Rating: 
Summary: A full bodied romance between fully drawn adults
Review: I can see where this book may have taken some readers by surprise. Carlyle pulls no punches while her protagonists examine their own emotions, and the characters are honest in their needs. I do think the sex scenes have been misunderstood by the reviewers who were offended by them. Cole and Jonet engage in some very active loveplay, and at one point, as Jonet is trying to help Cole exorcise painful memories, they indulge in some passionate bondage, but it is never degrading. At all points, the question of domination does not control. While Cole claims he is going to do what HE wants to Jonet, and states he wants her to "learn a little obedience", this worrisome dialog is countered by his complete failure to keep a straight face a few paragraphs later, when he can't help but laugh as he says "At least-- at least once in a while...Oh bloody hell, ...Who am I kidding?" They give and take pleasure as equals, and it is ALWAYS threaded through with something more, something deeper than the lust they both readily admit they feel. I DID find it easy to believe these two LOVED each other, because they were the answer to each other's deepest emotional needs. And while Jonet's behavior was often shrewish, it was well-explained by the edge upon which she teetered. Her remorse afterward, and her scenes of touching care and kindness more than made up for her tantrums. I read voraciously, and fell in love with this book, and these characters. I liked Carlyle's previous book, and now look forward to her next one. A Woman Scorned is a treasure, to be enjoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: This is NOT a romance!
Review: I enjoyed Liz Carlyle's first book enough to purchase her second, A Woman Scorned. To be honest, I couldn't even finish this book! To begin with, I never felt love between Cole and Jonet. Lust, you bet, but love, tender and sweet, not for one moment.Then there was a deeply disturbing sex scene. When Cole tells Jonet "I'm going to tie you to the bedpost and give you the ( ) you've been begging for since the first time I laid eyes on you", I felt ill. Yuck. It gets even worse when the heroine thinks: "To her undying shame, a little thrill chased up her spine and out of her mouth." Double Yuck. But then when the heroine begs Cole to continue with the degrading treatment, I couldn't take anymore and tossed the book across the room. I read romance for ~romance~, not to see women degraded. I can honestly say that I will never again purchase a book by Liz Carlyle.
Rating:
Summary: shrew does not equal strong...
Review: I find it amazing that so many romance writers seem to feel it necessary to have "strong" female heroines behave as shrews. There was not a soft bone or emotion in Jonet's body. Cole, our hero, is a sweetie of a man. Hunky, admirable, noble, he realy is all a hero should be but why, oh why, would he even be interested in Jonet? Geeze, she throws temper tantrums, things at him? Yuk...get real. What a bore of a novel. I have yet to figure out why so many romance readers think that women who nag and are shrews to be strong. Poor Cole - doomed to a life with her. He deserved far better.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting hero
Review: I have read three of Liz Carlyle's books, and have promoted her to my list of buy rather than borrow authors. She seems to have intelligent adult people, the characters are believable, and the plots are interesting without taking too much away from the developing relationship, which is hot! - a nice balance. In A Woman Scorned the hero is Cole, a scholar and military man, sent to tutor a suspiciously widowed lady's young sons. Without being stuffy, this book could be titled "A Man of Virtue". I like heroes that I can admire, rather than just dashing and dangerous lords with awesome physical prowess. Make sure to read this before "A Woman of Virtue", although I did not find the plot spoiled by knowing this couple already.
Rating: 
Summary: PRELUDE TO A WOMAN OF VIRTUE
Review: I read LC's books out of order. Really enjoyed My False Heart which led me to Beauty Like the Night (before A Woman of Virtue, Beauty was my favorite LC book), then to A Woman Scorned - which you need to read in order to fully enjoy A Woman of Virtue (the best!). In the review from Falls Church, VA, the reader was unhappy because, as that reader put it, Jonet was a "shrew". I would be a little more generous or understanding. The woman was stressed out to the max after all. She was running on little sleep and worried to death about her children. Of course she would be short tempered. But more than that, who wants all the female leads in all the books you read to be the same? Not I. That's one thing I like about LC's books. The female lead characters are all different. Of course, Cole is to die for even though I question some of the scenes and dialogue (the "F" word in particular) as coming from an ordained minister. I explained it away with the thought that, after all, he was also a soldier and a man. I also think that particular language was fairly prevalent in that era. Yes? No? Don't let the negative reviews keep you from this book and others by LC.
Rating: 
Summary: Scorned or uncertain?
Review: I really enjoyed Carlyle's first book and fully expected to like this one. I was surprised by how predictable it was. The plot twists were no surprise. The villain, the victim, the relationships were all so obvious I felt I had read it before.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I thought I had it figured out and then I didn't. It's a winner. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: I was most certainly not disappointed with Liz Carlyle's second novel. How refreshing to find an author who does not assume her readers are either immature or ill-informed. I appreciate that Liz Carlyle does meticulous research and makes every effort to ensure the peripheral details in her work are spot on. I was well entertained although I had figured out "whodunit" well before the denoument of the book. What draws me to LC's work are her well-drawn characters whom she lets play out a story in fully believable settings. Without patronising her readers, she sketches out men and women who are troubled, driven, passionate and emotional. The psychological implications are there for the scrupulous reader to pick up and consider. I won't go over the plot - others have done this very well. I won't "defend" the S&M scene to those who found it offensive. I have seen a lot of discussion about it here and elsewhere. However, I thought it fit into the story, fit into the mood, fit into the profile of the characters she had built. Cole Amherst is riven by internal conflict - the drive towards good (and he is an inherently good man) and the pull towards straying from his chosen path really are what the book is about. Therefore, that particular scene, which I thought was very exciting and well written, only add to his internal conflict as he "acts out" some of this with Jonet who loves him enough to allow this within the context of their loving relationship. Jonet is a strong woman; some of the readers who did not like her perhaps miss the point that she was srong as a result of her insidious and deeply rooted fears. A woman who has been used, particularly as she was by her father, may react in a different way from one who has been lovingly cherished by her parents. The other sex scenes were, in my view, excellent without detracting from the story line and I thought they were beautifully written. All in all, a tour de force. This is not an easy novel to read; it requires that the reader grow along with the characters and experience the torment they must endure to grow together. You feel, at the conclusion of the novel, that this couple fully deserve the ecstatic happiness they appear to have found together. I look forward to reading Beauty Like the Night and A Woman of Virtue.
Rating:
Summary: A Reader Well Pleased
Review: I was most certainly not disappointed with Liz Carlyle's second novel. How refreshing to find an author who does not assume her readers are either immature or ill-informed. I appreciate that Liz Carlyle does meticulous research and makes every effort to ensure the peripheral details in her work are spot on. I was well entertained although I had figured out "whodunit" well before the denoument of the book. What draws me to LC's work are her well-drawn characters whom she lets play out a story in fully believable settings. Without patronising her readers, she sketches out men and women who are troubled, driven, passionate and emotional. The psychological implications are there for the scrupulous reader to pick up and consider. I won't go over the plot - others have done this very well. I won't "defend" the S&M scene to those who found it offensive. I have seen a lot of discussion about it here and elsewhere. However, I thought it fit into the story, fit into the mood, fit into the profile of the characters she had built. Cole Amherst is riven by internal conflict - the drive towards good (and he is an inherently good man) and the pull towards straying from his chosen path really are what the book is about. Therefore, that particular scene, which I thought was very exciting and well written, only add to his internal conflict as he "acts out" some of this with Jonet who loves him enough to allow this within the context of their loving relationship. Jonet is a strong woman; some of the readers who did not like her perhaps miss the point that she was srong as a result of her insidious and deeply rooted fears. A woman who has been used, particularly as she was by her father, may react in a different way from one who has been lovingly cherished by her parents. The other sex scenes were, in my view, excellent without detracting from the story line and I thought they were beautifully written. All in all, a tour de force. This is not an easy novel to read; it requires that the reader grow along with the characters and experience the torment they must endure to grow together. You feel, at the conclusion of the novel, that this couple fully deserve the ecstatic happiness they appear to have found together. I look forward to reading Beauty Like the Night and A Woman of Virtue.
Rating:
Summary: More! I just want more!
Review: It's hard to believe this is only Liz's second book! I just want MORE books to read by her! She writes with such passion & feeling that you are in love with her characters from the first pages. Jonet & Cole are wonderful, their feelings for each other are there from the beginning & they take you along for the ride of your life. I'm generally not a mystery reader but Liz's ability to mix romance with mystery has made a fan out of me. I resented each & every thing (like work & family) that took me away from this book! The children are touching & believable, the mischief they get into is delightful to read, you have no trouble imagining the looks on their faces as they plot & plan the next prank! This book kept me on the edge of my chair from the beginning. Cole is a blonde hero to die for & you'll be in love with him just as Jonet is!
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