Rating: 
Summary: well written but very typical of the O?Malley universe
Review: "The King's Fancy" (1667-68). Frances "Fancy" Devers thought she had everything when Parker Randolph, a son of one of Virginia's leading families married her. When she was suspected of murdering her husband, she was sent to stay at the English home of her grandmother Jasmine Leslie. Through her family connections, she meets King Charles II, which eventually ends in a friendship in spite of His Highness playing matchmaker to find a husband for his former mistress over her objections."Sweet Siren" (1667-68). Diana "Siren" Leslie falls in love with the Roxley twins, Damien and Darius Esmund. However, she cannot decide which one is right for her so Siren decides to test the siblings to ascertain which one loves her above her wealth and prestige. "Cyn and Wickedness" (1669-70). Cynara "Cyn" Stuart loves Harry "Wickeness" Summers. However, though he dreams of her all the time, and she pulls out all the stops to gain his attention, his ugly childhood caused by his parents make marriage impossible for him. However, when Cyn makes up her mind even the most wicked will find her hard to resist. After a dozen novels and what seems like 98% of the English-Scottish sixteenth and seventeenth century populace, Bertrice Small says VIXENS is her final O'Malley novel. The book consists of three novellas each starring a descendent from Skye who are cousins, but the trio appears in each story. All three contributions are well written but very typical of the O'Malley universe so those fans of the mythos will read the entire book in one sitting while newcomers will probably take three days. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: well written but very typical of the O¿Malley universe
Review: "The King's Fancy" (1667-68). Frances "Fancy" Devers thought she had everything when Parker Randolph, a son of one of Virginia's leading families married her. When she was suspected of murdering her husband, she was sent to stay at the English home of her grandmother Jasmine Leslie. Through her family connections, she meets King Charles II, which eventually ends in a friendship in spite of His Highness playing matchmaker to find a husband for his former mistress over her objections. "Sweet Siren" (1667-68). Diana "Siren" Leslie falls in love with the Roxley twins, Damien and Darius Esmund. However, she cannot decide which one is right for her so Siren decides to test the siblings to ascertain which one loves her above her wealth and prestige. "Cyn and Wickedness" (1669-70). Cynara "Cyn" Stuart loves Harry "Wickeness" Summers. However, though he dreams of her all the time, and she pulls out all the stops to gain his attention, his ugly childhood caused by his parents make marriage impossible for him. However, when Cyn makes up her mind even the most wicked will find her hard to resist. After a dozen novels and what seems like 98% of the English-Scottish sixteenth and seventeenth century populace, Bertrice Small says VIXENS is her final O'Malley novel. The book consists of three novellas each starring a descendent from Skye who are cousins, but the trio appears in each story. All three contributions are well written but very typical of the O'Malley universe so those fans of the mythos will read the entire book in one sitting while newcomers will probably take three days. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Vixens Disappoints
Review: Bertrice Small's latest of the O'Malley books is a sorry end to a wonderful legacy. I am a fan of Ms. Small's and have been for many years. Her writing style, obvious knowledge of grammar and ability to weave complex plots have always made her books enjoyable to read. Up until the last few years, I considered her one of the top historic romance authors writing today. It has been apparent to me for a while that she no longer hears the "voice" of her characters in the O'Malley series. Their demise is long overdue and I applaud her for ending it so that she could move forward with fresh projects.
That being said - Vixens is poorly plotted. Separating the three story lines was distracting and unnecessary. In the first story, Ms. Small (or the lack of an adequate editor, or the lack of thoroughly reviewing the galleys) committed one of my top five unforgivable writing errors. DO NOT place a character in a location they do not belong. In Fancy's story, Ms. Small makes much "to do" about two ancient servants staying behind because of their age only to have them "magically appear" in an insignificant scene in London. This not only forced me to go back and re-read the story because I thought I had missed something, but it also caused me to lose interest and skim the other two cousins' stories. I was not impressed with the gist of these either.
If you are a collector of certain authors and Ms. Small is one of them, you will want to add this novel to your library. If you are a writer, you will want to add this novel to your library as a comparison to one of Ms. Small's earlier works in order to understand what is good writing and what is not. If you are looking for a good well-written book to read, buy one of Ms. Small's earlier works.
Rating:
Summary: Vixens Disappoints
Review: Bertrice Small's latest of the O'Malley books is a sorry end to a wonderful legacy. I am a fan of Ms. Small's and have been for many years. Her writing style, obvious knowledge of grammar and ability to weave complex plots have always made her books enjoyable to read. Up until the last few years, I rated her as one of the top five historic romance authors writing today. It has been apparent to me for a while that she no longer hears the "voice" of her characters in the O'Malley series. Their demise is long overdue and I applaud her for ending it so that she could move forward with fresh projects. That being said - Vixens is poorly plotted. Separating the three story lines was distracting and unnecessary. In the first story, Ms. Small (or the lack of an adequate editor, or the lack of thoroughly reviewing the galleys) committed one of my top five unforgivable writing errors. DO NOT place a character in a location they do not belong. In Fancy's story, Ms. Small makes much "to do" about two ancient servants staying behind because of their age only to have them "magically appear" in an insignificant scene in London. This not only forced me to go back and re-read the story because I thought I had missed something, but it also caused me to lose interest and skim the other two cousins' stories. I was not impressed with the gist of these either. If you are a collector of certain authors and Ms. Small is one of them, you will want to add this novel to your library. If you are a writer, you will want to add this novel to your library as a comparison to one of Ms. Small's earlier works in order to understand what is good writing and what is not. If you are looking for a good well-written book to read, buy one of Ms. Small's earlier works.
Rating:
Summary: Fancy's story makes book worth reading
Review: Fancy's story alone made Vixens worth reading. Having survived a short (as in a few hours) tragic marriage, Fancy is sent to live with her grandmother. She attends court and immediately catches the attention of the king. This story is the most erotic of the three, and the interaction between the king's three mistresses is amusing. I only wish her story would have continued. Siren's story (as well as her character) was a little weak and and Cyn's was fine but both of these could have been secondary characters in Fancy's story. As a Skye fan, I'm glad I bought this book despite the bad reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Bittersweet but much needed ending
Review: Having diligently followed these families over the years it was very sad to see it come to an end. But it was a necessary end. These families have been strung so far out you take up half the book reciting the family ties. I think it was bizarre to write this in a 3-n-1 book. I don't know why it wasn't just one story line. Its not like all Bertrice Smalls other books didn't have multiple story lines and we managed to follow along. I thought Fancy's story was the strongest and most interesting and should have been the main story in the book with the other cousins as the sub stories. Not a bad read strong start, boring middle, rushed ending but good closure for the story line.
Rating: 
Summary: Great!
Review: I am a big fan of Bertrice Small. I love all of her books! If you are a fan of hers this is a MUST READ!! Unfortunately this is the last book in the Skye O'Malley Legacy.
Rating: 
Summary: It's a book from Ms. Small and I am grateful for that....
Review: I am always desparate for a new title from Ms. Small, and because this is a new title, I am grateful. It wraps up many ties to the past of Syke O'Malley and her great grand-daughters with some style and class, however, it is lacking in raw passion of Ms. Small's early works, and some of her latest ei...The Love Slave and Rosemund...can we all just forget about The Duchess? The first part devoted to Fancy Devers just is not enough, she (Ms. Small) could have written an entire book of Fancy, her first husband and his depravity, her royal lover and the consequences and I would have been very please. The second part of the book held my interest well enough with Diana and the twin brothers, but the later half of "Cyn and Wickedness"
was predictable. All in all a fair book I just wish for more substance, and Ms. Small is one author I expect it from.
Rating:
Summary: And The Point Was What Now?
Review: I love Small's earlier works, and even some of her more recent books. But I've also thought she should have hung up her writing jock strap the moment Skye's Legacy was conceived. Vixens is an awful ending to an empty and disappointing series. And you know, out of twelve books about Skye and her decendants, Jasmine has a virtually starring role in seven. Whose legacy is it again? Anyway, onto Vixens. The characters were so one-dimensional as to be blown over by a small gust of wind. Nobody had any real values or personality other than "fiery" or "sweet". The complex geneaology at this point in time is so ridiculous which is bad enough, but keeps getting recapped which is even worse. We have Fancy "oh, I don't want a husband, so I'll become the king's mistress", Siren "the real catch (Mick) is right in front of me but I'll entertain these twin dorks anyway", and Cyn "if you can't tell I'm the bad girl you've the brains of suet pudding". Please. I'm glad I didn't pay for this drivel.
Rating:
Summary: And The Point Was What Now?
Review: I love Small's earlier works, and even some of her more recent books. But I've also thought she should have hung up her writing jock strap the moment Skye's Legacy was conceived. Vixens is an awful ending to an empty and disappointing series. And you know, out of twelve books about Skye and her decendants, Jasmine has a virtually starring role in seven. Whose legacy is it again? Anyway, onto Vixens. The characters were so one-dimensional as to be blown over by a small gust of wind. Nobody had any real values or personality other than "fiery" or "sweet". The complex geneaology at this point in time is so ridiculous which is bad enough, but keeps getting recapped which is even worse. We have Fancy "oh, I don't want a husband, so I'll become the king's mistress", Siren "the real catch (Mick) is right in front of me but I'll entertain these twin dorks anyway", and Cyn "if you can't tell I'm the bad girl you've the brains of suet pudding". Please. I'm glad I didn't pay for this drivel.
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