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Summary: Another great one from Mary Jo Putney...she is the best!
Review: I love reading a Putney book because I know I won't be disappointed or bored.This is the 1st in her FALLEN ANGELS series. It is the story of Nicholas and Clare. It is emotional, sexy, enlightening, and exciting. (Read it for the billiards scene alone! Whew!)You will also get to meet the 3 other members of the Fallen Angels: Rafe, Lucien, and a very tortured Michael. All three are fascinating and all three get their own stories in other books! But Nicholas and Clare are the main attraction in this book and they do NOT disappoint. This book is absolutely superb!
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Summary: I was up all night reading
Review: I loved this book. It has all of the typical romance novel ammenities, a dark hero, a needy heroine etc. But more than that, Ms. Putney made me feel as though these people were three dimensional.
Nick, the hero, is complex but approachable and I liked him from page one right through to the end. The heroine, Clare, is smart, funny, and practical.
Although this book touched on some social issues: the work conditions of Welsh miners, the strict mores of early Methodist churches, racial discrimination against Gypsies, the interaction between Nick and Clare saves the book from being too dark.
For fans of Mary Jo Putney I highly recommend reading Thunder and Roses, the writing is fast paced and interesting. The plot remains solid, and Ms. Putney does a great job of bringing in the other 'Fallen Angels' as secondary characters, but keeps the main romantic focus on Clare and Nick.
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Summary: Wonderful starter!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the start to the end keeping me riveted till the wee hours of the morning. Being the first book of the entire "Fallen Angels" series, it introduces the 4 friends, while keeping me mesmerized and in suspense with its racy plot and characters.
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Summary: I really wanted to like this book...
Review: I usually love Historical Romances with prim leading ladies and dark broody guys...
I go for heroines that are not too beautiful...it seems more real that way. I like my heroes tormented and sexy so this book seemd to fufill my criteria so...
I really wanted to like this book with its wonderful characters and the believeable details involved but...the kiss per day thing seemed really dumb and the proposition that the Demon Earl asked for seemed pretty contrived...oh puhleeze!!!!
The book seemed to drag on forever too...I couldn't wait for it to end...
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Summary: Romance you will remember
Review: I've read a lot of these books, you now. And Thunder and Roses really stays with me. I suppose the plot is improbable, but Putney makes it glow! Clashes between class, religion, and culture--and characters you can respect. Spiritual adventure thrives in Putney's fine hands and we learn about Romany and Methodism as equal paths to the same well. It is not that love conquers in this book: instead it holds all that needs holding.
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Summary: The best of the Fallen Angels series..
Review: In my opinion, this is Mary Jo Putney's best book. I may be prejudiced, considering that this is one of her first books that I read. However, the story and its main characters stand up well to time, and I can recall nearly all of the plot - which means that this is a definite keeper for me. The book is marked by immaculate research, and an unusual setting - a Welsh estate dependent on mining - and an unusual heroine - a Methodist teacher of no particular family. [For another unusual heroine, I recommend the far darker FLOWERS FROM THE STORM by Laura Kinsale where the heroine is a Quaker and the daughter of a mathematician].Nicholas and Clare are both unusual. He is the half-Gypsy earl who has had a bitter first marriage, and whose relationship with his late grandfather is complicated, to say the least. [Find out more as the book progresses]. Clare offers herself to him to save the valley and its inhabitants. The earl strikes an interesting bargain - he wants not her body (although he is interested in her) but her reputation. For a Methodist teacher, this is a hard blow indeed. There are two major subplots. One involves the villainous manager of the mines run by Lord Michael Kenyon, an absentee owner who leased the land for the mining operations from his friend Nicholas. The other plot is about Lord Michael himself, but I would give away the whole story if I said much more. What Mary Jo Putney does is to bring together the romance, and these two major sub-plots seamlessly at the end. And the villain, if he be a villain, is not quite whom you suspect and for the reasons assumed. What else did I like about this book? The penguins on the estate (did you know that Nicholas had penguins?!), the notorious billiards room scene, the ballroom scene at the Duke of Candover's, the duel between Nicholas and Michael which is heart-breaking (and test the loyalties of their friends), and the amazing interactions between Clare and the other members of her congregation. Read this book. You won't regret it. It is not light, but it is fascinating, and you will come out of it learning more about mining in Wales and about Welsh Methodism than you ever thought. And honestly, this is my favorite Putney, the one book of hers I would keep in my library if I had to cut down my romance collection (as I might have to soon!). The book rates at 4.9, with all the lovely twists and turns, and is even more appealing to me than her more recent SILK AND SHADOWS. Bravo, Mary Jo Putney!
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Summary: Best romance I've read all year!
Review: The heroine, Clare, is so likeable and the hero, Nicholas, so enchanting it would be impossible not to like this book! And the plot was absolutely delicious! Steamy love scenes, mystery, musketeer-like friendship, family betrayals, gypsies, thrilling suspense, danger, and so much more! I loved this book. Clare and Nicholas' feelings for each other and their depth of emotion really moved me. The author really makes them fall in love right before your eyes, each filling a need within the other in the most beautiful way. A tender and emotional, suspenseful and mysterious book. This is my favorite romance novel I've read this year so far.
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Summary: One of my all-time favorites!
Review: This book was wonderful! I've read it many times. The tension between Claire and Nicholas was electric. There is also a great deal of background on what life was like for coal miners, and the dangers they faced every day. All in all, I can't say enough good things about this book.
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Summary: A Sweet Romance
Review: This is a story of the power of faith and forgiveness. Nicholas and Clare are easy to care about. They both have troubled childhoods that they can't seem to get past. Nicholas also has the additional trouble of a diasterous first marriage that ended with his wife's death. I could put the book down. When Nicholas and Clare finally come together in passion its magical. This is the first book I have read by Ms. Putney and I will certainly read others.
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Summary: I Love This Couple
Review: This is just a perfect story. It is full of quick-witted humor and yet has enough drama to stay out of my 'fluff' category. It is reminiscent of The Rake in some way I can't immediately put my finger on. And, as someone else mentioned, the billiard room scene alone is worth the price. I wouldn't call it hot so much as hilarious to 'watch' them trying to outfox each other's libido. Great stuff! Just a wonderful story. I just don't know if the other fallen angels can hold a candle to Nicholas (wow, a hero with a human heart) and Clare (ahh, a heroine who doesn't take herself too seriously) but I know you can't go wrong with this one.
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