Rating: Summary: Not your usual regency Review: No rakish lords, earls, or dukes here. An "average" man who is anything but average and a lady with issues makes for one heckuva read! For the person who wants something different, and doesn't mind pleanty of steam. Now what about Giles story?
Rating: Summary: Spine-tingling stuff! Review: Not for the faint-hearted this book will raise your eyebrows whilst simultaneously wrenching your heart. Brockway has crafted two complex characters who are credible in their motives and actions. Fabulous sexual tension but even better we are allowed to watch as they fall in love. And what love! Yearning and desperate, dark but hopeful. "As You Desire" and "My Dearest Enemy" are much more cheerful, but Brockway manages to make the reader invest so much emotion into Jack and Anne's relationship that, when you reach the end, you're cheering!
Rating: Summary: Very Very Good Review: Reading a book by Connie Brockway is always a treat (although not easy since English is not my mother tongue and she is the ONLY author where I actually need my dictionary at hand!...). She is so good in creating complex and therefore perfectly understandable characters (this includes the supporting cast) plus a great story. The only problem I had with this book was, that I was wishing there had been much much more of Jack and Anne, I didn't want the book to end.Contrary to AS YOU DESIRE (which is also a good book, although I liked ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT more) this is no light read. It is very dark and there is a lot of emotion involved. I actually got scared during one scene involving a chimney. The first half of the story I thought, if that was a common thriller and not romance one or both characters would be dead at the end ' no chance for a Happy Ending, never. It was such a mess and the situation so desperate that I kept reading faster and faster to find out how Ms Brockway manages to solve it. I am happy to report that she did it very well and to my satisfaction (which is not easy). See for yourself, you won't regret meeting Jack and Anne.
Rating: Summary: Kept Me Up 'All Through The Night' Review: Since I believe the basics of the plot of this story are amply and efficiently covered by the reader reviews that precede this one, I won't attempt to go into another re-cap. What I do wish to contribute, however, is what struck me most about this darkly compelling and riveting tale; namely, that Ms. Brockway displays a writing style superior to anything else offered in this genre, something fine enough to withstand the power of time and "trends" in romantic literature. There is an artistic finesse and subtlety in the dialogue, which would indicate that the author credits her readers with a certain amount of sensibility and intelligence. Brockway writes a true period piece - no machismo "Fabio" lords, no saucy-but-virginal maidens. Nobody is a street scamp who discovers he/she is a bluebooded, wealthy aristocrat by the end of the book. Jack and Anne are far more complex and multi-faceted. Jack is dark, driven, and sexy, yet always very controlled; meanwhile, he's in complete turmoil inside. Anne is quite likable, yet human, with an aching emotional void which she seeks to fill by her reckless behavior. The story is equal parts tenderly romantic and darkly sensual. The "scene" in which Jack requests to hear his Christian name on Anne's lips gave me goosebumps! The secondary characters are refreshing, unique, and fascinating, rather than mere foils for hero and heroine. In sum, a fine, full-bodied read which has probably ruined me against any others that will follow!
Rating: Summary: If I could give this 10 stars I would. Review: Thanks once again to Ms Brockway for her rich characters. She really has a way of making her characters real. They become a part of your life while you are reading her stories. I loved Jack and Anne. They were perfect for eachother. Their passion for one another ignites the pages of this novel. I can't wait to read another of Ms. Brockway's novels. I must go and search Amazon.com once again.
Rating: Summary: A bit too proper for me Review: The book, though well written, did not inspire great loyalty for any of the characters. What could have been a terrific alpha male turned out to be a tall, muscular stuffed shirt. Every word and action reeked of manners. I knew that the book was a disappointment when even the thefts seemed proper.
Rating: Summary: A Tormented Passionate Couple Review: This book has depth and subtlty of feeling this is not often found. It has an interesting, unusual heroine in Anne, and a sense of real emotional connection between her and Jack. You read this book and you care for the characters, you want them to get together and when it ends you hope you will meet them again some day. It is something about redemption and what is real love and what makes us want to live or die... more depth than average and certainly not a light confection, but worth spending time with. A definite keeper. I think it's Connie Brockway's personal best.
Rating: Summary: a definite keeper Review: This book has depth and subtlty of feeling this is not often found. It has an interesting, unusual heroine in Anne, and a sense of real emotional connection between her and Jack. You read this book and you care for the characters, you want them to get together and when it ends you hope you will meet them again some day. It is something about redemption and what is real love and what makes us want to live or die... more depth than average and certainly not a light confection, but worth spending time with. A definite keeper. I think it's Connie Brockway's personal best.
Rating: Summary: A Well-Crafted Story Review: This book is a jewel. Rarely have a book gripped me by the neck and dragged me into a story so magical that I never wanted it to end. Jack Seward is a secret intelligence officer in the trail of Anne Wilder, a female cat-burglar who may have stolen a document of importance that threatens Regency england's security. Jack was a man with painful past : he had lived a false identity, and was so withdrawn from most human compassion that he was almost the emotionless ghost some thought him to be. Anne, on the other hand, was the opposite: she had been suffocated by the attention of an obsessive husbandand lived in guilt and low self-esteem. She thrived on taking risks in order to feel alive. Seeing these two challenge each other over rooftops and on dance floors was like watching a chess match, riveting and intense, but ultimastely satisfying in the outcome. For these two characters needed each other, to teach other to feel and love again. Miss Brockway was most poetic in her writing. When Anne was missing, a frantic Jack searched for her, asking people he met as if they had seen her. But it was useless, 'for their eyes were on the ground, and she, she flew', thought Jack. This romance is also compelling in that it was Jack who opened himself first to Anne. He admitted his need for her love and affection, and his attempts to keep her safe from his employers even as he tried to win her heart were a heartbreaking read. This book made me feel many things. Pain at the torment these people go, tears at the healing of their ravaged souls, and finally, a bittersweet lump in my heart as I said goodbye to the people I've known for a few hours yet cared about. Connie Brockway had worked magic - a magic that we readers experience oh-so rarely in reading a book. Get this book - it's well-worth the investment.
Rating: Summary: Most Underrated Writer in Romance Review: This is a wonderful book. So many romances are poorly written, poorly plotted, and poorly imagined. (I have thrown more than few against the wall mid way through the first couple of chapters.) If you want an intelligent, romantic read this is the book for you. I have enjoyed all Ms. Brockway's work, but this book, "My Dearest Enemy," "Anything for Love," and "As You Desire" rank amongst the best of romantic fiction. I know from Ms. Brockway's web site that she reads these reviews, so I have one question: "When will you write Gile's story?"
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