Wild Orchids : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: This is Perfect Summer Reading!
Review: I picked this book at the hairdresser's and since I am a fan of her books, I knew this one was going to be a fun read. It is. It's perfect for those long lazy summer days when the kids are playing and you're looking to escape into a good novel. So grab your lemonade and sit in the shade and have a good read!

If you like mysteries, this book is it. It's fun and full of twists and turns, sometimes predictable, but thoroughly fun to read! I have read Jude's other books on romance and I like the fact that she's branching out into other areas of writing. Writing the same thing over and over again can be tedious for the author and her fans ~~ so this is a refreshing break for readers like me!

Ford Newcombe, an author struggling to write since his wife's death,meets Jackie Maxwell, who has a secret so big that she doesn't even know it. Together they set out to solve an old murder mystery that Jackie has vaguely remembered. There was talk in this old southern town of a woman who was murdered because she was in love with the devil. Ford buys a house there and Jackie, as his assistant, helps refurbish the house in the memory of what it used to be. Together, they discover a secret so deep that keeps the town together, as well as their love for each other.

This is not a romance book, but there is sexual tension between the two characters that makes things very interesting and fun. Jackie is the character everyone just can't help but like. Ford is witty and intelligent and fun ~~ this is a fun book. This is such a perfect read for summer! Enjoy it with a glass of lemonade while sitting outside and watching the kids playing.

7-30-04

Rating:
Summary: Not your normal Jude Deveraux Romance
Review: I have read quite a few of Jude Deveraux's books, and have always come back to her for a good story. Wild Orchids was written so differently, but yet it worked. I wasn't expecting the twists and turns, and the ending was completly worth how long the book felt. The Ford/Jackie chapters were a little tedious, but I think that in the end it was neat to see how the two characters thought and reacted. I really enjoyed this book, but its only real flaw was the last page(s), and the ending to the book. It seemed like because Jude didn't fit any of the "romance" or rather the sex between the two protagonists in the book she ended up cramming all that into that list piece. (Sorry for the spoiler.) I think that it was a given that those things could and would happen, and was unnecessary to end the book in that fashion. I was captivated up until that point, because I assumed that this book like many of her others would have the constant underlying friction of their sexual attraction. It was refreshing to read a book without a whole chapter on the characters having sex.
Anyways, if you are a die hard romance book lover I don't recommend this Jude Deveraux book....try Sweet Liar, or all of the Velvet series. I bought this book on a whim, and was amazed at how much I enjoyed it.