Rating: 
Summary: Not Your Average Sleeping Beauty
Review: What a delightful, original book. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. The plot was unique, the characters likeable. The heroine was an older "soiled dove," who deserved the honorable, handsome, young hero, and the fairy-tale ending.
Rating:
Summary: Not Your Average Sleeping Beauty
Review: What a delightful, original book. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. The plot was unique, the characters likeable. The heroine was an older "soiled dove," who deserved the honorable, handsome, young hero, and the fairy-tale ending.
Rating:
Summary: Not Your Average Sleeping Beauty
Review: What a delightful, original book. I thoroughly enjoyed every page. The plot was unique, the characters likeable. The heroine was an older "soiled dove," who deserved the honorable, handsome, young hero, and the fairy-tale ending.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Unique - Throw away all typical romance lines
Review: What a fantastic romance! Judith Ivory has departed from nearly every romance formula in creating Sleeping Beauty. First, we have a hero, Sir James Stoker, in pursuit of the heroine AND he respects her AND he accepts her with all her past dalliances AND he is seven years younger than her AND he thinks she is the most beautiful woman AND he is not an alpha type! He is highly intelligent, humble despite wide popularity as an African explorer/geologist, extremely successful for his age, honest almost to a fault, and perceptive with an ability to care deeply for a woman. He is not noble although the Queen really likes him. He has little care for what others think and he is overall one very attractive hero to the reader.Enter Coco Wild, soon to be 37, a woman with a very questionable past - a past that she is not ashamed of. She has become a very wealthy woman and has no need for a protector. Fretting about her age, she first encounters James in a dentist office where she is scheduled to have a tooth pulled. She hides behind a beautiful smile that rarely leaves her face. James wants to know her better - she refuses. James is too young for her and she would be very bad for his golden reputation. Plus, she has no desire for a broken heart and she highly suspects that is the condition she would find herself in once James lost interest in her. But they seem "meant to be together" as they encounter one another again and again. Most of the story occurs at Cambridge where James has many responsibilities, which include studying the many notes and artifacts from his disastrous, yet, eventually successful African exploration. James is highly alluring and very likable as this most unusual hero. He's not a rake and doesn't have the typical aversion to love. Coco seems to constantly run from James although he becomes dearer to her with each meeting. Their interaction is very refreshing and their communication is honest. We get to see a precious friendship develop between the two although their relationship eventually becomes quite sensual as well. Those sensual scenes rate about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). I highly recommend Sleeping Beauty. I have read four of Ivory's books and each have been the equivalent of a four or five star rating. Her writing captivates you and you must continue reading because you probably will not be able to guess what comes next. My interest never lagged once and I have decided Sleeping Beauty definitely belongs on my keeper shelf. I wish Ivory had a larger backlist because I am making my way through it rather rapidly. However, I have discovered that she also writes as Judy Cuevas and I plan to explore some of those books as well.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Unique - Throw away all typical romance lines
Review: What a fantastic romance! Judith Ivory has departed from nearly every romance formula in creating Sleeping Beauty. First, we have a hero, Sir James Stoker, in pursuit of the heroine AND he respects her AND he accepts her with all her past dalliances AND he is seven years younger than her AND he thinks she is the most beautiful woman AND he is not an alpha type! He is highly intelligent, humble despite wide popularity as an African explorer/geologist, extremely successful for his age, honest almost to a fault, and perceptive with an ability to care deeply for a woman. He is not noble although the Queen really likes him. He has little care for what others think and he is overall one very attractive hero to the reader. Enter Coco Wild, soon to be 37, a woman with a very questionable past - a past that she is not ashamed of. She has become a very wealthy woman and has no need for a protector. Fretting about her age, she first encounters James in a dentist office where she is scheduled to have a tooth pulled. She hides behind a beautiful smile that rarely leaves her face. James wants to know her better - she refuses. James is too young for her and she would be very bad for his golden reputation. Plus, she has no desire for a broken heart and she highly suspects that is the condition she would find herself in once James lost interest in her. But they seem "meant to be together" as they encounter one another again and again. Most of the story occurs at Cambridge where James has many responsibilities, which include studying the many notes and artifacts from his disastrous, yet, eventually successful African exploration. James is highly alluring and very likable as this most unusual hero. He's not a rake and doesn't have the typical aversion to love. Coco seems to constantly run from James although he becomes dearer to her with each meeting. Their interaction is very refreshing and their communication is honest. We get to see a precious friendship develop between the two although their relationship eventually becomes quite sensual as well. Those sensual scenes rate about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). I highly recommend Sleeping Beauty. I have read four of Ivory's books and each have been the equivalent of a four or five star rating. Her writing captivates you and you must continue reading because you probably will not be able to guess what comes next. My interest never lagged once and I have decided Sleeping Beauty definitely belongs on my keeper shelf. I wish Ivory had a larger backlist because I am making my way through it rather rapidly. However, I have discovered that she also writes as Judy Cuevas and I plan to explore some of those books as well.
Rating:
Summary: Judith Ivory's seductive writing takes my breath away
Review: When I read her book Bliss (written as Judy Cuevas) I thought it was the best book I had read in a VERY long time. And I read 3 to 4 novels a week. Dance was even better. Beast was just as great. But I feel as though if Sleeping Beauty was written just for me. If someone asked me what I wanted in a perfect romance, this is it. This is not a suspense/romance, or any other combo-romance. This is a TRUE ROMANCE. Yes, there is suspense but not at the cost of giving me what I want: A great story about two people falling in love despite the dictates of the society in which they live. If you need lots of action/gore/murder/betrayal and worst of all, a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING to get you interested in a love story, then this is not for you. Nor is this a G rated book, thank goodness. This book does not insult your intelligence but that does not mean it reads like a textbook. It's VERY easy to read. You know what he/she thinks and feels. This is one element that Ivory truly excels at. I've read so many other authors where I can never figure out what the hero is feeling or when the two are getting hot & heavy, they suddenly become mute as far as the reader can tell. Let me tell you, you will need a cold shower after reading about some of the heated moans and pants these two can generate. I also loved the fact that this book turned the tables on the old 70's & 80's romance stand by. This time, it's the woman who is older and more sexually experienced. And he declares his love for her first and he never falters in his pursuit of her from the minute he meets her. What woman wouldn't want all that! Not me & Coco.
Rating:
Summary: Judith Ivory's seductive writing takes my breath away
Review: When I read her book Bliss (written as Judy Cuevas) I thought it was the best book I had read in a VERY long time. And I read 3 to 4 novels a week. Dance was even better. Beast was just as great. But I feel as though if Sleeping Beauty was written just for me. If someone asked me what I wanted in a perfect romance, this is it. This is not a suspense/romance, or any other combo-romance. This is a TRUE ROMANCE. Yes, there is suspense but not at the cost of giving me what I want: A great story about two people falling in love despite the dictates of the society in which they live. If you need lots of action/gore/murder/betrayal and worst of all, a BIG MISUNDERSTANDING to get you interested in a love story, then this is not for you. Nor is this a G rated book, thank goodness. This book does not insult your intelligence but that does not mean it reads like a textbook. It's VERY easy to read. You know what he/she thinks and feels. This is one element that Ivory truly excels at. I've read so many other authors where I can never figure out what the hero is feeling or when the two are getting hot & heavy, they suddenly become mute as far as the reader can tell. Let me tell you, you will need a cold shower after reading about some of the heated moans and pants these two can generate. I also loved the fact that this book turned the tables on the old 70's & 80's romance stand by. This time, it's the woman who is older and more sexually experienced. And he declares his love for her first and he never falters in his pursuit of her from the minute he meets her. What woman wouldn't want all that! Not me & Coco.
Rating: 
Summary: I Have Found My Way Home...
Review: While sitting in a dentists waiting room - crying over a toothache, feeling sorry for herself and sulking over her upcoming birthday(her 37th) Coco Wild unexpectedly meets a young knight... Sir James Stoker.
James...charming...confident...young, so young!(just 29) He shows a delightful interest in her, but Coco is guarded as always. She - better than most - knows men. Once this idealistic, blindingly handsome knight finds out the truth about her, Coco is sure the adoring light in his eyes will fade...it always does. Yet, no matter how crudley Coco chooses to reveal her secrets to him, she cant seem to dissuade James from seeking her out. And try as she might, Coco cant seem to keep herself from reacting to James - she likes him. And so, rattling with nerves and a kind of dizzying glee, Coco Wild lets go and gives in to James Stoker - and oh! What a ride...
"Sleeping Beauty" was a great read. The tension level that Judith Ivory created between Coco and James was so high it was a thrill to watch and wait for them to finally unravel. I loved the chracters in this book. Coco was extremely refreshing. She was older than James, strong, independant, and wordly..yet still soft. James...OMG...he was so shining and sweet and genuine. Once again, the words Judith Ivory had a man uttering left me speechless. James is a character I will not soon forget. I loved the way something so simple as the yards and yards of fabric that made up Cocos bustles simply undid him...how the sight of her across from him at the dinner table stripped his mind of any rational thought...
"Sleeping Beauty" without a doubt, began as a 5 star read. My reason for dropping a star was that it, unfortunately, lost its focus about 3/4 of the way through and the ending was a little too neat. Still, I did love this book and the scene where James finally comes out and declares himself was, though a little hard to believe, soooo adorable. "Sleeping beauty" is, in typical Judith Ivory fashion...a real keeper. Read it.
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