Adora

Rating:
Summary: A grand epic
Review: ADORA, one of Ms. Small's earlier works, is a grand, sweeping epic in much the same vein as THE KADIN, her debut novel. ADORA is an exciting, well-written story which, when I read it years ago, made me a diehard Bertrice Small fan.The central character, Theodora Cantacuzene (did I spell that correctly?) is the daughter of the emperor of the decaying Byzantine Empire. The nearby Ottoman Empire is rapidly expanding, forcing Byzantium to live under the constant fear of conquest and absorption. To appease Osman, the Ottoman sultan, Adora (Theodora's nickname) is offered up as his third wife. She is still a child at the time of the marriage, but it is agreed that the union won't be consummated until she is older.Along the way, Adora falls for Murad, Osman's charming son. But fate deals Adora one blow after another. Without going into the convoluted details -- they'll make for interesting reading! -- Adora eventually is reunited with Murad.But he loses points with me here because, in the early stage of their reunion at least, he holds against Adora things that weren't her fault and were completely beyond her control: the arranged marriage to his father; the flight to Alexander, a passionate man and one of the few people willing to give her shelter; and other purported crimes.I loved the ending. It was very moving.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!!
Review: As a child, Theadora Cantacuzene, a princess of Byzantium knew that she was destined for greatness. But not as she had hoped. Theadora's sister was wed to the future emperor of her beloved Constantinople while she was wed to the Ottoman sultan. Adora is a magnificently written classic by the always incredible Bertrice Small. As a young woman, Adora was placed into a convent until she was finally summoned by her much older husband, the sultan. Her heart belonged to his son Murad. Through trials and obstacles, Murad and Adora come together and then are split apart by fate, anger, and misunderstandings. Will they ever fulfill the destiny that was forged in the stars for them? Will Adora's childhood promise come true? That Constantinople will belong to her descendents. This book is truly an excellent read, describing in exquisite detail the crumbling of the Byzantine empire and the rise of the Ottoman Turks.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!!
Review: As a child, Theadora Cantacuzene, a princess of Byzantium knew that she was destined for greatness. But not as she had hoped. Theadora's sister was wed to the future emperor of her beloved Constantinople while she was wed to the Ottoman sultan. Adora is a magnificently written classic by the always incredible Bertrice Small. As a young woman, Adora was placed into a convent until she was finally summoned by her much older husband, the sultan. Her heart belonged to his son Murad. Through trials and obstacles, Murad and Adora come together and then are split apart by fate, anger, and misunderstandings. Will they ever fulfill the destiny that was forged in the stars for them? Will Adora's childhood promise come true? That Constantinople will belong to her descendents. This book is truly an excellent read, describing in exquisite detail the crumbling of the Byzantine empire and the rise of the Ottoman Turks.

Rating:
Summary: Eh! Not my favorite Bertrice Small book.
Review: Bertrice Small is my favorite author right now. I have read almost all her books, and this was my least favorite. I don't know why exactly, but I just found it a little boring and hard to get through. (but I HAD to finish it, and the ending was kind of weak) I didn't like ANY of the characters, I didn't care if Murad and Adora ever lived happily ever after at all. Still, it is a Bertrice Small book, so it is still better than almost any other romance out there. Full of history and intrigue, but the characters just weren't as full of life as usual. Adora just kept going on about how smart & clever she is, thanks to her Greek ancestry, and Murad was just a big jerk. And it just wasn't believable that Adora would enjoy getting so brutally raped at a funeral--and she even saw swirling colors of passion & so on at her "crisis". (Huh? What was that? Now you really want to read it, right?) I see a lot of other reviewers really enjoyed this book, and to me that goes to show that even my least favorite Bertrice Small book is still pretty darn good...So give it a read, but read some of her other books, like the Kadin, Love wild and Fair etc. too! I enjoyed them much more! I think that her other novels were just so good, that this one just didn't live up to them for me. Maybe if I had read this book first, I would have liked it more.

Rating:
Summary: Eh! Not my favorite Bertrice Small book.
Review: Bertrice Small is my favorite author right now. I have read almost all her books, and this was my least favorite. I don't know why exactly, but I just found it a little boring and hard to get through. (but I HAD to finish it, and the ending was kind of weak) I didn't like ANY of the characters, I didn't care if Murad and Adora ever lived happily ever after at all. Still, it is a Bertrice Small book, so it is still better than almost any other romance out there. Full of history and intrigue, but the characters just weren't as full of life as usual. Adora just kept going on about how smart & clever she is, thanks to her Greek ancestry, and Murad was just a big jerk. And it just wasn't believable that Adora would enjoy getting so brutally raped at a funeral--and she even saw swirling colors of passion & so on at her "crisis". (Huh? What was that? Now you really want to read it, right?) I see a lot of other reviewers really enjoyed this book, and to me that goes to show that even my least favorite Bertrice Small book is still pretty darn good...So give it a read, but read some of her other books, like the Kadin, Love wild and Fair etc. too! I enjoyed them much more! I think that her other novels were just so good, that this one just didn't live up to them for me. Maybe if I had read this book first, I would have liked it more.

Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC!!!!!
Review: I originally read this book when I was thirteen and I have read it at least four more times. I absolutely love this book.

If has love, passion, revenge, heartbreak, etc. everything to make it a smash.

I'm glad to see it in print again. Way to go Beatrice!

Rating:
Summary: Worth the wait
Review: I've been looking for this books for ten years and am happy to say it was worth the wait. I read a friends copy years ago and haven't been able to get the book out of my head. Yeah Murad and Adora!

Rating:
Summary: One of her two best
Review: Originally published in the early 80's, "Adora" is much more readable and much less sex-driven than many of Ms. Small's later works. Theodora is as well-rounded a character as you'll find in these types of books, although as usual Ms. Small finds a way for her heroine to sleep with "forbidden fruit" so that Theodora can hook up with the handsome pirate Alexander. Glad to see this is out in paperback again.

Rating:
Summary: best book ever
Review: This was my first book by Small and it will not be my last. Not only was there a great love story involved but also some great history. This book is also not your average everyday romance. It was refreshing to read a book where you got to view a persons whole life and not just a couple of years (or however long it takes to meet there love). Whenever I finish reading a romance I cant help wondering "what happens next?" Well in this book you view Adora's life from age 4-90. So you get to know what happens next. It was a great read and one of the only books that made me cry. It was very touching if you can get into the characters, not to mention some hot sex sceens. I have never written a review for a book before but once I read Adora I had to share my thoughts. If you can get a hold of this book it will be worth it.

Rating:
Summary: best book ever
Review: this wasn't one of Bertrice Small's best book. I am ok with the idea of a harem. but I can't get used to the fact that Adora was the wife of the sultan and yet she is in love with the son.