The Widow's Kiss

The Widow's Kiss is a great leap from Ms Feather's previous V books. I'm amazed at how skillfully she has switch genres. The depth of characters of Hugh and Guinevere are complex and utterly believable. They are both flawed, human if you will, not all beauty and male good likes...you almost feel you know them as one of your friends when you have finished, which I did, finished the book that is, which was far too soon...every chance I had over a 3 day period, missing sleep, food and gym classes just to read the twists and turns of the plots of Henry VIII and Cromwell's machinations and how they longed to get their hands on the widows property and Hugh and his lady's fight to love and stay alive. The secondary characters are delightful, well rounded, the children are adorable, they too play important roles. I'm not going to go into to too much detail about the book itself, others have done that in their reviews, my main point is the book is by far the best read I've had in 2 years, and I've always got a book on me, buy it if you want excitement, romance, intrigue, danger, love, flawed but loveable characters. Above all read it because its just plain "unputdownable". PS Be prepared to be sleep deprived as well as lose a few pounds once you start you cannot put down!

This is the first of Jane Feather's novels to read- but I will definitely pick up some more. I loved this one and read it in 2 settings. I was actually a little hesitant of reading it because I have already read several books set during the 1500's in England and am starting to get a little tired of them. But this one was just different. It held my interest from the very beginning to end. It was fast paced and I was able to feel what the characters were feeling. I enjoyed all of them- even the annoying Pippa, the 4 or 5 year old who ran her mouth continually. One of my daughters was like that at that age. The love scenes were testfully done and did not get out of hand. It was more realistic than some, too. I was glad they did not jump into the bed right off- and he wasn't demanding of it. It was just a great book. I am getting it for my library and will recommend it to everyone!

I loved it, I don't usually read these types (romance novels) of books but something about the cover attracted me and after I settled down to read it I could't put it down! I read the entire thing in two days! It was fast passed and there was not a single page I was not gripped by - no boring pages in this book! I also really enjoyed the historical significance (the type of books I am usually attracted to are historical novels) and because I had already read so many about this time frame I found this to be right up my alley. Thanks Jane for a wonderful book!

After I bought this book, I checked the reviews of it and thought I would be disappointed. But I really enjoyed this book. In fact, its the best I've read in a while. While other readers didn't like some (or all) of the characters, I did. The hero and herione were not perfect, but actually very believable. Neither were they young, both had been happily married before (to varying degrees). Both had offspring from these marriages who were integral to the story. I sometimes had to take a break from reading because I found myself really getting angry or saddened by the events in the story.

By 1537, King Henry learns that twenty-eight-year-old Lady Guinevere Mallory has been a widow four times, an excessive amount of husbands buried. However, what concerns His Highness is the legal marriage contracts have made her the prime owner of most of the wealth in the Derbyshire area. Wondering if he has a black widow among his aristocracy and worried that one person owns so much property, the monarch assigns Hugh of Beauclaire to investigate. Hugh informs King Henry that he has a personal interest in a piece of property that Mallory owns which he claims should be his.When Hugh meets Guinevere, he is stunned by her beauty and even more shocked by how brilliant the woman is. Worse to Hugh in spite of his belief she is a deadly killer; he is very attracted to the woman. Guinevere tries to protect her own heart because she knows Hugh wants to hand her head over to Henry. As the duo fight the growing love between them, their mistrust of one another grows proportionally.WIDOW'S KISS is a wonderful historical romance that succeeds because the characters seem genuine. The lead protagonists provide conflict, as neither trusts the love that is emanating from the other. Guinevere's daughters add a young energy that makes life even more complex and difficult for Hugh. The King and his key advisor provide a historical point of reference as well as added intrigue, tension, and mistrust. Although the climax is featherweight, sub-genre fans will relish this fabulous novel that proves Jane Feather is a heavyweight author.Harriet Klausner