Customer Reviews

The Falcon and the Flower

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

books don't get any better. if you love romance and advencher then you will love this one. it has a little of every thing. a must read!

An excellent book, one of Henley's best. Too many people say Jasmine doesn't respect Falcon (yes, that's right, his name's actually Falcon) and won't appreciate what she has and how much he gave her, however, try putting yourself in that situation...Action, drama, romance, crude foreplay and intercourse, and kidnappings of sorts all wrapped up in 470 pages...what could be better?

This was an excellent book. I read books like these for two reasons: The romance, and to see a section of history brought to life. I admire the way Ms. Henley adheres to the way things really were back then, right down to the male chauvenism. Falcon, the hero, is all man, but a respectable one, given the time. Jasmine started out a little flighty, but she ended up a strong woman who knew her own mind.

Romance, magic and history combine to create a memorable book that is difficult to put down.

Setting -- England/Wales/Ireland 1199 to 1202

The most interesting aspect of this book is the history element. It's set in the early days of the realm of King John - the king who was so bad that the barons forced the Magna Carta on him.

As for the romance, virtually every romance novel involves overcoming obstacles to finding true love. Usually the pair are from warring countries or he's killed a family member or something serious is in the way. In this book, there is no good reason for our heroine not to be willing, if not thrilled, to be betrothed to Falcon. He's young, handsome and even on the same side. Why he puts up with her running off to court and total self-centeredness is hard to understand.

Still, the pace is enough that I never doubted that I'd finish the book. It's the first of a trilogy (with The Marriage Prize and The Dragon and the Jewel). I doubt I'll go out of my way to read the other two volumes.

This was the first *romance* book I ever read and I have to say that I was hooked. I read this several years ago and have read many more since than, but the details of many of the others seem lost to me while this one, I do remember. Perhaps becuase it was the first of the kind i read, or maybe just because of how powerful a book it was.

I like this book ( and all of Ms. Henley's book) for a variety of reasons. First, they arent shy on length. Nothing is more aggrevating than getting into the story, falling in love with the characters and era and than having the story end. Ms. Henley write books on the longer side and also series *sagas*. I also like her discriptive language and her ability to make you feel for and like the main characters despite (or maybe because of) their sometimes obvious cahracter faults. Sometimes romance novels feel a bit *xeroxed*... like the writer is just changing the names, haircolor, and era and slapping a new cover on it. While I would have to say that this book fulfills a certain predictable romance *formula* (beautiful, willfull long haired heroine...brooding dark and head over heels in love on the inside, hero.... it really doesnt feel like a photocopy of every other book written in that form. It feels more like the original, that was emulated. The details are richer, the writing is better, the readers involvement is more than with many other books (even some of Ms henleys other books)

The love scenes that Ms Henly writes seem different to me than other writers too... while less timid than some other writers (maybe julie garwood?) they arent quite brazen either (maybe like some of joanna lindseys?)... And I am not finding fault with julie garwood or joanna lindsy...Im really just trying to place virginia henley in the love-scene-scale... I would say that they are more on the more brazen side with the rough edges smoothed a bit by some tactful beautiful writing.

The book isnt without faults but perhaps maybe the faults are more built in due to the genre. The exasperating heroine... okay, aggrevating sometimes... The roughness of the hero.. okay, brutality maybe. Maybe the issues are more due to the features of this *type* of book than the book itself.

I would certainly say that if you like romance novels, to not read virginia henley is a mistake. I think she could write any type of fiction she chose, I love her writing style.

This is my second book of Virgnia Henley and once again, I was entertained and is impressed by her style. I am almost finished with The Dragon and The Jewel, the 2nd book of this PLANTAGENET TRILOGY. The last book is THE MARRIAGE PRIZE. Basing it on her books that I've read, Virginia Henley really knows her plot. She corporates history with romance in the most factual way. She is straight forward and doesn't use a lot flowery words even in the hero/heroine's story. I do enjoy flowery words from time to time but on this occasion, Her style was a welcome change to me that I didn't mind it at all.

The Falcon and the Flower affected me in the most bizarre ways. No doubt, I enjoyed this book. I find the PLANTAGENET interesting so the added history in this book thoroughly pulled me in. I love Falcon and Jasmine love story as well... but then I also felt guilty enjoying their story to the fullest because I don't like men hitting their wives. I feel if they did it once, they will do it again... and indeed, even towards the end of this book, Falcon did hit her again. ugh. Perhaps that is why I rated this book a four stars (4 1/2 if I could). That could have been omitted to proved he changed... I wanted to not like this book mainly for that reason but shamefully, i find my heart in spastic mode cuz I can see how much Falcon was drawn to Jasmine. He was VERY MUCH in love with her. It was a love at first sight. Jasmine didn't have a Title nor lands to offer, she wasn't trained to be a chatelain or a wife nor can she supposedly bore him sons or children... meanwhile, Falcon De Burgh could choose any bride he wants. There were many beautiful heiress who were fully trained to be chatelain and a submissive wife. There were many who could bring advantage to him but he chose Jasmine. Without Falcon realizing it, that alone says it all. Most of the books I've read have marriages cuz of convenience or with an advantage. However, Falcon's offer of marriage to Jasmine have no advantage to either of them. Love wasn't confessed in the beginning either so naturally it was confusing for both party, most especially for Jasmine who have ambition of her own to achieve. She feels that Falcon is ruining her life by marriage. I know a lot of reviewers here don't like Jasmine and I admit, I didn't particularly liked her in the beginning but this is also where I saw Ms. Henley's impressive talent. She wasn't afraid to put a flaw on her hero and heroine. Both Falcon and Jasmine have flaws of their own, which eventually made me liked them and admire them. Jasmine is also very young, only 18. She acted her age which is more realistic. I've read books where the heroine is only 18 or younger yet acted so maturely that it becomes too good to be true. Not Jasmine...Besides her beauty and her white magics, she WAS totally spoiled and useless as a wife! She likes nice clothes, to look her best and wants to be a Lady-in-Waiting for the Queen. She has her own plans and she's also living in a fantasy world, but mainly because of her grandmother ways of bringing her up. In the end, you will see her trying to be USEFUL, so to speak. That's when she becomes more lovable in my eyes.

Another part which actually amuses me more than anything is Falcon's lusty appetite towards Jasmine. Testosterone Machine, Indeed! I know others are annoyed by this but not me. I enjoyed the idea of Falcon's strong desire for his wife, and I mean strong! To top it all, Jasmine is PRUDE and won't have anything of that! Perhaps it's the challenge and the anticipation that makes Falcon even more lustful for his wife. I tell you, I've never read such a book. Most of my books have mutual desire and enjoyment when it comes to their lovemaking. Once again, Ms. Henley proves her unique ideas and implemented it well. I don't know if I should envy Jasmine or feel sore for her... oh I mean, SORRY for her. lol.

My sister suggested this trilogy to me. I didn't check the rating before reading it which I am glad I didn't, I might have been discourage and would have missed a good novel. I was surprise the overall rating of this book is only 3 1/2. In my opinion, THE FALCON AND THE FLOWER is full of NEW concepts and representation for me. It is a unique read and I totally enjoyed it.

After reading this book, I sat back and wondered "Now what was that about?" Frankly, I got tired of all the sex, not that I'm a prude by any stretch of the imagination. What bugged me throughout this book was the constant "ache" Falcon had for Jasmine and how she continued to turn him down. And then, suddenly, when she gets pregnant she loves him. Please. It was so unbelievable. I'm all for a fiesty heroine and a dark, brooding hero, but for God's sake this was ridiculous. And the shenanigan's at King John's court were just plain silly. I only read this for the historical content and I was sadly let down with that too. This won't be one I repeat.

I have read several Henley books. I loved The Marriage Prize. As with that book, this one contained wonderful, fascinating historical facts and a story that I couldn't put down. My only complaint was that Jasmine was so unlikeable. As another reviewer said, she was a spoiled brat and I had very little sympathy for her. If you can put up with a herione like that, the book was well-written and the story comes to a satisfying ending.

This book was good. I bought two of her books to see how good she was and I would read more. She may be a little too graphic but not enough to be offensive. Theres a lot of attempted incest stuff that I could do without but other then that it was well written and entertaining.

I have read several of Virginia Henley books and loved them, so I was quite surprised by how much I did not like this one. In fact I had to force myself to finish the book. I only gave it 2 stars based on the historic information and the fact that I have in the past enjoyed her books. And there is the fact that I have visited several locations mentioned in the book.

I have read the other book in this series and loved them, in fact kept them on my shelf. The characters in this book were so hard to like. Especially Jasmine. What a little brat. Here she had a man that cared for her despite all of her faults. Her headstrong ways kept getting her into trouble and she kept hoping for Falcon to come to her rescue. Of course each time he came to her rescue what thanks did he get? More spoiled, selfish, and nasty attitude. In fact he probably should of just let her get a taste of what she deserved!

Don't let this one book put you off Virginia Henley. If you want to read a good book by her check out "A Year and A Day" or "A Woman of Passion", and "The Marriage Prize". These books are worth the effort in reading.