this time is Kyle, the reckless one of the Donavan bunch. Kyle is asked by his family to "seduce" lovely jade expert Lianne Blakely to see if she is connected to the disappearance of some expensive Chinese treasures. The treasures in question are a jade suit and some jade items from the Tang family vault. Lianne is the obvious choice for learning where the pieces are because of her connection to the Tang family.

Lianne is the illegitimate daughter of Johnny Tang and although she has never been acknowledged as part of the family, her expertise and knowledge of jade allows her to work closely with the family and with the pieces themselves. When pieces of the family's personal collection start disappearing, Lianne is the prime suspect of not only the Tang family and the government, but also the Donovan's. She is recruited by her father to "seduce" Kyle Donovan so the Tang family can get close the Donovan International. The purpose behind this is unknown to Lianne, but soon it becomes apparent the Tang's need the powerful Donovan's to remain successful in the jade-trading market.

As expected, attraction gets the best of Kyle and Lianne and they are soon caught up in a passionate affair. The affair intensifies when Lianne is arrested for stealing the Tang family jade and Kyle feels the need to protect Liane. Soon he must protect her from a killer, a killer who do anything to keep Lianne from revealing what she knows about the Tang family and it's treasures.

"Jade Island" is a great novel. Aside from the story I learned a great deal about Chinese heritage and jade. The book itself is a history lesson into Chinese traditions and the different kinds of valuable jades there are. Immediately after reading the novel I was online looking up erotic pieces that I had read about. If the other two novels in the series are as good as this one, then I can hardly wait to start reading!

Gennie Bailey-Rogers

Rating:
Summary: Action, Romance and a Double Cross or Two
Review: Archer Donovan, head of the Donovan clan, asks brother Kyle to get close to Lianne Blakely, the illegitimate daughter of Johnny Tang and his American mistress, because he believes priceless Chinese jade artifacts have been stolen and he thinks the Tang family consortium, headed by Wen Zhi Tang, who has a lifelong obsession with jade, might have something to do with it.

Lianne is as passionate about jade as Wen and is a respected Jade expert, but much to her chagrin she's not accepted by the Tangs as a full fledged family member. However, when they need an expert to value the jade they want to buy, it's her they call.

In a nice twist her father, Johnny Tang, has asked her to get close to Kyle and while Kyle and Lianne are getting to know each other, they discover that priceless jade has been taken from the Tang vault and replaced with inferior pieces.

Lianne is a prime suspect because she is one of the few people who go into the vault on a regular basis. Then she's outright accused of stealing the jade and now she and Kyle, who now have a thing for each other, have to find the real thief or she may go to prison.

This is the second book in Ms. Lowell's series about the Donovan Clan and every bit as good as the first. There is lots of action, suspense, a double cross here and there and romance too. A very good book.

Rating:
Summary: technical info on jade:the result is futile!
Review: I totally agree with some reviewers who said that Ms Lowell's recent works were weak and lack of spirit. I, personally gave up buying her books after Donovan series. When I checked the attitudes of other reviewers, I realized that this is a kind of trend actually. Donovan series are supposed to be good, however too much info about gemology (obviously she has lots of books on this issue) is really beyond boring. One reader had emphasized that Ms Lowell is either very good or very poor. I completely agree with her. The earlier books (even the naive ones) of Ms Lowell are much better than the recent ones.
I could not see any character development in this one. To me the whole story was uninteresting and shallow. Too much cliche! Once again...






Rating:
Summary: Not Enough Focus on the Budding Romance...
Review: I was so excited to read this book but was greatly disapointed when I begun, because the romance aspect was left to the background and the political part dominated the story to the point of bordem. There was way too much information and pages and pages of textbook information on jade and how it is crafted and set into jewelry or ancient swords for the Chinese. The romance between the main characters Lianne and Kyle was so rushed and didn't make much sense. I wasn't sure why he was trying to seduce her and why she even fell for him when she was centered on her work? I feel like I missed out on the plot here.

~Kyle Donovan is trying to get to the bottom of the disappearance of cultural treasures from the Tang vaults. He and his brother are trying out there own business at gem trading and treasure hunting. This discovery would be a coup, the only thing he didn't expect to get tangled in was an international gem ring that will bring him close to a woman who not only beautiful, but also suspected of theft of the famous Tung vault treasures hundreds of years old.

Lianne Blakely is the illegitimate daughter of a powerful Hong Kong trader and his American mistress. She is being accused of theft. Not just any ordinary theft, but the theft of ancient treasures. Millions in jade. She meets Kyle and he believes her, but she must find the real thief. Together they venture into the sordid world of international gem thievery, power plays and dangerous people that would rather see them dead than give up the beauty of the ancient jade.

Tracy Talley~@

Rating:
Summary: Not Enough Focus on the Budding Romance...
Review: I was so excited to read this book but was greatly disapointed when I begun, because the romance aspect was left to the background and the political part dominated the story to the point of bordem. There was way too much information and pages and pages of textbook information on jade and how it is crafted and set into jewelry or ancient swords for the Chinese. The romance between the main characters Lianne and Kyle was so rushed and didn't make much sense. I wasn't sure why he was trying to seduce her and why she even fell for him when she was centered on her work? I feel like I missed out on the plot here.

~Kyle Donovan is trying to get to the bottom of the disappearance of cultural treasures from the Tang vaults. He and his brother are trying out there own business at gem trading and treasure hunting. This discovery would be a coup, the only thing he didn't expect to get tangled in was an international gem ring that will bring him close to a woman who not only beautiful, but also suspected of theft of the famous Tung vault treasures hundreds of years old.

Lianne Blakely is the illegitimate daughter of a powerful Hong Kong trader and his American mistress. She is being accused of theft. Not just any ordinary theft, but the theft of ancient treasures. Millions in jade. She meets Kyle and he believes her, but she must find the real thief. Together they venture into the sordid world of international gem thievery, power plays and dangerous people that would rather see them dead than give up the beauty of the ancient jade.

Tracy Talley~@

Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorite romances!
Review: Loved this book. Loved the jade and the Chinese cultural issues and the Donovan family! Maybe the romance got less play then in your average romance novel, but the crime caper was great and Kyle and Lianne were wonderful! Both smart, funny, sexy people. Much rounder characters than typical and great banter. The romance scenes were also quite hot.

Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorite romances!
Review: Loved this book. Loved the jade and the Chinese cultural issues and the Donovan family! Maybe the romance got less play then in your average romance novel, but the crime caper was great and Kyle and Lianne were wonderful! Both smart, funny, sexy people. Much rounder characters than typical and great banter. The romance scenes were also quite hot.

Rating:
Summary: Lowell is one of the best
Review: Seeking independence and adventure, Kyle Donavon opens up his own business, leaving behind the family's international corporation run by his brother Archer. Being his own man allows Kyle to travel the globe searching for treasures. Archer asks Kyle to look into the claim of billionaire Dick Farmer, who insists that he possesses the legendary Jade Emperor. If he does have the fabled treasure, Kyle is to investigate how he obtained it since it was supposedly in the vault of Hong Kong's Tang family. The American and Chinese governments as well as the powerful Tang clan want answers before an international incident explodes over this national treasure.

Everyone believes that Lianne Blakely, a talented gemologist and illegitimate daughter of one of the Tangs, is the thief. Her father wants her to meet Kyle, who starts his inquiries with her based on a government lead. She insists that she is innocent and as he begins to care for her, he reluctantly believes her. Someone is setting up Lianne to take the fall and her only hope lies in a man she now loves, but does not trust.

The second tale in Elizabeth Lowell's "Donavon family" romantic suspense novels is a gem of a story that, like its best selling predecessor, requires enough time for a one-siting read. The story line is action packed and loaded with international intrigue. The lead lovers are a phenomenal duet, who begin to cherish each other, but struggle to trust their soulmate. The return of characters from AMBER BEACH adds a warm feeling of homecoming. With JADE ISLAND, Elizabeth Lowell has scribed a 24 carat best seller.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Loving' Lowell
Review: This is by far the best and most sensual of the Donovan Books. Hopefully she will write about the other missing sons Kyle & Justin. I'm looking forward to it.