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Almost Innocent

Almost Innocent

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: disappointing
Review: I picked up this novel in an airport before an overnight flight. I have enjoyed Jane Feather before. My favorite was The Hostage Bride. I find that after that her female characters have increasingly disappointed me. Almost Innocent achieves a new level of disappointment when a character with whom we are supposed to sympathize willing commits adultery. I read romantic fiction for the happy endings that are often unparalleled in day to day life. Although such an ending is provided, I found it contrived. Not up to par, even the bedroom scenes were left wanting. Not a Jane Feather usual.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Historical Romance ....with a taste of reality
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book...I became attached and hoped the ending would never come. You can feel the heat from Guy's hands when he touches her...your heart starts to race when he pulls her on his knee. I have read the other reviews, and its not that I disagree (opinion entitlement) although I do wish you could have felt the way I did. I have traveled all over this beautiful world, stationing myself in England for 2 years.. and never have I read a book with such absolute detail and feeling for the time. The reality of Magdalen is that she is arrogant, she is strong, she is not of high intelligence (many woman weren't permitted to be in the 1300's) and she was betrothed. It did not disgust me when she made love to Guy. Edmund was not her hearts choice. You can choose to marry whom you wish nowadays. She had no say in the matter. This was as real as they get. Intuitions, fornications, death, sickness, jealousy, arrogance, and most of all love. You don't have to like who she is, although I did... Most people read romance novels to escape and read about someone they'd like to be like...completely impossible to be perfection....there is no such woman. This story was amazing, beautifully written, and perfect in length. Its one of those...Damn-I-cant-put-this-down books...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Can I say this was Feather's worst?....
Review: I usually enjoy Jane Feather's novels. But this one really disappointed. It was very long, but only because I found it tedious to get through. Magdalen just seemed like the worst spoiled brat. I just kept getting very upset with the way the character acted and the choices that Magdalen made. The plot was a little outrageous, too. What 11 year old even thinks of true and lasting love? The leading male characters aren't even memorable. The entire novel seemed to focus on Magdalen's wants and how she was bound and determined to get it at any cost. It was simply ridiculous. My reaction once FINALLY finishing the thing, was to throw it out.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: very disappointed
Review: I usually find Jane Feather books enjoyable, but this one left me very disappointed! I felt that Mag did all the chasing! It didnt seem like a real love story! I mean the hero didnt even break a sweat! He gave her up as easily as he would give up his dog! I like to see a little fight or...... I think u guys get the point! All together a let down! The only reason i finished it was because i hate to leave a book unread!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: very good
Review: i was impressed by most of the book, i will admit, but i was very disappointed that the hero (though briefly) used his size against the heroin.

i can't uphold ANY man raising a hand in anger to the woman he loves and her letting him. it just isn't realistic to me, so i was a little disappointed that Magdalen lets Guy hit her.

So, be warned!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Truly Different
Review: I will not repeat the synopsis since it's right here but I will say that I never found the story to be boring and I really enjoyed the author's writing style. This is not your typical romance novel. There aren't steamy love scenes on every other page and the characters do not always behave sympathetically.

This IS a story about adultery, so if that bothers you, you will never like this book. HOWEVER, it is worth noting that Magdelen never had a choice about her marriage. It was decided when she was just a child, and she did try and prevent it.

Finally, lets be honest about Edmund, who is Magdelen's husband. Everyone goes on and on about how great he was and how he did not deserve what Magdelen did to him. Come on, maybe he was great for his time, but not only did he cheat on Magdelen with prostitues, he raped a woman who's husband he had killed. So, in short, he got no sympathy from me.

Read this if you are looking for something other than a mindless boddice ripper. Although judging from the reviews here, most people aren't.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fantastic Hero, Unfortunate Heroine
Review: It is puzzling that a writer as talented as Ms. Feather would consciously choose to portray her heroine Magdalen as such a self absorbed, narcissistic, ignorant, rebellious character with zero sense of morality. This is a disservice to women, both now and then, and one has to remind oneself that this tale is set in a period of time that was equally barbaric and chivalrous, at least on the part of the knights charged with the safety of the realm and its peoples.

Magdalen's lover and protector, Guy de Gervais, is a truly nurturing and loving man despite the fact that he has at "un pointe non plus" slapped her to remind her that her wilful disobedience gravely threatens Guy's task to keep her safe from harm that was placed upon him by her father, the Prince John of Gaunt. At issue is an uneasy truce between England and France that governs the political balance of power and she is a major player.

She is utterly absorbed in her passions and physical neediness, rendering her extraordinarily unlikeable. Yet, this may reveal the realities of women in that era, who is to say? The tale is a fascinating slice of history which makes it worthwhile reading for this fact alone. I do hope that in the future Ms. Feather makes her heroines more sympathetic, because, in all fairness, she is nearly as gifted as Guy Gavriel Kay in her ability to evoke the reader's deepest involvement with her characters which makes the story unforgettable on many levels.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a love story with a catch...
Review: Magdalen was born of an illicit affair between a powerful English prince and his French mistress. She is a pawn in the struggle between England and France from her first breath, but all she knows is that she longs for adventure. When the handsome knight Guy de Gervais comes to escort her to her betrothed, Magdalen sees the one and only love of her life. Guy sees his responsibility to keep her safe until she can wed his nephew and fulfill her political destiny. As Magdalen matures into a stunningly beautiful woman Guy must fight his love and desire for the one woman he cannot have.

The love story is sweet, but Magdalen is so afraid of losing Guy's affection that she defers to him on even the most mundane matters, so it's hard to see her as a "strong" heroine. Even though she is married to a man who truly cares for her, she has an affair with Guy without feeling any guilt or remorse. I prefer my heroines to be more morally-minded.

Jennifer Johnson

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not so good
Review: This book is a little long and was boring. I think that Jane Feather writes well and she could have done better with the story. I hated the relationship between Magdalen and Guy, it grosed me out that she would cheat on her husband even though she knew he was alive. I felt so bad for Edmund and how his life turned out. I did not like the ending because it was predictable and it was unfair. I think that this book was okay and that people should read it only if they are bored out of their minds with nothing to do.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Almost Boring
Review: This book is not worth the paper it was written on. I couldn't even finish it. It doesn't take a lot to please me when it come to romance novels, but I'm sorry but this one doesn't even come close. The only good thing I can say about "Almost Innocent" is that the cover art looks nice. The characters are shollow and hard to believe. If your looking for a good read try "Beauty Like The Night" by Liz Carlyle. Now that's a romance novel.


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