Almost Heaven

Rating:
Summary: Still my favorite romance of all time......
Review: It was years ago when I first read ALMOST HEAVEN, up until today no other book can rival it, with the exception of OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon. Everytime I read AH, I always find something new, something that makes me understand the characters more and why they do the things they do. At one glance, ALMOST HEAVEN seems to be a Cinderella-typed of story. But, in fact, it's not. There is NO weak or wimpy heroine/hero here.(You must excuse my English)

Elizabeth Cameron, Countess of Havenhurst, makes her debut when she's 17, and meets Ian Thornton, an older and enigmatic man, a man of mysterious lineage, who has a black reputation. Durind a time period, where marriage is according to family wishes, where the important things are title and wealth and bloodline, and where the 'Ton' prefers to feed on gossips and scandals over the most sumptuos meals, our remarkable hero and heroine here fall in love with each other during a weekend party. Ian, not knowing she's a countess, asks her to marry him. But, Robert, Elizabeth's brother, barges in on them, calling Ian with foul names, saying that he's not fit to touch her. When Robert also tells him that Elizabeth is already engaged, Ian feels betrayed and thinks that she's only playing games with him or only to find someone else more exciting than her fiancee to warm her bed. Elizabeth also feels betrayed, thinking him to be fortune-hunter. Her reputation is also ruined when she's seen alone with him by the 'ton'.

They meet again 2 years later, and the attraction is still there between these two proud people. Then Ian finally knows the truth about Elizabeth, and he concocts a plan to force the society to accept her again. BUT, after all this, the two of them don't just just live happily ever after. There is more. They have to fight other obstacles, and these obstacles are not just something to spice up the story, unlike in other books. There is something hidden behind all that obstacles. Read the story and try to find it ^_^.

Ian and Elizabeth are two characters so admirable and 3-dimensional, and they both leap out of the pages of the book. So real are they, that I can't help but want to know more about them, their childhoods, their lives before they meet each other and more. Ian Thornton is not your traditional hero, he's strong, dynamic, challenging, compassionate, complex etc. While Elizabeth Cameron is definitely Ian's match. I love her integrity and compassion etc. She's both serene and spunky, and she's never the annoying, bratty (is that a correct word?), ultra-fiesty or fiesty-at-the-wrong-time type of heroine, who frequents many romance novels (I think), which I sometimes find very boring and unreal.

ALMOST HEAVEN is McNaught at her absolute best, and it just doesn't get any better than this (or Ian Thornton...'G'). Oh, I really wish JM will get back to writing historicals.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible!
Review: I have read this book so many times, I practically have it memorized! It's stories like these that make you believe in romance. It's the ultimate "bad boy meets good girl" story. Ian Thornton is the kind of man every woman fantasizes about meeting and Elizabeth Cameron is what every woman wishes to be.

Rating:
Summary: What is all the fuss
Review: Okay, I have read the reviews on this book and purchased it immediately. But I am disappointed. I enjoyed Whitney, My Love all though I found it to be slow at some times. Personally, I think this book should have a lower ranking. It is average. Judith McNaught fails to keep the momentum going. I have about 30 pages to go and I'm in no hurry to finish. I've enjoyed authors such as Sara Donati,Woodwies,and Julie Garwood MUCH MORE. I may never purchase another Judith McNaught book.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite romance ever
Review: I first read_Almost Heaven_ years ago, and I pick it up everytime I need a 'lift'. The main characters are two very special people and they both touch my soul. Ian Thornton is an amazing hero because he evokes thousands of emotions in me. I genuinely admire Elizabeth - she's strong and courageous, and many more. I really wish Judith would write more about them.^_^

Rating:
Summary: A Romantic Classic
Review: When I read this book for the first time I found it to be different from all other books I had read upto that point. The plot was more invoved and the characters more detailed. At the time I was around 15 years old and had been reading romances for a couple years (I am now 17). I re-read it and my opinion has changed not at all. The plot is more emotionally involved than the usual story. I fell in love with the characters all over again and I look for that feeling on other books now. The only fault I found was that it was rather long but if you enjoy it as I did the time hurries by. It will soon be a classic, an example of what historical romance should be, if it isn't already.

Rating:
Summary: Wow?
Review: How can I compete with the previous reviewers? They have put most of it to words. Judith McNaught is an excellent writer. She has an uncanny sense of the humorous. McNaught is very much in control of her characters and they never degenerate.

We are given Elizabeth Cameron: a strong-willed, beautiful Countess who takes pleasure from gardening and bartering. Parentless most of her life, her family is her staff at her home, Havenhurst. Her familial home is what she will fight most valiantly for. Her father and brother left her their gambling debts and an uncle out for nothing short of profiting grandly from a wealthy husband.

Thrown into the London ton to find a wealthy match, she finds Ian Thornton. They are intrigued by each other, but are found in a compromising situation, which leads to her ostracization from the London crowd of elite and leaves our leading actors hating and hurting from the accusations.

In a fit of financial panic two years later, her Uncle decides to throw out a line to hopefully catch any titled nobility for her hand in marriage even after the scandal. Some lines get crossed and Ian ends up on the list.

There's no denying it when they finally meet again that it wasn't some weekend dalliance. But there is a lot of unsettled business between the two of them that lead to all sorts of trouble.

Elizabeth's untainted pride in her accomplishments is extraordinary and she is never the haughty brat seen in so manny other novels. She is the most brilliantly written heroine I have read in a long time (excluding Robin McKinley's, of course)

I found myself giggling at some of the little absurdities and rolling with joyful laughter at some of the wittiest comedy ever written into a romance novel. Almost heaven? McNaught, you have raised my standards!

Rating:
Summary: Ian and Elizabeth
Review: This is a magnificent love story of two proud,stubborn wilful, strong and admirable people who are already in love at the beginning of the novel (one of them realizes it but the other doesn't - not yet). They have to overcome obstacles and fight fate to be together. You cry with them, laugh with them, cheer with them and feel their pain. The background setting of this story are absolutely breathtaking - from London ballrooms to the wild and hauntingly beautiful Scottish highlands. Ian Thornton will make you wish he's yours, and if I have a daughter one day, I shall name her Elizabeth, so that she'll grow up to be someone admirable, just like the heroine of ALMOST HEAVEN.

Rating:
Summary: JM's greatest work ever
Review: ALMOST HEAVEN is a magnificent book and none of Judith's other books can top this (A KINGDOM OF DREAMS is a close second). This is the book that made a firm-believer-of-romance out of me.What I love about this book are the hero and heroine (and I'll focus more on them). They're both a bit different from the rest of Judith' regency heroes and heroines. I was drawn to Elizabeth Cameron from the first page she appeared and was rooting for her from the beginning. I found it easy to relate to a heroine who was incredibly beautiful and intelligent, but not entirely perfect - she made mistakes, which made her very human and very appealing to me. I love how she was naive and inexperienced at first and then matured as the story proceed. Unlike the rest of JM's regency heroines, she was a countess and very sheltered. She's never a victim, and that's what I love about her.

Ian Thornton is the best of all JM heroes, IMHO. A half Scot/half English who possesses both good and bad characteristics because of that combined bloodlines. He's strong,intelligent, tough, proud, arrogant, infuriating, indomitable, bold, blunt, sensitive, compassionate, physically beautiful, unforgiving when wronged, loyal, honorable and...the list goes on and on. He's full of suprises. He has depth, integrity and principles. He has flaws too, especially his temper (if you call that flaw). And he spoiled me for all the others.

Their love story is very powerful, not completely perfect (there's no such thing as a perfect love story) and permanently branded into my mind. It leaves me quite breathless. Both Ian and Elizabeth are strong, humorous and charismatic and they're both each other's equal - in every way. And you can't help but love Lucinda (Elizabeth's duenna).

This is one of Judith's longest book (517 pages). It starts slow and then it picks up it speed and what you get is an emotional, rollercoaster ride. And you can't help but scream for more Ian and Elizabeth and more pages to be added to this book (although I know they both live beyond the pages of this book)

To Judith, Thank You for bringing me into the lives of Ian and Elizabeth Thornton.

Rating:
Summary: love this book
Review: i got this book as a new year present from one of my co-worker about 3 years ago, i've had the book for about 7 months but didn't read it at all, don't get me wrong, i love reading, i started reading romance since the age of 12. one day i was so bored and can't find anything to read, i've re-read all my favorite book then i decided why don't i try this one? so i opened it and start reading, wow, i can't put it down, this book made me laugh, cry, and feel in-love! i finished it within 2 days. i called my mom and sisters and brag that i discover one of the best author in historical/romance. this book will put you in the mood for love. i have all her books now, but my most favorite is this one. my family loves this book too.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good...
Review: I have to say that out of all Judith McNaught's books, this one is at the top of my list (along with Once and Always). I thought the relationship between Elizabeth and Ian was one of the most romantic and passionate I have ever read about. My only complaint concerning this book was the fact that Ian was supposed to be a "genius," yet he was unable to piece together the facts regarding Elizabeth's disappearance. To me, this seemed a little ridiculous, but I suppose you could say that love blinds people to the truth... Even so, his thinking was so illogical that I was tempted to throw the book across the room in my frustration. Other than this minor complaint, I found the book very enjoyable and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a wonderful love story.