Rating: 
Summary: Super hero
Review: As all of her books this is a nice love story that has ups and downs, Michael is a super hero for her because she save her life in the waterloo war, of course she did that for love, you will see that when you read the book.
As all the super heroes stories it has his parts that couldn't be real, but you will enjoy reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Shattered Rainbows
Review: For anyone who read "thunder and roses" and thought that there was more to Michael Kenyon than meets the eye, here is your explanation. Hurt terribly by his affair with his best friend's unfaithful wife, Michael throws himself into his work as a soldier, fighting the French, and is nearly killed more than once. Luckily, there is a guardian angel, Catherine, who tends to the injured. Beyond the fact that she saved his life, she is an elegant and gentle woman. Michael feels very drawn to her, but he has sworn off married women forever, Even though Catherine's husband is unfaithful, he still resists the pull he feels towards her. The amazing circumstances that finally bring these two very worthy people together are enough to keep you busy for hours. I read instead of studying for my final exams! Finally we have a heroine who can do more than scream in the face of danger. Catherine's daughter Amy is smart and resourceful as well. This book is well worth adding to any collection
Rating: 
Summary: Actually..3 1/2 stars.......
Review: I enjoyed "Shattered Rainbows",however, Its definitely not my favorite Putney. I read this book without reading the previous books in the series. It held its own, but I think maybe I would have appreciated it more if I had experienced the stories that preceded it as well. All in all, not a bad book, but not one that I would re- read.
Rating:
Summary: Nice romantic story, not Putney's best
Review: I enjoyed this book, though in large part I feel that is simply because I am a big fan of Mary Jo Putney. This book tells the story of Catherine and Michael, the last of the Fallen Angels. He was seen the most before in Thunder and Roses, which I would highly recommend as it gives a great deal of background on Michael. It is also, IMO, a far superior book by MJP. This book also introduces the character Kenneth, who is the leading man of River of Fire.
This book is not at all like the reformed rake story of most of the other Fallen Angels books. It is a more romantic story. It probably compares best to Dancing on the Wind. Michael seems to fall for Catherine pretty much instantly, but does not pursue her due to her being married. Indeed, they don't even kiss until over halfway through the book. Their love is later complicated by a rather boring villainous plot. Catherine is a very nice heroine, though almost too sweet, lacking the spunk of other MJP heroines.
I gave this book 4 stars, not because I enjoyed it greatly, but because I believe other readers might. If you are a fan of MJP, you will most likely enjoy this book no matter what your personal preferences for romance novels may be. I think this book is meant for readers who enjoy a sweet, romantic story, rather than a dramatic, steamy story.
Personally, I far prefer Thunder and Roses, Silk and Secrets, and Petals in the Storm.
Rating:
Summary: Nice romantic story, not Putney's best
Review: I enjoyed this book, though in large part I feel that is simply because I am a big fan of Mary Jo Putney. This book tells the story of Catherine and Michael, the last of the Fallen Angels. He was seen the most before in Thunder and Roses, which I would highly recommend as it gives a great deal of background on Michael. It is also, IMO, a far superior book by MJP. This book also introduces the character Kenneth, who is the leading man of River of Fire.
This book is not at all like the reformed rake story of most of the other Fallen Angels books. It is a more romantic story. It probably compares best to Dancing on the Wind. Michael seems to fall for Catherine pretty much instantly, but does not pursue her due to her being married. Indeed, they don't even kiss until over halfway through the book. Their love is later complicated by a rather boring villainous plot. Catherine is a very nice heroine, though almost too sweet, lacking the spunk of other MJP heroines.
I gave this book 4 stars, not because I enjoyed it greatly, but because I believe other readers might. If you are a fan of MJP, you will most likely enjoy this book no matter what your personal preferences for romance novels may be. I think this book is meant for readers who enjoy a sweet, romantic story, rather than a dramatic, steamy story.
Personally, I far prefer Thunder and Roses, Silk and Secrets, and Petals in the Storm.
Rating:
Summary: "Shattered rainbows", indeed...
Review: I have read and own nearly all of Mary Jo Putney's books. I love them all immensely; there's only one or two that I can think of that I did not enjoy. I love her books because in every story, there's a psychological depth that's almost tangible, but not quite. Very intriguing.
That's one of the reasons that I love "Shattered Rainbows" so much. Michael is very tortured; one might even say angsty. He has a deep past behind him, much of which gets revealed in very small quantities. He's always been my favorite Fallen Angel. I always wondered what his story was, and I was ecstatic when I first came across this book. He's restrained, controlled, loyal to a fault, and every woman's quintessential "dark lover". Who couldn't fall in love with a man like that?
Catherine is an intriguing character. She may seem docile and obedient, but in truth, she's not. She feels that she's not normal because of her difficulties with sex; which is really ironic in the sense that she's reputed to be most beautiful woman on the continent. She lies because she's almost forced to; and Michael and Catherine charading together leads a story of intrigue, on-the-edge-of-your-seat details, and scathing romance.
This story has a psychological depth to it like the rest of her books, but this one touched me more deeply than some of the others did. I was biting my nails the entire time I was reading through this. I agree with some of the other reviews; this is definitely not a light read. But, it's one worth reading, period.
Rating:
Summary: This book is sooo good!
Review: I love this "Fallen Angel" series, and I have read every single one of the stories, except "River of Fire", which will be next if I can get my hands on it. Mary Jo Putney is definetely a gifted writer.
However I have to confess that I was not looking forward to this book that much, I guessed that because Michael is a soldier there would be too much war involved to my liking. And there was war alright. Almost half of the book takes place around the Penninsular Campaign and the Battle of Waterloo. Nonetheless, I was captured by this book from the first page. It was a real effort to put it down, when I had other duties to attend to. I should have had more faith in MJP talent.
The narrative was compelling and strong, the description of places and circumstances was so well done that I felt like I was watching a movie. By the way, why hasn't this book made into a movie? Sometimes I watch movies with huge budgets depicting this period and their stories are not half as good as this one. This novel has all the elements to be transformed into a great epic movie - war, action, adventure, intrigue, compelling and believable characters, inner struggles and love, lots of romance and love. I know I would rather watch a movie based on this novel than "The Last Samurai" or "Master and Comander" for example. It is a shame that Hollywood producers don't turn to romace novels for inspiration, because I think several I have read, specially from authors like Mary Jo Putney and Jo Beverley would make splendid motion pictures.
But I digress. Really there is not much I can add to what other reviewers have written about this book. I can only say it is magnificent. An example of what a romance novel should be like. I strongly recommend this book and the rest of the "Fallen Angels" series. Actually I recommend all books from Mary Jo Putney.
Rating:
Summary: Angst-ridden but hopeful story...
Review: If you encountered Michael in THUNDER AND ROSES, you were kept up wondering "what happened to this man afterwards? Well, SHATTERED RAINBOWS is Michael's story, and it is a sequel to the book I mentioned, and a prequel (sort of) to ONE PERFECT ROSE. It helps to read these books in order, although each book has plenty of information so that it can be read alone. But reading both TAR and OPR (prequel and sequel) helps the reader understand Michael's anguish both over his terribly unhappy childhood and his actions towards his friends, especially Nicholas (the hero of TAR). If you liked Nicholas, you will find his mostly-absence (and the absence by and large of the other Angels) disappointing. The story is firmly about Michael and Catherine, with even Catherine's late husband and her daughter playing very secondary roles.This is not a comfort read; few of Mary Jo Putney's books are, in my opinion. SHATTERED RAINBOWS is particularly heartbreaking and angst-ridden, a book about wrong choices, regrets and repentance. If you are looking for a light read, do not pick this book up. I loved the first half of the book. Unfortunately, I found the last part of the book to be too conventional - with the wicked villain, the abduction of the heroine, the near-death experience of the hero and heroine. I have found this a growing theme in Mary Jo Putney's book (with the heroine now often dragged off to some tower!), and find that irritating. That ending is why I assigned this otherwise marvellous book four stars, and not five. I know that she can write unconventional endings, and I wish that she would write more of those. Read this book to find out if Michael can learn to trust a woman, given his unhappy history, and to find out how he repairs his relationships with his friends and his elder brother. You will find Catherine fascinating as well. But again, this book is not a comfort read (unless your idea of comfort is very different from mine). The first part of the book was superb, the middle part very good, but I lost interest when the villain was revealed on the island. Which is why the book rates 4.3 instead of the higher grade I would have assigned it (closer to THUNDER AND ROSES) based on the first two parts.
Rating:
Summary: Angst-ridden but hopeful story...
Review: If you encountered Michael in THUNDER AND ROSES, you were kept up wondering "what happened to this man afterwards? Well, SHATTERED RAINBOWS is Michael's story, and it is a sequel to the book I mentioned, and a prequel (sort of) to ONE PERFECT ROSE. It helps to read these books in order, although each book has plenty of information so that it can be read alone. But reading both TAR and OPR (prequel and sequel) helps the reader understand Michael's anguish both over his terribly unhappy childhood and his actions towards his friends, especially Nicholas (the hero of TAR). If you liked Nicholas, you will find his mostly-absence (and the absence by and large of the other Angels) disappointing. The story is firmly about Michael and Catherine, with even Catherine's late husband and her daughter playing very secondary roles. This is not a comfort read; few of Mary Jo Putney's books are, in my opinion. SHATTERED RAINBOWS is particularly heartbreaking and angst-ridden, a book about wrong choices, regrets and repentance. If you are looking for a light read, do not pick this book up. I loved the first half of the book. Unfortunately, I found the last part of the book to be too conventional - with the wicked villain, the abduction of the heroine, the near-death experience of the hero and heroine. I have found this a growing theme in Mary Jo Putney's book (with the heroine now often dragged off to some tower!), and find that irritating. That ending is why I assigned this otherwise marvellous book four stars, and not five. I know that she can write unconventional endings, and I wish that she would write more of those. Read this book to find out if Michael can learn to trust a woman, given his unhappy history, and to find out how he repairs his relationships with his friends and his elder brother. You will find Catherine fascinating as well. But again, this book is not a comfort read (unless your idea of comfort is very different from mine). The first part of the book was superb, the middle part very good, but I lost interest when the villain was revealed on the island. Which is why the book rates 4.3 instead of the higher grade I would have assigned it (closer to THUNDER AND ROSES) based on the first two parts.
Rating:
Summary: Unimpressed with this one
Review: Michael is the quitessential tortured hero; Catehrine is a perfect match for him. After overcoming obstacles (her lies, his family issues) they can be together and live happily ever after. The book would have been better had Ms Putney chosen to end it there, but instead she keeps writing...and tacks on a ridiculous manhunt instigated but the most unrealistic villan in romance history. (Naturally, as the two main characters are running for their lives, they have time for a romantic interlude in a cave). But, if we ignore these pointless chapters, the book is a decent read. Catherine's secrets and Michael's past make them likable (what woman wouldn't volunteer to teach Michael to love??). I read ONE PERFECT ROSE before this book, and it's MUCH better. Skim this one for background info, and skip to the sequel.
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