Paradise

Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt
Review: I have read all of JM's books. I love all of them, but by far, Paradise is my favourite book. Matt and Meredith are my favourite characters.

Meredith is a very sweet girl who has had to fight for affection since young. Her harsh father has high expectations of her, and her first crush is already attached. My heart goes out to her as a child fighting for approval and affection. I cheered when she met Matt and defied her father for the first time (well, she outsmarted him before, but this was her first outright rebellion against his wishes) by marrying Matt, an iron mill worker. Alas, the course of true love never did run smooth. A cruel twist of fate, and her father's heartless machinations, drove the couple apart for 11 years!

Matt is a wonderful man. While he is only a steelworker, he has a degree in finance. The manual work he does was only to gain himself sufficient capital to start his own business. He was devastated when he thought Meredith betrayed him and aborted their child. He worked himself into the ground after that, to prove to her that he could make it in life. He wouldn't be a "dirty steel worker" all his life. The day he made his first million dollar, he toasted in a drunken stupor, "To you, my mercenary wife, may you rue the day you divorced me!". He still loved her, but at the same agonising time, hated her for her desertion....

Yes, the storyline is a BIG misunderstanding premise. But the author is JM. I cried at their separation, their stormy re-acquaintance and finally reunion. The story is poignant and funny at the same time. I felt sorry for them and the misunderstanding isn't contrived. The villain (Meredith's father) is definitely not uni-dimensional. He has a soft side to him too as we read on. He isn't entirely the unfeeling and cold father as one is led to believe in the first half of the book.

Read the book and let JM weave the magic of love. The premise may be old, but written by a gifted author, it's lovely and believable. It brings you to tears as you feel the characters' sorrow and laughter as you experience their joy. That's the magic of JM. You don't just read her books, she makes you FEEL.

Rating:
Summary: Great Characters, Intense Romance
Review: Matt has more education than the country club group suspected and certainly more ambition. They thought he was just a mechanic from Indiana with no class and no family. Meredith Bancroft was the daughter of one of the elite members who tried to shun Matt. Paradise is the story of how these two got together, were forced apart, and finally were reunited. It is also a story of parental manipulation and power brokering. The book is a good read from start to finish. If you are looking for romance novels with good plots, try Judith McNaught's books.

Rating:
Summary: MAGNIFICENT!!!!!!!
Review: I have read all of Judith McNaught's book and this one along with "Whitney, My Love" remains my favorites. I have read this one several times before and I will be reading it again and again. It is such a well written book. She is absolutely my most favorite romance writer. I'm looking forward to her new book. I hope it comes out in 2002. You will not regret reading this book, in fact, you might want to purchase it as gifts for everyone. It is simply magnificent!!!!

Rating:
Summary: best book u can EVER read
Review: this is d 1st book from judith mcnaught that ive ever read....& trust me....it is SOOO good!! ive since been a huge fan of hers...but i got to admit this is by far her bes. in fact, it is THE best EVER....
at first, after seeing that it was about business, i kinda wasnt so interested, but i was wrong. the love n i mean LOVE (not just lust, but true all-consuming love) between Matt & Meredith was so touching, & their pain from the misunderstanding that Mer's dad caused will just tear your heart apart. but them making up was just blissful. but that's not all....then they find out that they're still married....ahhhh.....thats even better.
i just love it when Matthew said 'you have no idea just how much-i'd do for you' *sigh*
once you start....you'll totally get so entranced by the book (that you'll totally be able 2 relate to) that u just cant put it down... you'll just get so caught up with their lives & their feelings that it makes you sometimes wanna jump in & sort evryting out between the characters. sometimes it's hard to remember that they're just FICTIONAl characters cuz they seem so real. everything that's felt between matt & mer is just evrything you'll want in real life....true love
cheers to judith mcnaught....& may you write more books that'll take us to Paradise :))
P.S. the book Perfect (Paradise's supposed kinda sequel) is nothing compared to Paradise

Rating:
Summary: A TRIP TO PARADISE EACH TIME
Review: I FIRST READ PARADISE THREE YEARS AGO AND FELL IN LOVE WITH THE CHARACTERS. JUDITH MCNAUGHTS VISION OF THE DRAMA BETWEEN MATTHEW FARRELL AND MEREDITH BANCROFT IS SO INTENSE AND TRULY ENJOYABLE. PARADISE IS A BOOK I READ SEVERAL TIMES A YEAR AND EACH TIME, I FIND THE INTENSE STORYLINE TO BE JUST THE ENTERTAINMENT I NEED AT THE END OF THE DAY. EACH READ IS LIKE THE FIRST, I DON'T WANT TO PUT IT DOWN, AND KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE.

Rating:
Summary: Breathless
Review: Wow.... This book has left me wanting to read more of Judith McNaught's writings. This was the first one i've read of hers, and i want to read more of JM's, but i am scared that they will not live up to the brilliance of this one. I can't wait to start on the sequel Perfect. I was so captivated by all of the characters. They all had their own unique qualities. Lisa was definetely a favorite.. robust and always breaking the silence. I fell in love with Matt instantly! The way he cared for Mer. I couldn't put the book down, and i am not a big reader. I have to say, I didn't want to read it at first, it did not appeal to me, but my best friend kept bugging me to. This was the first time i've ever wanted to get home so that i could read. There were times when i cried, felt overjoyed and times where i wanted to throw the book and scream at the characters. JM gets you emotionally involved with the book, she evokes emotion, and you feel the characters frustrations/happiness/sorrow/excitment. The last time I felt the characters emotions was in Melville's "Bartleby". There were times in the book, when it went slow..too much business jargon that i think was needed, but only to a point. I love this book!!!!!!!!I definetely cannot wait to read more~~!

Rating:
Summary: Keep falling in love with the book over and over again!
Review: I am a great fan of JM. Paradise is by far my favourite book. Reread the story countless times. Everytime I read the book, it's like falling in love with Matt and Meredith over and over again. It's a treasure to have a story that mesmerises the reader so intensely. The hero and heroine are so meant to be together.

JM has done a brilliant job creating these 2 characters and it make me sad to know that they are fictional characters when I can feel them so real in my heart and mind. I love them so dearly that I savour the bits in Perfect when M & M make cameo appearances with their daughter! :-) I just cannot get enough of them. Period.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!!
Review: I am not a typical romance book reader, however, this book was terrific. I threw it in a stack from the library and it turned out to be a gem. The storyline was original and had just enough tragedy to keep you hooked and rooting for true love to prevail. The character development was great and I will be reading many more Judith McNaught's books!

Rating:
Summary: Paradise is one of the best books you'll ever read
Review: Believe me, I don't say that lightly. I could have said that it's one of the best Romances you'll ever read but I see it as better than what literary snobs like to judge it as. Technically, I suppose it is a romance but it's not fluffy by any means. In fact, before I read this book, I thought that romances were for light-hearted, flakey women with nothing but time on their hands. The truth is that although this isn't really a "love and laughter" romance, it has a sophisticated sense of humor and an excellent story-line. The characters are extremely well developed and highly enjoyable. And unlike a lot of novels, you're able to get into the book, truly feel what it would be like to experience what the characters are feeling. I highly recommend anything from Ms. McNaught, she's a great writer of historical and contemporary romance as well as romantic suspense.

Rating:
Summary: ENCHATING!
Review: I loved Paradise it has so much love in it. The end is a beautiful happy ending. Characters like Joe and Lisa are so fantastic! They make the book more enjoyable. The only thing that kind of got to me was that the heroine was soft when it came to her father. I thought she shoud have been more firm. Overall Paradise is what you call straight up ENCHANTING!