Judith McNaught is one of the romance authors. As far as the Judith. Remember that version I mentioned? Steph Williams. Books Worth Reading. That Perfect Someone Malory Family, book by … Bestselling author Judith McNaught masterfully portrays a remarkable heroine, and an unforgettable passion, in this powerfully moving love story — one of her most beloved novels of all time!
Think of it as a modern Cinderella story with a twist. Actually, make that a huge twist with a round-a-bout and many U-turns.
The tile is "Remember When" to reconnect the characters to their past youthful emotional connection, but I think McNaught herself forgot to remember it. If we're strictly examining the technical elements of a story, we get satisfactory characters but way too much setting and very little plot and poorly developed conflict. Regarding the main plot - i. The other subplots were not so well developed or executed either. One thing, I was glad that for a change JM didn't add her favorite annoying "twist" of having one of the protagonists be suspicious of or accuse the other of a horrendous crime or, even worse, actually betray the other.
That lack of trust and betrayal between characters that are supposed to love each other irks me. I was glad to have been spared that irritation in this book. This book still has the humor that is trademark McNaught though it somewhat lacks in the author's mischievous insights into human nature that add so much sparkle to her novels.
It is readable enough when you want something not too emotionally draining and you feel like you're in that weird place where you can't decide what to read and don't feel like you have the energy or fully restored emotional reserves to fully commit to the next book. The author only half committed to the story and her implicit promise to the reader, so the reader can have a light, half-committed reading experience in turn.
And you know what? Sometimes that's just what I need before that next book to wow me but drain me emotionally. Enjoyable enough but don't expect to be blown away. View 1 comment. Rate: 4. Going into it I had plenty of doubts about whether or not Rate: 4.
Going into it I had plenty of doubts about whether or not I was going to enjoy it. Mainly I was worried that it was going to another one of those weird books from Judith that make you wonder if she really wrote it because it's that much a difference in quality with her other books.
So that didn't happen with this book but strangely I just can't say I loved it. There's no doubt that I liked it, truly it started out fabulous. I adored the beginning of this book and it was definitely reminiscent of the beginning of Paradise - for those of you who found that too long then you might enjoy this one better because it does move much quicker.
I simply loved Diana's character as a teenager and I definitely found myself developing a connection with her. The way she was different to the other girls and her friendship that's all it ever is in the early part of their lives with Cole had me very excited about what would happen in the future. The telling of the childhood story is what I call the 'honeymoon period' and it always works for me when it comes to the development of the characters.
Then in classic Judith style she leaves us with something nasty. Obviously we know that fast forward 17 years everything is completely different. The adolescent Diana I came to love was gone - replaced by a boring, successful businesswoman who still showed glimpses of the compassionate girl from 17 years ago but I don't know why her adult character didn't inspire much empathy from me. Cole has obviously become the handsome ruthless businessman that seems to mark Judith's contemporaries.
It's impossible to dislike him. He was almost exactly like Matt from Paradise but that's where this book can't compare. There was none of that world-shattering love and passion that I found in Paradise and Perfect. There was no real anguish and no real happiness. Of course there is a crisis corporate world disaster! I am glad that this book still exhibits the sophistication of Judith's writing and her old style, but maybe two extraordinary contemporaries is all we will get from her.
Any other contemporary she does just doesn't seem to compare. Dec 06, Irena BookDustMagic rated it liked it. Actual rating: 3,5 stars. Apr 21, Chasidy rated it it was amazing Shelves: judith-mcnaught , sexy-hero , romance. I was a little skeptical reading this book considering the low ratings but as soon as I finished the first chapter, I knew this was one I would not be able to put down. I was right! Judith McNaught's Remember When was simply amazing. Think of it as a modern Cinderella story with a twist.
Actually, make that a huge twist with a round-a-bout and many U-turns. Cole Harrison is a stable boy turned multi-billionaire and after years of working to get on top, his world takes a wild surprise when his unc I was a little skeptical reading this book considering the low ratings but as soon as I finished the first chapter, I knew this was one I would not be able to put down. Cole Harrison is a stable boy turned multi-billionaire and after years of working to get on top, his world takes a wild surprise when his uncle gives him an ultimatium-- get married and produce an heir or lose the other half of his business.
Unsure of whether his uncle will go through with his threats, Cole decides to inlist his old friend, Diana Foster, in his scheme. Diana Foster who seemingly just got ditched by her arrogant pig-headed of a fiance for an Italian heiress, decides to take part in his scheme, to save face not only her family's business but her family as well.
What she doesn't know is just how attractive and persuasive her old teenage crush could very well be. A must read for all romance lovers.
Apr 27, Tiffany PSquared rated it liked it Shelves: romance , my-library , book-reading-challenge. A nicely written - albeit predictable - love story. As usual, I was disappointed by the abrupt ending - even the epilogue seemed a bit hasty and underdeveloped. That being said, this novel had likable characters and a good attempt at an original story. Feb 24, Aly is so frigging bored rated it it was amazing Shelves: marriage-of-convenience , hh-billionaire , contemporary.
I loved reading this book! Ms McNaught has duch a way with words I think I could always guess when an extrapt is from one of her books. Mar 06, Kate rated it it was amazing Shelves: done. I never reread a book.
This book changed my life in numerous ways, I know, quite a big word for a romance novel, but it just made that big of an impact on me. I love Cole and Diana so much that I remember telling myself that they're family. I guess books with characters getting separated from each other for a long time then just eventually find their way to each other just holds a huge appeal to me.
I just love this book. No word I never reread a book. No words can explain how much I appreciate Judith McNaught for writing this book, and hence started my addiction of her works. Such an amazing author. I couldn't be more thankful on finding this wayward book inside an old cabinet, left there oxidized. No book has ever compared so far.
Feb 05, Thenia rated it liked it Shelves: romance , r-ab , , series , reviewed , contemporary. I was hesitant to listen to an abridged audiobook since I was worried I'd feel like I'm missing something, but having read some of the author's books and knowing that her stories sometimes take a roundabout way and veer off the main story, I figured I could try.
Unfortunately, although I have a feeling the unabridged version would annoy me by being unnecessarily long, the abridged version did indeed make me feel like I'd missed a step in a couple of places.
The story starts out well, with a teenag I was hesitant to listen to an abridged audiobook since I was worried I'd feel like I'm missing something, but having read some of the author's books and knowing that her stories sometimes take a roundabout way and veer off the main story, I figured I could try. The story starts out well, with a teenager Diana nurturing a secret crush on Cole, a stable boy far below her own class.
The two form a sweet friendship, before their paths diverge, after view spoiler [the morally challenged wife of Cole's employer makes a move on him and nearly gets caught by her husband, at which point she concocts an awful story that gets Cole fired and despised by her family hide spoiler ].
Years later, Cole is a ruthless, very successful businessman and so is Diana, but shortly before they meet again, she faces a crisis when view spoiler [her long time fiance humiliates her by marrying someone else hide spoiler ]. Cole, who has reasons of his own, ruthlessly exploits the situation and the two end up in a marriage of convenience. And that's where the abridged version got me confused, since the way it played out the two went from barely starting to get to know each other again to exchanging love confessions the next time they meet, which didn't quite make sense despite their history and I'm hoping is not really the way it goes down in the full version.
Regardless, the story is engaging and has its ups and downs, with Cole view spoiler [being the one needing "saving" in the end, when the people who believed he'd wronged them in the past make it their mission to ruin him, and Diana standing by him despite his efforts to shield her from his scandal, and ending up saving him instead when she uncovers some crucial bits of information hide spoiler ].
Dec 30, Ash rated it it was ok. This is the first contemporary book by McNaught that I have read. It was "so so", but almost not even that if I were to compare it to her other books. I like that she took a different approach to the plot, having the characters know each other when they are younger and only admit their feelings to one another when they meet again years later.
The problem I had with the book is that the main female character is TOO perfect, literally. She is a perfectionist in everything she does, she has model This is the first contemporary book by McNaught that I have read. She is a perfectionist in everything she does, she has model good looks, and she never does or says anything wrong. Her only flaw was being too involved in her job as head of a magazine and not being as domestic as her readers would have liked her to be, due to the fact that she was so busy all the time.
Not really a flaw in my opinion and definitely not a quirky interesting one that makes her worth reading about. The main guy was good. I mean That was predictable, but hey I'm not one to complain about a handsome mysterious man being thrown in the mix, even if I've read about such a character a million times before.
Lastly, the "love" or even "lust" between the two characters was not believable. They had no chemistry whatsoever. HE was interesting, she was dull and they were both already painfully successful money wise that I wasn't really concerned for the success of either one of them.
No underdog in this story. Just pretty, rich, perfect people who have no chemistry. A romance novel that started off promising but somewhere in the middle turned terribly slow, boring and the romance part fizzled. I have always liked JM novels as they were fast paced and had proper amount of romance in them.
This could not compare to her other works. Feb 09, Renee rated it did not like it. In the acknowledgements of this book Ms McNaught makes reference to how long and arduous this book was to write. In my opinion she should have binned it. It started off ok, but certainly did not grab you by the scruff of the neck like her other books particulalry her historicals do.
I was willing to give her the benifit of the doubt and ploughed on. It has happened before I know I read a tonne of romance novels and I know this plot has worked before , but in this instance, it was so forced, so fake and so desperate on the part of the author, I closed the book right at that point and just knew the rest of the book just would not be worth if for me. I have not regretted this decision nor spared the hero and heroine another thought. This author has never let me down before but this book is a shocker.
Please, please - take it from me, don't bother with this one. The first chapters of the book was sweet but then it started going downhill for me when it jumped into the future and Cole was already a billionaire. Some parts of the book were sweet but it really lacked the romanticism that other novels have. I have to say that I was disappointed because I expected so much. It was quite promising if only the author gave it a little something. It's there but not quite there.
I didn't even read about Cole saying "I love you" to Diana. I didn't feel that Cole re The first chapters of the book was sweet but then it started going downhill for me when it jumped into the future and Cole was already a billionaire.
I didn't feel that Cole realized he loved Diana, there wasn't enough proof of that. I like the Diana's family, it's a good look into a good family structure. But other than that I can't think of anything that I like. Cal was also nice but that's it. I was a wee bit glad that there was an epilogue but it could have been written longer.
Too bad this was the first novel of Judith McNaught that I've read. Anyway, I'm not giving up on this author though. She still has more promising books to choose from. Let's see if one of them can tickle the romantic in me. Nov 24, Jacqueline J rated it liked it Shelves: contemporary-romance , childhood-friends-or-young-lovers , forced-arranged-convenient-marriage. Good but not one of this author's greatest. I liked the extended scenes of the hero and heroine when they were young. Forward 17 years and the emotional level wasn't as intense as it could have been.
Still I appreciated that the heroine stood by the hero instead of having one of those forced breakups that authors sometimes throw in to add tension. I did wish that the situation with the wife of his enemy had been explained a bit better view spoiler [Had he actually slept with the other guy's wif Good but not one of this author's greatest. I did wish that the situation with the wife of his enemy had been explained a bit better view spoiler [Had he actually slept with the other guy's wife at some point?
I think not from the way his character was written but there was one line that implied he had but I think it may just have been that she'd tried to seduce him before and failed. Includes bonus scenes. Then, given over to the care of a strict maiden aunt, she was taught to be a lady—poor but genteel—and finally a teacher.
When she was hired to act as chaperone to a pretty but spoilt heiress travelling to England to join an aristocratic fiance, Sheridan was delighted. Now, at last, she could visit her family's country. But somehow everything went wrong. For Miss Charise Lancaster, not over-gifted with intelligence, eloped with a stranger before she could meet her suitor. And Sheridan was left with the horrid task of telling Lord Burleton she had somehow misplaced his bride.
As she gazed at the tall, confident man before her, her courage failed. She was doubly shocked when she heard his news. Lord Burleton, a drunkard and a wastrel, had been killed the night before.
At which point fate took over. Sheridan was knocked unconscious on the quayside, and recovered to find herself in the handsome stranger's care, not knowing who she was. It was to be the beginning of a dazzling, witty, dramatic, and romantic sequence of events in which every possible confusion was to take place. A saucy spitfire who has grown into a ravishing young woman, Whitney Stone returns from her triumphant time in Paris society to England.
She plans on marrying her childhood sweetheart, only to discover she has been bargained away by her bankrupt father to the arrogant and alluring Clayton Westmoreland, the Duke of Claymore. Outraged, she defies her new lord. But even as his smoldering passion seduces her into a gathering storm of desire, Whitney cannot—will not—relinquish her dream of perfect love.
Rich with emotion, brimming with laughter and tears, Whitney, My Love is "the ultimate love story, one you can dream about forever" Elizabeth Cameron, the Countess of Havenhurst, possesses a rare gentleness and fierce courage to match her exquisite beauty. But her reputation is shattered when she is discovered in the arms of Ian Thornton, a notorious gambler and social outcast.
A dangerously handsome man of secret wealth and mysterious lineage, Ian's interest in Elizabeth may not be all that it seems. His voyage to her heart is fraught with intrigue, scandal, and a venomous revenge. As a twisting path of secrets takes them from London's drawing rooms to the awe-inspiring Scottish Highlands, Elizabeth must learn the truth: is Ian merely a ruthless fortune hunter at heart? Now, with more than fourteen million books in print and seven New York Times bestsellers, Judith McNaught brings us her latest, most enthralling novel Remember When When multinational tycoon Cole Harrison approached her on a moonlit balcony at the White Orchid Charity Ball, Diana Foster had no idea how extraordinary the night ahead would be.
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