Fifth Daughter

Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!!
Review: As a working professional, I love to spend my hard earned money on a good read. This book was perfect and I strongly recommend it to all.

Rating:
Summary: I am forced to give it one star.
Review: I have never read Ms. Coffman's books before and thought I would give this a shot - I wish someone had shot me instead! I read the first 50 or so pages, skipped a few hundred, read another page, and then gave up. The dialogue was terrible, the plot uninteresting, and the characters could not have been more boring and bland. I am a voracious romance reader and this book is one of the worst examples of the genre I have read in a very long time.

Rating:
Summary: I am forced to give it one star.
Review: I was so looking forward to reading this book and in fact, when I bought it I was reading another that I finished with hasty anticipation of The Fifth Daughter. I was misled by this book. First, Elaine Coffman wrote The Italian, which I loved, so I expected much more when I read this. Second, on the back of this book it says it is a stunning love story and on the binding it advertises itself as a historical romance. Where is the romance? And unless I've missed something, how is this a stunning love story? Throughout the entire book, Percy appeared only a handful of times and then he was nothing but a doormat for Maresa. She was nothing but a spoiled brat who treated him horribly. I'm not sure why he even bothered with her because she had not one redeeming quality about her. She was immature and selfish. I could have done without the history lesson and maybe a little more romance. Napoleon and his escapades were constantly crammed down my throat and I began to wonder if this was his story and a story about the war and that of Percy and Maresa's romance was nothing but a subplot. I did read the entire book and agree with the reviewer that said the writing was choppy. The dialogue was bad. And the much anticipated love scene amounted to a couple sentences. As much as I enjoyed The Italian, this book wasn't worth the paper it was printed on.

Rating:
Summary: True Romance
Review: If you loved Gone With the Wind and War and Peace, you will love this beautiful novel. The characters are well rounded and they actually grow throughout the novel, not staying stagnant and stubborn to their own causes as with most romance novels these days. This book encompasses the original meaning of romance novels and focuses upon the actual emotions of the characters, even when they make us angry or sad, and does not have so many sex scenes that we lose the plot line. Maresa, the heroine, grows up feeling unloved by anyone except for her childhood friend Percy and she tries to make up for this by doing the things immature women do for love, hurting the one person who truly cared for her along the way. As Maresa grows from a spoilt brat to a strong woman, Coffman's words make us empathize with the poor girl and root for her all the way. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys well written works, not just romance fans, but romance fans will definently want this one on their shelves.

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: It's refreshing to read an author who doesn't write the same story and characters over and over again. I have read every book Ms. Coffman has written and love each and every one. Her characters are real people and face real problems. In THE FIFTH DAUGHTER I truly enjoyed watching Maresa grow. She reminded me of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. As far as men were concerned, she didn't have a clue as to what true love meant. She was selfish and fickle and was unable to see the wonderful hero, Percy (who reminds me of Horatio Hornblower in the terrific TV series) was the perfect man for her. It took a war and almost losing Percy for Maresa to mature into a stong and independent woman willing to risk her life for the man she loved. This book is definitely a cut above the average.

Rating:
Summary: Not great, but not that bad
Review: One of the best books I have read in years!!!! I STRONGLY RECOMMEND this book. What a talented author. Elaine Coffman brings class, style, humor and an excellent read to people like me. I absolutely loved the book and wonder about some of the comments I have read on this site. Evidently some of the commentators either have not really read the book or don't understand the writings of a literary artist. While anyone can write a book, this author weaves talent and magic into a novel that is unique - it is for the educated, well-read and lovers of literature and romance.

I loved the review by Harriet Klausner - right on the money! I also liked the pixycita review. These books aren't just your run-of-the-mill books that are a dime-a-dozen and easily forgotten. Her book's are original, different and on the cutting edge.

Rating:
Summary: Fiddle-de-dee
Review: This is the first and last book I will read by Ms. Coffman. What can I say, the writing was choppy (there was no flow whatsoever), the characters were underdeveloped and I kept waiting for Maresa to exlaim "Fiddle-de-dee" (Note: in no way, shape or form did this book compare with Gone with the Wind, though!) And not to spoil the ending for those who want to read the book regardless of this review, IT IS VERY ANTI-CLIMATIC and not worth wading through the endless pages of the book to find out, of course, that the hero and heroine end up together.