Almost Heaven

What a fantastic book. It's my first Judith McNaught book & I loved it. When it arrived (speedily, thank you), it was 550 pages in length. I groaned as most thick books have excessive padding in them & I skip through chunks of unnecessary passages, but not with this book. I marvelled how much content was in it & never once did the story flag or veer off into a waffle of words. The story was superb, so many twists & turns, it never stopped. Just as I'd catch my breath, I'd be off again chasing the story. It is essentially a historical love story. There isn't too much historical detail in the story, but that didn't detract too much. Our H & H meet & sparks fly. They are compromised & subsequently everything goes pear-shaped for our young heroine Elizabeth (unbeknown to our hero Ian). Fast forward 18 months & their paths cross through her uncle's evil plan to marry her off to anyone who'll have her. They are thrown together at his humble Scottish dwelling & once again, sparks fly. Ian is very unkind to our young heroine, and says some very hurtful things to her, as he is unaware of just how dreadful her life has been during the intervening 18 months because of his actions when he ruined her. Her companion Lucy, a crusty old termagant, is fabulous & put's Ian's uncle Duncan (Scottish vicar) straight as to Ian's part in her young charge's downfall. Thereafter starts the story again, this time switching to London. The twists & turns come thick & fast. Her dastardly brother, her unprincipled uncle, her doting & loyal servants, Ian's estranged grandfather the Duke, Ian's wonderful uncle Duncan and Alex & Jordan (not sure about Jordan as an 18th century name?) who are friends to both H&H. I absolutely loved Ian who was so clever, scarred & emotional. Elizabeth was a joy to read, her character was steely, brave, proud & loving. They made a great H & H. An excellent read. Make sure you have a weekend free - it's very addictive. Enjoy!

This book should carry a warning! Do not read unless you have a few days with nothing going on. It's gauranteed you won't be able to put this one down. The characters were believable and the story line heart wrenching at times. I loved it! A must read for all you romantics.

ordered this for a friend who is very happy with it

Good quality though it has some years!

...und sicherlich nicht mein letztes.Bei der 74. Fünf-Sterne-Rezension spare ich mir die Inhaltsangabe.Toller Schreibstil, packende Charaktere, Situationskomik, Entsetzen, tolle Gesten und Dialoge, Haareraufen.....alles drin. Seit langem hat mich mal wieder ein Buch so gefesselt, dass ich bis tief in die Nacht gelesen habe. Schöööööööön.Absolute Lese-/Kaufempfehlung für alle, die auf der Suche nach einer schönen Liebesgeschichte mit im Gedächtnis bleibenden Charakteren (incl. Tortured-hero) sind.