Rating: 
Summary: Not the typical romance novel -- very well written
Review: A really beautiful story. It takes until toward the end of the book for the hero and heroine to realize that they are in love -- but when it happens it is beautiful. Both characters are great, but what a hero -- loved him!!!! This was my first Susan Wiggs book, but not my last!!!
Rating:
Summary: Not the typical romance novel -- very well written
Review: A really beautiful story. It takes until toward the end of the book for the hero and heroine to realize that they are in love -- but when it happens it is beautiful. Both characters are great, but what a hero -- loved him!!!! This was my first Susan Wiggs book, but not my last!!!
Rating:
Summary: Susan Wiggs Delivers Again
Review: After reading "The Horsemaster's Daughter" I had to go out and buy up all of the Susan Wiggs books I could find. I devoured "The Charm School," and "The Lightkeeper" was just as good. "The Hostage" does not disappoint. Deborah Sinclair is the daughter of a wealthy man who is obsessed with being accepted into Chicago society. His is "new" money, he was not born with it and he is unorthodox in his method of obtaining it, jeoparizing the lives of his workers. Some miners on the Isle Royale have lost their lives, so Mr. Arthur Sinclair has many enemies, one being Tom Silver, who seeks revenge. Arthur Sinclair sets his daughter up to marry Peter Ascot, and Deborah originally accepts the fact that although she does not love Peter, she will come to love him. One night at the opera changes that, however. The night she travels to her father's house to tell him that the bethroal is off, Chicago is consumed by a fire - and that is the night that Tom Silver picks to seek his revenge by attempting to kill Arthur Sinclair. Due to the confusion of the fire, Sinclair gets away, but Tom takes Deborah to Isle Royale as a hostage - and the story takes off from there. Ms. Wiggs peels the layers off Tom, who comes to have strong feelings for Deborah. The secondary characters are wonderful and vital to the story and I came to have feelings for them as well. The ending stayed with me for days and was just as it should be. Susan Wiggs weaves a wonderful tale. As a matter of fact, all her books are wonderful. She has never disappointed me. Now, I'm waiting patiently for "The Mistress," the second book of the Chicago fire trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: something different...
Review: After reading many books describing either the "ton" or the medieval scottish highlands, I found this book to be a nice and very refreshing interlude. It is very fresh, well written and it certainly makes me want to read the rest of the series.
Deborah is a very well developed character and so is Tom. It's wonderful to see how they both change (especially Deborah) after living together for so long in Tom's cabin. The descriptions of the island are very enticing, and you can't help but want to go and visit it! Also, all the inhabitants of the little village, take part in the story, they're more than the usual background you see on romance books.
Tom is caring, gentle, considerate and Deborah grows up to become a woman instead of the girl she was at the beggining of the story. Respect grows slowly between them which slowly becomes strong love. And the scenes shere they live alone in the island, getting closer to each other are great...
This book is definately a must read and I can't wait to read the stories of Deborah's friends!
Rating:
Summary: something different...
Review: After reading many books describing either the "ton" or the medieval scottish highlands, I found this book to be a nice and very refreshing interlude. It is very fresh, well written and it certainly makes me want to read the rest of the series.
Deborah is a very well developed character and so is Tom. It's wonderful to see how they both change (especially Deborah) after living together for so long in Tom's cabin. The descriptions of the island are very enticing, and you can't help but want to go and visit it! Also, all the inhabitants of the little village, take part in the story, they're more than the usual background you see on romance books.
Tom is caring, gentle, considerate and Deborah grows up to become a woman instead of the girl she was at the beggining of the story. Respect grows slowly between them which slowly becomes strong love. And the scenes shere they live alone in the island, getting closer to each other are great...
This book is definately a must read and I can't wait to read the stories of Deborah's friends!
Rating:
Summary: The kidnapped bride story is alive and well!
Review: And done here with a deft touch and a real eye to romance. The hero is not just a big, dumb man, but desperate and revenge-driven, and the heroine has a big problem she can't get over by herself. Until they meet, neither has the strength to heal themselves, but once they fall in love, they can conquer the world -- together and separately. Wiggs's writing brings it all together. Wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable
Review: Best book I've read in a long time. What an incredible ordeal this gal survives...and then triumphs. The truth about what happened to Deborah kept me guessing, and I wept when I realized, along with Tom, what it was. Fabulous, moving, will stay with out a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable story that stops short of delivering
Review: Deborah Sinclair is a spoiled, sheltered rich girl who is about to marry a man she doesn't love. She is about to confront her father Arthur when the whole town of Chicago is hit by the Great Fire. And among the confusion in comes Tom Silver like an avenging angel, wanting to put a bullet through Arthur's head. Instead, he ends up taking Deborah hostage. See, years ago several men working in Arthur's silver mine died in an explosion. Among them is a young boy who was Tom's brother (not biological, but more of a kindred kind). Tom and the surviving members of the victims of the disaster see the accident as a result of greed and negligence on Arthur's part. And Tom, never actually quite a samaritan, loses all focus in his life after Asa's death and now he lives just for revenge. But of course, among the isolated wilderness of Isle Royale, with the moon and stars above, who knows what will happen, eh? Now, I love THE HOSTAGE, which I feel is the author is back in top form after the dip into Muzaksville with THE HORSEMASTER'S DAUGHTER. It is, however, not her best work, although it is a very good book. Tom and Deborah's relationship, despite the sleazy captor-captive scenario, always ring true. Deborah slowly shines under adversity, blossoming into a woman of courage and slowly gaining self-confidence along the way. It is easy to see why Tom would be attracted to a woman like Deborah. She's an intriguing mix of feminine assertiveness with enough but not too much distress factor to get his manliness all hackled up. And Tom is indeed a nice man, lonely and lost, that I'm half-tempted to shove Deborah off the scene and comfort Tom myself. TH is vintage Wiggs - explosive emotions, slowly unfurling of the relationship which is a friends-first lovers-later sort (my favorite sort, because these sort of relationships are always the most convincing), and great handling of character conflicts that never gets bogged down into a head-banging session in trauma welfare. But I have one quibble - this book is around 200 pages too short. The premise is such that these two are antagonists in the first half of the book. The relationship between Tom and Deb, therefore, takes awhile to blossom, and by the time they are almost there, the author fits in a rushed ending of bullets and fire, and next thing I know an epilogue is shoved at my face. What is this? Deb is just realizing her full strength and courage. Tom is just slowly letting go of the past, and - zaaaaap! - they're making babies one year later? I feel so cheated! And I'm not too pleased of the way the author handled Arthur's fate, the man has so much potential for redemption by a nice, spirited widow or something in his own book. TH is good, but it also offers promises and hints of things to come that are never delivered. In a way, I feel cheated even as I savor the wonderful romance that is TH. It sort of ruined my mood.
Rating: 
Summary: The Hostage
Review: Didn't find it very exciting. Just another romance with boy meets girl and falls in love. Not sizzle to it.
Rating:
Summary: The Hostage
Review: Didn't find it very exciting. Just another romance with boy meets girl and falls in love. Not sizzle to it.
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