The Ninefold Key

Rating:
Summary: Forcing myself to finish it
Review: I LOVE historical romance novels, reading 1-2 a week. Frankly, I'm pretty easy to please. I can overlook poor proof reading (once, a main character's name was wrong for 3 whole pages!) or glitches in the plot, but this book is plain BORING! There is very little romance and by the time I got to it, I just didn't care anymore. I've read dozens of books by this author and find it hard to believe she wrote this. At 450 pages, save your time and pass on this one!

Rating:
Summary: fine historical romantic suspense
Review: In 1835 Malcolm Ramsey watches a stranger kill his father and uncle. Malcolm, his mom, his aunt and his two cousins escape. The family splits up to keep the children safe with his mom and aunt each taking a special crucifix with them. Elizabeth and Marcus travel to London where they change their name to Blackfriers.

In 1848 junior journeyman mapmaker Marcus sells three maps of the Castle Dundragon area. He mentions to his mom what he sold and she says that the current owner killed his father and uncle thirteen years ago over a lost scarab stolen from Egypt by a late seventeenth century ancestor. She gives him her crucifix as a key to finding the lost scarab.

In London, Marcus saves Ariana Levesque from a runaway coach. They like each other, but he has no title except the dangerous Ramsey link and that seems futile. Still Ariana and Marcus begin meeting in a nearby park. As they fall in love, their pasts, which intersected until 1835 surfaces. Both know something must be done to unravel the secrets behind the NINEFOLD KEY and its scarab that has destroyed Marcus' ancestors since Viscount Ramsey took the scarab in 1669 Egypt.

Fans of historical romantic suspense with a touch of Egyptology will appreciate THE NINEFOLD KEY, a fascinating work that keeps reader interest starting from page one because the audience wants to know more about the scarab and the "nine keys". The ensemble cast contains numerous interrelated but unique players. Though the lead couple appears to be first cousins and the final battle seems weak, readers will treasure this action packed thriller that has a fantastic romance as a major sub-plot.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Don't know where to begin...
Review: This book had so many problems, I don't know where to start. I was looking for something a little different from the Regency novels that seem so popular now, but I didn't enjoy this. It just wasn't any good. The writing was very repetitive, and dialogue was stiff. Ms. Brandewyne would explain something, and on the next page, she would have her character explain the same thing. As stated in another review, the couple don't actually meet for many chapters. Once they do meet, the romance feels tepid, and I don't like the fact that they are first cousins. There are alot of characters; in fact, she has quite a detailed list at the beginning of the book, but it strange how every one of them have some knowledge of the mystery. The way the story unfolds is unbelievable. The main character, Malcom, doesn't learn about this dangerous family secret untill he is almost 30, but then instantly tells 3 people, two of whom are complete strangers to him! With all the explaining going on in this story, we still never get a clear picture of why the enemies of the Ramsey family are doing what they have done...was it simple greed? How did they get one of the "keys"?. Ms. Brandewyne seems to have done alot of research for this book, and would insert the history of many of the locations whether they had any bearing on the story or not. The ending feels very thrown together, as if the author herself got tired of writing it. I like to finish a book once I start it, but this was a struggle.

Rating:
Summary: Ninefold key opens no doors
Review: This is a fictional thriller with a tiny little romance filtered into the story line. The characters don't actually meet till several long chapters into the book. Unimpressed.