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Summary: Even Without the Montgomerys and the Taggerts...
Review: ...we are very happy to have Jude Devearux back with another great wonderful book. Ms. Deveraux cut back on her writing schedule in order to spend more time with her new son. I wish her every happiness, even though I have missed seeing as much of her wonderful books of late. Apparently, Ms. Deveraux has decided to not include the wonderful Montgomery/Taggert family in her sagas. They were the people who she built all her novels around until a couple of years ago. I kept waiting and hoping she would spring them out at the last minute or we would at least see a Montgomery across a crowded room. Who knows, maybe Agnes was a Taggert... anyway, on to the story. Temperance was a woman with a cause and purpose. To help women in need get away from their worthless husbands and build new lives for themselves. She was a woman in 1909 who had built her own independant life after her father died. Imagine Temperance's surprise when her mother comes back from holiday with a real Scotsman in tow, Angus, who says she is to become a dutiful daughter and go live in the highlands. Temperance is a bit long in the tooth, but perhaps he can pursuade some man to marry her so she can take her proper place in society and do the only thing a well-brought up woman is supposed to do-marry and have children and be happy with her lot in life. Temperance is understandably very annoyed with the high-handed attitudes of her new papa and sets out to get her own way in the end. Go she must to Scotland, after all, she doesn't have her own money. But Temperance manages to make Angus eat his words about what a dutiful daughter should be. After several months of her dutiful daughter routine drives him close to the brink of sanity, Angus decides to pack her off to his nephew's house to become his housekeeper and find him a bride. And here is where the fun begins. Temperance must learn some lessons of living she did not get in New York salvaging women's lives. Temperance thinks she knows everything about what happens between men and women. A woman must stand firm and resist a man's foolish ways. But Temperance has never met a man like James. Read this book if you are a fan of Jude Deveraux's works over the years. Read this book if you are a lover of romances and have yet to discover Jude Deveraux's wonderful sense of humor and of the absurd. Then go back and read all of Ms. Deveraux's other wonderful books-for the first or fiftieth time.
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Summary: Jude's Temptation is Irresistible!
Review: Booklist is quoted as saying Jude's latest "Temptation" is "typically formulaic but nonetheless satisfying story..." When I read "typically formulaic," I worried it really meant, "boring." After reading Temptation, I think a more apt description would have been --classic Jude Devereaux! Her latest novel is a wonderful, rich historical romance that is sure to please. Her characters walk out of the book and in to your head. I wanted to kick Agnus, shake hands with Temperance, and jump James (what woman wouldn't want to?). Like many others, I'm enjoying the latest outpouring of romantic suspense novels. However, it seems like that's all the popular authors are writing these days. I enjoy reading them, but I also like having a romance to turn to that's not filled with twisted minds, blood, horror, and hate. Personally, I'm glad there are still talented and popular authors willing to write the classic romance. Thank you Jude for your latest "temptation!"
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Summary: Cute Whimsical Read!
Review: Temptation is a light and fun easy read! I enjoyed this silly farfetched story that is typical of Jude's imagination.
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Summary: Great Storytelling
Review: Once again Jude Devereaux comes through with another well crafted story. I read some of the other reviewer comments about how this is not the Romance they were looking for. The writing is a little different for a Jude Devereaux novel but that same great character development and story building that I've come to expect of a Devereaux book are all here. The ending is not a surprise but the twists and turns to get to the happy ending are a little different and make a good read. I enjoyed it page after page until the end. It's too bad the book ended. The big brown library cart (UPS) just delivered another Devereaux novel from Amazon as I was writing this - I can't wait.
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Summary: This doesn't belong in the Romance genre
Review: It goes against all of my instincts to give any Jude Devereaux book a less-than-stellar review, but I just can't recommend this book for the purpose it pretends to have. This is not a romantic book, at least not in the traditional man-woman way. The storyline is enjoyable enough - an intelligent, attractive woman who is clearly ahead of her time meets a cranky, handsome man, who is clearly behind the times. As a story of personal growth, the book works. Temperence learns that in order to give, you have to take a little; James learns...well, I'm really not sure what James learned. He seems strangely dishonorable, disdainful and a whole lot of other "dis"-es I can't come up with right now. This is a book about Temperance and her journey, and James is almost an afterthought, more of a plot device to move Temperance along than anything else. I've rarely read a book where I wasn't remotely interested in the main male character, but this has the dubious distinction of being the most memorable example of that so far. I could count on one hand the romantic or intimate scenes between the two characters, and even those felt stilted and awkward. Temperence and James would make good friends (or heaven forbid, brother and sister), but lovers? Not that I could see. After reading the book twice, I still don't have a clue why either of them are supposedly attracted to the other. There was no build-up, no feeling that these two had any passion for each other. When they do get together, it's forgettable (apparently for them too), uncomfortable and unsettling and James is insulting. It just felt wrong, for reasons I can't articulate. I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewer who felt the ending was jarring and unsatisfying - none of the characters act remotely like they did throughout the rest of the book. I won't spoil it, but when I saw the date written on the last chapter, I actually said, "HUH?" out loud. I still don't get it, and plan on dumping this book off at the nearest reseller to make sure I don't read it again by mistake. Buy this book if you are interested in one woman's experience in the early days of the women's equality movement, but save your money if you are looking for a passionate or tender romance with characters you know are destined to be together. You won't find it here.
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Summary: Cute Whimsical Read!
Review: Temptation is a light and fun easy read! I enjoyed this silly farfetched story that is typical of Jude's imagination. Temptation is one of approximately 25 books in the Montgomery and Taggert series
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Summary: Sad Decline of Jude Devereux
Review: What happened to her writing? I still remember the first time I read A Knight in Shining Armor. Well, Temptation is nothing like it. The plot construction and style of the novel are choppy, which progressively got worse the deeper I got into the book. I liked both of the main characters just fine (especially the heroine), but together, they just don't have chemistry. This book just didn't do it for me and was a very sorry disappointment.
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Summary: Surpising, not your classic ending!!
Review: This is the first Jude Deveraux novel I have read and I must say I loved every bit of it. Many parts will put a smile on your face and some parts may even cause you to let out a giggle. What suprised me the most is that this book does not have a classic ending, which I really enjoyed. The ending has a unique twist to it but still brings adequate closure to the story of Temperance and the McCairn.
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Summary: An Original Feminist
Review: This was an okay story. The lead female character was something of a feminist, and not your usual dewey eyed 18 year old, rather a 30 year old career type woman ahead of her time. The setting starts off in New York City 1909 and Temperance is fighting the good fight to protect woman from abusive men. Enter her mother and new step -father who wisk her away to Scotland. It's a man's world and what was her mothers funds have now become the property of her new step father and of course, women have no rights. Not that the step-father is a bad man just a very STUBBORN Scot! Now in order for Temperance to gain her freedom and return to New York life she has to find a bride for his nephew James, the Laird of Clan McCairn. James is a hunk - plain and simple but also - a Stubborn Scot. The escapades of finding a bride that would be acceptable to James, and Temperance setting his house to rights is where most of the comic relief comes in. The romance is pretty hard to define as the attraction is there but two very stubborn people take a long time to admit to it. Just when you think you know how this all ends, you do get a curve ball thrown in. I won't spoil the story by telling you what it is though. The book is typical Jude Deveraux, perhaps not as much romance but enough of her tradmark humour to really enjoy. Very good book!
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Summary: Sounded Like a Good Fairy Tale
Review: Temperance O'Neil is in her late 20s living in New York and has become somewhat of a celebrity with her work with battered and homeless women. She is from a wealthy family and Temperance's father has died. He left an inheritance to Temperance but she is not able to lay hands on it. Her mother, Melanie O'Neal, has remarried and the new stepfather, Angus McCairn, has control over Temperance's money, as was customary in that era. Temperance has to leave New York and go to Scotland with her mother and Angus because that is where he is from. She very much wants to return to NY, so Angus makes a deal with Temperance. He has a nephew, James McCairn, who Angus wants to see married. He sends Temperance to James to play the part of his housekeeper but she is really trying to find him a bride. I enjoyed the book very much. Although, it did border on the way a fairy tale would be told. It was difficult to grasp the dishonesty and stubbornness in both Temperance and James. I agree, too much time went by from the time Temperance leaves McCairn and the ending of the book. I like the way Temperance was forced to see herself the way she was when she arrived in McCairn. She was able to see how much she changed while she was living there. It showed great insight on the part of many of the characters. Overall, I gave the book a 4 because I still felt it was a wonderful story. It was an easy read with a simple plot.
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