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Title: Legend by Jude Deveraux ISBN: 0-671-00170-1 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.86 (98 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Better the second time around
Comment: This is better the second time around. The first time I got too attached to Cole. Knowing everything before hand is much better. I'm not going to give away to much because some people may still want some surprises. Cole has a big secret, which Kady finds out about from somebody.
I won't say how she meets the other guy, but on second read he is more likeable (you may want to wait a few weeks at least to reread the book to get how great Cole was out of your mind)
Too much time was spent on Kady's relationship with Cole, and not enough on the one with the other guy. An extra chapter or two at the end would have been nice.
The best part of the book, surprisingly, was actually near the end. I won't give away what happened.
Cole does get his own story in an anthology. However, he's quite different then he is in this book.
Rating: 4
Summary: I didn't want it to end!
Comment: Kady Long is an accomplished chef, the "it" chef at an Alexandria, Virginia restaurant. She's engaged to marry her boss's son, Gregory, a gorgeous, charming man who Kady believes loves her just as she is. She loves Gregory, but can't forget the mysterious Arabian knight she's seen in her dreams since childhood. Despite that, as far as she's concerned her life is perfect.
During her search for a wedding dress (she's overweight by modern standards and can find none that look good)and furnishings for the townhouse the couple will share after marriage, she impulsively purchases an antique flour tin. Among the items inside are a watch, an old tintype photo and a beautiful old wedding dress. Once she puts the dress on (it's a perfect fit, by the way), she's transported back to Legend, CO in 1873, and the scene of a hanging about to occur. The man she saves from the hangman's noose is Cole Jordan.
Through a bit of trickery and manipulation which only becomes evident later, Cole first convinces Kady to marry him and then remain in Legend for a three-day honeymoon. During her entire stay in 1873, Cole declares his love for her and she tries to avoid falling for him, intent on getting back to Gregory. It's only when Cole deposits Kady at his homestead then disappears that we learn of his trickery. In desperation, she writes to his grandmother, who he's mentioned is his only living relative. Then, with a change of heart and a strengthening backbone, she endears herself to the entire town.
Following a false start with Cole after his return, Kady realizes she's fallen for him. She changes her mind about going back to her time, and then comes a message from Cole's grandmother. At Cole's urging, she decides to meet the woman and heads for the hanging tree, not understanding the sea of sad faces behind her. After a heart-wrenching conversation with Cole's grandmother, she returns to her own time, a changed woman. It's because of the changes brought on by Cole and Legend (and a promise to his grandmother) that she leaves Gregory and the restaurant behind and meets C.T. Jordan (Tarik), who she recognizes as the Arabian Knight from her dreams.
Of course, Tarik is initially not the romantic man with yearning in his eyes from her dreams. He's cold, rude and condescending, and Kady can't stand him. But since he is the man from her dreams, the barriers eventually (and predictably) crumble as the truth about the relationship between Kady and Tarik emerges.
In the end, not only does Kady find true love, but she also manages to keep a 100 year old promise.
OK, first the largest problems as I saw them.
I had a bit of a problem dealing with the two heroes (Cole and Tarik), and yes, I had trouble giving up on Cole. I found myself mentally screaming at Kady, begging her to find a way to get back to Cole after her talk with Ruth, Cole's grandmother. Which is why I cried when Kady met up with him again in the end. I also thought she and Tarik went too quickly from hate to love.
I also had a very hard time reconciling the cold, ruthless Cole the five Ms (five women whose names begin with M) described to Kady with the endearing, fun-loving, and somewhat childlike Cole I had come to know and love.
That said, what I had the hardest time with was saying goodbye to Kady, Cole and Tarik when I finished the book.
Now the things I loved.
I loved that Kady wasn't model perfect. Fat by today's anorexic standards, but nearly perfect in almost any other time.
I loved Cole, and I was devastated when I learned the truth about him. Truth be told, I still am.
I grew to feel very strongly for Tarik, too (although not as strongly as I felt for Cole), and saw some of the same playfulness and protective nature that Cole so easily possessed eventually emerge from him, as well.
And the female cattiness in me has got to scream: I'M GLAD GREGORY LOST HIS MEAL TICKET!
Whew. I feel better.
Overall, as I said, I loved the book, and have put it on my shelf to read again and again.
Rating: 3
Summary: Aargh!!!
Comment: I just finished reading "Legend", and I'm feeling totally cheated! I'm in mourning! Why, why, WHY spend half of the book to introduce us to a wonderful character like Cole, only to take him away from us?! By the time Tarik makes an appearance the rug has been pulled from under our feet not once but TWICE (though Gregory turning out to be a jerk was of course obvious from the beginning), and most of the time that Tarik is around he's nasty to Kady. By the end of the book we're just confused as to what his true motives are - is he or isn't he the man of Kady's dreams, or is he out to use her, too, only to toss her aside? There just isn't enough evidence to prove that he's a good guy, I feel - there's too little too late, as far as he's concerned. Also, is he supposed to be the reincarnation of Cole? If so, it should have perhaps been better explained - it was hinted at, but not properly explored, which left me feeling confused and saddened, because to me, the true hero of the book was Cole, not Tarik.
I appreciate the effort of trying something a bit different plotwise, but the major twist is this novel was just a bit too clever for its own good. I feel that it was used at the expense of the reader's faith and emotions, which is a definite no-no. Please don't make us love a character and then take him away from us the way it was done here, at least not without tying up the loose ends.
To me this novel had the feel of an early experiment by a writer who has talent and potential to do better. Maybe a re-write wouldn't be totally uncalled for, or at least a sequel, in which Cole would make an appearance, too...after all, thanks to a nifty device called artistic licence, anything's possible!
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Title: Remembrance by Jude Deveraux ISBN: 0671023578 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Wishes by Jude Deveraux ISBN: 0671743856 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 15 March, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Eternity by Jude Deveraux ISBN: 0671744577 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Invitation by Jude Deveraux ISBN: 0671744585 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Heiress by Jude Deveraux ISBN: 0671744623 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 December, 1995 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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