Rating: 
Summary: A message of strength and hope for children too!
Review: "Why do people hurt children, Mummy? Is something bad going to happen to Logan and me one day?" This is just one of the worries my seven year old daughter came to me with, after hearing about and seeing images of suffering in the news of late. I thought of promising Natasha that nothing bad would ever happen to her and her toddler brother, but then I thought of how I could help her more by admitting that, yes, there are real dangers in the world- even close by, and that bad things do happen to good people, even to children - but, and here's the message of strength and hope I was after: we can fight the bad stuff - and win! We all actually do have a power within us to help stop suffering and to give those around us renewed hope, even joy- even after bad things have happened and some people have behaved in a very very nasty way. It was then that I thought of the novel, The Prisoner, that I'd read months ago and that Natasha had liked the cover of (the sparkling key with a heart-shape top part!). Natasha had wanted me to read her parts of it and to know what it was about. Well, here then was material for the message I'd wanted to convey to my daughter! Here was a story about a brave and selfless young woman, about a crippled little girl, about orphans (Natasha's other fascination); about a whole troup of unfortunate people who find great strength within themselves to go forth and fight to stop cruelty where it exists in their environment. Sure, they are afraid of getting hurt, even killed, but they are brave and they do the right thing and the world becomes a much much better place because of this. And are the heroes and heroines all impossibly good and unreal? No, most of them have themselves made mistakes and hurt others in the past - but, they found the courage to change - to become kinder, wiser, stronger people. What better message is there for all of us? It may sound simplistic, and it may even seem odd to be reading from a "romance" novel (i.e. lots of sexual content- that I omitted, of course) to a child - but as we all know, colorful stories always work their magic, more so than drier lectures on such matters. Genevieve, Charlotte, Jack and Haydon, in particular, but many of the other colorful and delightful characters too, live life courageously, and are inspired by the goodness within ( you could call it their "divinity" ) to fight cruelty - often sadism - where they meet it - amongst the narrow-minded and fear-ruled bigots of the provincial justice system in Victorian Scotland. In this world children who are not protected by title or wealth, can be shoved into prison,( and whipped until their bare flesh bleeds- I omitted these details for my daughter's version) - at the mercy -or lack thereof- of the prison wardens. The crimes of the children - usually stealing food or items to trade for food and shelter to help their impoverished families - justify the sickeningly cruel punishments they must endure - to the minds of the wardens and other involved officials.
Any one who dares to fight this system, is themselves, in danger of incarceration and great punishment - including capital punishment -
But dare to fight they do, and we can too - this is the reminder I'm left with several months after finishing the book, and its a tremendously helpful message to pass on to my kids and their friends.
Rating: 
Summary: George Clooney Grows Up?
Review: Ahh, what a lovely rescue fantasy. Genevieve McPhail rescues children sent to prison for minor theft by buying them from the Warden, then "adopts" them. Haydon Kent, Marquess of Redmond, is in jail, condemned to hang for the murder of a ruffian, which he swears was in self defense, but was not believed. I have a little trouble with this premise-it was a little hard to hang a Marquess in those days. Genevieve's most recent rescuee, Jack, manages to lift the keys of the warden and pass his key to his cellmate, the marquess. Redmond follows Genevieve and young Jack home, intending to have Jack hide him in the carriage house until he regains his strength. He is discovered by Genevieve's wards and thus the tale begins. This is a story of love and redemption, with a mystery, suspense and some comedy as well. It is well written, entertaining, and has lots of warm fuzzies. The heroine is too saintly, but very human, so you like her anyway. It would be lovely if the real world were just like this and children didn't bear permanent crippling emotional scars from abuse.
Rating:
Summary: George Clooney Grows Up?
Review: Ahh, what a lovely rescue fantasy. Genevieve McPhail rescues children sent to prison for minor theft by buying them from the Warden, then "adopts" them. Haydon Kent, Marquess of Redmond, is in jail, condemned to hang for the murder of a ruffian, which he swears was in self defense, but was not believed. I have a little trouble with this premise-it was a little hard to hang a Marquess in those days. Genevieve's most recent rescuee, Jack, manages to lift the keys of the warden and pass his key to his cellmate, the marquess. Redmond follows Genevieve and young Jack home, intending to have Jack hide him in the carriage house until he regains his strength. He is discovered by Genevieve's wards and thus the tale begins. This is a story of love and redemption, with a mystery, suspense and some comedy as well. It is well written, entertaining, and has lots of warm fuzzies. The heroine is too saintly, but very human, so you like her anyway. It would be lovely if the real world were just like this and children didn't bear permanent crippling emotional scars from abuse.
Rating:
Summary: A CAPTIVATING BOOK
Review: An original plot (how seldom does that happen!?), a truly heroic heroine in that she defies everyone and everything expected of her by adopting children who have landed in prison, a flawed hero who seeks redemption and finds it. . .This book will satisfy your every need - love, humor, mystery, and great characterization. A great story! Check out Liz Carlyle (all of her books), Emma Jensen's "Entwined", Elizabeth Thorton's "Strangers at Dawn", and Nicole Jordan's "Seduction" for more great stories.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best.
Review: As usual the reviews here are misleading. This book was an ok read but nothing great. It was too long on mundane discription and too short on plot. And the liberties that the author takes with common sense is shameful. I won't give away what little plot there is except to say that it was unbelievable especially the ending. I wanted the throw the book against the wall on that susposedly dramatic scene. It was so soap opera melodrama. If you like to read books just to see how bad they can get than do buy this one. It started out with so much potential but took the dreaded easy slide into clich`e ville. p.s. just for the record the secondary characters of Jack and Charlotte are the best thing here. Too bad they don't have a book of their own.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but not her best.
Review: As with most of the other people giving their opinion on this book, I must say I agree. While I do read a lot of romantic novels, I also read a lot of just about everything else.
I would love to see Ms Monk return to the style of her Scottish romance; Once a Warrior, The Witch and the Warrior and The Rose and the Warrior. Now those were books to go to bed with and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A solid read
Review: Genevieve and Haydon make interesting leads in this story. I liked each character, and thought both were well written and well developed. The secondary characters were warm and added a lot of depth to the story without distracting from it. I suppose my biggest problem came with the plot itself and the various turns it took. I am willing to suspend my beliefs in romance stories, but there seemed to be too many beliefs to suspend in this story. Haydon is from the aristocracy, I find it hard to believe any judge or jury would convict him and sentence him to hang for killing a footpad, no matter what evidence or lack thereof. To then have the jail warden beat him over the previous beatings he received seems unrealistic. This was just the first chapter. Bring in Genevieve's situation, lack of money, abandonment of friends, fiancé, and everyone else I just had a hard time reconciling the characters with the story. We hear the harrowing tales of how Genevieve had to struggle to survive, working herself ragged and looking after a half dozen kids. Where would she get time to paint? I think its great, and it is very important to the plot of the story, but when?. I don't want to give the whole plot away, but every scene stretched my limits of credibility. If I did not like the main characters so much, as well as Genevieve's misfits, the book would have fallen completely flat for me. I have long been a fan of Ms. Monk's writing. This is definitly not her best effort, but still worth reading if you like strong and interesting characters. Just be willing to suspend your ideas of reality.
Rating:
Summary: A solid read
Review: Genevieve and Haydon make interesting leads in this story. I liked each character, and thought both were well written and well developed. The secondary characters were warm and added a lot of depth to the story without distracting from it. I suppose my biggest problem came with the plot itself and the various turns it took. I am willing to suspend my beliefs in romance stories, but there seemed to be too many beliefs to suspend in this story. Haydon is from the aristocracy, I find it hard to believe any judge or jury would convict him and sentence him to hang for killing a footpad, no matter what evidence or lack thereof. To then have the jail warden beat him over the previous beatings he received seems unrealistic. This was just the first chapter. Bring in Genevieve's situation, lack of money, abandonment of friends, fiancé, and everyone else I just had a hard time reconciling the characters with the story. We hear the harrowing tales of how Genevieve had to struggle to survive, working herself ragged and looking after a half dozen kids. Where would she get time to paint? I think its great, and it is very important to the plot of the story, but when?. I don't want to give the whole plot away, but every scene stretched my limits of credibility. If I did not like the main characters so much, as well as Genevieve's misfits, the book would have fallen completely flat for me. I have long been a fan of Ms. Monk's writing. This is definitly not her best effort, but still worth reading if you like strong and interesting characters. Just be willing to suspend your ideas of reality.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable characters.
Review: Genevieve MacPhail is a woman making her own way in the world, taking care of her orphaned brother and other unwanted children rescued from prison with the help of three former inmates. This ragtag family is ostracized by a community watching closely to see it fail. On what has become a routine mission to save an incarcerated child, Genevieve comes face to face with a condemned man, Haydon Kent, the marquess of Redmond. The urchin in question, James, helps free Haydon, who then follows them home. Genevieve is unable to turn her back on the accused murderer despite the danger following him. Haydon Kent believes he is a profligate of the worst kind. He escaped death twice yet firmly believes he does not deserve to live. He finds himself under the spell cast by the devoted family and especially by the enchanting matriarch. Now, he only has to convince himself he is worthy of being loved. The Prisoner is an entertaining mix of quirky characters and a well-written plot. The dialogue, especially between the children, is realistic and sparkling. Secrets are sprinkled throughout the story to keep the reader turning the pages of this thoroughly enjoyable book.
Rating:
Summary: The secondary characters are best.
Review: Genevieve MacPhail should have been a lovely lady in society, but one fateful night she gave all of that up to raise her illegitimate brother. Over the years Genevieve invited more children into her home one’s that she brought home from the wretches of prison. All is going fine until one night when Haydon Kent stumbles onto her doorstep, half-dead and a convicted murderer. As Genevieve nurses Haydon back to health, her heart falls in love with him. As they try to prove Haydon’s innocence, Genevieve and Haydon learn what it is like to completely trust another human being. *** This book was good, it just needed ... something. The characters were good, but not really believable. They did not draw me into the story enough to care much about them. I found the secondary characters much better than the main ones. I kept wishing it was their story I was reading instead. However, the author added many surprises to keep the reader guessing. The author's talent clearly shows! I hope to see Charlotte get her own book! ***...
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