Remembrance

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Unique and Enthralling
Review: I bought "Remembrance," second-hand awhile ago, but it has stuck with me for months. I rememeber reading the first chapter or two, where the heroine, Hayden Lane, introduces herself (this part is in the first-person) and talks about the unfairness of being criticized for being a romance writer.
I'm a huge Deveraux fan, but I must admit that I found the beginning of the novel to be rather boring. I almost stopped reading it at this point, but I reminded myself that Deveraux always delivers.
Though it takes a bit, the reader is eventually ensnared by Hayden Lane's obssession with a fictional character that she creates; a man named James "Jamie" Tavistock. From there it leads to Hayden finding out that she is a reincarnation of a woman from Regency England and that she is unhappy in her present life because of something that happened to her in her past life. The plot is somewhat difficult to explain in a few short sentences so I will suffice to say that the novel leads into a charming, powerful narrative about Callie and Talis (as infants and children at first) whose souls are linked by some vague sort of magic. The reader follows their maturation up until the moment when they realize that they have feelings for eachother that extend beyond "friendly."
The novel really has three climaxes, due to the time-travel scenario, but the one involving Callie and Talis is the most interesting and powerful. I admit it, I cried for the first time ever while reading a book, and I defy you not to cry as well.
The rest of the novel is just as good as the middle section, though it does sometimes seem like a prolonged anti-climax. Yet, despite the fact that some parts of the book are extremely sad, the ending (though it sort of drops off suddenly) will hopefully make you feel better.
If you're looking for something unique and enthralling--and you're willing to wade through the first chapter or two (I promise, it gets better!)--then you should definitely read, "Remembrance." If it is your first Deveraux novel, you'll be hooked for life; if you're a Deveraux veteran, like me, it'll remind you why you love her books.
Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Ugh.
Review: I have a confession...I love romance books! As much as I like to display the intellectual, logical, critical exterior of a woman who enjoys nothing but thought-provoking movies and symbollism-filled novels, in my heart I melt for rugged warriors falling madly in love with beautiful, courageous heroines. It's my Achilles Heel...:)

I'm more a fan of historical romances than contemporary, simply because I'm a student of history and I like to nick-pick at the anachronisms a lot of authors tend to overlook. But I read some reviews on Deveraux, she seemed to be a well-liked author, and I decided to try her time-travel books.

I wish I hadn't.

In Deveraux's time-travel novel, we witness a romance author, Hayden, unsatisfied with her love life consult a psychic to discover why she can't seem to settle down. Apparently, the pyschic tells her that she has been "cursed" to never love anyone but one person in her life, and that leads to Hayden going under hypnosis to discover just where things went wrong. She starts out in the body of Catherine, Lady De Grey in the early 20th century, who is on the brink of divorce with her husband, but then Hayden/Catherine goes under hynosis AGAIN and this time we're taken back to watch the development of two children, Callie and Talis, who seem to be the reason for Hayden's cursed love life.

As much as I attempt to subdue my pessimstic side and find a good thing about this book, I just can't. Wait, no, I DID like how the narrarator, Hayden, talked about the qualms of being an author of romance. Nice tongue-in-cheek effort by Deveraux. However, everything else was really unpleasent, and a pain to read. Hayden annoyed me to no extent. The story-within-a-story-within-a-story plot format left me confused and unsatisfied. This book is like three separate plots, the only thing holding them together is the very very thin thread of the narrator somehow being a re-incarnation of two past women, one from the early 20th century, the other from the era right before the Renaissance (late 15th century). But even that connection was on the brink of being frayed. It simply jumped around too much - one moment we're reading about Hayden's whining about lost love and her obsession with a character in her books, the next we're watching Hayden inhibit the body of Catherine, Lady de Grey, and then we're thrown into a huge section of the book regarding the romance and everlasting bond of two children, Callie and Talis, then thrown back to the early 20th Century with Catherine, then back to the present. We're ripped apart from characters and before we even get a chance to know them. There was no central "hero" with whom I could fall in love with...I certainly didn't find out enough about Catherine's husband, Adam, and Talis was mostly a child when we read about him.

I simply found myself more and more disgusted at the disjointed plot, the shallowness and unbelievable-ness of all the undeveloped characters, the simplistic, unimaginative dialouge, and the short, stupid ending.

Please try harder, Ms. Deveraux. I was sorely dissappointed.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK READ ME!!
Review: this book was great. JD did a great job. At the end i thought it was going to be juss like anyother romance story they live happily ever after and have beautiful kids but then at the end i was shocked. I wasnt expecting it to happen. It was soo00ooo sad i cried. i had to keep telling myself that its a book. But thats how you can tell JD is a great author she gets you involved in the book you feel as if you and the characters are best friends.I loved this book this is my second favorite jd book. my first is a knight in shining armor.

p.s theres a funny scene with a monkey. read it great book!

Rating:
Summary: Not one of her best ...
Review: I am almost finished with this book and I keep waiting for the good part. The story is depressing, long and boring. I have read several of Judes romances and really like them. I bought this one because of the good reveiws but I am just forcing myself to finish this story. To me this is not a romance book. This is a story of past lives and the main past life is of a boy and a girl that are raised as brother and sister but are soul mates...that are kept apart by ...life in general. Where's the romance in that?

Rating:
Summary: Something to be remembered
Review: Even having read various romance works done by this author, and others, this book cannot compare. Its plot is fascinating, and can be reread over and over and over. It deviates from the normal sort of plot, with a emotional gripping twist.

Although I must warn you; if you rather not cry, I suggest leaving this book for another day. It really gets the emotion going.

Rating:
Summary: Another winner for Jude Devereaux!
Review: Although "A Knight in Shining Armor" was my favorite book by this author, this story is a close second. I was captivated from the very first page and enjoyed the main character's journey through past lives, and how those experiences ultimately affect her life in the present. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: Just too much death, blood, and sorrow for me...
Review: I am torn by this book. I really wanted to love it, and for the most part, I did, but the plot is rather dark and depressing at times. These two lovers were destined to be together, but fate is doing everything it can to keep them apart. Between pride, misunderstandings, impotence, curses, and suicide they are doomed to never have a life of love together. Also, the circumstances regarding Callie and Talis's birth was very upsetting to me.
If you can get through the dark parts of the book, the love story is very emotional and touching. Their love is truly a love that spans eternity. The ending is a little cheesy and unbelievable, but so are most of Ms. Deveraux's books.
If you are a Jude Deveraux fan, then I would recommend this book. But, all in all, there are many better time travel books available (Diana Gabaldon, Dean Koontz, Nina Bangs).

JBogue
paper-and-lace
Specializing in paranormal romance and fiction.

Rating:
Summary: [expletive deleted]!
Review: Most of the time I love Jude Deveraux's works but never this one. I read most of the reviews and I bought a second hand one from yahoo.com, and I hate this book. The story really annoyed me. I do not the character and I do not this kind of fragment story, sharing the same body, the same mind but not direct connection at all. I am really disappointed with this book, I wish I have never bought it to scrude up my good impression about my favorite romance novelist.

Rating:
Summary: Strange at first, but ended up being one of my favorites!
Review: I read this book a while ago, but after reading some of the other reviews here, it brought it all back. When I first started reading this book, I wasn't too sure I was going to follow it, but it was worth it to keep reading! The story of Talis and Callie was sooo emotional! This was one of only a few books that I've read that actually had me crying as if this was actually happening to me! I ended up totally captivated by this book. I recommend it to anyone, as long as they keep an open mind.

Rating:
Summary: The best romance you'll ever read
Review: Anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to know for sure that there is someone else in the world completely meant for them can appreciate Jude Deveraux's _Remembrance_.
_Remembrance_ is the story of romance writer Hayden Lane's quest to find her soul mate. In her present life, she is unable to wholly love another man because there is this void and ache for someone else and something more. Her fiancé breaks off their engagement when she becomes obsessed with one of her characters. She doesn't understand her obsession but doesn't want to be rid of it either, so she goes to a psychic to get help. Nora, the psychic, tells her the reason she's obsessed with this make-believe man is because she and her soul mate cursed each other in a past life.
Although this novel is classified as a romance, it could be a science fiction and adventure novel as well. Hayden travels back in time, by way of a hypnotist's spell, to become her former self, Lady de Grey. As Lady de Gray, she travels back again in time to her first life. It is there that she and we, the reader, discover the truth behind Lane's inability to love. The beautiful love that transpires between her first self and true love, Callasandra and Talis, is the primary focus of the novel. It is what made me read the book three times and cry for hours every time I reached the end.
What really caught my attention about this novel is the way the story is written not just from the female perspective. The focus of the story is on the TWO characters: Callie and Talis, not just the heroine and the man she's pursuing, which is typical of modern romances. It seems to me that they pursue each other together. Also, it seems the reader learns everything about Hayden's past lives as she learns about them. It is an experience that reader and writer live through together, which makes the novel all the more touching.
I gave _Remembrance_ five stars because it gives me hope in believing that somewhere, somehow, whether we know it or understand it, there is someone for all of us. I like believing in the impossible; this book more than embraces the impossible, it winks at the unthinkable and then follows it.