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The Forbidden Rose (2010)

by Joanna Bourne(Favorite Author)

4.05 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0425235610 (ISBN13: 9780425235614)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Berkley Sensation

series

Spymaster

review 1: I loved this book, what can I say? I spent a couple of nights thinking, "I should go to bed now," and then reading a bit more. At dawn I realized I really should go to bed.Joanna has such a lovely way with words. There are places I stop and re-read the line and think to myself, "I wish I had written something like that." She is definitely a word painter, but she isn't so heavy that you have to plow through endless passages of elegant prose to get to some action.The story begins with noblewoman Marguerite de Fleurignac conversing with a rabbit she has just managed to snare."You have not been foolish," she said. "But you have been unlucky. The results are indistinguishable."I immediately think the mc is just as likely talking about herself as the hapless hare, and so she mig... moreht be. It's the French Revolution. Men have come to her chateau for her and in the effort to capture her, the beautiful chateau with its priceless paintings and rare books have been destroyed. She has lost everything except her life and now it might be sustained a day or two longer by the rabbit regarding her with terrified eyes.“I am starving to death, you know. Not as one starves in stories, nobly and gracefully. I starve stupidly. I scrape up oats from the bottom of the feed bins and pick berries. I pull wild carrots from the earth and gnaw on them in my cave under the bridge. None of this rests easily in my stomach. It is very sordid. I will not share the details with you.”Marguerite is not quite the helpless debutante she appears, though. She's been helping those destined for the guillotine escape France through an underground railroad known as La Fleche. She may have escaped the French Revolutionaries sent for her, but she did not escape the British spy going by the name of LeBreton sent to find her father and extract a hit list of British military geniuses from him.Sparks fly. We knew they would and they are delectable sparks.One thing that I adore about Ms. Bourne is her meticulous research. I'm sure she has stacks of books and papers that don't make it into the novels, but she's wise enough to know which details to add to paint the picture without drowning you in history lessons, which too many historical authors are wont to do.There's a rich plot and characters. I adore Adrian and his donkeys. Marguerite's father is a gem also. I'd love to see more of him in another novel.If you're looking for hard core erotica, this probably isn't your cup of tea. I'm not. If you're looking for a great historical romance, I highly recommend this.
review 2: Fans of Joanna Bourne are in for a treat. The audio version of the book is even better than the print. The narration adds to this book; I can't say enough good things about the narrator. She gets the characters just right. I'm not going to repeat a summary of the storyline except to say that this book has it all: romance, adventure, and intrigue. If you are looking for a wonderful listen look no further. I can't wait for the next audio release in the series. less

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