The Scandalous Miss Howard

Rating:
Summary: Scandelous Miss Ryan
Review: I am a long time fan of Nan Ryan's. However, her new book The Scandelous Miss Howard, falls short of her usual caliber. The story line is an interesting one, but she fails to put much depth into her characters, or into their interaction. I am just disappointed at how similar this story parallels that of "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexander Dumas. Right down to the map to the stolen conferderate money. Not very original.

Rating:
Summary: Good overall but ending abrupt
Review: I enjoyed Nan Ryan's latest offering and I enjoyed the two main characters, but there seemed to be underdeveloped story lines in the book. For instance, Ladd best friend Jimmy's attempt to keep the two lovers apart fell short. The ending was rather abrupt too. I would have like to seen everything resolved in a better manner.

Rating:
Summary: Good overall but ending abrupt
Review: In Mobile, teenagers Ladd Dasheroon and Laurette Howard fall in love, which leads to deep resentment and jealousy from their friend Jimmy Tigart. Though Ladd and Laurette make love, they hold off their plans to marry until he returns from fighting for the Confederacy. The Northern soldiers capture Ladd and incarcerate him at Devil's Castle. Northern soldier Jimmy learns about Ladd's imprisonment and sends word to Laurette that her beau died. He travels to Alabama and in 1865 Jimmy marries the grieving Laurette.

Fifteen years later Sutton Vane arrives in Mobile. He courts Laurette with a passion rarely seen anywhere. Reluctantly and scandalously Laurette falls in love with Sutton who reminds her so much of her beloved Ladd. That is because Sutton is Ladd seeking vengeance on the woman who betrayed him during the Civil War. The only problem for Ladd is that he still loves his Laurette even if he does not trust her with his heart.

THE SCANDALOUS MISS HOWARD is an exciting post Reconstruction Era romance that shows that as late as 1880 the impact of the Civil War and its aftermath on people. The strong story line is filled with depth, yet trivializes the war through how easily Ladd, Jimmy and another associate "meet", which leads to the feel of a local skirmish rather than the vast destruction. Still fans of nineteenth century tales will find Nan Ryan's betrayed lovers a powerful tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: exciting post Reconstruction Era romance
Review: In Mobile, teenagers Ladd Dasheroon and Laurette Howard fall in love, which leads to deep resentment and jealousy from their friend Jimmy Tigart. Though Ladd and Laurette make love, they hold off their plans to marry until he returns from fighting for the Confederacy. The Northern soldiers capture Ladd and incarcerate him at Devil's Castle. Northern soldier Jimmy learns about Ladd's imprisonment and sends word to Laurette that her beau died. He travels to Alabama and in 1865 Jimmy marries the grieving Laurette.

Fifteen years later Sutton Vane arrives in Mobile. He courts Laurette with a passion rarely seen anywhere. Reluctantly and scandalously Laurette falls in love with Sutton who reminds her so much of her beloved Ladd. That is because Sutton is Ladd seeking vengeance on the woman who betrayed him during the Civil War. The only problem for Ladd is that he still loves his Laurette even if he does not trust her with his heart.

THE SCANDALOUS MISS HOWARD is an exciting post Reconstruction Era romance that shows that as late as 1880 the impact of the Civil War and its aftermath on people. The strong story line is filled with depth, yet trivializes the war through how easily Ladd, Jimmy and another associate "meet", which leads to the feel of a local skirmish rather than the vast destruction. Still fans of nineteenth century tales will find Nan Ryan's betrayed lovers a powerful tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Too slow....then too fast. Difficult read.
Review: Long, unnecessary first half, with too many chartacters and point of views. The first part of the story is a step by (unecessary) step of the first half of Ladd's & Laurette's lives. The setting could have been portrayed in half the time, and the author should have delved into the guts of the plot much earlier on. The character development (after all that) still seemed vague. But when the story really did start to "kick", with a bitter Ladd (Sutton) returned home, it became interesting, but the ending was aprupt and sudden and very anticlimactic. It had such potential! A very difficult read and no gratification. The author should have done a little more editing to perfect this story.

Rating:
Summary: Too slow....then too fast. Difficult read.
Review: Long, unnecessary first half, with too many chartacters and point of views. The first part of the story is a step by (unecessary) step of the first half of Ladd's & Laurette's lives. The setting could have been portrayed in half the time, and the author should have delved into the guts of the plot much earlier on. The character development (after all that) still seemed vague. But when the story really did start to "kick", with a bitter Ladd (Sutton) returned home, it became interesting, but the ending was aprupt and sudden and very anticlimactic. It had such potential! A very difficult read and no gratification. The author should have done a little more editing to perfect this story.

Rating:
Summary: Tantalizing seductions and burning passion in war-drama
Review: Set in the incendiary Civil War era of 1860s, Nan Ryan scripts her latest novella THE SCANDALOUS MISS HOWARD about a pair of childhood sweethearts in Mobile, Alabama separated by treachery and betrayal. Ladd Dasheroon and Laurette Howard both from distinguished Southern families are torn apart when Ladd is conscripted to the Confederacy to fight the Union. Captured and exiled by the Northern soldiers to the Devil Castle, he survives the bitter imprisonment with hopes of returning back to Laurette. When his best friend Jimmy Tiggart now a major is posted to Devil Castle, his hopes of escape is revived. Little did he know that Jimmy has set his eyes on Laurette. He collaborated with LaKid, the supervisor to banish him to the heathens and lies to Laurette that he is dead as a prisoner of war. The betrayal is seething. The devastating news of Laurette's marriage to Jimmy extinguished his hope for life.

He desires revenge and fate intends for him to befriend Finis Schaefer, a benefactor who taught him arts and culture and passed him a map to hidden gold he stole. When he escapes, he returns to Mobile as Sutton Vane to seek revenge on Jimmy and ultimately his sweetheart who hurt him the most - Laurette....

THE SCANDALOUS MISS HOWARD sounds risque for a love drama set in the throes of war, yet the languid sensuality scorches with its passionate scenes and seduction. Nan Ryan smoothly intertwines the mechanisms of factual political intrigue and war to give credibility to her romance. However the part on his imprisonment and escape bears an uncanny resemblance to Alexandra Duma's The Count of Monte Cristo and hence its originality suffers.

Nan Ryan delivers a romance packed with emotions and seething betrayal as usual but it cannot be compared to her 1996 romance, You Belong To My Heart of a similar theme which boasts more developed characters and gratifying story-line. THE SCANDALOUS MISS HOWARD is nonetheless an enjoyable treat from Ms. Ryan who pens a scorching hot read.

Rating:
Summary: Good plot, but poorly exicuted!
Review: This book had alot of potential, both in the plot and the chracters. But I felt that Ms.Ryan failed to fully explore the deeper levels of both points, which left this book sorely lacking in warmth and feeling. I read through this book in a day and a half, and never felt a close connection to either Laurette, or Ladd. Surprisingly, Ms. Ryan seemed to put more color into her secondary characters, such as Jimmy Tigart and Bones, then she did with her two main ones. Throughout the book, frank sexuality is used in place of having to write about more subtle and deeper actions, that even the most branded "Sex novels" actually use. No doubt most of the scenes were very sensual, but the sheer number of them could have been limited, and more emotional actions put in their place. Also, I felt that Ms.Ryan really did not understand the era in which she placed her story, and many of the scenes had a contemperary feeling to them, and that the dates held no meaning to the plot, other then throwing in the civil war to split up the hero and heroine. I guess from all this I can say the book wasn't the worst I've read, but definatly not one to go on my favorites list.