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Rating: 
Summary: True to the Time
Review: i can understand while readers would be disturbed by the main deception in this novel. i too was disturbed and was wondering whether i would myself could forgive this man for what he had allowed if i were Pippa myself. i think Ms. Feather did an excellent job with this novel. it is gritty, dark and genuine to the time in history that was Queen Mary I regime. Horrible, unthinkable things were committed at her orders and at Spain's orders also. If you had to live through what Lionel Ashton experienced, i think perhaps you could judge what he did. But who of us, in his shoes would not want to crush the man that instigated such crime upon people who were merely thinking freely, and at whatever costs possible? it happens time and time again.anyways, off my soapbox, this book manages to capture in a light sense the essence of the deceit, the fear, the hope and the living that went on in the mid 1500's and Pippa and Lionel's story, along with Robin & Luisa, make it interesting and brings that time in history to life. i notice that Lisa Kleypas also manages to include in her novels a certain genuineness that seems to be missing in most of this genre. it was a dark time and that shouldn't be glossed over and i feel that Jane Feather is able to successfully pen a truly happy and enjoyable story in a very dark setting. My hat's off to her!
Rating: 
Summary: Well written story but very disturbing plot
Review: In the prologue, we learn that the heroine is being drugged on a nightly basis so that King Phillip can have intercourse with her in hopes of fathering a child. The plan is to take this child and pass it off as Mary's. Pippa's husband assists in this despicable scheme because Phillip's court is holding something over his head. What makes the book's plot even more unpalatable is that the hero, Lionel Ashton, is actively involved in the plot to defile Pippa's body on a regular basis. While Feather is an excellent writer and the book is tightly written, the storyline of the heroine being raped and the hero being actively involved in her rape, makes the romance distasteful for me. I gave the low rating, not because of the craft, but because of the content. For me, Feather failed to provide an adequate explanation for Lionel's actions (his need for revenge was not sufficient). I simply could not look past Lionel's complicity in Pippa's tragedy. Some readers may have been worried that Pippa would be too cheerful, too scatterbrained based on the previous two books but there was no evidence of the Pippa of old. In this story, Pippa feelings are dark in this book from being haunted by the idea that her husband is having sex with her while she is sleeping, attemping to save her marriage and despairing upon finding out what is truly happening to her. I regret reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: Jane Feather is a talented author who likes to tackle new and challenging ideas in her books. Sadly, this one just doesn't work for me. The hero is the biggest problem. Not only did he facilitate the heroine's rape, he also chose to keep her in the dark when the two of them were already engaged in an affair. Character development was insufficient, I just can't indentify with the hero's so called tormented past and his reasons for taking part in that hideous plot. The heroine doesn't fare any better either. I don't find myself sympathise with her despite the fact that she was a victim and can't understand why she chose to forgive him. The complete lack of chemistry and the big "ick" factor totally put me off.
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