Rating: 
Summary: Not bad for a first time writer.
Review: This book contained some of the worst writing I've ever seen published. The scenes were choppy and unrelated. The characters were flat, and even then they were inconsistent. The tone of the book switched from page to page so you never knew what you were to be feeling. The sex was jarring and emotionless. I won't even mention the lack of (or perhaps disregard of) historical research that was evident. I threw my copy away so no one else would have to suffer at my hands. If you want a good historical romance about Venice try Susan Wiggs' Lord of the Night.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: I was glad to read that other reviewers were disappointed by this book. I was impressed that the author has a degree in literature from Harvard University, and was looking forward to some really good writing. What I found instead were extremely weak characters, an unrealistic plot premise, and sex scenes that were graphic enough to distract from the story, yet seemed to contain no emotion. I would not call this book a romance. I bought the paperback in a bookstore, and I am really wishing I could have the 6.99 back to spend on a different book!
Rating: 
Summary: The Stargazer
Review: Absolute rubbish. Character are immature and stilted. You cannot like any of them. Supposedly, the male lead is of a superior intellect. It's hardly visible in this author's dialogue. Could not finish.
Rating:
Summary: No trust, little "love"
Review: I was very excited about reading the Stargazer after seeing all the hype that surrounded its hardback debut, which I missed. I would now have to agree with some of the other reviewers who had also anticipated and felt let down by Ms. Jaffe's first hardback. There are certainly many authors who deserve hardback status and have been passed up, how Ms. Jaffe managed to snag this prestige still has me wondering.I commend the author on her knowledge of the Renaissance and her beautiful lush description of the time and place. I felt she could have worked on both Ian and Bianca a whole lot more. Although I recognize that Ian's iniatial mistrust of Bianca is the basis for the novel, but after 100 pages of the supposedly very intelligent hero trying to spin reason from thin air about Bianca's guilt and I was balking. As it turns out Bianca herself was just a touch better. She was on the whole a good heroine except that she fell into Ian's arms so readily even when it was clear that he thought her guilty of murder (not only that, he gave her only a week to provide evidence to the contrary.) and at the end when all of his doubts of her were revealed and tallied up, she was still so quick to forgive him on an 'I love you'. The story was in fact sustained by Ian's dense accusation and mistrust comlex that he wears like a loving cloak and the dozen or so sex scenes scattered throughout the book. Had there been just a few well written love scene and had Ms. Jaffe cut short Ian's martyr act the book could have been at least one hundred pages shorter. As it turned out the readers didn't even get to relish the villians downfall but were foisted off with thoughts of future retribution and that was a maybe. I just don't know how big a stir that a death of a courtesan could have caused. I hope Ms. Jaffe's new hard cover will be much better than her debut. Crispin Foscari unlike his melancholic brother is so likeable, unfortunately that is no gaurentee that under a butchering pen that even an initial good opinion won't be shattered.
| 
