Rating: 
Summary: BORING
Review: I never connected with the characters in this book. I have read countless romance stories; this was no romance. This was the first and last book I read from Ms. Ivory. Please do not buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: The Back cover is misleading
Review: I purchased this book on the strength of the back cover. It did not live up to my expectations.I don't know exactly what I disliked about the book, but it did not engage me with any of the characters. I lost interest by page 68. I flicked through thinking that I was not giving the book ample opportunity, alas it was not the case. There was nothing wrong with the writing, but at times I felt that I was not reading a romance but a history book, with very unlikeable characters. The book was beyond slow. I am sorry but on the strength of this book, I don't think will be purchasing another of Ms Ivory's books. Just because a romance is set in histrical times, does not mean it should not be exciting!
Rating:
Summary: not very romantic
Review: I was expecting a lot more from this book. I didn't find it very romantic because the hero was having an affair with another woman throughout most of the novel. Also, the first love scene was the antithesis of romantic! I also found it slow and ended up just skimming to see when the couple finally got together. Ivory failed to draw me in and make me care about what happened to the characters.
Rating:
Summary: don't waste your money
Review: If you are expecting a good read, similar to other Judith Ivory books, do not purchase this one. I was incredibly disappointed. There was not one character that I cared about. I had to force myself to finish it. While incredibly descriptive, it lacked any reason to read the next page.
Rating: 
Summary: entertaining mid nineteenth century tale
Review: In 1858, Graham Wessit has so many woes he does not know where to start to fix them. Besides being the laughing stock of England due to a hyperbolic serialization of his misdeeds, the wealthy Graham faces a false paternity suit and the plans of his current mistress to divorce her husband and marry him. Since he inherited his title at six, scandal is his middle name. Widow Submit Channing-Downes wears black in mourning for her late husband Henry. She adored her much older spouse though she likes the freedom that widowhood provides for her. Graham blames much of his present troubles on Henry, his former guardian. Listening to Henry's son prattle, Graham transfers his negative feelings to the widow until she arrives delivering a package from the deceased. Though Submit and Graham differ about Henry, they agree on a deep attraction between them. Unless they find some kind of compromise, the ghost of Henry will haunt any relationship between them. BLACK SILK, a reprint of a 1991 Victorian romance (written under the name of Judith Cuevas) retains its freshness due to the strong characterizations. Readers fully grasp the motives of Submit and Graham and to a lesser degree that of Henry. Graham is the unique recipient of scorn from his peers while Submit is a bit more difficult to comprehend as she appears almost like two different people. Still Judith Ivory strikes the right chords with this powerful character study that slowly simmers the romance so that the audience obtains a realistic entertaining mid nineteenth century tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Gorgeous Character Study
Review: Looking over the past reviews, this is definitely a book that you either love or you hate. Personally, I wish that I could give this book 10 stars because it is so *very*, *very* good and the characters are so beautifully drawn and memorable.
The character of Graham Wessit, the Earl of Nethem, is one of the best libertines ever created in romantic fiction--a gorgeous, charming risk-taker who is so full of life that the heroine, Submit Channing-Downs, the prim widow of his former guardian, is drawn to him despite herself. Judith Ivory makes Graham so real that every other cookie-cutter duke rakehell hero in the "garden variety" romance novel seems pale and flat in comparison. In my opinion, Graham's faults enhance his appeal and humanize his character. Submit is as unique a romantic heroine as her name would imply, but an interesting character and a wonderful foil for Graham's brilliant appeal.
The story allows the relationship between Graham and Submit to develop slowly and believably (a fact which readers interested in a quick, fluffy romance will find frustrating.)
I cannot recommend this book more highly for readers of historical romance who are looking for something better written, more mature, and more memorable than the usual fare. If you like this book, I would also recommend "Bliss" and "Starlit Surrender" by Judy Cuevas (Judith Ivory) and "Sleeping Beauty" by Judith Ivory. Even if you don't like this book, Judith Ivory's newer works are a bit more mainstream ("The Indiscretion" and "The Proposition") and still excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Not really a romance
Review: Looking over the reviews of this book, it's clear that ppl. either strongly love it or strongly hate it. The book hardly gets anything other than 1 or 5 stars. So you want to know, of course, if you're going to love it or hate it. Here's the answer. This book is complex, subtle, and intellectual. It is very different from the usual romance novel, and in my opinion, it shows us that within the romance genre, rich and original books can be written. I think it's one of the best books in the genre (along with Starlit Surrender, published under her pseudonym, Judy Cuevas). If you like Laura Kinsale (especially Flowers from the Storm or Shadow and the Star), then you are going to love this book. If you hated those books, then odds are you're going to dislike this one. So maybe you've decided that you're one of those people who is going to hate this book, because it's going to make you bang your head against the wall with unexpected character development and unpredictable plot elements. DONT GIVE UP ON THE AUTHOR JUST BECAUSE OF THAT! Many of her other books are far more appealing to the mass audience. Try The Proposition, Beast, or Sleeping Beauty.
Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone, but only because it's sooo good
Review: Looking over the reviews of this book, it's clear that ppl. either strongly love it or strongly hate it. The book hardly gets anything other than 1 or 5 stars. So you want to know, of course, if you're going to love it or hate it. Here's the answer. This book is complex, subtle, and intellectual. It is very different from the usual romance novel, and in my opinion, it shows us that within the romance genre, rich and original books can be written. I think it's one of the best books in the genre (along with Starlit Surrender, published under her pseudonym, Judy Cuevas). If you like Laura Kinsale (especially Flowers from the Storm or Shadow and the Star), then you are going to love this book. If you hated those books, then odds are you're going to dislike this one. So maybe you've decided that you're one of those people who is going to hate this book, because it's going to make you bang your head against the wall with unexpected character development and unpredictable plot elements. DONT GIVE UP ON THE AUTHOR JUST BECAUSE OF THAT! Many of her other books are far more appealing to the mass audience. Try The Proposition, Beast, or Sleeping Beauty.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite romances EVER! -- addictive and sublime
Review: Ohhh this book is so good. I love it, love it, love it! IMO it's one of the best books ever written in the romance genre. This book is a melt-in-your-mouth rich reading experience that feels like sleeping in silk sheets, or maybe Egyptian cotton, or velvet. Ignore the sour voices here, I would easily pay hardcover prices for this book and also buy it to give to my sister and my mother-in-law and my friends. Too bad it has this cover, because I think in hardcover and with different cover art, something like this would have the potential to be a true crossover book for readers of all genres, not just romance. I think it might be the best book Judith Ivory has written thus far (and I have read all her "Judy Cuevas" books as well as all her Ivory books). I wish she'd write more like this. Buy this treasure of a book and don't let another day pass without reading it. When it was out of print it was going for outrageous prices on Ebay. (I also read on a message board that if this book sells well, Avon will also reprint a much-revised and updated version of STARLIT SURRENDER, another hard to find, out of print book by this wonderful author -- something her fans might want to consider). All that aside, BLACK SILK is just sublime, dreamy and unforgettable. I read BLACK SILK on a transatlantic flight and couldn't put it down even though I had planned to sleep. I felt bad when all the windows on the plane were closed to keep out the light and the passenger next to me went to sleep, but I simply couldn't shut off my reading light because I was so addicted to this book and couldn't stop reading. BLACK SILK is the story of a young widow and a rake, but he is quite different from the usual rake. Graham Wessit is an amazing hero, very very sexy and fascinating. Graham's life is complicated by his famous parents' deaths in childhood and his own resulting fame. From childhood, the Victorian tabloids write about anything he does. That and his super-strict upbringing by a guardian relative (who is also the heroine's late husband), make something of a free spirit who tries to live up to his image. Graham loves to fire off fireworks, wear several watches and watch chains at a time, and have boating picnics for a lot of guests. The lower floor of his family house in London has been turned into a museum through which sightseers can trudge while he lives upstairs. But this doesn't begin to describe his generosity, his magnetism, or his intelligence in this book. He's a totally unique hero, unlike one in any other romance! I wanted to read and read more about him and hoped the book would never end. BLACK SILK begins when Graham is falsely accused of impregnating a young woman he has never had. A paternity suit ensues. Enter Submit Channing-Downes, the widow of Graham's childhood guardian Henry. There is a bequest in Henry's will for Graham that Henry requested Submit (who has never met Graham) deliver personally. It turns out to be a box with beautifully done but very naughty sexual drawings of a couple. Graham posed for them, when he was much younger, and his guardian later acquired the box. When the conservative, sometimes starchy but very clever and unique Submit meets the free-spirited Graham, the air becomes charged enough to make the entire book electric. Submit was very young when she married the much-older Henry, and much of her outlook on life was shaped by her late husband. She loved him and was happy with him. Graham, on the other hand was very unhappy living under Henry's guardianship, and didn't share his views, so at first Submit feels antagonistic to him, as well as attracted. She believes he is guilty as charged in the paternity suit. They have conflicting views on another lawsuit, Henry's illegitimate son William is suing Submit for a portion of his father's estate, and Graham helps him out with the legal bills because he genuinely feels that his wealthy guardian should have shown his son more generosity. Then too, there's the fact that Graham's mistress, Rosalyn, who left her husband in the hopes of snagging Graham, befriends Submit when she notice's their attraction, and that Submit's lawyer, Tate, wants Submit for himself and does what he can to cast Graham in a bad light. And who is the mystery person who's writing a humilating newspaper soap opera serial thinly disguised but based on Graham's life? Read and find out. The side characters in this book are almost as fascinating as the hero and heroine. This book is more in the style of Ms. Ivory's earlier Cuevas books (BLISS and DANCE) than her recent Judith Ivory ones (THE PROPOSITION and THE INDISCRETION). The story unfolds very gradually, but more hypnotically and seductively. You really get to know the characters in a larger, more encompassing way, and though there are only two sex scenes and they happen later in the book, the sensuality of the atmosphere is almost dizzying. Of her Ivory books, it's probably most similar to BEAST -- my other huge favorite of hers. Don't listen to any negative reviews from readers that just want something predictable and treat yourself to BLACK SILK. It is so original, so generous, so open-hearted and big, and so very romantic in the larger sense of the word, that it's like a whole magical world in itself that you'll fall in love with.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T BOTHER!
Review: Quite possibly the worst book I have ever read. And that is saying a lot because I have read thousands of books! I don't know how they called this book a romance. The two main characters hardly ever interacted with each other until the last 1/4 of the book. The hero was in another relationship with another woman during almost the entire book. I definitey could never get into this terrible story. PLEASE PASS THIS BOOK UP!
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