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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I like how she writes like the way a French woman would phrase things in English.
This was a quiet, yet action-packed story of spies and nefarious plots during the french revolution.
I found William and Maggie to be an interesting pair. Through a time of great tension, these two just melded into one another. There were no typical romance meet-cute's or anything of that nature-those elements just didn't belong in the serious nature of this story.
We are present in William's head when he looks at Maggie-a strong and resilient aristocratic woman who is a survivor and highly intelligent and intuitive. His love for her was incredibly beautiful and carried my interest through the story. These two were very interesting characters.
I have to say that the writing was well done, but it was written in such a way that it did not flow for me. It was as if I was reading English dubbed dialogue while the background speech was French. It was interesting, but slow going for the reading process.
I would read another Joanna Bourne in the future and find her to have a unique voice.
3.5 stars rounded up!
I found William and Maggie to be an interesting pair. Through a time of great tension, these two just melded into one another. There were no typical romance meet-cute's or anything of that nature-those elements just didn't belong in the serious nature of this story.
We are present in William's head when he looks at Maggie-a strong and resilient aristocratic woman who is a survivor and highly intelligent and intuitive. His love for her was incredibly beautiful and carried my interest through the story. These two were very interesting characters.
I have to say that the writing was well done, but it was written in such a way that it did not flow for me. It was as if I was reading English dubbed dialogue while the background speech was French. It was interesting, but slow going for the reading process.
I would read another Joanna Bourne in the future and find her to have a unique voice.
3.5 stars rounded up!
Much better. Bourne has a particular way of writing dialogue that is not quite realistic but rather more fun: her Frenchwomen speak in constant metaphor, overwrought and overexaggerated. The romance hit all the usual notes (he is brutal, she is endangered, they have an instant physical connection), but the style made it better.
Joanna Bourne’s Forbidden Rose was published in 2010. This is one of a series of novels set around the French Revolution and during the rise of Napoleon, which focuses on English and French spies.
In Forbidden Rose, Marguerite, the daughter of a French Marquis, has been secretly an important part of an underground network which has been spiriting away potential victims of Robespierre’s guillotine. Afraid she has been compromised when her family’s country chateau is attacked, she’s been living in the mansion’s ruins when she meets a traveling bookseller and his young companion. The merchant, who calls himself Guilliame LeBreton, is really an Englishman in the British spy network that’s been working to find out who has been targeting and assassinating promising British scholars in an attempt to eliminate them before they can use their knowledge to help England. Marguerite decides to join Guilliame and his young charge on their way to Paris in the hope of reconnecting with her spy network, while also finding her father to tell him about the attack on their home and warn him. “Guilliame” is also interested in finding Marguerite’s father as Guilliame suspects he may be the one preparing the list of promising British scholars and handing them over to Robespierre.
Bourne is very good at writing this particular sub-genre of romance — the brotherhood and sisterhood of spies and their love interests. The characters are believable and the plots against and by our protagonists are intricate. The parts of the book that fall down for me are when the hero and heroine inexplicably get an opportunity to be intimate and have longish periods of time together when you know they’re under extreme pressure and risk capture. I especially found the prison scenes a little unbelievable, but that’s the nature of the beast, I guess. Also, I found the villain — other than Robespierre — to be a little obvious.
That being said, the ending was nicely done and I had a little tear in my eye and lump in my throat over the fate of a minor character and am looking forward to reading the story involving two side characters we come to know in this novel. I’d give this story a B+<./b>.
In Forbidden Rose, Marguerite, the daughter of a French Marquis, has been secretly an important part of an underground network which has been spiriting away potential victims of Robespierre’s guillotine. Afraid she has been compromised when her family’s country chateau is attacked, she’s been living in the mansion’s ruins when she meets a traveling bookseller and his young companion. The merchant, who calls himself Guilliame LeBreton, is really an Englishman in the British spy network that’s been working to find out who has been targeting and assassinating promising British scholars in an attempt to eliminate them before they can use their knowledge to help England. Marguerite decides to join Guilliame and his young charge on their way to Paris in the hope of reconnecting with her spy network, while also finding her father to tell him about the attack on their home and warn him. “Guilliame” is also interested in finding Marguerite’s father as Guilliame suspects he may be the one preparing the list of promising British scholars and handing them over to Robespierre.
Bourne is very good at writing this particular sub-genre of romance — the brotherhood and sisterhood of spies and their love interests. The characters are believable and the plots against and by our protagonists are intricate. The parts of the book that fall down for me are when the hero and heroine inexplicably get an opportunity to be intimate and have longish periods of time together when you know they’re under extreme pressure and risk capture. I especially found the prison scenes a little unbelievable, but that’s the nature of the beast, I guess. Also, I found the villain — other than Robespierre — to be a little obvious.
That being said, the ending was nicely done and I had a little tear in my eye and lump in my throat over the fate of a minor character and am looking forward to reading the story involving two side characters we come to know in this novel. I’d give this story a B+<./b>.
adventurous
slow-paced
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is an excellent book- it’s epic, with a long and complex plot. I really loved Margerite and loooooved Guillaume. Like he might be my favorite book boyfriend. There were moments in the book that dragged, or times when Bourne’s writing style got a little tiresome, but there were far more moments that were exciting and romantic and times where her writing was unique and memorable. I strongly recommend the book, and I think it’s worth hanging in there even if it starts to drag in the middle.
I lost interest about halfway through. Probably not all the book's fault. Life got crazy and I put it down, and then found I had no desire to finish it.
It's over the top, and a little old school in the writing and plotting, but I enjoyed the drama.