<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: I COULD NOT put it down
Review: I will try to make this brief. I am 14 years old and I fell madly in love with this book. Many novels I simply put down after 200 pages and never pick them up again. I read this novel endlessly (during spares in school) and still wish that I could be a part of the characters' lives again. I would just like to ask that if Ms. Karleen Koen herself read this...that she may pleeeeeease write another novel continuing after Now Face To Face. I fell so deeply in love or hate with the characters and I am still upset that it ended. I suppose I am addicted in a way. Unfortunately I haven't read Through A Glass Darkly yet but I will as soon as possible and I hope that the fact that I read the second one first won't hinder my involvement. Thank you very much. If anyone would like to contact me...Just e-mail me...I'd be happy to discuss the novel!
Rating: 
Summary: Two, two, two books in one!
Review: It would seem that Ms. Koen really wrote 2 books here. The 1st 420 pages of this are about Lady Barbara Devane's time in Virginia on her grandmother's tobacco plantation and the plotting of the Jacobites back in England. The 2nd 300 or so pages are about Barbara back in England trying to get a heavy fine that had been levied against her now dead husband repealed and the continued plotting of the Jacobites. The 2nd book within a book is better than the first.I have not read Through a Glass Darkly, which I now know is the predecessor to this book. The feeling I get is that at the end of that book Barbara was probably on a ship heading for Virginia and the author seemed compelled to account for her time in Virginia. She would have been better off (in my opinion) to have started this book off with Barbara on a boat back to England and have Barbara fill us in on the people and plot points that she needed to continue the story back in England. The Virginia portion of the book introduced lots of characters and plot lines that the moment Barbara set foot back on English soil were either dropped, or a feeble attempt was made in the 2nd half of the book to tie back in. Ms. Koen seemed to be so preoccupied with the England portion of the story that she continued to "cut away" to the UK to give us tedious updates on the plotting by the Jacobites to over throw King George. Maybe their character development took place in Through a Glass Darkly and I missed it. I give the 1st book within a book about one and ½ stars. I came close to not finishing the book and I scanned much of the book between pages 200 to 400. The second book within a book picks up. Suddenly Barbara changes from a deceitful, childish, promiscuous, shallow, spoiled brat into a human being with feelings, failings, and strengths. The Jacobite plot continues but the characters that for the 1st 420 pages were tedious and boring now take on personalities. At last you get a sense that the book is headed in a definite direction. Unfortunately, this part of the book is also flawed. You are left at the end with no sense of closure and are sure that there is a book three in the works. This part gets about a 3, maybe 3 ½ stars. So on average the book is about a 3 star effort.
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting
Review: Now Face to Face is a beautifully written book. I was so ecstatic to find a sequel to Through a Glass Darkly that I could hardly put the book down. I was totally engrossed. It is nice to finally read a romance novel that leaves one with a feeling of enchantment as well as sorrow and love. I, and I am sure that many fans would be eager to read a second sequel to such a prolific and touching epic. I look forward to reading Ms. Koen's next novel, sequel or not.
Rating:
Summary: The First One is Better
Review: Once I finished reading "Through A Glass Darkly" I was most anxious to read the sequel to the captivating story of Kathleen Koen. But, as I finished through, what seemed like five chapters, I had to put it down. It seemed that all Barbara searched for was meaningless sex and compassion. I just had to put it down. Something in Barbara's attitude really put me off and, I am sorry to say this but, I could not finish the book. It seemed that everything went to the pits. Maybe others liked it, maybe others disliked it too but this is my opinion and I say it could have been better.
<< 1 >>
| 
