Rating: 
Summary: Not Real Love
Review: The story starts out well with Nicole, a French refugee and aristocrat, being kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity instead of her English employer, Bianca. Nicole is shipped to the colonies to marry an affluent plantation owner. Clay has gone through a lot of trouble to get Bianca, the object of his odd fixation and worship, to America and is furious when he discovers that the wrong woman has been brought over. For a while it looks like it may work out for them as they begin to understand and respect one another. Bianca soon shows up to completely douse the rest of the story with misery. Clay cannot decide who he wants Nicole: who loves him or Bianca: who reminds him of a past love. The rest of the book is simply one after another of the most unfortunate and frustrating series of circumstances that any author anywhere could ever hope to imagine. There are ruined parties, more kidnappings, attempted rape, adultery, dead characters coming back to life, annulments, and the list could go on and on.
The story line is not very good and I could've perhaps over looked it, though all the sub-plots and annoying secondary characters could have been thrown out with no complaint from me, but what truly ruined the book were the characters actions or lack thereof. Nicole and Clay demean there beautiful relationship by cavorting in caves and across the countryside as if they are ashamed by their love - they are MARRIED for goodness sake! It is unfortunate that they could not have claimed all the rights that this entailed them instead of sneaking around. Because of their separation they would just fall all over each other and two paragraph later it would be over and it might be months before the saw each other again even though they were husband and wife.
Nicole refuses to trust him, not that I blame her he had done little to stand up for her or protect her from Bianca, however this time she should have urged him to fight for them instead of kicking him when he was down. By lying about her true feelings she only prolongs both their agony and ours another 100 pages.
Clay becomes a flaming drunk who lets his beloved plantation fall to ruin when he thinks he's lost Nicole. Emotion is fine and being devastated over a break-up is understandable but the author lets him wallow this way for over a year and during this time he never does one thing to try and change the circumstances. To me this depicts a strong character as a weak and manipulated drunk who will not fight for what he loves.
Finally the author fails in her depictions of Bianca as an evil woman. She is selfish, self-centered, and unwise but not really evil. It is more like she is a spoiled child that has never been told no and lacks any form of self-control. Clay in return for her ruining his life treats her terribly calling her awful and degrading names and even turns a little violent with her on occasion. I understand that she had put herself into this situation but there is never an excuse for someone stronger to abuse someone weaker no matter how nasty they are. Again it made me lose respect for the main character and when the convoluted plot was winding down to the predictable happily-ever-after I was more excited that the book was over then I was that these two miserable lovers were finally going to be together again.
Have liked this author is previous reads but would not recommend this particular book to anyone not even her fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly enjoyable
Review: A warm and enjoyable romance, set in historical America. The main characters meet when she is mistaken for his fiance. The first half of the book is simply charming. The second half of the book (everything after the fiance shows up) is rather slow, annoying and contrived. Still, the high quality first half more than makes up for the lack.
Rating:
Summary: Great disappointment !
Review: After reading Judes Sweet liar, which is a wonderfull book,I bought Counterfeit lady. I am sorry to say, that I regret that now. After promising start book turned out to be very borring. Reading 150 pages about two people who gave up and now feel sorry for themselves is not my idea of having a good time. I do not recommend this book. But if you want to read one of the best romances ever, read Judes Sweet liar. You will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Nice book ... but not Jude's best
Review: I am a big fan of Jude Deveraux, but unfortunately this book did not live up to my expectations, it started off wonderful and I really felt captivated by the refugee Noblewoman Nicole and had been reduce to working for a snobby english woman, but frankly after having that man threat her so horrible all those times I just wanted to reach in the book and slap her silly! I was routing for Wes to get her in the end! Now that would of been a twist!
Not Jude's best work but its still worth reading
Rating:
Summary: I LOVED IT
Review: I cried quite a bit in this book. I thought it was one of Deveraux's better books. I can't wait to read Lost Lady and River Lady. As far as what others have wrote about the weight issue. Any one who is a Deveraux fan know she describes all of her characters in detail. I could name off more of her books that do the same. I would recommend this book to anyone and I have.
Rating:
Summary: Thin is good, fat is evil?
Review: I found myself speed reading most of the time. It started off quite well and I thought that I would enjoy it. But there was no sparkle between the 2 main characters. There is no depth to the characters. There isn't the essence of either humour or a heart wrenching love story. I found it annoying that so much emphasis was put on Bianca's weight, as though it made her a more evil character.
Rating:
Summary: Blah Blah Blah
Review: I genreally like Ms. Deveraux's work and picked up Counterfeit Lady expecteing another sucess. The book started off pretty good and I began to like Nicole, however it droned on and on, never really picking up, Clay treated Nicole horriably and she still loves him etc. It was painful to read because I just wanted Nicole to see the light and get over the egocentric Clay. And then there was Bianca who seemed to be trying to be a minor charcter but failed because she took up too much of the plot. The love between the two main charcters was so phony, and I kept reading it because I had hope it would pick up, however I was let down with the incrediably random and easy way out ending. I came to like Clay's friend Wes more than Clay himself. The book had good parts where Nicole shows her strength as a proud woman, but it wasn't enough to make up for the rest of the wasted space.
Rating:
Summary: Just plain wonderful!
Review: I had been looking really hard at the James River series before I decided to take the plunge and by _Counterfeit Lady_. A friend's recomendation is what finally pushed me over the edge, and I have been asking myself why I didn't do it sooner. This book is just plain fabulous. I was emediatly swept up into the book, and had a hard time leading a normal life. Jude Deveraux is a master at her genre, and sure knows how to write! This book reminded me of why I love romance so much. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!Nicole Courtalain was part of the French aristocracy when the Revolution broke out. Her family was slaughtered, and she fled to England. Bianca Maleson found her and decided to take Nicole in as her maid. Not wanting to be an object of charity, but not wanting to have to make it on the streets, Nicole accepted Bianca's offer. Over the months that Nicole lived with the Maleson's she decided that there had to be a better life out there for her. When one of her cousins aproached Nicole on the street with an offer to become a partner with her in a dress making shop, Nicole gladly accepted, working hard to get the money to become partner. Bianca is an obeese woman who is terrified of men. Unfortunatly, she is engaged. While Nicole is taking Bianca for a ride in the park, kidnappers come to take Bianca. Never before having met her, they take Nicole by mistake. Although Bianca has treated her badly, Nicole still feels that she must protect her, so she doesn't tell the men of their mistake right away, planning to let Bianca get back to safety. But, the kidapper's drug Nicole, and by the time she wakes up, she is on a ship already well on it's way to America. The captain is greedy and because Bianca's fiance is paying him much to abduct a woman from England and marry her to him by proxy, he is not willing to turn around, and figures that Nicole will do just as good as Bianca did. Forced into a proxy marriage, Nicole is now Mrs. Clayton Armstrong. Janie, a woman sent to help Bianca on the trip to America, is furious with Clayton. Over the long trip, she and Nicole became very close, and now she is going to give that stubborn man a peice of her mind. But, Nicole and Clayton are stuck with each other as the only way to get their marriage annuled is if they can prove that Nicole was forced into the union, and the only sound witness was on his way back to England. Nicole falls in love with Clay right away, but he is blindly in love with Bianca (for a reason that will only be revealed to you in the book). When it becomes apparent that the marriage could possibly be permanent, Clay starts letting his affection for her out of it's iron clasp, and there may be a chance at happiness for the two. He thinks that although Bianca would have been ideal, Nicole may not be a bad second choice. But there is always the threat of Bianca hanging over their heads, and when she comes to America, things are turned upside down. Can Clay and Nicole learn how to be together, or will two greedy people tear them apart? I can't tell you how wonderful this book was. I was pulled into it as I havn't been before. I could see the American wilds, and had a picture of each character made up in my mind. Jude Deveraux perfectly described everything to me, and I was so involved in the world of Nicole and Clay that the book was finished far too fast for my liking. _Counterfeit Lady_ is not your typical romance. It is the story of two people who fall in love with each other and then have to overcome many, many obsticals to be together. The majority of the book is not about them falling in love and living happily ever after... they fall in love and have to work HARD to be together. Nicole was the perfect heroine. She was petit, smart, beautiful and faithful. You know that she is going to be with Clay, but it is something that she will have to work very hard for. Clay was a very interesting hero. Sometimes I felt like he was sweet and kind, and other times, well... I would have liked to kill him. His blind love for Bianca made him rather anoying, but he got over that (but, a little too late). Now, Bianca was a character I really hated. Jude Deveraux made her so real to me that if I walked out onto the street and saw Bianca, I would have smacked her one right on the face. I thought I would hate her throughout the book, but I did feel sorry for her. Jude Deveraux is quickly becoming one of my very favorite authors, and this book is one of my very favorites. Read it, it's garunteed enjoyment.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many angles
Review: I have to say that I enjoyed this book for the most part, especially the first two-thirds, but I found the last third too complicated and too contrived. It was almost like Ms. Deveraux didn't want to stop writing about Clay and Nicole. I don't blame her; they were a magnificent couple. However, I was not too thrilled with the ending of this book. Ms. Deveraux took a long while to get to the end and to resolve the complications between the lovers, but when she did, she did it too abruptly and unrealistically. I was rather disappointed with the ending. I am, though, hoping that the remaining two books of this trilogy will mention what happened to Nicole and Clay.
Rating: 
Summary: I was so disappointed with this book
Review: I haven't finished this book yet, but I find it so annoying that I want to warn other readers to avoid it. The characters are not believable; they are all too often clumsily portrayed in broad strokes of black and white. The depiction of Bianca is an insult to all overweight women. Apparently her weight is indicative of her villainy. (...) Nicole is too sweet and virtuous to be true, not to mention being something of a doormat. And if she is part of the former French aristocracy, how is it that she knows the recipes for so many complex dishes? Aristocrats didn't cook for themselves; they had servants. There are so many other holes in the plot that they distract from the storyline. If you're considering purchasing this book, please don't waste your money. If you want to read a really entertaining romance, try "The Thin Woman" by Dorothy Cannell.
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