Tender the Storm

I was surprised to see the generally very negative reviews. I thought this was a very good read. The doll incident was a laugh-out-loud moment, and the identity of Le Patron wasn't one I expected. Some might dislike the hero, Rolfe, for his Neaderthal views on the place of women in society, but I found him realistically portrayed for precisely that reason. He merely reflected the views of men two hundred years ago (sad to say, some men in the 21st century hold similar views!) He was patronising, high-handed and smug, butwas rather endearing in his way. A sensitive, new-age guy, he wasn't. Zoe was also protrayed realistically. Although I enjoy kick-ass heroines a la Jennifer Garner's character in "Alias", the truth is, most 18th and 19th century women were more like Zoe than our modern misses with their rights and opportunities. Nonetheless, Zoe was very likeable for her quiet strength and honesty, not to mention a hidden temper, that could be nasty. I liked the fact that she was aware of her early hero-worship/infatuation, and that she was strong enough to go beyond it -- to make a break and to divorce Rolfe. She took control of her life to the extent that she was able to under the societal mores of her times, in other words.This book is worth reading.

TENDER THE STORM is the first novel of a trilogy by Thornton dealing with three siblings of the Devereux family during the tumultuous revolutionary period in the history of France. This was Zoe's story, the youngest daughter, though 17 because of her diminutive size she was able to pose as a schoolgirl of thirteen. Together, with a man she knew only as Rolphe, they fled across wartorn France to England. She was whisked away to a safe house with other French immigrants. Weeks later she would meet up with Rolphe again as he discovers that the 'child' he rescued was really a very beautiful young lady - only in his mind, he still saw her as the child. The attraction is there, and thinking to save her from the London streets Rolphe, Marquess of Rivard, makes her his wife, in name only, then abandoned her to his country estate and a less than enthusiastic mother-in-law. Zoe did her best, to live up to the role, as she was in love with her husband and the ideal she had painted of him as her stalwart rescuer. After an unfortunate incident of mistaken identities, a heart broken Zoe, takes the initiative and returns to France to nurse her broken heart, whereupon she divorces Rolphe and blossoms into the toast of the new French society. In the meantime, Rolphe has survived an assassination attempt and it is months before anyone tells him that she's left him.Underneath the romance, in which Rolph proves to be a real 'jackass' (not having a clue as to what ails his wife) there are the undercurrents of the espionage, secret societies, treachery, and greed which is brilliantly portrayed by this amazing author. If I were to rate this book based on liking the hero who simply acted like a 'man' - clueless in terms of recognizing what was going on in his life - yes I would not like this. Instead I see a sweeping novel with a slice of real history and a romance that took some time to come to it's enviable and sensual conclusion. I was not disappointed. I loved the rich characterizations of the players in this story and look forward to the next book in this trilogy.

"Zoe Deveraux is seventeen, though disguised as a schoolgirl, when she is spirited ouf of France by Rolphe Brockford, Marquess of Rivard. Posing as a Revolutionary, Rolphe is on a mission to rescue innocents from the bloddy horrors of the guillotine. And rescue Zoe he does, though he hasn't a notion what to do with her upon reaching London..." As you tell by the premise, this period adventure includes a touch of humor.