Monday, April 14, 2008

Review - Thunder and Roses



Title: Thunder and Roses
Author: Mary Jo Putney
Publishing Date: 1993
Genre: Historical
Rating: B+
Sensuality: Warm

Thunder and Roses is the first book in the Fallen Angels series. School mistress Clare Morgan, the daughter of the local Methodist desperately needs the Earl of Aberdare’s help. The Earl, Nicholas, was once a good friend and pupil of Reverend Morgan so she seeks his help. The local mine, which is on the Earl’s property but is managed and run by another, has fallen into ill repair. The over-seer has allowed the maintenance to languish, thereby causing too many accidents at the mine resulting in needless injuries and deaths. She comes to the Earl with the hope that he will help improve the conditions at the mine. Nicholas though, has changed a great deal and won’t help her unless she will become his mistress for three months. He demands her reputation for his help. Clare agrees to his conditions and a bargain is struck.

Thunder and Roses is a very well written story. The characters are vivid and multi-dimensional. Clare struggles internally with her physical attraction to Nicholas. She has to come to terms with the fact that she is only human and not a saint. She tries so hard to be the perfect person, but she knows she is flawed and can only ask to be forgiven. She is a strong woman who wants so badly to do the right thing. I loved that she could see through Nicholas’s gruff demeanor and see that he had been injured by people he loved and trusted. She made sure, as their friendship grew, that he could always count on her and she never once betrays him.

Putney did a great job of showing how Nicholas evolved as a person throughout the story. Nicholas started out as a self-absorbed man that would lash out at others like a wounded animal. Yet he realized, through Clare, that there were others far worse off than him and he could make a difference in their lives. In the end he decided to become a better person and put his trust in Clare.

The only problem I had with this story was that it took me four days to read it. For me, that is a long time. For some reason, I could not stay focused on it. Now, I think this probably had to do with what was going on in my life this week, rather than the actual book. The romance between Clare and Nicholas was beautifully written and their happy ever after was very convincing. I highly recommend this book.

Here is what others had to say:

All About Romance

13 comments:

Shannon said...

oh wow, blast from the past! I think this was among the first romance novels I ever read. I still remember it!

Ana said...

I want it!!!!!! Amazon UK is charging me almost 20USD for an used copy! The nerve. :(

Have you read The Rake - that is one of my favorite novels.

KT Grant said...

I think this was one of the first Putney books I read and a great romance. Nicholas really makes you sigh.

nath said...

This one does sound interesting :D I've read a few Putney, but they were so so... going to try to find this one though :P

Kristie (J) said...

This one and Silk and Shadows are my two favourite Putney books. I read the rest of this series but none quite matched Thunder and Roses for me.

Jill D. said...

As I get time, I plan on reading the rest of the books in this series. I have also heard good things about Shattered Rainbows. Have you read that one Kristie?

Jill D. said...

Ana, I haven't read The Rake. I will have to look into it. Did you review it by any chance?

Ana said...

Yes, I did, one of my first reviews! : ) I LOVED It.
Here it goes:

http://thebooksmugglers.blogspot.com/2008/01/title-rake-formerly-rake-and-reformer.html

Jill D. said...

Ana, Okay, thanks I will check it out. I enjoy Putney's writing style. I will eventually get to her backlist.

Brie said...

I haven't read any books by Putney, but your review of this book has made me curious. I'll have to check my local Borders for her next time I go.

Kristie (J) said...

I did read Shattered Rainbows and I couldn't really enjoy it because of what Michael did to Nicholas in the first book. I know a lot of people have read and loved it though - and some like it better than T&R.
And Brie - at the risk of increasing the TBR pile (a dangerous thing that happens in blogland) you really should give Putney a try - at least some of her older books. They are wonderful!

Rowena said...

I sometimes get like that too Jill D, where it takes you forever to finish a book and yet you really enjoyed the book...I think it's safe to blame real life getting in the way. That dang life. =)

Good review though, I'm gonna add it to my list.

Jill D. said...

Kristie, I didn't realize Shattered Rainbow was Michael's story. He did seem quite tortured. I wonder how Putney will pull his story off.

Rowena, I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. I will be curious to hear what you think.